[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8161 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8161
To encourage the practice of expeditionary diplomacy at the Department
of State.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 30, 2026
Ms. Jacobs (for herself and Mr. Baumgartner) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To encourage the practice of expeditionary diplomacy at the Department
of State.
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 ``Expeditionary Diplomacy Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to
the appropriate congressional committees that includes a definition of
the term ``expeditionary diplomacy'', and how it relates to diplomacy
that is not expeditionary, and an overview of how the Department of
State will apply this definition to enhance its ability to conduct
expeditionary diplomacy in environments with an elevated security risk,
including under the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4801 et
seq.), as amended by section 9302 of the James M. Inhofe National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263).
(b) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall consult relevant
external stakeholders on the formulation of the definition required in
subsection (a), which may include the American Academy of Diplomacy and
the American Foreign Service Association, as appropriate.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON EXPEDITIONARY DIPLOMACY AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the submission of
the report required by section 2, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on challenges with respect to expeditionary diplomacy at the
Department of State and United States embassies and posts and
recommendations to address such challenges.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of the capacity of regional security
officers within the Department of State, including with respect
to enabling expeditionary diplomacy, and, if applicable,
recommendations to address any challenges in capacity.
(2) A description of other challenges, internal and
external to the Department of State, that prevent increased
expeditionary diplomacy practiced among Chiefs of Mission and
members of the Foreign Service.
(3) An assessment of whether existing Department of State
initiatives, and laws and regulations applicable to the
Department, including under the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986
(22 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.), as amended by section 9302 of the
James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263), further including the
provisions on promotion precepts, training, and the sense of
Congress on the establishment of an Expeditionary Diplomacy
Award, are being utilized to address such other challenges, to
include analysis describing the effectiveness of such
initiatives, laws, and regulations in doing so.
(4) An assessment of previous and ongoing efforts to enable
expeditionary diplomacy, including in environments with an
elevated security risk, that have been successful, and any
lessons learned from such efforts, and recommendations as to
how, if at all, those lessons learned could be applied more
generally across the Department of State.
(5) An assessment of how personnel policies at diplomatic
posts and across the Foreign Service more generally impact
members' of the Foreign Service ability to practice
expeditionary diplomacy, complete tours longer than one year in
assignments to environments with an elevated security risk, and
obtain sufficient country-level expertise (including through
developing robust contacts with host country officials,
business leaders, civil society groups, and other key
stakeholders), and, if applicable, recommendations to improve
such policies to incentivize members of the Foreign Service to
carry out such work.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the President should include in
the ``President's Letters of Instruction'' the promotion of appropriate
and effective risk management practices to encourage diplomats to
regularly and meaningfully engage in expeditionary diplomacy and with
populations in the country, including in high security and high threat
environments.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO CHIEF OF MISSION AUTHORITY.
Section 207(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
3927(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking the ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) shall exercise appropriate and effective risk
management practices to encourage all relevant Government
executive branch employees in that country to regularly and
meaningfully engage in expeditionary diplomacy and with the
populations in such country.''.
SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF EXPEDITIONARY DIPLOMACY TIGER TEAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall establish a team
(commonly known as a ``Tiger Team'' and referred to in this section as
the ``Tiger Team'') dedicated to producing recommendations to the
Secretary of State to improve the ability and willingness of Chiefs of
Mission and Regional Security Officers to approve expeditionary
diplomacy and of members of the Foreign Service to regularly practice
expeditionary diplomacy. The Tiger Team shall consist of appropriate
personnel of the Department of State assigned to the Tiger Team by the
Secretary for the purposes of this section.
(b) Tiger Team Leader.--One of the persons assigned to the Tiger
Team under subsection (a) shall be a senior-level officer or employee
of the Department who shall serve as the lead official of the Tiger
Team (in this section referred to as the ``Tiger Team Leader'') and who
shall be accountable for the activities of the Tiger Team under this
section and not serve concurrently in another assignment or position at
the Department during the tenure of the Tiger Team.
(c) Report on Composition.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
report setting forth the names and titles of the personnel of the
Department assigned to the Tiger Team pursuant to this subsection,
including the positions to which assigned, which shall at minimum
include at least one official that reports to the Under Secretary of
Political Affairs, an official with international development
experience and expertise, and at least one official each from the
Bureaus of Diplomatic Security, Administration, Diplomatic Technology,
Human Resources, Medical Services, and Overseas Building Operations,
respectively. The report shall specify the name of the individual
assigned as Tiger Team Leader.
(d) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Tiger Team shall produce
recommendations to the Secretary of State to improve the
ability and willingness of Chiefs of Mission and Regional
Security Officers to approve expeditionary diplomacy and of
members of the Foreign Service to regularly practice
expeditionary diplomacy.
(2) Collaboration.--In conducting activities under this
subsection, the Tiger Team Leader shall identify appropriate
external stakeholders with whom the Tiger Team shall work to
carry out such activities. Such stakeholders shall include the
following:
(A) American Academy of Diplomacy.
(B) American Foreign Service Association.
(C) Overseas Security Advisory Council.
(D) Such other stakeholders as the Tiger Team
Leader considers appropriate.
(3) Initial report.--Not later than 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
submit to Congress a plan on the Tiger Team's work, to include
the following:
(A) A description of the manner in which the
Secretary, working through the Tiger Team and in
collaboration with external stakeholders described in
paragraph (2), shall--
(i) assess the current state of the
Department's ability and willingness to
practice expeditionary diplomacy;
(ii) review previous and current Department
of State efforts and historical recommendation
reports, external and internal, on
expeditionary diplomacy;
(iii) assess the current challenges
experienced by the Department, Chiefs of
Mission, and members of the Foreign Service in
practicing expeditionary diplomacy; and
(iv) produce policy, regulations, and
legislative recommendations to address such
challenges.
(B) A timeline for the implementation, carrying
out, and completion of the plan required under this
paragraph.
(C) A description of the additional funding,
personnel, or other resources of the Department
required to carry out the plan required under this
paragraph, including any modification of applicable
statutory or administrative authorities.
(4) Implementation of plan.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall implement and
carry out the plan submitted under paragraph (3) in
accordance with the timeline submitted under
subparagraph (B) of that paragraph.
(B) Updates.--Not less frequently than once every
90 days after the submittal of the report on the plan
under paragraph (3), the Tiger Team shall submit to
Congress an update on such plan.
(5) Final report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Tiger Team shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a final report on the
activities of the Tiger Team under this subsection. The report
shall set forth the following:
(A) A description of the challenges related to
expeditionary diplomacy identified pursuant to
paragraph (3)(A)(ii), including challenges identified
by the Comptroller General of the United States
pursuant to the report in section 3.
(B) A description of recommendations to address
such challenges, including the resources, staffing,
authorities, and legislative changes required for
implementation, pursuant to paragraph (3)(A)(iii).
(C) A timeline for the implementation of such
recommendations.
(D) A designation of an office responsible for
monitoring the implementation of such recommendations
following the termination of the Tiger Team pursuant to
paragraph (6).
(E) Any changes, as appropriate, to the definition
required by section 2.
(6) Monitoring implementation.--For the period of 90 days
after the date on which the final report required by paragraph
(5) is submitted, the Tiger Team shall oversee and monitor the
implementation of recommendations submitted in such report.
(7) Termination.--On the date that is 90 days after the
date on which the final report required by paragraph (5) is
submitted, the Secretary shall terminate the Tiger Team.
SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
<all>