II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3072 

To establish an Office of City and State Diplomacy within the Department 

of State, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 26, 2021 

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

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

A BILL 

To establish an Office of City and State 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 00:24 Oct 30, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3072.IS S3072

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3072 IS

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 and municipalities to play an increas8 ingly significant role in foreign policy and com9 plement the efforts of the Department of State by— 

10 (A) supporting exchanges and cooperation 

11 agreements between elected leaders and officials 

12 of State and municipal governments and those 

13 of international cities, regions, and countries; 

14 (B) promoting United States exports to 

15 foreign markets and foreign direct investment 

16 into the United States; and 

17 (C) sharing best practices and striking 

18 agreements with foreign counterparts on a wide 

19 range of topics, including facilitating trade and 

20 investment, protecting the health and safety of 

21 their respective citizens, cooperating on energy 

22 and the environment, and promoting people-to23 people exchanges. 

24 (3) Global networks made up exclusively of local 

25 government officials are at the forefront of harVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Oct 30, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3072.IS S3072

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3072 IS

1 nessing the power of cities to advance international 

2 cooperation, including C40 Cities Climate Leader3 ship Group, ICLEI, United Cities and Local Govern4 ments, Global Parliament of Mayors, Urban20, 

5 Strong Cities Network, and Global Compact of May6 ors. 

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

8 the first-ever special representative for Global Inter9 governmental Affairs, who led efforts to build stra10 tegic peer-to-peer relationships between the Depart11 ment of State, State and local officials, and their 

12 foreign counterparts. 

13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) it is in the interest of the United States to 

16 support robust two-way partnerships between the 

17 Department of State and subnational entities to ad18 vance United States foreign policy objectives, im19 prove understanding of United States diplomacy, 

20 and leverage Federal resources to enhance the im21 pact of subnational engagements; and 

22 (2) the creation in the Department of State of 

23 an Office of City and State Diplomacy, headed by a 

24 senior Department official of appropriate rank to 

25 represent the United States at international fora, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3072 IS

1 would bolster United States interests through inter2 national agreements and Federal support to State 

3 and local entities. 

4 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF CITY AND 

5 STATE DIPLOMACY. 

6 Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities 

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

8 the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(i) OFFICE OF CITY AND STATE DIPLOMACY.— 

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

11 within the Department of State an Office of City 

12 and State Diplomacy (in this subsection referred to 

13 as the ‘Office’). The Department may use a similar 

14 name at its discretion and upon notification to Con15 gress. 

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

17 shall be the Ambassador-at-Large for City and State 

18 Diplomacy (in this subsection referred to as the 

19 ‘Ambassador’) or other appropriate senior official. 

20 The head of the Office shall— 

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

22 with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 

23 ‘‘(B) report directly to the Secretary, or 

24 such other senior official as the Secretary deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Oct 30, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3072.IS S3072

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3072 IS

1 mines appropriate and upon notification to 

2 Congress. 

3 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.— 

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

5 duty of the head of the Office shall be the over6 all coordination (including policy oversight of 

7 resources) of Federal support for subnational 

8 engagements by State and municipal govern9 ments with foreign governments. The head of 

10 the Office shall be the principal adviser to the 

11 Secretary of State on subnational engagements 

12 and the principal official on such matters within 

13 the senior management of the Department of 

14 State. 

15 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The addi16 tional duties of the head of the Office shall in17 clude the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) Coordinating overall United 

19 States policy and programs in support of 

20 subnational engagements by State and mu21 nicipal governments with foreign govern22 ments, including with respect to the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(I) Coordinating resources 

25 across the Department of State and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3072 IS

1 throughout the Federal Government 

2 in support of such engagements. 

3 ‘‘(II) Identifying policy, program, 

4 and funding discrepancies among rel5 evant Federal agencies regarding such 

6 coordination. 

7 ‘‘(III) Identifying gaps in Fed8 eral support for such engagements 

9 and developing corresponding policy 

10 or programmatic changes to address 

11 such gaps. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Identifying areas of alignment 

13 between United States foreign policy and 

14 State and municipal goals. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Improving communication with 

16 the United States public, including, poten17 tially, communication that demonstrate the 

18 breadth of international engagement by 

19 subnational actors and the impact of diplo20 macy across the United States. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Providing advisory support to 

22 subnational engagements, including by as23 sisting State and municipal governments 

24 regarding— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3072 IS

1 ‘‘(I) developing and implementing 

2 global engagement and public diplo3 macy strategies; 

4 ‘‘(II) implementing programs to 

5 cooperate with foreign governments on 

6 policy priorities or managing shared 

7 resources; and 

8 ‘‘(III) understanding the implica9 tions of foreign policy developments or 

10 policy changes through regular and 

11 extraordinary briefings. 

12 ‘‘(v) Facilitating linkages and net13 works among State and municipal govern14 ments, and between State and municipal 

15 governments and their foreign counter16 parts, including by tracking subnational 

17 engagements and leveraging State and mu18 nicipal expertise. 

19 ‘‘(vi) Supporting the work of Depart20 ment of State detailees assigned to State 

21 and municipal governments pursuant to 

22 this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(vii) Under the direction of the Sec24 retary, negotiating agreements and memo25 randa of understanding with foreign govVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Oct 30, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3072.IS S3072

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3072 IS

1 ernments related to subnational engage2 ments and priorities. 

