II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4426 

To establish an Office of Subnational Diplomacy within the Department 

of State, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 4, 2020 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Mr. PERDUE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of Subnational Diplomacy within the 

Department of State, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘City and State Diplo5 macy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The supremacy clause of the United States 

9 Constitution (article VI, clause 2) establishes that 

10 the Federal Government has the primary role in conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4426.IS S4426

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1 ducting diplomacy on behalf of the United States; in 

2 turn, the Department of State, which was created 

3 pursuant to statute by Congress in 1789, has the 

4 lead role in formulating and implementing United 

5 States foreign policy. 

6 (2) The growth of subnational cooperation has 

7 enabled States, counties, and municipalities to play 

8 an increasingly significant role in foreign policy and 

9 complement the efforts of the Department of State 

10 by— 

11 (A) supporting exchanges and cooperation 

12 agreements between elected leaders and officials 

13 of State, county, and municipal governments 

14 and those of international cities, regions, and 

15 countries; 

16 (B) promoting United States exports to 

17 foreign markets and foreign direct investment 

18 into the United States; and 

19 (C) sharing best practices and striking 

20 agreements with foreign counterparts on a wide 

21 range of topics, including facilitating trade and 

22 investment, protecting the health and safety of 

23 their respective citizens, cooperating on energy 

24 and the environment, and promoting people-to25 people exchanges. 


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1 (3) Global networks made up exclusively of local 

2 government officials are at the forefront of har3 nessing the power of cities to advance international 

4 cooperation. 

5 (4) In 2010, the Department of State appointed 

6 the first-ever Special Representative for Global 

7 Intergovernmental Affairs, who led efforts to build 

8 strategic peer-to-peer relationships between the De9 partment of State, State and local officials, and 

10 their foreign counterparts. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that it is in the interest 

13 of the United States to promote subnational engagements, 

14 align such engagements with national foreign policy objec15 tives, and leverage Federal resources to enhance the im16 pact of such engagements. 

17 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF SUBNATIONAL 

18 DIPLOMACY. 

19 Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities 

20 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended by adding at 

21 the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(h) OFFICE OF SUBNATIONAL DIPLOMACY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established 

24 within the Department of State an Office of SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4426.IS S4426

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1 national Diplomacy (in this subsection referred to as 

2 the ‘Office’). 

3 ‘‘(2) HEAD OF OFFICE.—The head of the Office 

4 shall be the Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational 

5 Diplomacy (in this subsection referred to as the 

6 ‘Ambassador’). The Ambassador shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the President, by and 

8 with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 

9 ‘‘(B) report directly to the Under Sec10 retary for Political Affairs. 

11 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) PRINCIPAL DUTY.—The principal 

13 duty of the Ambassador shall be the overall su14 pervision (including policy oversight of re15 sources) of Federal support for subnational en16 gagements by State, county, and municipal gov17 ernments with foreign governments. The Am18 bassador shall be the principal adviser to the 

19 Secretary of State on subnational engagements 

20 and the principal official on such matters within 

21 the senior management of the Department of 

22 State. 

23 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The addi24 tional duties of the Ambassador shall include 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Coordinating overall United 

2 States policy and programs in support of 

3 subnational engagements by State and mu4 nicipal governments with foreign govern5 ments, including with respect to the fol6 lowing activities: 

7 ‘‘(I) Coordinating resources 

8 across the Department of State and 

9 throughout the Federal Government 

10 in support of such engagements. 

11 ‘‘(II) Identifying policy, program, 

12 and funding disputes among relevant 

13 Federal agencies regarding such co14 ordination. 

15 ‘‘(III) Identifying gaps in Fed16 eral support for such engagements 

17 and developing corresponding policy 

18 or programmatic changes to address 

19 such gaps. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Promoting United States foreign 

21 policy goals through support for sub22 national engagements and aligning sub23 national priorities with national foreign 

24 policy goals, as appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Maintaining a public database of 

2 subnational engagements. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Providing advisory support to 

4 subnational engagements, including by as5 sisting State, county, and municipal gov6 ernments to— 

7 ‘‘(I) develop, implement, and, as 

8 necessary, adjust global engagement 

9 and public diplomacy strategies, par10 ticularly for States and cities with 

11 limited international outreach staff; 

12 ‘‘(II) implement programs to co13 operate with foreign governments on 

14 policy priorities or managing shared 

15 resources; and 

16 ‘‘(III) understand the implica17 tions of foreign policy developments or 

18 policy changes through regular and 

19 extraordinary briefings. 

20 ‘‘(v) Facilitating linkages and net21 works between State and municipal govern22 ments and their foreign counterparts, in23 cluding leveraging of State and municipal 

24 government expertise in United States for25 eign assistance programming. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Overseeing the work of Depart2 ment of State detailees assigned to State 

3 and municipal governments pursuant to 

4 this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Negotiating agreements and 

6 memoranda of understanding with foreign 

7 governments to support subnational en8 gagements and priorities. 

