State Department Integrity and Transparency Act

[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.

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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

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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. <all>