BEST Ambassadors Act

To require additional disclosures with respect to nominees to serve as chiefs of missions, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Bolstering the Effectiveness, Success, and Transparency of Ambassadors Act BEST Ambassadors Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The Foreign Service Act of 1980 ( Public Law 96–465 An individual appointed or assigned to be a chief of mission should possess clearly demonstrated competence to perform the duties of a chief of mission, including, to the maximum extent practicable, a useful knowledge of the principal language or dialect of the country in which the individual is to serve, and knowledge and understanding of the history, the culture, the economic and political institutions, and the interests of that country and its people positions as chief of mission should normally be accorded to career members of the [Foreign] Service. (2) The percentage of ambassadorships filled by political appointees has increased over the past 40 years. During President Jimmy Carter’s term, between 1977 and 1981, about 26 percent of ambassadorships were filled by political appointees. During President Ronald Reagan’s terms, between 1981 and 1989, about 38 percent were. More recently, under President Barack Obama, about 30 percent of ambassadors were political appointees, while about 43 percent were under President Donald J. Trump as of September 14, 2020. (3) The United States practice of appointing political ambassadors is atypical globally. According to a 2017 University of Texas at Austin study, At the senior level, the United States is an extreme outlier among foreign services in the number of political appointees as ambassadors, even in key posts. (4) Political appointees are not necessarily unsuccessful ambassadors. According to the 2017 University of Texas study, there have been highly accomplished political appointees who have been superb ambassadors. there have been many more patronage appointees with no relevant qualifications, having been chosen principally for their support in presidential election campaigns. Contrast these U.S. ambassadors with their counterparts from other countries, who typically speak several languages, are well versed in the country to which they are assigned and are career professionals with extensive knowledge of their home ministries. (5) The Foreign Service Act of 1980 states, Contributions to political campaigns should not be a factor in the appointment of an individual as a chief of mission. (6) To ensure the United States has the best representation possible abroad, it will be necessary to preserve the option to appoint political ambassadors while enacting safeguards to ensure these appointees are nominated because of their qualifications, not their campaign contributions. 3. Additional disclosures required with respect to nominees Section 304 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 ( 22 U.S.C. 3944 (1) In paragraph (4) of subsection (a), by adding at the end the following new sentence: If, as of the date of the submission of such report, such individual has not served as a career member of the Service, the President shall also include in such report a justification explaining whether a career member is available to fill such position and the manner and extent to which the nominee is nevertheless uniquely qualified to serve in such position. (2) In paragraph (2) of subsection (b)— (A) by striking fourth calendar year tenth calendar year (B) by inserting and the Secretary of State shall publish each such report and each Certificate of Competency Congressional Record (3) At the end of subsection (b), by adding the following new paragraphs: (3) With respect to each nomination for an individual to be a chief of mission, the President shall certify to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that any campaign contributions made by the nominee or members of his or her immediate family, whether or not included in the report described in paragraph (2), played no role in such nomination. (4) Each individual nominated by the President to be a chief of mission shall include in his or her statement to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate an explanation of the manner and extent to which such individual meets the criteria described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), including the source and extent of such individual’s knowledge and understanding of the history, culture, economic and political institutions, and interests of the people of such country, and level of familiarity with the country’s principal language or dialect, including, if relevant, the scores received in speaking and reading examinations taken at the Foreign Service Institute for that language. .

Summary: Bolstering the Effectiveness, Success, and Transparency of Ambassadors Act or the BEST Ambassadors Act This bill expands disclosure requirements for individuals nominated to serve as an ambassador or in a related position. If the President's nominee to serve as a chief of mission is not a career member of the Foreign Service, the President must provide to Congress a justification explaining whether a career member was available and why the nominee is uniquely qualified to serve in the position. The President must certify that any campaign contributions made by an individual (or the individual's immediate family members) played no role in the decision to nominate the individual to serve as a chief of mission. The nominee must also provide to Congress an explanation concerning how the nominee meets the criteria for performing the position's duties. A nominee to serve as a chief of mission, ambassador at large, or minister must report to Congress political contributions made by the individual or immediate family members in the 10 calendar years preceding the nomination (currently, the report only requires reporting of contributions from the preceding 4 calendar years). The Department of State must make this information available on its public website.