3 ‘‘(viii) Supporting United States eco4 nomic interests through subnational en5 gagements, in consultation and coordina6 tion with the Department of Commerce, 

7 the Department of the Treasury, and the 

8 Office of the United States Trade Rep9 resentative. 

10 ‘‘(ix) Coordinating subnational en11 gagements with the associations of sub12 national elected leaders, including the 

13 United States Conference of Mayors, Na14 tional Governors Association, National 

15 League of Cities, National Association of 

16 Counties, Council of State Governments, 

17 National Conference of State Legislators, 

18 and State International Development Or19 ganizations. 

20 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—With respect to matters 

21 involving trade promotion and inward investment fa22 cilitation, the Office shall coordinate with and sup23 port the International Trade Administration of the 

24 Department of Commerce as the lead Federal agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Oct 30, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3072.IS S3072

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3072 IS

1 cy for trade promotion and facilitation of business 

2 investment in the United States. 

3 ‘‘(5) DETAILEES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

5 State, with respect to employees of the Depart6 ment of State, is authorized to detail a member 

7 of the civil service or Foreign Service to State 

8 and municipal governments on a reimbursable 

9 or nonreimbursable basis. Such details shall be 

10 for a period not to exceed two years, and shall 

11 be without interruption or loss of status or 

12 privilege. 

13 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Detailees under 

14 subparagraph (A) should carry out the fol15 lowing responsibilities: 

16 ‘‘(i) Supporting the mission and objec17 tives of the host subnational government 

18 office. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Advising State and municipal 

20 government officials regarding questions of 

21 global affairs, foreign policy, cooperative 

22 agreements, and public diplomacy. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Coordinating activities relating 

24 to State and municipal government sub25 national engagements with the Department 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3072 IS

1 of State, including the Office, Department 

2 leadership, and regional and functional bu3 reaus of the Department, as appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(iv) Engaging Federal agencies re5 garding security, public health, trade pro6 motion, and other programs executed at 

7 the State or municipal government level. 

8 ‘‘(v) Any other duties requested by 

9 State and municipal governments and ap10 proved by the Office. 

11 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL SUPPORT

12 FOR SUBNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.—For the 

13 purposes of this subsection, the Secretary of 

14 State— 

15 ‘‘(i) is authorized to employ individ16 uals by contract; 

17 ‘‘(ii) is encouraged to make use of the 

18 re-hired annuitants authority under section 

19 3323 of title 5, United States Code, par20 ticularly for annuitants who are already re21 siding across the United States who may 

22 have the skills and experience to support 

23 subnational governments; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) is encouraged to make use of 

25 authorities under the Intergovernmental 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3072 IS

1 Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 et 

2 seq.) to temporarily assign State and local 

3 government officials to the Department of 

4 State or overseas missions to increase their 

5 international experience and add their per6 spectives on United States priorities to the 

7 Department. 

8 ‘‘(6) REPORT AND BRIEFING.— 

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

10 after the date of the enactment of this sub11 section, the head of the Office shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

13 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and 

14 the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

15 Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

16 Representatives a report that includes informa17 tion relating to the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) The staffing plan (including per19 manent and temporary staff) for the Office 

20 and a justification for the location of the 

21 Office within the Department of State’s or22 ganizational structure. 

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

24 Office for the Office, together with a jus25 tification relating to such level. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3072 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) The rank and title granted to 

2 the head of the Office, together with a jus3 tification relating to such decision and an 

4 analysis of whether the rank and title of 

5 Ambassador-at-Large is required to fulfill 

6 the duties of the Office. 

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

8 including relating to— 

9 ‘‘(I) leveraging subnational en10 gagement to improve United States 

11 foreign policy effectiveness; 

12 ‘‘(II) enhancing the awareness, 

13 understanding, and involvement of 

14 United States citizens in the foreign 

15 policy process; and 

16 ‘‘(III) better engaging with for17 eign subnational governments to 

18 strengthen diplomacy. 

19 ‘‘(v) Any other matters as determined 

20 relevant by the head of the Office. 

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 head of the Office shall brief the 

25 Committee on Foreign Relations and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Oct 30, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3072.IS S3072

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3072 IS

1 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

2 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Com3 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep4 resentatives on the work of the Office and any 

5 changes made to the organizational structure or 

6 funding of the Office. 

7 ‘‘(7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

8 this subsection may be construed as precluding— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Office from being elevated to a 

10 bureau within the Department of State; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the head of the Office from being ele12 vated to an Assistant Secretary, if such an As13 sistant Secretary position does not increase the 

14 number of Assistant Secretary positions at the 

15 Department above the number authorized under 

16 subsection (c)(1). 

17 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

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

19 means, with respect to the government of a mu20 nicipality in the United States, a municipality 

21 with a population of not fewer than 100,000 

22 people. 

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

24 50 States, the District of Columbia, and any 

25 territory or possession of the United States. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 3072 IS

1 ‘‘(C) SUBNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.—The 

2 term ‘subnational engagement’ means formal 

3 meetings or events between elected officials of 

4 State or municipal governments and their for5 eign counterparts.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS