[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5131 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5131

 To analyze the feasibility of attaching Department of State consular 
 officers to Coast Guard and Navy missions in Pacific Island countries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2026

  Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Ms. Hirono, and Ms. Duckworth) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To analyze the feasibility of attaching Department of State consular 
 officers to Coast Guard and Navy missions in Pacific Island countries.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Consular Operations and Regional 
Engagement in the Pacific Act'' or the ``CORE Pacific Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Pacific Island countries, especially the Freely 
        Associated States, are close United States partners located 
        across highly strategic waters that are critical for United 
        States national security; and
            (2) it is in the national security interests of the United 
        States to maintain and strengthen relations with the 
        governments and citizens of Pacific Island countries.

SEC. 3. DEFINED TERM.

    In this section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
            (4) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
        of the Senate;
            (5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (6) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (7) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (8) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 4. REPORT CONCERNING DEPARTMENT OF STATE CONSULAR OFFICERS JOINING 
              COAST GUARD AND NAVY MISSIONS IN PACIFIC ISLAND 
              COUNTRIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, the Commander of United 
States Indo-Pacific Command, and the Chief of Naval Operations, shall 
submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that analyzes 
the feasibility of attaching Department of State consular officers to 
Coast Guard and Navy missions in Pacific Island countries.
    (b) Elements.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) an assessment of--
                    (A) the current demand for consular services from 
                citizens of Pacific Island countries; and
                    (B) the challenges such citizens face in obtaining 
                consular services;
            (2) an assessment of the approximate value, including in 
        time and resources saved, such an initiative could save 
        citizens of Pacific Island countries that do not host United 
        States embassies by having their United States consular 
        decisions adjudicated or receiving other consular services;
            (3) an assessment of the cost that would be incurred by the 
        Department of State, the United States Coast Guard, the United 
        States Indo-Pacific Command, and the United States Navy from 
        the implementation of such initiative, including potential 
        alternative cost-effective options and recommendations for 
        providing consular services to citizens of Pacific Island 
        countries;
            (4) an assessment of the frequency and duration of Coast 
        Guard and Navy deployments to Pacific Island countries, 
        including--
                    (A) deployment frequency measured against the 
                desired number of visits;
                    (B) the amount of time typically spent in port for 
                such visits; and
                    (C) disruptions to planned Coast Guard and Navy 
                missions in order to visit locations needing consular 
                assistance; and
            (5) an evaluation of the logistical issues to be addressed 
        to implement the initiative, including--
                    (A) an analysis of the spacing requirements to host 
                Department of State personnel and equipment aboard the 
                various types of Coast Guard and Navy vessels that make 
                port calls to the Pacific Islands;
                    (B) an analysis of the information technology and 
                connectivity requirements to conduct consular affairs 
                activities in the Pacific Islands;
                    (C) the feasibility of printing visas aboard Coast 
                Guard and Navy vessels;
                    (D) maintaining the physical security of consular 
                officers and relevant adjudication equipment during 
                such missions;
                    (E) the impacts to Coast Guard and Navy vessels' 
                operations and security; and
                    (F) the estimated time consular officers would 
                spend on board Coast Guard and Navy vessels between 
                visits to Pacific Island countries.
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