,i  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #efdc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #bj1        
#bjba,mr4 ,levin of ,michigan 7for      
himself and ,mr4 ,meijer7 introduced the
 following bill2 which was referred to  
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  ,a 
,,bill  ,to require additional          
disclosures with respect to nominees to 
serve as chiefs of missions1 and for    
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,bolstering the
 ,effectiveness1 ,success1 and          
,transparency of ,ambassadors ,act or   
the ,,best ,ambassadors ,act4  #b4      
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,the ,foreign ,service ,act of    
#aihj 7,public ,law #if-dfe7 states1 ,an
 individual appointed or assigned to be 
a chief of mission should possess       
clearly demonstrated competence to      
perform the duties of a chief of        
mission1 including1 to the maximum      
extent practicable1 a useful knowledge  
of the principal language or dialect of 

the country in which the individual is  
to serve1 and knowledge and             
understanding of the history1 the       
culture1 the economic and political     
institutions1 and the interests of that 
country and its people and continues    
that1 accordingly1 positions as chief of
 mission should normally be accorded to 
career members of the ,foreign          
,service44  7#b7 ,the percentage of     
ambassadorships filled by political     
appointees has increased over the past  
#dj years4 ,during ,president ,jimmy    
,carter's term1 between #aigg and #aiha1
 about #bf percent of ambassadorships   
were filled by political appointees4    
,during ,president ,ronald ,reagan's    
terms1 between #aiha and #aihi1 about   
#ch percent were4 ,more recently1 under 
,president ,barack ,obama1 about #cj    
percent of ambassadors were political   
appointees1 while about #dc percent were
 under ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump as 
of ,september #ad1 #bjbj4  7#c7 ,the    
,united ,states practice of appointing  

political ambassadors is atypical       
globally4 ,according to a #bjag         
,university of ,texas at ,austin study1 
,at the senior level1 the ,united       
,states is an extreme outlier among     
foreign services in the number of       
political appointees as ambassadors1    
even in key posts44  7#d7 ,political    
appointees are not necessarily          
unsuccessful ambassadors4 ,according to 
the #bjag ,university of ,texas study1  
there have been highly accomplished     
political appointees who have been      
superb ambassadors4 ,the report         
continues1 however1 there have been many
 more patronage appointees with no      
relevant qualifications1 having been    
chosen principally for their support in 
presidential election campaigns4        
,contrast these ,u4,s4 ambassadors with 
their counterparts from other countries1
 who typically speak several languages1 
are well versed in the country to which 
they are assigned and are career        
professionals with extensive knowledge  

of their home ministries44  7#e7 ,the   
,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj states1 
,contributions to political campaigns   
should not be a factor in the           
appointment of an individual as a chief 
of mission44 ,however1 this law has not 
forestalled the appointment--by both    
,democratic and ,republican             
presidents--of campaign donors without  
apparent qualifications to serve in     
these posts4  7#f7 ,to ensure the       
,united ,states has the best            
representation possible abroad1 it will 
be necessary to preserve the option to  
appoint political ambassadors while     
enacting safeguards to ensure these     
appointees are nominated because of     
their qualifications1 not their campaign
 contributions4  #c4 ,additional        
disclosures required with respect to    
nominees ,section #cjd of the ,foreign  
,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4   
#cidd7 is amended as follows3 7#a7 ,in  
paragraph 7#d7 of subsection 7a71 by    
adding at the end the following new     

sentence3 ,if1 as of the date of the    
submission of such report1 such         
individual has not served as a career   
member of the ,service1 the ,president  
shall also include in such report a     
justification explaining whether a      
career member is available to fill such 
position and the manner and extent to   
which the nominee is nevertheless       
uniquely qualified to serve in such     
position44  7#b7 ,in paragraph 7#b7 of  
subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 by striking fourth
 calendar year and inserting tenth      
calendar year2 and  7,b7 by inserting   
and the ,secretary of ,state shall      
publish each such report and each       
,certificate of ,competency issued      
pursuant to this section on a publicly  
available website of the ,department of 
,state after ,congressional ,record4    
7#c7 ,at the end of subsection 7b71 by  
adding the following new paragraphs3    
7#c7 ,with respect to each nomination   
for an individual to be a chief of      
mission1 the ,president shall certify to

 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  
of the ,senate that any campaign        
contributions made by the nominee or    
members of his or her immediate family1 
whether or not included in the report   
described in paragraph 7#b71 played no  
role in such nomination4  7#d7 ,each    
individual nominated by the ,president  
to be a chief of mission shall include  
in his or her statement to the          
,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the
 ,senate an explanation of the manner   
and extent to which such individual     
meets the criteria described in         
paragraph 7#a7 of subsection 7a71       
including the source and extent of such 
individual's knowledge and understanding
 of the history1 culture1 economic and  
political institutions1 and interests of
 the people of such country1 and level  
of familiarity with the country's       
principal language or dialect1          
including1 if relevant1 the scores      
received in speaking and reading        
examinations taken at the ,foreign      

,service ,institute for that language4  
4