SenateS. 4719119th Congress
State Department Integrity and Transparency Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4719 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4719
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 9, 2026
Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Schiff)
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) detailed knowledge and requisite experience formulating
and executing United States foreign policy, including having a
working understanding of Department of State operations and
procedures, is vital for Chiefs of Mission, Assistant
Secretaries of State, and other senior officials at the
Department of State--
(A) to successfully advance United States national
security; and
(B) for managing the Federal workforce in order to
effectively assert and expand United States
competitiveness and leadership abroad;
(2) the People's Republic of China and other competitor
nations are rapidly expanding their global diplomatic
presences; and
(3) it is imperative 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 PREPAREDNESS OF ASSISTANT SECRETARIES OF STATE
AND CHIEFS OF MISSION.
(a) 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.''.
(b) 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 report on
the demonstrated competence of a nominee 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 and any relevant
business interests such nominee has in such country, region, or
institution.''.
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--
(A) by striking ``As used in this paragraph'' and
all that follows and inserting the following: ``The
Secretary of State shall publish each such report and
each `Certificate of Competency' issued pursuant to
subsection (a)(5) 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(b), 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 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 made
pursuant to 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, 2029.
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