119-hr2602

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2602 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 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

 April 2, 2025

 Ms. Kamlager-Dove (for herself, Mr. Meeks, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Jacobs, 
Mr. Castro of Texas, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Keating, Ms. Titus, 
 Mr. Mfume, Mr. Olszewski, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. 
 Tokuda, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Khanna, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Norton, Mr. Jackson of 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 reorganization of 
 the Department of State without congressional consultation and 
 approval.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Defending American Diplomacy Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPLEMENTATION ABSENT SPECIFIC STATUTORY 
 AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--No reorganization of the Department of State may 
be implemented or otherwise take effect unless both of the following 
conditions are met:

    (1) There is enacted specific statutory authorization to 
 carry out such reorganization.

    (2) The Secretary of State has submitted to the appropriate 
 congressional committees a detailed plan, pursuant to 

section 3, with respect to the reorganization.

    (b) Consequence for Noncompliance.--On and after the date on which 
the Comptroller General certifies to the Chair and Ranking Member of 
each of the appropriate congressional committees that the Secretary of 
State has implemented a reorganization in a manner that is not in 
compliance with the prohibition under subsection

    (a) --

    (1) no Federal funds may be made available to facilitate 
 any activity of the Department of Government Efficiency; and

    (2) none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
 available to the Department of State may be obligated or 
 expended for official travel by any politically appointed 
 official of the Department.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT FOR SUBMISSION OF DETAILED PLANS.

 Upon determining that any reorganization of the Department of State 
or any component of such Department is necessary, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
detailed plan for such reorganization that shall include, at a minimum, 
the following elements:

    (1) A clear description of the proposed organizational 
 changes and a justification for such changes, including a 
 description of the manner and extent to which current roles, 
 responsibilities, and personnel of the Department or relevant 
 component of the Department will be affected.

    (2) A clear description of what, if any, new 
 responsibilities the Department or affected component will 
 absorb and a detailed plan of how the Department or affected 
 component will develop or acquire the competencies and 
 expertise to carry out these new responsibilities.

    (3) An analysis of the potential impacts on the ability to 
 advance United States foreign policy interests, including 
 impacts to each of the following:
        (A) Diplomatic footprint and operations abroad.
        (B) Consular services and visa processing times, 
 including as a result of any closures of consulates and 
 diplomatic posts abroad.
            (C) The ability to carry out existing multilateral 
 and bilateral diplomatic commitments.
            (D) Bilateral and multilateral military cooperation 
 and security assistance.
        (E) United States intelligence gathering 
 capabilities and United States intelligence posture 
 abroad.
        (F) Interagency coordination with international 
 partners.
        (G) Advancing United States development objectives 
 abroad and facilitating the delivery of lifesaving 
 humanitarian assistance.

    (4) An explanation of how the proposed changes will improve 
 the Department of State's ability to carry out its overall 
 strategic objectives in comparison to the previous 
 organizational structure.

    (5) An assessment of the potential risks or unintended 
 consequences that may result from the proposed changes, 
 including--
        (A) how United States competitors might capitalize 
 on any downsizing of diplomatic functions to advance 
 their own military, intelligence, soft power, economic, 
 or political interests; and
        (B) which diplomatic relationships and United 
 States interests would be especially vulnerable to the 
 impacts of the desired reorganization.

    (6) A detailed implementation plan and timeline for making 
 the proposed changes, including mechanisms to mitigate any 
 adverse effects on the Department or affected component's 
 functions and personnel that would provide a more stable 
 transition.

    (7) A detailed analysis of the impact on the workforce and 
 personnel of the affected components as well as the broader 
 Department and a transition plan for the termination or 
 reassignment and retraining of employees, including plans for 
 the compensation of any terminated employees.

    (8) A certification that no Federal laws or regulations 
 will be violated for the purposes of executing the 
 reorganization, including specifically that no affected 
 employee's rights or protections will be violated.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
 Foreign Affairs and Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
 Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

    (2) Reorganization.--The term ``reorganization'' means any 
 action which, pursuant to 

section 7063 of division F of Public 
 Law 118-47, would require prior consultation and notification.
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