zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Peace Corps Volunteer Service Improvement Act of 2011 - Requires the Director of the Peace Corps to establish a process for volunteers to make confidential reports of rape or sexual assault. Subjects any Peace Corps volunteer or member who breaches a duty of confidentiality regarding such a report to disciplinary action, including termination. Requires the Director to enter into with the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, and requires the Inspector of the Peace Corps to review, a memorandum of understanding that specifies the duties and obligations of the Peace Corps and the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security regarding the protection of Peace Corps volunteers and staff members serving in foreign countries. Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of Peace Corps funds for volunteers' invitations for service or to deploy trainees overseas if such agreement has not entered into force within nine months after enactment of this Act, unless the Director certifies that: (1) significant progress is being made toward finalizing such memorandum, and (2) the Peace Corps is using best efforts to provide volunteers with the training, support, and information they need to stay safe. Exempts such Inspector General and officers and employees of the Inspector General's Office from certain length of appointment, reappointment, and reassignment limitations applicable to the Foreign Service. Requires the Director to: (1) annually submit a report on the safety of Peace Corps volunteers; and (2) perform, at least once every three years, a review to evaluate the allocation and delivery of resources across the countries the Peace Corps serves. Requires the Inspector General to perform an audit every five years of Peace Corps implementation of safety and security protocols.

Date: 2011-07-29
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Foreign Service Line of Duty Death Gratuity Act of 2011 - Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to provide increased group life insurance benefits for a Foreign Service or government executive branch employee killed in a location designated as a danger pay post. Directs the Secretary of State to provide a specified death gratuity payment to the surviving dependents of a Foreign Service or a government executive branch employee serving at a U.S. diplomatic or consular mission abroad without a regular salary who was killed in the August 7, 1998, bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Authorizes appropriations for such payments.

Date: 2011-09-09
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Limiting the Intrusive Miles of International Terrorist Sponsors Act of 2011 or LIMITS Act of 2011 - Directs the President to restrict to a specified designated area the travel of officials and representatives of countries that are designated as state sponsors of terrorism who are visiting the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters complex in connection with official business. Authorizes presidential waiver of such restriction upon submission of a report to Congress explaining why it is in the national interest to do so. Excludes from such restriction: (1) direct travel to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport or LaGuardia Airport to the designated area in connection with official business at the U.N. headquarters complex, (2) land travel to and from any lodgings or other hotel accommodations in which an official or representative is staying if such lodging or other hotel accommodation is within the designated area, and (3) travel to and from New York University medical center or Bellevue Hospital Center for emergency medical care.

Date: 2011-10-03
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Equitable Treatment for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act - Directs the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to: (1) determine the validity and amount of plaintiff claims for loss of wages and other property in the case Bruce D. Abbott et al. v. Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, (2) publish notice in the Federal Register of the time within which such claims may be filed, and (3) consider such claims as soon as practicable after filing. Requires such claims to be paid from the appropriate Treasury fund before any corporate claims are paid from such fund.

Date: 2011-12-16
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 - Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the Secretary of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide for the preparation and dissemination of information intended for foreign audiences abroad about the United States, including about its people, its history, and the federal government's policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and other information media, including social media, and through information centers and instructors. (Under current law such authority is restricted to information disseminated abroad, with a limited domestic exception.) Authorizes the Secretary and the Board to make available in the United States motion pictures, films, video, audio, and other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad pursuant to such Act, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, or the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act. Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 to prohibit funds for the Department of State or the Board from being used to influence public opinion or propagandizing in the United States. (Under current law such provision applies to the United States Information Agency [USIA].) Applies such prohibition only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act. States that such provision shall: (1) not prohibit the Department or the Board from providing information about its operations, policies, programs, or program material, or making such information available to members of the media, public, or Congress; (2) not be construed to prohibit the Department from engaging in any medium of information on a presumption that a U.S. domestic audience may be exposed to program material; and (3) apply only to the Department and the Board and to no other federal department or agency.

