HouseH.R. 9405119th Congress
Esther Coopersmith Award Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9405 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9405
To establish, at the Department of State, the Esther Coopersmith Award
in recognition of a distinguished diplomat advancing sustainable peace
and security.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2026
Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida (for herself and Ms. Kamlager-Dove)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish, at the Department of State, the Esther Coopersmith Award
in recognition of a distinguished diplomat advancing sustainable peace
and security.
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 ``Esther Coopersmith Award Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United Nations Secretary General's 2025 Report on
Women, Peace and Security notes an estimated 676,000,000 women
and girls lived within 50 kilometers of a deadly conflict event
during 2024, which is the highest number since the 1990s.
(2) The meaningful participation of women in conflict
prevention and conflict resolution processes--
(A) promotes more inclusive and democratic
societies; and
(B) is critical to the long-term stability and
security of those countries and regions.
(3) In 2017, President Trump signed the bipartisan Women,
Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-68), which
codified decades' long efforts to strategically address
material threats to United States national security by
supporting United States leadership in improving the
participation of women in peace and security processes,
conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and decision-making
institutions.
(4) In 2018, President Trump signed the bipartisan Women's
Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act (Public Law 115-
428) to recognize the vital contribution women's full and
unfettered economic participation and inclusion plays in
fostering global growth, prosperity, and stability.
(5) In October 2023, President Biden released the United
States Strategy and National Action Plan on Women, Peace and
Security to better equip United States national security
agencies with the tools to address shifts in geopolitical
challenges and advancements in technology.
(6) Executive Order 13595 (76 Fed. Reg. 80205 (December 19,
2011); instituting a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and
Security)--
(A) institutionalized a United States Government-
wide effort promoting women's participation in conflict
prevention, management and resolution, and post-
conflict recovery; and
(B) noted the responsibility of all nations to
protect their populations from genocide, war crimes,
ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including
when implemented by means of sexual violence.
(7) For 70 years, the late United States diplomat Esther
Coopersmith leveraged creativity and innovation to build
bridges and forge common understanding, which contributed
invaluably to United States peace and security.
SEC. 3. ALIGNMENT OF AWARD RECOGNIZING UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS
WITHIN UNITED STATES LAW.
Section 614 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is
amended by inserting ``and the rights of women and girls'' after
``freedom of religion''.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ESTHER COOPERSMITH AWARD FOR ADVANCING
PEACE AND SECURITY.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish an
annual individual or group performance award, which shall be known as
the ``Esther Coopersmith Award''.
(b) Recipients.--Recipients of the Esther Coopersmith Award shall--
(1) be members of the Civil Service or of the Foreign
Service who have made meaningful contributions advancing the
purposes of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public
Law 115-68) or the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic
Empowerment Act 2018 (Public Law 115-428) to sustainably
prevent, mitigate, or resolve conflict, violence, or
instability;
(2) include one honorable mention recipient annually; and
(3) meet with the Secretary of State.
(c) Efforts To Be Recognized.--Recipients of the Esther Coopersmith
Award shall be recognized for actions promoting women's leadership in
efforts, such as--
(1) integrating the perspectives and interests of affected
women into conflict-prevention activities and strategies;
(2) encouraging partner governments to adopt plans to
improve the meaningful participation of women in peace and
security processes and decision-making institutions;
(3) promoting the physical safety, economic security, and
dignity of women and girls;
(4) supporting the equal access of women to aid
distribution mechanisms and services; and
(5) supporting foreign capacity to collect or analyze data
for the purpose of developing and enhancing early warning
systems of conflict and violence.
(d) Representation.--In accordance with section 5(a)(1) of the
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2152j-1(a)(1)), the
Secretary of State shall support recipients' official travel to attend
a major global security conference to support the alignment of global
efforts advancing peace and security.
(e) Administration.--The Secretary of State shall--
(1) designate the Office of Global Women's Issues to
administer the Esther Coopersmith Award; and
(2) receive input regarding award recipients through an
award review panel composed of Assistant Secretaries of State
and Chiefs of Missions.
SEC. 5. MANDATORY TRAINING.
In accordance with section 6(a) of the Women, Peace and Security
Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2152j-2(a)), award recipients and honorable
mentions shall present their work virtually to--
(1) the Chiefs of Mission Conference; and
(2) at least 1 entry level training course (such as the A-
100 class) for incoming Foreign Service officers.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the Secretary of
State selects recipients pursuant to section 4, the Secretary shall
submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that
describes the efforts undertaken by the recipients to promote women's
roles in supporting peace and security.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall--
(1) describe United States' interests in resolving the
conflict, instability, or violence addressed by the recipients;
(2) describe the recipients' actions and resulting
outcomes, including those taken by a United States Mission,
Department of State bureau, foreign government, or other
stakeholders;
(3) assess areas for potential further action and lessons
learned; and
(4) identify steps to be taken by the Department of State
to replicate or carry forward work initiated by the award
recipient, if applicable.
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
This Act, and the amendment made by this Act, shall cease to have
any force or effect beginning on the date that is 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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