,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dhcb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #ba 7legislative day1 ,october #ai71 #bjbj,mr4 ,markey introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit the use of ,united ,states embassies or consulates in raising funds for foreign political parties or candidates4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,opposing ,foreign ,fundraising at ,united ,states ,embassies ,act of #bjbj or the ,,off ,u4,s4 ,embassies ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the promotion of democratic institutions and free and fair elections is a key foreign policy initiative of the ,united ,states1 carried out by the ,department of ,state through its embassies1 diplomats1 programs1 and policies around the world4 7#b7 ,meeting with and building relationships with a range of political parties in foreign countries are appropriate and important functions consistent with the duties of any ,united ,states ,ambassador or representative of the ,united ,states ,government abroad4 7#c7 ,it is the longstanding and bipartisan practice of the ,united ,states to encourage democratic norms1 free and fair elections1 rule of law1 and free speech abroad1 without regard for political party or affiliation4 7#d7 ,the use of ,united ,states embassy or consulate grounds1 or the grounds of any other ,united ,states diplomatic post1 to raise funds for any foreign political party or candidate in a foreign democratic electoral process is inappropriate and distinct from longstanding ,department of ,state efforts to engage with foreign persons1 including democracy activists and representatives of political parties1 to advance democratic institutions and universal values around the world4 7#e7 ,on ,september #aj1 #bjbj1 ,united ,states ,ambassador to the ,netherlands ,pete ,hoekstra held a private event for a ,dutch political party and its donors at the ,united ,states ,embassy in ,the ,hague4 7#f7 ,the invitations to the event asked guests to join the ,united ,states ,embassy at the invitation of the ,forum for ,democracy and ,pete ,hoekstra1 and included contact details for the ,head of ,fundraising of that foreign political party4 7#g7 ,prior donors to the political party were invited and attended the event at the ,united ,states ,embassy4 7#h7 ,the leader of the foreign political party used the event at the ,united ,states ,embassy to speak about campaign strategy and to display a video made ahead of the #bjba electoral campaign in the ,netherlands4 7#i7 ,following news reports highlighting the similarities between the ,september #aj1 #bjbj1 event held at the ,united ,states ,embassy and a political fundraiser1 ,dutch lawmakers raised concerns1 with one member of parliament calling on the ,dutch ,foreign ,ministry to investigate whether ,ambassador ,hoekstra had facilitated a fund raising event for a political party4 7#aj7 ,such behavior is part of a pattern in which ,department of ,state officials under ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump have publicly engaged in political activities that break with the longstanding practice of not using one's official position to lend support to particular parties or candidates1 domestic or foreign1 with whom one shares a partisan affinity4 7#aa7 ,in #bjah1 ,united ,states ,ambassador to ,germany ,richard ,grenell said1 from his official residence in ,berlin1 ,i absolutely want to empower other conservatives throughout ,europe and praised the leader of an ,austrian political party1 leading multiple ,german political figures to publicly rebuke the ,united ,states ,ambassador for political interference4 #c4 ,prohibition on hosting of foreign party political events at ,united ,states embassies 7a7 ,in general ,no ,federal funds may be obligated or expended to host a fundraising event for1 or on behalf of1 a foreign political party or candidate at a ,united ,states embassy or consulate or any other ,united ,states diplomatic post4 7b7 ,fundraising event defined ,in this section1 the term fundraising event means an event intended to raise funds for1 or on behalf of1 a political party or candidate1 including by knowingly facilitating contact between potential donors and political parties or candidates for fundraising purposes4 7c7 ,restriction on entertainment and representation expenses ,section #ije of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #djhe7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,the ,secretary may not provide for official receptions or pay expenses related to activities by the ,department or the ,service1 hosted by a ,united ,states embassy or consulate or other ,united ,states diplomatic post1 intended to raise funds for or on behalf of a foreign political party or candidate44 7d7 ,additional restriction on expenditures ,section #d7;b77#b77;,h7 of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfga7;b77#b77;,h77 is amended by inserting 1 other than functions at a ,united ,states embassy or consulate or any other ,united ,states diplomatic post intended to raise funds for or on behalf of a foreign political party or candidate after allowances4 7e7 ,revision of ,,dssr and ,,fam 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall revise the ,department of ,state ,standardized ,regulations 7,,dssr7 and the ,foreign ,affairs ,manual 7,,fam7 to prohibit the use of a ,united ,states embassy or consulate or any other ,united ,states diplomatic post in a manner intended to raise funds for or on behalf of a foreign political party or candidate1 reflect the prohibitions on expenditures under this section1 and discourage any activity hosted by a ,united ,states embassy or consulate or other ,united ,states diplomatic post that could be construed as promoting the financial interest of any foreign political party or candidate relative to others engaged in a democratic electoral process4 7#b7 ,certification ,not less than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees that the revisions required under paragraph 7#a7 have been made4 7#c7 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this subsection1 the term appropriate congressional committees means the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4