Date: 2012-05-10
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Justice for Imprisoned Americans Overseas Act of 2012 or Jacob's Law of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of State to submit a semiannnual report to Congress for five years that identifies: (1) U.S. citizens imprisoned in foreign countries whose fundamental due process and human rights are being violated, (2) the due process and human rights violations that are being committed against such U.S. citizens, and (3) the government officials who are responsible for such violations or who are not fulfilling their official responsibility to protect such rights. Prohibits the Secretary of State from issuing any visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from permitting entry to the United States of, any such identified official, as well as any immediate family members of such official. Makes such ban permanent if an identified U.S. citizen dies while in foreign custody.

Date: 2012-08-02
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
False Travel Documents Prohibition Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the production, transfer, possession, and use of false travel documents. Directs the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Transportation Security [sic] to provide recurring training to transportation security officers on methods to identify false travel documents and false identification documents.

Date: 7/6/2011
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Cleaning Up Congress by Providing Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act - Amends the Mutual Security Act of 1954 to revise requirements with respect to the availability, use, and reporting of foreign currency by Members and employees of Congress. Requires a review by current authorizing officials of specified travel-related information before approval or denial of any foreign travel authorization or appropriated dollar expenditures in connection with it. Requires each Member or employee provided a per diem to: (1) take necessary actions to reduce costs incurred for such travel, and (2) return to the appropriate chamber any unexpended per diem at the conclusion of the travel, which shall be used for deficit reduction. Prohibits, unless authorized by the appropriate chamber, the receipt of federal funds (including foreign currencies made available under this Act) by any Member of either chamber who is retiring or has been defeated for re-election in a primary. Applies such foreign travel restrictions also to Member's employees, elected officers of both chambers, and committee employees whose employment will terminate at the end of a Congress. Exempts from such restrictions travel to a military installation or a theater of operations of the Armed Forces. Allows a Member or employee to obtain a waiver of such travel restrictions by the authorizing officials. Requires the chair of each congressional committee and joint committee to prepare and forward to the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate a consolidated report specifying foreign travel taken by committee Members or employees,which shall be made available on the official public websites of the Clerk and of the Secretary. Authorizes the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence or the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in his or her discretion, to omit from the consolidated report any information that would identify the foreign countries in which Members and employees of that Committee traveled. Prescribes and/or revises requirements for Member and employee travel reports. Requires the Comptroller General to study the amount of appropriated funds for official foreign travel by Members, officers, and employees of both chambers, and make recommendations for determining the funding level for such travel which will promote transparency and cost savings.

Date: 2011-03-01
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Congress
Passport Identity Verification Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider, for data sharing purposes only, that when Department of State personnel authorized by the Secretary of State to grant, refuse, revoke, deny, or adjudicate U.S. passports are lawfully engaged in authorized data sharing activities regarding such passport activities, those activities shall be considered law enforcement activities involving the administration of criminal justice. Considers such Department personnel to be engaged in authorized data sharing activities when lawfully seeking to: (1) verify the identity of a passport applicant, (2) detect passport fraud, or (3) deny or revoke a passport. Directs the Secretary to promulgate implementing regulations regarding data sharing regulations, procedures, and policies. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study, and report to Congress, to determine: (1) if U.S. passport applicants or renewals should provide biometric identification information, and (2) if technology should be employed to verify identity documents.

Date: 2011-04-06
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Immigration
United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2011 - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish within the Department of State an Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.

Date: 2011-06-16
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
International Travelers Bill of Rights Act of 2011 - Requires an individual or entity that operates a website that provides access to international travel services to provide to consumers information regarding the health and safety risks associated with overseas vacation destinations marketed on such website, including: (1) information compiled by the Department of State that includes country-specific travel warnings and alerts; and (2) information on the availability of on site health and safety services at a destination, including the hours and days such services are available, or a disclaimer that such destination does not provide certain health and safety services or that information regarding such services is not available. Requires a website operator that does not possess information on a destination's health and safety services to request it from that destination. Grants the website operator immunity from liability relating to inaccurate or incomplete information if such information was provided by the destination and the operator published it without knowledge that it was inaccurate or incomplete. Treats a violation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to require the Secretary of State to: (1) collect and include in the database on overseas deaths of U.S. citizens from non-natural causes information on the name and address of the property where a death occurred, and (2) update the database not less frequently than once each month (currently, every six months) and to report such updated information to Congress.

