,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ddgf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #e1 #bjbd,mr4 ,kaine 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 and ,mr4 ,merkley7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to require additional disclosures with respect to nominees to serve as chiefs of mission1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,state ,department ,integrity and ,transparency ,act4 #b4 ,sense of ,congress regarding a professional and nonpartisan ,department of ,state ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,people's ,republic of ,china and other competitor nations are rapidly expanding their global diplomatic presences2 and 7#b7 it is imperative for ,united ,states national security that the ,department of ,state is appropriately staffed by empowered1 nonpartisan foreign policy professionals and thoroughly qualified and vetted political appointees1 who work together to protect ,united ,states citizens and advance ,united ,states foreign policy interests4 #c4 ,enhancing the professionalism of ,assistant ,secretaries of ,state 7a7 ,disclosure requirements ,section #cjd7;a77#d7 of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #cidd7;a77#d77 is amended-- 7#a7 by inserting or as an assistant secretary after chief of mission2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 ,each such report shall explain the source and extent of such nominee's knowledge of the principal language or dialect of the country1 region1 or institution1 as applicable1 in which the nominee has been nominated to serve as chief of mission or assistant secretary and the manner and extent to which such nominee meets the criteria described in paragraph 7#a71 particularly with respect to the source and extent of such individual's knowledge and understanding of the history1 culture1 economics1 politics1 and interests of the people of such country1 region1 or institution44 7b7 ,hiring requirement ,section #a7;c77#a7 of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfea;a7c77#a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by inserting 1 ,united ,states ,code after title #e2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 ,not fewer than #ge percent of the ,assistant ,secretaries in the ,department of ,state shall have served in the ,senior ,foreign ,service or the ,senior ,executive ,service44 #d4 ,additional disclosures required with respect to nominees ,section #cjd7;b77#c7 of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #cidd7;b77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,each and inserting the following3 87,a7 ,in this paragraph-- 7i7 the term bundled contribution has the meaning given such term in section #cjd7;i77#h77;,a7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7;i77#h77;,a772 7ii7 the term contribution has the meaning given such term in section #cja7h7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaja7h772 and 7iii7 the term immediate family means-- 7,i7 the spouse of the nominee2 7,,ii7 any child1 parent1 grandparent1 brother1 or sister of the nominee2 and 7,,iii7 the spouse of any of the individuals described in subclause 7,,ii74 7,b7 ,each 2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 as redesignated1 by striking ,the report and inserting the following3 7,c7 ,the report shall include the disclosure of all bundled contributions facilitated by the nominee during the period described in subparagraph 7,b71 in accordance with section #cjd7;i7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjajd7;i771 and 2 7#c7 by striking ,the chairman and inserting the following3 7,d7 ,the chairman 2 and 7#d7 in subparagraph 7,d71 as redesignated1 by adding at the end the following3 ,the ,secretary of ,state shall publish each such report and each ,certificate of ,competency issued pursuant to subsection 7a77#d7 on a publicly available website of the ,department of ,state44 #e4 ,certification of compliance with the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj ,section #cjd7;a7 of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj1 as amended by section #c7;a71 is further amended by adding at the end the following3 7#e7 ,the ,president shall certify to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate that-- 7,a7 any individual nominated to be a chief of mission meets the qualifications required under paragraph 7#a72 and 7,b7 any contributions made by any such individual or family member1 whether or not included in the report described in paragraph 7#d71 played no role in such nomination4 4 #f4 ,limitations on overseas placement of special appointment positions that do not exercise significant authority 7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that all officials of the ,united ,states ,government offered to receive diplomatic accreditation from a foreign nation should be thoroughly vetted and reviewed for qualification before-- 7#a7 being authorized to represent the ,united ,states ,government at sensitive postings overseas2 or 7#b7 receiving taxpayer-funded salaries1 allowances1 and employment benefits in connection with such a posting4 7b7 ,limitations 7#a7 ,in general ,section #a7;j77#b7 of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfea;a7j77 is amended-- 7,a7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c7 as clauses 7i71 7ii71 and 7iii71 respectively1 and moving such clauses1 as redesignated1 #b ems to the right2 7,b7 by striking ,the ,president2 and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,president 2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,limitations ,all special appointments under subparagraph 7,a71 and all positions described in schedule ,b or schedule ,c of subpart ,c of part #bac of title #e1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 to a ,united ,states diplomatic mission may not exceed #ij days4 ,an individual may not be appointed to more than #a position described in this paragraph during a single calendar year4 4 7#b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on ,january #a1 #bjbe4