II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1220 

To establish the position of Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2023 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. KAINE, 

Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. 

RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the position of Special Envoy to the Pacific 

Islands Forum. 

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 ‘‘U.S. and Pacific Is5 lands Forum Partnership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Pacific Islands Forum (referred to in 

9 this Act as ‘‘PIF’’) was established in 1971. 


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1 (2) PIF is committed to accelerating economic 

2 growth, social progress, cultural development, and 

3 regional peace and stability. 

4 (3) The United States is committed to a free 

5 and open Indo-Pacific and to peace, security, and 

6 prosperity in the region. 

7 (4) The United States seeks to maintain and 

8 further develop a constructive and cordial relation9 ship with PIF and its member nations, including the 

10 Freely Associated States (the Marshall Islands, Mi11 cronesia, and Palau), which have special economic 

12 and security ties with the United States. 

13 (5) The United States seeks to contribute to re14 gional stability in the Pacific region through assist15 ance efforts to combat illegal fishing, enhance mari16 time security, build resilient infrastructure, and pro17 mote sound, just, and responsive governance within 

18 the Pacific region to empower citizens, help combat 

19 corruption, and strengthen nations’ autonomy. 

20 (6) The Smaller Island States of PIF (the Cook 

21 Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

22 Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, 

23 and Tuvalu) are the most vulnerable of PIF coun24 tries. 


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1 (7) Increased United States diplomatic engage2 ment and developmental assistance can help alleviate 

3 the vulnerabilities linked to the small size of the 

4 Smaller Island States, their lack of natural re5 sources, remoteness, and across the PIF region, by 

6 addressing the range of development challenges that 

7 limit their capacity to ensure democratic, economic, 

8 and environmental resilience and long-term sustain9 able development. 

10 (8) It is in the long-term interest of the United 

11 States to maintain and expand a relationship with 

12 PIF and its member nations. 

13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) the United States must increase its diplo16 matic activity and presence in the Pacific, particu17 larly among Pacific Island nations; and 

18 (2) the Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands 

19 Forum— 

20 (A) should coordinate policies across the 

21 Pacific region with like-minded democracies; 

22 and 

23 (B) should have a direct line to the Presi24 dent and the Secretary of State to communicate 


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1 regarding the unique and particular needs of 

2 Pacific partner nations. 

3 SEC. 4. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM. 

4 Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities 

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

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(n) SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

8 FORUM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap10 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

11 Senate, a qualified individual to serve as Special 

12 Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum (referred to in 

13 this section as the ‘Special Envoy’). The Special 

14 Envoy may not concurrently serve as a United 

15 States Ambassador to an individual country. 

16 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Special Envoy shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) represent the United States in its role 

18 as dialogue partner to the Pacific Islands 

19 Forum; and 

20 ‘‘(B) carry out such other duties as the 

21 President or the Secretary of State may pre22 scribe.’’. 

23 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a 


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1 report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen2 ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

3 of Representatives that describes how the Department of 

4 State will increase its ability to recruit and retain highly5 qualified ambassadors, special envoys, and other senior 

6 personnel in posts in Pacific island countries as the De7 partment expands its diplomatic footprint throughout the 

8 region. 

Æ 


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