Date: 2011-10-20
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Commerce
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act - Amends the federal judicial code with respect to denial of a foreign state's immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. or state courts (under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) in cases where rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue and that property (or any property exchanged for it) is: (1) present in the United States in connection with a commercial activity carried on by the foreign state in the United States; or (2) owned by an agency or instrumentality of the foreign state, and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States. Prohibits consideration as a commercial activity (excluded from jurisdictional immunity) any activity in the United States of a foreign state, or of any carrier, associated with a temporary exhibition or display if: (1) the work of art (or other object of cultural significance) in question is imported into the United States from any foreign country pursuant to an agreement for its temporary exhibit or display between a foreign state that is its owner or custodian and the United States or cultural or educational institutions within it; and (2) the President has determined, with notice in the Federal Register, that such work is culturally significant and its temporary exhibition or display is in the national interest. (Thus grants jurisdictional immunity to the foreign state and associated carrier for such works.) Denies application of this prohibition to cases in which: (1) the action filed is based upon a claim that the work was taken in Europe in violation of international law by the Nazi government of Germany or governments occupied, assisted, or allied by the Nazi government between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945; (2) the court determines that the activity associated with the exhibition or display is commercial; and (3) that determination is necessary for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the foreign state.

Date: 2012-03-20
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Law
Reducing Duplication Overseas Act of 2012 - Requires a federal agency that performs any foreign affairs functions and operates overseas to participate in the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services system for purposes of obtaining household furniture, furnishings, and appliance pools services, motor pool services, and management services unless such agency provides a detailed explanation that describes: (1) how such agency will provide the service outside the system, (2) the cost of the service, and (3) how providing the service outside the system will not increase overall costs. Requires such an agency to provide a detailed explanation certifying that the mission of the agency cannot be achieved by participation in the system. Requires the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services Executive Board to allow an agency to act as an alternative provider for administrative services at an overseas post in place of the system if the agency: (1) demonstratives that it can provide the administrative service more efficiently, and (2) agrees to provide the administrative service to all other International Cooperative Administrative Support Services customer agencies at the overseas post. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit a review of the system to specified congressional committees

Date: 2012-12-12
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Second Amendment Protection Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not adopt any treaty that poses a threat to national sovereignty or abridges the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, such as the right to bear arms, and should cease the provision of financial support to any entity that does so.

Prohibits the United States from providing any funding to the United Nations (U.N.) for a fiscal year unless the President certifies to Congress that the U.N. has not taken action to infringe on the rights of individuals in the United States to possess a firearm or ammunition, or abridge any of the other constitutionally protected rights of U.S. citizens.

Date: 2013-02-06
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2013 - Amends the Peace Corps Act to allow former volunteers or applicants for enrollment as a volunteer to use the seal, emblem, or name "Peace Corps" on death announcements, plaques, grave stones, or other grave markers.

Date: 2013-04-15
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Accountability Review Board Reform Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the effectiveness of Accountability Review Boards would be improved by increasing their independence from the Department of State.

Amends the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act regarding congressional notification of an Accountability Review Board's convening to include: (1) notification of the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and (2) disclosure of any individual employed at a grade not lower than FS-3 or GS-14 or any political appointee who is hired, assigned, or detailed to assist the Board.

Revises the appointment of the five Board members to provide that two members shall be appointed by the Secretary, two by the Chairperson of the Council of Inspectors General of Integrity and Efficiency, and one by the Director of National Intelligence.

States that to the maximum extent practicable individuals assisting a Board shall be employees of the Department's Office of the Inspector General.

Prohibits an individual who has a personal or professional relationship with someone expected to be investigated from serving as a Board member or staffer. Defines "conflict of interest" for such purposes.

Authorizes a Board to accept any evidence determined by a Board member to be relevant and material to an investigation. States that the Federal Rules of Evidence shall not apply to the Board.

Requires that a Board report and related recommendations be submitted to Congress, in addition to the Secretary.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Justice for Imprisoned Americans Overseas Act of 2013 or Jacob's Law of 2013 - Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to include in the Foreign Service professional development program training to protect the rights of U.S. citizens in foreign custody.

Directs the Secretary of State to submit a semiannnual report to Congress for five years that identifies: (1) U.S. citizens imprisoned in foreign countries whose fundamental due process and human rights are being violated, (2) the due process and human rights violations that are being committed against such U.S. citizens, and (3) the government officials who are responsible for such violations or who are not fulfilling their official responsibility to protect such rights.

Prohibits the Secretary of State from issuing any visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from permitting entry to the United States of, any such identified official and his or her immediate family members. Makes such ban permanent if an identified U.S. citizen dies while in foreign custody.

Prohibits foreign assistance from being provided to an agency or other entity of a foreign government that is responsible for the violation of, or is failing to protect, the fundamental due process or human rights of an imprisoned U.S. citizen.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Embassy Security and Enhancement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) submit to Congress a list of diplomatic and consular posts designated as high risk, high threat posts; and (2) determine if a post should be so designated before its opening or reopening.

Directs the Secretary, before opening or reopening a high risk, high threat post, to establish a working group responsible for the geographic area in which such post is to be opened or reopened.

Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should complete a strategic review of the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security to ensure that the Bureau is fulfilling Department needs.

Authorizes FY2014 appropriations for the capital security cost sharing program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the program should prioritize the construction of new facilities and the maintenance of existing facilities at high risk, high threat posts.

Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to, and merge with, any appropriation for embassy security, construction, and maintenance such amounts appropriated for any other purpose related to the administration of foreign affairs on or after October 1, 2013.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide physical security enhancements at overseas educational facilities established for the children of U.S. government employees.

Revises requirements for: (1) local guard contracts abroad, and (2) computation of the death gratuity payable to surviving dependents of Foreign Service employees who die from injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad.

Makes permanent the Secretary's authority to waive the annuity termination of a temporarily reemployed annuitant in a position for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee.

Expresses the sense of Congress regarding: (1) application of the Overseas Security Policy Board's security standards to all facilities; and (2) assignment of key personnel at high risk, high threat posts.

Requires security training for permanent or long-term personnel assigned to high risk, high threat posts.

Urges that language training be provided for diplomatic security personnel assigned to permanent or long-term duty at high threat, high risk posts.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide a group life insurance supplement for a Foreign Service employee who dies while on duty abroad as a result of a terrorist attack.

Directs the Secretary to provide educational assistance to a widow, widower, familial designee, or child of any U.S. national Foreign Service employee who dies while on duty abroad as a result of a terrorist attack.

Date: 2013-07-18
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2013 - Establishes in the Treasury the American Hostages in Iran Compensation Fund for the purpose of making payments to: (1) the Americans held hostage in the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, and in other locations in Iran, from November 3, 1979, to January 20, 1981; and (2) certain family members.

Imposes a surcharge, to be deposited into the Fund, of 30% on any fine or penalty imposed, or settlement entered into, for a violation of any law or regulation for any economic activity regarding Iran that is administered by specified federal departments.

Requires Fund payments of: (1) $150,000 plus $10,000 for each day of captivity first to each living former hostage and then to the estate of each deceased former hostage, and (2) $5,000 to each eligible spouse or child of a former hostage for each day of the such hostage's captivity.

Requires a payment recipient to waive and forever release all existing claims against Iran and the United States arising out of the hostage events.

Directs the Secretary of State to notify each individual qualified to receive a payment of the individual's claim status.

States that: (1) if a claim is denied or approved for less than the full amount, the individual shall be entitled to submit additional information; (2) the Secretary may affirm, modify, or revise the former action; and (3) the Secretary's actions in identifying claimants and in disbursing Fund amounts shall be final on all questions of law and fact, and shall not be subject to review by any other U.S. official, agency, or court.

Date: 2013-09-27
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Russia Visa Sanctions Act - Directs the Secretary of State, except to meet treaty obligations regarding United Nations (U.N.) headquarters, to deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to deny U.S. admission to, all government officials and employees of the Russian Federation until the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that: (1) Russian military intervention into Ukraine has ceased; and (2) the Russian Federation respects the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine in accordance with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.

States that this certification requirement shall not apply to military bases of the Russian Federation in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula operating in accordance with the 1997 agreement on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet Stationing on the Territory of Ukraine.

