[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4476 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4476

To require additional disclosures with respect to nominees to serve as 
               chiefs of mission, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 5, 2024

Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require additional disclosures with respect to nominees to serve as 
               chiefs of mission, 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 ``State Department Integrity and 
Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING A PROFESSIONAL AND NONPARTISAN 
              DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the People's Republic of China and other competitor 
        nations are rapidly expanding their global diplomatic 
        presences; and
            (2) it is imperative for United States national security 
        that the Department of State is appropriately staffed by 
        empowered, nonpartisan foreign policy professionals and 
        thoroughly qualified and vetted political appointees, who work 
        together to protect United States citizens and advance United 
        States foreign policy interests.

SEC. 3. ENHANCING THE PROFESSIONALISM OF ASSISTANT SECRETARIES OF 
              STATE.

    (a) Disclosure Requirements.--Section 304(a)(4) of the Foreign 
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3944(a)(4)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or as an assistant secretary'' after 
        ``chief of mission''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``Each such report 
        shall explain the source and extent of such nominee's knowledge 
        of the principal language or dialect of the country, region, or 
        institution, as applicable, in which the nominee has been 
        nominated to serve as chief of mission or assistant secretary 
        and the manner and extent to which such nominee meets the 
        criteria described in paragraph (1), particularly with respect 
        to the source and extent of such individual's knowledge and 
        understanding of the history, culture, economics, politics, and 
        interests of the people of such country, region, or 
        institution.''.
    (b) Hiring Requirement.--Section 1(c)(1) of the State Department 
Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``, United States Code'' after title 5; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``Not fewer than 75 
        percent of the Assistant Secretaries in the Department of State 
        shall have served in the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior 
        Executive Service.''.

SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES REQUIRED WITH RESPECT TO NOMINEES.

    Section 304(b)(3) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 
3944(b)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Each'' and inserting the following: ``(A) 
        In this paragraph--
            ``(i) the term `bundled contribution' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 304(i)(8)(A) of the Federal Election 
        Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)(8)(A));
            ``(ii) the term `contribution' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
        1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(8)); and
            ``(iii) the term `immediate family' means--
                    ``(I) the spouse of the nominee;
                    ``(II) any child, parent, grandparent, brother, or 
                sister of the nominee; and
                    ``(III) the spouse of any of the individuals 
                described in subclause (II).
    ``(B) Each'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by striking ``The 
        report'' and inserting the following:
    ``(C) The report shall include the disclosure of all bundled 
contributions facilitated by the nominee during the period described in 
subparagraph (B), in accordance with section 304(i) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)), and'';
            (3) by striking ``The chairman'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(D) The chairman''; and
            (4) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by adding at the 
        end the following: ``The Secretary of State shall publish each 
        such report and each `Certificate of Competency' issued 
        pursuant to subsection (a)(4) on a publicly available website 
        of the Department of State.''.

SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF 
              1980.

    Section 304(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended by 
section 3(a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(5) The President shall certify to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate that--
            ``(A) any individual nominated to be a chief of mission 
        meets the qualifications required under paragraph (1); and
            ``(B) any contributions made by any such individual or 
        family member, whether or not included in the report described 
        in paragraph (4), played no role in such nomination.''.

SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON OVERSEAS PLACEMENT OF SPECIAL APPOINTMENT 
              POSITIONS THAT DO NOT EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT AUTHORITY.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that all 
officials of the United States Government offered to receive diplomatic 
accreditation from a foreign nation should be thoroughly vetted and 
reviewed for qualification before--
            (1) being authorized to represent the United States 
        Government at sensitive postings overseas; or
            (2) receiving taxpayer-funded salaries, allowances, and 
        employment benefits in connection with such a posting.
    (b) Limitations.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1(j)(2) of the State Department 
        Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(j)) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and 
                (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and 
                moving such clauses, as redesignated, 2 ems to the 
                right;
                    (B) by striking ``The President''; and inserting 
                the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The President''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Limitations.--All special appointments under 
                subparagraph (A), and all positions described in 
                schedule B or schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of 
                title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, to a United 
                States diplomatic mission may not exceed 90 days. An 
                individual may not be appointed to more than 1 position 
                described in this paragraph during a single calendar 
                year.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall take effect on January 1, 2025.
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