I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2602
To prohibit the Executive branch from engaging in any reorganization of
the Department of State without congressional consultation and approval.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL2, 2025
Ms. K
AMLAGER-DOVE(for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. JACOBS,
Mr. C
ASTROof Texas, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. KEATING, Ms.
T
ITUS, Mr. MFUME, Mr. OLSZEWSKI, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CARTERof
Louisiana, Ms. T
OKUDA, Mr. COHEN, Mr. JOHNSONof Georgia, Mr.
T
ONKO, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. NORTON, Mr.
J
ACKSONof Illinois, and Mr. THANEDAR) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL
To prohibit the Executive branch from engaging in any reor-
ganization of the Department of State without congres-
sional consultation and approval.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending American 4
Diplomacy Act’’. 5
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPLEMENTATION ABSENT SPE-1
CIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION. 2
(a) I
NGENERAL.—No reorganization of the Depart-3
ment of State may be implemented or otherwise take effect 4
unless both of the following conditions are met: 5
(1) There is enacted specific statutory author-6
ization to carry out such reorganization. 7
(2) The Secretary of State has submitted to the 8
appropriate congressional committees a detailed 9
plan, pursuant to section 3, with respect to the reor-10
ganization. 11
(b) C
ONSEQUENCE FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—On and 12
after the date on which the Comptroller General certifies 13
to the Chair and Ranking Member of each of the appro-14
priate congressional committees that the Secretary of 15
State has implemented a reorganization in a manner that 16
is not in compliance with the prohibition under subsection 17
(a)— 18
(1) no Federal funds may be made available to 19
facilitate any activity of the Department of Govern-20
ment Efficiency; and 21
(2) none of the funds appropriated or otherwise 22
made available to the Department of State may be 23
obligated or expended for official travel by any po-24
litically appointed official of the Department. 25
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SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT FOR SUBMISSION OF DETAILED 1
PLANS. 2
Upon determining that any reorganization of the De-3
partment of State or any component of such Department 4
is necessary, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 5
appropriate congressional committees a detailed plan for 6
such reorganization that shall include, at a minimum, the 7
following elements: 8
(1) A clear description of the proposed organi-9
zational changes and a justification for such 10
changes, including a description of the manner and 11
extent to which current roles, responsibilities, and 12
personnel of the Department or relevant component 13
of the Department will be affected. 14
(2) A clear description of what, if any, new re-15
sponsibilities the Department or affected component 16
will absorb and a detailed plan of how the Depart-17
ment or affected component will develop or acquire 18
the competencies and expertise to carry out these 19
new responsibilities. 20
(3) An analysis of the potential impacts on the 21
ability to advance United States foreign policy inter-22
ests, including impacts to each of the following: 23
(A) Diplomatic footprint and operations 24
abroad. 25
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(B) Consular services and visa processing 1
times, including as a result of any closures of 2
consulates and diplomatic posts abroad. 3
(C) The ability to carry out existing multi-4
lateral and bilateral diplomatic commitments. 5
(D) Bilateral and multilateral military co-6
operation and security assistance. 7
(E) United States intelligence gathering 8
capabilities and United States intelligence pos-9
ture abroad. 10
(F) Interagency coordination with inter-11
national partners. 12
(G) Advancing United States development 13
objectives abroad and facilitating the delivery of 14
lifesaving humanitarian assistance. 15
(4) An explanation of how the proposed changes 16
will improve the Department of State’s ability to 17
carry out its overall strategic objectives in compari-18
son to the previous organizational structure. 19
(5) An assessment of the potential risks or un-20
intended consequences that may result from the pro-21
posed changes, including— 22
(A) how United States competitors might 23
capitalize on any downsizing of diplomatic func-24
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•HR 2602 IH
tions to advance their own military, intelligence, 1
soft power, economic, or political interests; and 2
(B) which diplomatic relationships and 3
United States interests would be especially vul-4
nerable to the impacts of the desired reorga-5
nization. 6
(6) A detailed implementation plan and timeline 7
for making the proposed changes, including mecha-8
nisms to mitigate any adverse effects on the Depart-9
ment or affected component’s functions and per-10
sonnel that would provide a more stable transition. 11
(7) A detailed analysis of the impact on the 12
workforce and personnel of the affected components 13
as well as the broader Department and a transition 14
plan for the termination or reassignment and re-15
training of employees, including plans for the com-16
pensation of any terminated employees. 17
(8) A certification that no Federal laws or regu-18
lations will be violated for the purposes of executing 19
the reorganization, including specifically that no af-20
fected employee’s rights or protections will be vio-21
lated. 22
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 23
In this Act: 24
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(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -1
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-2
mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs 3
and Committee on Appropriations of the House of 4
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Re-5
lations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 6
Senate. 7
(2) R
EORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘reorganiza-8
tion’’ means any action which, pursuant to section 9
7063 of division F of Public Law 118–47, would re-10
quire prior consultation and notification. 11
Æ
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