Date: 2014-03-05
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Immigration
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act - Amends the federal judicial code with respect to denial of a foreign state's immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. or state courts (under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) in cases where rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue and that property (or any property exchanged for it) is: (1) present in the United States in connection with a commercial activity carried on by the foreign state in the United States; or (2) owned by an agency or instrumentality of the foreign state, and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States.

Prohibits consideration as a commercial activity (excluded from jurisdictional immunity) any activity in the United States of a foreign state, or of any carrier, associated with a temporary exhibition or display if: (1) the work of art (or other object of cultural significance) is imported into the United States from any foreign country pursuant to an agreement for its temporary exhibition or display between a foreign state that is its owner or custodian and the United States or cultural or educational institutions within it; and (2) the President has determined, with notice in the Federal Register, that such work is culturally significant and its temporary exhibition or display is in the national interest. (Thus, grants jurisdictional immunity to the foreign state and associated carrier for such works.)

Denies application of this prohibition to cases concerning rights in property taken in violation of international law in which: (1) the action is based upon a claim that the work was taken between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, by the government of Germany or any government in Europe occupied, assisted, or allied by the German government; (2) the court determines that the activity associated with the exhibition or display is commercial; and (3) that determination is necessary for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the foreign state.

Date: 2014-03-25
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Law
Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to direct the President to deny U.S. admission to any representative of the United Nations (U.N.) who: (1) has engaged in espionage activities or a terrorist activity against the United States or its allies, and (2) may pose a threat to U.S. national security interests.

Date: 2014-04-01
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Immigration
United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2014 - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish within the Department of State an Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.

Date: 2014-04-30
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
United States-Caribbean Partnership Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish U.S. embassies with consular services in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to: (1) provide consular services to citizens of these countries and U.S. citizens living in or traveling to these countries, and (2) engage in direct diplomacy with appropriate government counterparts of these countries.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
No Healthcare Subsidies for Foreign Diplomats Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax credit for the cost of health insurance premiums and health insurance cost-sharing reductions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to foreign diplomats. Requires the Secretary of State to notify all foreign missions in the United States, permanent missions to the United Nations, and the United Nations Secretariat that health insurance premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions are not available for their foreign personnel with nonimmigrant status under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Date: 2014-12-10
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Taxation
United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2013 - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish within the Department of State an Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.

Date: 2013-02-11
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty Embassy Security and Personnel Protection Act of 2013 - Authorizes FY2014 appropriations to restore the capital security cost sharing program to its full capacity. Expresses the sense of Congress concerning priorities of the program and funding through interagency agreements.

Authorizes appropriations for: (1) foreign language training, especially in critical need languages including Arabic, for Department of State employees, including the Bureau of Diplomatic Security; and (2) a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC). Expresses the sense of Congress concerning the value of a FASTC and its use of existing training synergies.

Authorizes the Secretary of State to transfer to, and merge with, any appropriation for embassy security, construction, and maintenance such amounts appropriated for any other purpose related to the administration of foreign affairs on or after October 1, 2013.

Revises provisions regarding: (1) local guard contracts abroad, and (2) computation of the death gratuity payable to surviving dependents of Foreign Service employees who die from injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad.

Authorizes the Department to use a noncompetitive procurement procedure to meet emergency security requirements.

Provides that unsatisfactory leadership by a senior official regarding a security incident involving loss of life, serious injury, or significant destruction of property at or related to a U.S. government mission abroad may be grounds for disciplinary action.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide physical security enhancements at overseas educational facilities established for the children of U.S. government employees.

Makes permanent the Secretary's authority to waive the annuity termination of a temporarily reemployed annuitant in a position for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee.

Provides special immigrant status for the surviving spouse or child of a U.S. government employee killed abroad in the line of duty, provided that the employee had performed faithful service for at least 15 years and the appropriate recommendations have been made.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) implement a plan to incorporate the additional Marine Corps Security Guard personnel at U.S. diplomatic facilities, and (2) conduct an annual review of the Marine Corps Security Guard Program.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11-12, 2012, killings of four U.S. government personnel in Benghazi, Libya; and (2) report to Congress annually regarding overseas posts determined to be "high risk, high threat."

