II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4476 

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 5, 2024 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. MERKLEY) 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. 

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 ‘‘State Department In5 tegrity and Transparency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING A PROFESSIONAL 

7 AND NONPARTISAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 


ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4476 IS

1 (1) the People’s Republic of China and other 

2 competitor nations are rapidly expanding their global 

3 diplomatic presences; and 

4 (2) it is imperative for United States national 

5 security that the Department of State is appro6 priately staffed by empowered, nonpartisan foreign 

7 policy professionals and thoroughly qualified and 

8 vetted political appointees, who work together to 

9 protect United States citizens and advance United 

10 States foreign policy interests. 

11 SEC. 3. ENHANCING THE PROFESSIONALISM OF ASSISTANT 

12 SECRETARIES OF STATE. 

13 (a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

14 304(a)(4) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

15 3944(a)(4)) is amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘or as an assistant secretary’’ 

17 after ‘‘chief of mission’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Each 

19 such report shall explain the source and extent of 

20 such nominee’s knowledge of the principal language 

21 or dialect of the country, region, or institution, as 

22 applicable, in which the nominee has been nominated 

23 to serve as chief of mission or assistant secretary 

24 and the manner and extent to which such nominee 

25 meets the criteria described in paragraph (1), parVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jul 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4476.IS S4476

ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4476 IS

1 ticularly with respect to the source and extent of 

2 such individual’s knowledge and understanding of 

3 the history, culture, economics, politics, and inter4 ests of the people of such country, region, or institu5 tion.’’. 

6 (b) HIRING REQUIREMENT.—Section 1(c)(1) of the 

7 State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 

8 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘, United States Code’’ after 

10 title 5; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Not 

12 fewer than 75 percent of the Assistant Secretaries in 

13 the Department of State shall have served in the 

14 Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Serv15 ice.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES REQUIRED WITH RE17 SPECT TO NOMINEES. 

18 Section 304(b)(3) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

19 (22 U.S.C. 3944(b)(3)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing: ‘‘(A) In this paragraph— 

22 ‘‘(i) the term ‘bundled contribution’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 304(i)(8)(A) of 

24 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

25 U.S.C. 30104(i)(8)(A)); 


ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4476 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘contribution’ has the meaning 

2 given such term in section 301(8) of the Federal 

3 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

4 30101(8)); and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘immediate family’ means— 

6 ‘‘(I) the spouse of the nominee; 

7 ‘‘(II) any child, parent, grandparent, 

8 brother, or sister of the nominee; and 

9 ‘‘(III) the spouse of any of the individuals 

10 described in subclause (II). 

11 ‘‘(B) Each’’; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by 

13 striking ‘‘The report’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) The report shall include the disclosure of all 

15 bundled contributions facilitated by the nominee during 

16 the period described in subparagraph (B), in accordance 

17 with section 304(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

18 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(i)), and’’; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘The chairman’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(D) The chairman’’; and 

22 (4) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by 

23 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Secretary of 

24 State shall publish each such report and each ‘Cer25 tificate of Competency’ issued pursuant to subVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jul 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4476.IS S4476

ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4476 IS

1 section (a)(4) on a publicly available website of the 

2 Department of State.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOR4 EIGN SERVICE ACT OF 1980. 

5 Section 304(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, 

6 as amended by section 3(a), is further amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(5) The President shall certify to the Committee on 

9 Foreign Relations of the Senate that— 

10 ‘‘(A) any individual nominated to be a chief of 

11 mission meets the qualifications required under 

12 paragraph (1); and 

13 ‘‘(B) any contributions made by any such indi14 vidual or family member, whether or not included in 

15 the report described in paragraph (4), played no role 

16 in such nomination.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON OVERSEAS PLACEMENT OF SPE18 CIAL APPOINTMENT POSITIONS THAT DO 

19 NOT EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT AUTHORITY. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that all officials of the United States Government 

22 offered to receive diplomatic accreditation from a foreign 

23 nation should be thoroughly vetted and reviewed for quali24 fication before— 


ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4476 IS

1 (1) being authorized to represent the United 

2 States Government at sensitive postings overseas; or 

3 (2) receiving taxpayer-funded salaries, allow4 ances, and employment benefits in connection with 

5 such a posting. 

6 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1(j)(2) of the State 

8 Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 

9 U.S.C. 2651a(j)) is amended— 

10 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), 

11 (B), and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), re12 spectively, and moving such clauses, as redesig13 nated, 2 ems to the right; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘The President’’; and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—All special appoint19 ments under subparagraph (A), and all posi20 tions described in schedule B or schedule C of 

21 subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Fed22 eral Regulations, to a United States diplomatic 

23 mission may not exceed 90 days. An individual 

24 may not be appointed to more than 1 position 


ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4476 IS

1 described in this paragraph during a single cal2 endar year.’’. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

4 by this subsection shall take effect on January 1, 

5 2025. 

Æ 


ugoodwin on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS