S. 4719

[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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