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act 

 Amends the Peace Corps Act to allow former volunteers or applicants for enrollment as a volunteer to use the seal, emblem, or name "Peace Corps" on death announcements, plaques, grave stones, or other grave markers.

Date: 2015-01-09
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

(Sec. 2) Amends the federal judicial code with respect to denial of a foreign state's sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. or state courts in commercial activity cases where rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue and that property, or any property exchanged for it, is: (1) present in the United States in connection with a commercial activity carried on by the foreign state in the United States, or (2) owned by an agency or instrumentality of the foreign state and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States.

Prohibits from being excluded from jurisdictional immunity as a commercial activity (and thereby provides immunity for) any activity in the United States of a foreign state, or of any carrier, associated with a temporary exhibition or display, if: (1) the work of art or other object of cultural significance is imported into the United States from any foreign country pursuant to an agreement for its temporary exhibition or display between a foreign state that is its owner or custodian and the United States or U.S. cultural or educational institutions, and (2) the President has determined that such work is culturally significant and its temporary exhibition or display is in the national interest.

Denies immunity in cases concerning rights in property taken in violation of international law in which: (1) the action is based upon a claim that the work was taken between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, by the government of Germany or any government in Europe occupied, assisted, or allied by the German government; (2) the court determines that the activity associated with the exhibition or display is commercial; and (3) that determination is necessary for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the foreign state.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Law
No Healthcare Subsidies for Foreign Diplomats Act of 2015

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax credit for the cost of health insurance premiums and health insurance cost-sharing reductions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to foreign diplomats. Requires the Secretary of State to notify all foreign missions in the United States, permanent missions to the United Nations, and the United Nations Secretariat that health insurance premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions are not available for their foreign personnel with nonimmigrant status under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Date: 2015-03-16
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Taxation
United States-Caribbean Partnership Act of 2015

 Directs the Secretary of State to establish U.S. embassies with consular services in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to: (1) provide consular services to citizens of these countries and U.S. citizens living in or traveling to these countries, and (2) engage in direct diplomacy with appropriate government counterparts of these countries.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2015

 Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish within the Department of State an Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
The Secretary of State shall provide appropriate Foreign Service officers with training related to medical graduates and medical graduate programs in the countries in which they are serving.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Walter Patterson and Werner Foerster Justice and Extradition Act 

Directs the President to report annually to Congress regarding: (1) the number of fugitives and others residing in other countries for whom the United States is seeking extradition or rendition, together with a list of those countries; (2) U.S. diplomatic and other efforts to secure such fugitives' return; (3) the average length of time these cases have been outstanding; (4) the number of satisfactorily resolved cases; (5) factors that have been barriers to case resolution; and (6) information on the number of U.S. citizens whose extradition has been sought by other countries during the past five years, a list of those countries seeking extradition, and the outcomes of those requests.

Date: 2015-04-30
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
This bill amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to:

 authorize the Secretary of State to award a local guard contract abroad under the diplomatic security program on the basis of best value (as determined by a cost-technical trade off analysis); and report to Congress for each such contract providing the basis for the award and an explanation of the inability to satisfy the Department of State's needs by technically acceptable, lowest price evaluation award.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act of 2015

Establishes the Commission on Americans Living Abroad which shall conduct a study of how federal laws and policies affect U.S. citizens living abroad, including civilians and members of the Armed Forces.

 Requires the head of any federal agency that is affected by a recommendation in the report required by this Act to submit a response to the President, Congress, and the Commission.

Date: 2015-07-15
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2015

Establishes in the Treasury the American Hostages in Iran Compensation Fund to: (1) make payments to the Americans held hostage in Iran, and to their families, who are identified as members of the proposed class in case number 1:00-CV-03110 (ESG) of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; and (2) satisfy their claims against Iran relating to the taking of hostages and treatment of personnel of the U.S. embassy in Tehran between November 4, 1979, and January 20, 1981.

Imposes a surcharge, to be deposited into the Fund, of 30% on the amount of: (1) any fine or penalty imposed for a violation (committed on or after enactment of this Act) of a law or regulation penalizing any economic activity relating to Iran that is administered by the Departments of State, Treasury, Justice, Commerce, or Energy; or (2) the monetary amount of a settlement entered into by a person regarding a suspected violation of such a law or regulation.

