I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2724 
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study 
to evaluate the activities of sister city partnerships operating within 
the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 19, 2023 
Mr. ROY (for himself and Mr. CRENSHAW) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to 
conduct a study to evaluate the activities of sister city 
partnerships operating within the United States, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sister City Trans-
parency Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate; 
(B) the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 
(C) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the Senate; 
(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives; 
(E) the Committee on Education and 
Labor of the House of Representatives; and 
(F) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the House of Representatives. 
(2) FOREIGN COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘foreign 
community’’ means any subnational unit of govern-
ment outside of the United States. 
(3) SISTER
CITY
PARTNERSHIP.—The term 
‘‘sister city partnership’’ means a formal agreement 
between a United States community and a foreign 
community that— 
(A) is recognized by Sister Cities Inter-
national; and 
(B) is operating within the United States. 
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(4) UNITED
STATES
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘‘United States community’’ means a State, county, 
city, or other unit of local government in the United 
States. 
SEC. 3. STUDY OF SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIPS OPERATING 
WITHIN THE UNITED STATES INVOLVING 
FOREIGN COMMUNITIES IN COUNTRIES WITH 
SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC SECTOR CORRUPTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study of the activities of 
sister city partnerships involving foreign communities in 
countries receiving a score of 45 or less on Transparency 
International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index. 
(b) ELEMENTS
OF
THE STUDY.—The study con-
ducted under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) identify— 
(A) the criteria by which foreign commu-
nities identify United States communities as 
candidates for sister city partnerships, including 
themes with respect to the prominent economic 
activities and demographics of such United 
States communities; 
(B) the activities conducted within sister 
city partnerships; 
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(D) the extent to which sister city partner-
ships allow foreign nationals to access local 
commercial, educational, and political institu-
tions; 
(E) the extent to which foreign commu-
nities could use sister city partnerships to real-
ize strategic objectives that do not conduce to 
the economic and national security interests of 
the United States; 
(F) the extent to which sister city partner-
ships could enable or otherwise contribute to 
foreign communities’ malign activities globally, 
including activities relating to human rights 
abuses and academic and industrial espionage; 
and 
(G) the extent to which United States com-
munities seek to mitigate foreign nationals’ po-
tentially inappropriate use of visa programs to 
participate in activities relating to sister city 
partnerships; and 
(3) review— 
(A) the range of activities conducted within 
sister city partnerships, including activities re-
lating to cultural exchange and economic devel-
opment; 
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(B) how such activities differ between sis-
ter city partnerships; and 
(C) best practices to ensure transparency 
regarding sister city partnerships’ agreements, 
activities, and employees. 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 
after initiating the study required under subsection 
(a), the Comptroller General shall submit a report to 
the appropriate congressional committees that con-
tains the results of such study, including the find-
ings, conclusions, and recommendations (if any) of 
the study. 
(2) FORM.—The report required under para-
graph (1) may include a classified annex, if nec-
essary. 
Æ 
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