```

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5404 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5404

    To direct the Secretary of State to host regular Summits of the 
                   Americas, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2024

Mr. Hickenlooper (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. Bennet) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To direct the Secretary of State to host regular Summits of the 
                   Americas, 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 ``Summit of the Americas Act''.

SEC. 2. SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS AND RELATED MATTERS.

    (a) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United 
States to work with the Summit of the Americas Secretariat to support 
the organization of a Summit of the Americas every four years, or more 
frequently as appropriate, subject to the availability of funds, to 
strengthen ties and promote cooperation between the United States and 
countries in the Western Hemisphere, as well as civil society, 
business, diaspora, women, and youth leaders.
    (b) Authorization.--The Secretary of State is authorized to carry 
out the policy described in subsection (a).
    (c) Cities Summit of the Americas.--
            (1) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
                    (A) Subnational diplomacy strengthens democratic 
                governance by enhancing local leaders' ability to 
                tackle shared challenges, and deepens United States 
                ties with regional partners by localizing bilateral and 
                multilateral partnerships and connections.
                    (B) The first-ever Cities Summit of the Americas in 
                2023 promoted a valuable exchange of best practices and 
                lessons learned between city, State, municipal, and 
                regional leaders and should be held as part of the 
                Summit of the Americas process.
            (2) In general.--The Secretary of State is authorized to 
        work with the Summit of the Americas Secretariat to support the 
        organization of one Cities Summit of the Americas, across 
        cities in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, 
        to take place as a part of each Summit of the Americas 
        described in subsection (a), to promote subnational cooperation 
        and serve as a catalyst in fostering engagement with 
        representatives of government, civil society, faith-based 
        organizations, business, academia, youth, culture and the arts, 
        Latin American and Caribbean diaspora communities, and 
        underrepresented groups.
    (d) Summit of the Americas Implementation Unit.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State is authorized to 
        designate an existing official to serve within the Department 
        of State as senior-level coordinator to coordinate, in 
        conjunction with other relevant agencies, matters related to 
        the implementation of Summit of Americas commitments, including 
        tracking and ensuring implementation of commitments made during 
        Summits of the Americas.
            (2) Duties.--The duties of the coordinator designated 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) include--
                    (A) tracking and ensuring implementation of 
                commitments made during Summits of the Americas; and
                    (B) liaising with interagency partners and the 
                National Security Council regarding implementation of 
                summit commitments.
    (e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the 
Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives a report on the implementation of this section, 
including the status of commitments of the United States and 
participating partners for the prior year and upcoming year.
                                 <all>
```