[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4426 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4426

 To establish an Office of Subnational Diplomacy within the Department 
                   of State, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 4, 2020

Mr. Murphy (for himself and Mr. Perdue) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an Office of Subnational Diplomacy within the Department 
                   of State, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``City and State Diplomacy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The supremacy clause of the United States Constitution 
        (article VI, clause 2) establishes that the Federal Government 
        has the primary role in conducting diplomacy on behalf of the 
        United States; in turn, the Department of State, which was 
        created pursuant to statute by Congress in 1789, has the lead 
        role in formulating and implementing United States foreign 
        policy.
            (2) The growth of subnational cooperation has enabled 
        States, counties, and municipalities to play an increasingly 
        significant role in foreign policy and complement the efforts 
        of the Department of State by--
                    (A) supporting exchanges and cooperation agreements 
                between elected leaders and officials of State, county, 
                and municipal governments and those of international 
                cities, regions, and countries;
                    (B) promoting United States exports to foreign 
                markets and foreign direct investment into the United 
                States; and
                    (C) sharing best practices and striking agreements 
                with foreign counterparts on a wide range of topics, 
                including facilitating trade and investment, protecting 
                the health and safety of their respective citizens, 
                cooperating on energy and the environment, and 
                promoting people-to-people exchanges.
            (3) Global networks made up exclusively of local government 
        officials are at the forefront of harnessing the power of 
        cities to advance international cooperation.
            (4) In 2010, the Department of State appointed the first-
        ever Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental 
        Affairs, who led efforts to build strategic peer-to-peer 
        relationships between the Department of State, State and local 
        officials, and their foreign counterparts.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that it is in the interest of the 
United States to promote subnational engagements, align such 
engagements with national foreign policy objectives, and leverage 
Federal resources to enhance the impact of such engagements.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF SUBNATIONAL DIPLOMACY.

    Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 
U.S.C. 2651a) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) Office of Subnational Diplomacy.--
            ``(1) In general.--There shall be established within the 
        Department of State an Office of Subnational Diplomacy (in this 
        subsection referred to as the `Office').
            ``(2) Head of office.--The head of the Office shall be the 
        Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational Diplomacy (in this 
        subsection referred to as the `Ambassador'). The Ambassador 
        shall--
                    ``(A) be appointed by the President, by and with 
                the advice and consent of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for 
                Political Affairs.
            ``(3) Duties.--
                    ``(A) Principal duty.--The principal duty of the 
                Ambassador shall be the overall supervision (including 
                policy oversight of resources) of Federal support for 
                subnational engagements by State, county, and municipal 
                governments with foreign governments. The Ambassador 
                shall be the principal adviser to the Secretary of 
                State on subnational engagements and the principal 
                official on such matters within the senior management 
                of the Department of State.
                    ``(B) Additional duties.--The additional duties of 
                the Ambassador shall include the following:
                            ``(i) Coordinating overall United States 
                        policy and programs in support of subnational 
                        engagements by State and municipal governments 
                        with foreign governments, including with 
                        respect to the following activities:
                                    ``(I) Coordinating resources across 
                                the Department of State and throughout 
                                the Federal Government in support of 
                                such engagements.
                                    ``(II) Identifying policy, program, 
                                and funding disputes among relevant 
                                Federal agencies regarding such 
                                coordination.
                                    ``(III) Identifying gaps in Federal 
                                support for such engagements and 
                                developing corresponding policy or 
                                programmatic changes to address such 
                                gaps.
                            ``(ii) Promoting United States foreign 
                        policy goals through support for subnational 
                        engagements and aligning subnational priorities 
                        with national foreign policy goals, as 
                        appropriate.
                            ``(iii) Maintaining a public database of 
                        subnational engagements.
                            ``(iv) Providing advisory support to 
                        subnational engagements, including by assisting 
                        State, county, and municipal governments to--
                                    ``(I) develop, implement, and, as 
                                necessary, adjust global engagement and 
                                public diplomacy strategies, 
                                particularly for States and cities with 
                                limited international outreach staff;
                                    ``(II) implement programs to 
                                cooperate with foreign governments on 
                                policy priorities or managing shared 
                                resources; and
                                    ``(III) understand the implications 
                                of foreign policy developments or 
                                policy changes through regular and 
                                extraordinary briefings.
                            ``(v) Facilitating linkages and networks 
                        between State and municipal governments and 
                        their foreign counterparts, including 
                        leveraging of State and municipal government 
                        expertise in United States foreign assistance 
                        programming.
                            ``(vi) Overseeing the work of Department of 
                        State detailees assigned to State and municipal 
                        governments pursuant to this subsection.
                            ``(vii) Negotiating agreements and 
                        memoranda of understanding with foreign 
                        governments to support subnational engagements 
                        and priorities.
                            ``(viii) Promoting United States trade and 
                        foreign exports on behalf of United States 
                        businesses through exchanges between the United 
                        States and foreign state, municipal, and 
                        provincial governments, developing resource 
                        lists for subnational actors' international 
                        outreach, creating a platform for subnational 
                        actors and small and medium businesses to 
                        request support or submit feedback, and by 
                        establishing a more enduring relationship 
                        overall between subnational governments.
                            ``(ix) Promoting public health and public 
                        safety areas like road safety, through 
                        exchanges between the United States and foreign 
                        state, municipal, and provincial governments, 
                        conferences to capture best practices and 
                        assure future planning, and by establishing 
                        enduring relationship between subnational 
                        governments.
                            ``(x) Coordinating subnational engagements 
                        with the associations of subnational elected 
                        leaders, including the United States Conference 
                        of Mayors, National Governors Association, 
                        National League of Cities, National Association 
                        of Counties, Council of State Governments, 
                        National Conference of State Legislators, and 
                        State International Development Offices.
            ``(4) State, county, and municipal fellows program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Under the Fellowship Program, 
                the Secretary of State, acting through the Ambassador, 
                is authorized to detail no fewer than 30 total Foreign 
                Service officers and members of the civil service each 
                year to State, county, and municipal governments on a 
                reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis. Such details 
                shall be for a period not to exceed two years, and 
                shall be without interruption or loss of Foreign 
                Service or civil service status or privilege.
                    ``(B) Responsibilities.--Detailees under 
                subparagraph (A) shall carry out the following duties:
                            ``(i) Supporting the mission and objectives 
                        of the Office.
                            ``(ii) Coordinating activities relating to 
                        State and municipal government subnational 
                        engagements with the Department of State, 
                        including the Office, Department leadership, 
                        and regional and functional bureaus of the 
                        Department, as appropriate.
                            ``(iii) Engaging the Department of State 
                        and other Federal agencies regarding security, 
                        public health, trade promotion, and other 
                        programs executed at the State or municipal 
                        government level.
                            ``(iv) Advising State and municipal 
                        government officials regarding questions of 
                        global affairs, foreign policy, cooperative 
                        agreements, and public diplomacy.
                            ``(v) Any other duties requested by State 
                        and municipal governments and approved by the 
                        Office.
            ``(5) Report and briefing.--
                    ``(A) Report.--Not later than one year after the 
                date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
                Ambassador shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
                Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
                Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that 
                includes information relating to the following matters:
                            ``(i) The staffing plan (including 
                        permanent and temporary staff) for the Office.
                            ``(ii) The funding level provided to the 
                        Office for the Office, together with a 
                        justification relating to such level.
                            ``(iii) The status of filling the position 
                        of Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational 
                        Diplomacy.
                            ``(iv) A strategic plan for the Office, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) how to better integrate 
                                United States cities, counties, and 
                                States into United States foreign 
                                policy, such as through the provision 
                                of trainers;
                                    ``(II) how partnerships with 
                                subnational entities can enhance 
                                citizen involvement in the foreign 
                                policy making process; and
                                    ``(III) how partnerships can be 
                                used to increase public understanding 
                                and awareness of United States 
                                diplomatic efforts.
                            ``(v) A plan for better targeting foreign 
                        subnational governments through State and 
                        United States Agency for International 
                        Development foreign assistance and diplomatic 
                        engagement, including an assessment of existing 
                        efforts and best practices, recommendations for 
                        expansion and new initiatives to better 
                        leverage subnational governments to improve 
                        United States foreign policy effectiveness 
                        including public diplomacy, and emphasizing 
                        governance and public health.
                            ``(vi) Any other matters as determined 
                        relevant by the Ambassador.
                    ``(B) Briefings.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                submission of the report required under subparagraph 
                (A), and annually thereafter, the Ambassador shall 
                brief the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
                and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives on the work of the Office and any 
                changes made to the organizational structure or funding 
                of the Office.
            ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Municipal.--The term `municipal' means, with 
                respect to the government of a municipality, a 
                municipality with a population of not fewer than 
                100,000 people.
                    ``(B) State.--The term `State' means the 50 States, 
                the District of Columbia, and any territory or 
                possession of the United States.
                    ``(C) Subnational engagement.--The term 
                `subnational engagement' means formal meetings or 
                events between elected officials of State or municipal 
                governments and their foreign counterparts.''.
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