II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4899 

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study 

to evaluate the activities of sister city partnerships operating within 

the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 

Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. RUBIO) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to 

conduct a study to evaluate the activities of sister city 

partnerships operating within the United States, 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 ‘‘Sister City Trans5 parency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Health, Education, 

7 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Armed Services of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

11 the House of Representatives; 

12 (E) the Committee on Education and 

13 Labor of the House of Representatives; and 

14 (F) the Committee on Armed Services of 

15 the House of Representatives. 

16 (2) FOREIGN COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘foreign 

17 community’’ means any subnational unit of govern18 ment outside of the United States. 

19 (3) SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIP.—The term 

20 ‘‘sister city partnership’’ means a formal agreement 

21 between a United States community and a foreign 

22 community that— 

23 (A) is recognized by Sister Cities Inter24 national; and 

25 (B) is operating within the United States. 


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1 (4) UNITED STATES COMMUNITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘United States community’’ means a State, county, 

3 city, or other unit of local government in the United 

4 States. 

5 SEC. 3. STUDY OF SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIPS OPERATING 

6 WITHIN THE UNITED STATES INVOLVING 

7 FOREIGN COMMUNITIES IN COUNTRIES WITH 

8 SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC SECTOR CORRUPTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

10 United States shall conduct a study of the activities of 

11 sister city partnerships involving foreign communities in 

12 countries receiving a score of 45 or less on Transparency 

13 International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index. 

14 (b) ELEMENTS OF THE STUDY.—The study con15 ducted under subsection (a) shall— 

16 (1) identify— 

17 (A) the activities conducted within sister 

18 city partnerships; 

19 (B) the economic and educational out20 comes of such activities; 

21 (C) the types of information that sister 

22 city partnerships make publicly available, in23 cluding information relating to contracts and 

24 activities; 


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1 (D) the means by which United States 

2 communities safeguard freedom of expression 

3 within sister city partnerships; and 

4 (E) the oversight practices that United 

5 States communities implement to mitigate the 

6 risks of foreign espionage and economic coer7 cion within sister city partnerships; 

8 (2) assess— 

9 (A) the extent to which United States com10 munities ensure transparency regarding sister 

11 city partnership contracts and activities; 

12 (B) the extent to which sister city partner13 ships involve economic arrangements that make 

14 United States communities vulnerable to malign 

15 market practices; 

16 (C) the extent to which sister city partner17 ships involve educational arrangements that di18 minish the freedom of expression; 

19 (D) the extent to which sister city partner20 ships allow foreign nationals to access local 

21 commercial, educational, and political institu22 tions; 

23 (E) the extent to which foreign commu24 nities could use sister city partnerships to real25 ize strategic objectives which do not conduce to 


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1 the economic and national security interests of 

2 the United States; 

3 (F) the extent to which foreign commu4 nities could use sister city partnerships to con5 duct malign activities, including academic and 

6 industrial espionage; and 

7 (G) the extent to which United States com8 munities seek to mitigate foreign nationals’ po9 tentially inappropriate use of visa programs to 

10 participate in activities relating to sister city 

11 partnerships; and 

12 (3) review— 

13 (A) the range of activities conducted within 

14 sister city partnerships, including activities re15 lating to cultural exchange and economic devel16 opment; 

17 (B) how such activities differ between sis18 ter city partnerships; and 

19 (C) best practices to ensure transparency 

20 regarding sister city partnerships’ agreements, 

21 activities, and employees. 

22 (c) REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

24 after initiating the study required under subsection 

25 (a), the Comptroller General shall submit a report to 


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1 the appropriate congressional committees that con2 tains the results of such study, including the find3 ings, conclusions, and recommendations (if any) of 

4 the study. 

5 (2) FORM.—The report required under para6 graph (1) may include a classified annex, if nec7 essary. 

Æ 


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