9 ‘‘(viii) Promoting United States trade 

10 and foreign exports on behalf of United 

11 States businesses through exchanges be12 tween the United States and foreign state, 

13 municipal, and provincial governments, de14 veloping resource lists for subnational ac15 tors’ international outreach, creating a 

16 platform for subnational actors and small 

17 and medium businesses to request support 

18 or submit feedback, and by establishing a 

19 more enduring relationship overall between 

20 subnational governments. 

21 ‘‘(ix) Promoting public health and 

22 public safety areas like road safety, 

23 through exchanges between the United 

24 States and foreign state, municipal, and 

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1 ture best practices and assure future plan2 ning, and by establishing enduring rela3 tionship between subnational governments. 

4 ‘‘(x) Coordinating subnational engage5 ments with the associations of subnational 

6 elected leaders, including the United States 

7 Conference of Mayors, National Governors 

8 Association, National League of Cities, Na9 tional Association of Counties, Council of 

10 State Governments, National Conference of 

11 State Legislators, and State International 

12 Development Offices. 

13 ‘‘(4) STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL FEL14 LOWS PROGRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the Fellowship 

16 Program, the Secretary of State, acting through 

17 the Ambassador, is authorized to detail no 

18 fewer than 30 total Foreign Service officers and 

19 members of the civil service each year to State, 

20 county, and municipal governments on a reim21 bursable or nonreimbursable basis. Such details 

22 shall be for a period not to exceed two years, 

23 and shall be without interruption or loss of For24 eign Service or civil service status or privilege. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Detailees under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall carry out the following 

3 duties: 

4 ‘‘(i) Supporting the mission and objec5 tives of the Office. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Coordinating activities relating to 

7 State and municipal government sub8 national engagements with the Department 

9 of State, including the Office, Department 

10 leadership, and regional and functional bu11 reaus of the Department, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Engaging the Department of 

13 State and other Federal agencies regarding 

14 security, public health, trade promotion, 

15 and other programs executed at the State 

16 or municipal government level. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Advising State and municipal 

18 government officials regarding questions of 

19 global affairs, foreign policy, cooperative 

20 agreements, and public diplomacy. 

21 ‘‘(v) Any other duties requested by 

22 State and municipal governments and ap23 proved by the Office. 

24 ‘‘(5) REPORT AND BRIEFING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REPORT.—Not later than one year 

2 after the date of the enactment of this sub3 section, the Ambassador shall submit to the 

4 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

5 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives a report that includes 

7 information relating to the following matters: 

8 ‘‘(i) The staffing plan (including per9 manent and temporary staff) for the Of10 fice. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The funding level provided to the 

12 Office for the Office, together with a jus13 tification relating to such level. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The status of filling the position 

15 of Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational 

16 Diplomacy. 

17 ‘‘(iv) A strategic plan for the Office, 

18 including— 

19 ‘‘(I) how to better integrate 

20 United States cities, counties, and 

21 States into United States foreign pol22 icy, such as through the provision of 

23 trainers; 

24 ‘‘(II) how partnerships with sub25 national entities can enhance citizen 


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1 involvement in the foreign policy mak2 ing process; and 

3 ‘‘(III) how partnerships can be 

4 used to increase public understanding 

5 and awareness of United States diplo6 matic efforts. 

7 ‘‘(v) A plan for better targeting for8 eign subnational governments through 

9 State and United States Agency for Inter10 national Development foreign assistance 

11 and diplomatic engagement, including an 

12 assessment of existing efforts and best 

13 practices, recommendations for expansion 

14 and new initiatives to better leverage sub15 national governments to improve United 

16 States foreign policy effectiveness including 

17 public diplomacy, and emphasizing govern18 ance and public health. 

19 ‘‘(vi) Any other matters as determined 

20 relevant by the Ambassador. 

21 ‘‘(B) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 30 days 

22 after the submission of the report required 

23 under subparagraph (A), and annually there24 after, the Ambassador shall brief the Committee 

25 on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 


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1 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

2 Representatives on the work of the Office and 

3 any changes made to the organizational struc4 ture or funding of the Office. 

5 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

6 ‘‘(A) MUNICIPAL.—The term ‘municipal’ 

7 means, with respect to the government of a mu8 nicipality, a municipality with a population of 

9 not fewer than 100,000 people. 

10 ‘‘(B) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means the 

11 50 States, the District of Columbia, and any 

12 territory or possession of the United States. 

13 ‘‘(C) SUBNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.—The 

14 term ‘subnational engagement’ means formal 

15 meetings or events between elected officials of 

16 State or municipal governments and their for17 eign counterparts.’’. 

Æ 


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