 Requires distribution of Fund payments to members of the proposed class in the following amounts:

 to each living former hostage, $6,750 for each day of captivity; to the estate of each deceased former hostage, $6,750 for each day of captivity; to each spouse (who is also a member of the identified class) of a former hostage, $600,000, or to the estate of such spouse who is deceased, $600,000; and to each child (who is also a member of the identified class) of a former hostage, $600,000, or to the estate of such child who is deceased, $600,000. Specifies the order of payment distribution.

Prohibits a payment recipient from maintaining an action against Iran in any federal or state court for any claims relating to the hostage events. Deems waived and forever released all existing claims against Iran for those events upon payment from the Fund to all designated recipients.

Requires the Department of State to submit recommendations to Congress if Fund amounts will be insufficient to pay all recipients within 444 days after enactment of this Act.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should rejoin the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) to promote public diplomacy, global branding, and tourism to the United States.

 The Department of State shall take necessary action within 90 days for the United States to rejoin the BIE.

Date: 2016-07-05
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
Foreign Service Optimization Act of 2016

This bill amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require Foreign Service employees overseas to serve at a post for between four and six consecutive years.

The Department of State may reduce such assignment period in the case of a first tour of duty or a post deemed unhealthful due to extreme conditions or hardship including war, armed conflict, or civil strife.

The State Department shall assure that Foreign Service members who have demonstrated a useful knowledge of the principal languages or dialects of the countries in which they are posted shall be are assigned to two consecutive tours of duty.

The tour of duty or period of assignment shall be between four and six years for: (1) a member of the Armed Forces serving as a defense attache, or (2) a civilian employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assigned to a Defense Attache Office outside the United States.

The Department of Defense (DOD) may reduce a tour of duty or a period of assignment if: (1) it is at an unhealthful post, (2) it is the first tour of duty or first period of assignment, or (3) DOD determines such reduced tour to be appropriate for exigent circumstances.

The State Department may assign a member of the armed forces serving as a defense attache or a civilian DIA employee assigned to a Defense Attache Office outside the United States who demonstrates a useful knowledge of the principal language or dialect of the country to two consecutive Defense Attache Office tours of duty.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House passed version is repeated here.)

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the federal judicial code with respect to denial of a foreign state's sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. or state courts in commercial activity cases where rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue and that property, or any property exchanged for it, is: (1) present in the United States in connection with a commercial activity carried on by the foreign state in the United States, or (2) owned by an agency or instrumentality of the foreign state and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States.

The bill grants a foreign state or certain carriers immunity from federal or state court jurisdiction for any activity in the United States associated with a temporary exhibition or display of a work of art or other object of cultural significance if:

 the work of art or other object of cultural significance is imported into the United States from any foreign country pursuant to an agreement for its temporary exhibition or display between a foreign state that is its owner or custodian and the United States or U.S. cultural or educational institutions; and the President has determined that such work is culturally significant and its temporary exhibition or display is in the national interest. The bill denies immunity, however, in cases concerning rights in property taken in violation of international law in which the action is based upon a claim that the work was taken: (1) between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, by the government of Germany or any government in Europe occupied, assisted, or allied by the German government; or (2) after 1900 in connection with the acts of a foreign government as part of a systematic campaign of coercive confiscation or misappropriation of works from members of a targeted and vulnerable group. For purposes of these denials of immunity, the court must determine that the activity associated with the exhibition or display is commercial and that determination must be necessary for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the foreign state.

(Sec. 3) The Department of State must ensure that foreign states that apply for such temporary exhibition immunity are notified of the amendments made by this bill.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: Law
Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2015 

 States that it is U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

 Amends the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 to eliminate the President's authority to waive certain funding limitations for Department of State acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened.

Requires any official U.S. document which lists countries and their capital cities to identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Limits appropriations that may be obligated in FY2015 for Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened.

States that for each of FY2016-FY2017, of funds authorized to be appropriated for Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad, necessary sums should be made available until expended only for construction and other costs associated with the establishment in Jerusalem of the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: International Affairs (Diplomats)
Subject: International affairs