Department of State Authorization Act of 2019
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Department of State Authorization Act of 2019
This bill authorizes, revises, and repeals various provisions related to the Department of State.
The bill provides statutory authority to establish an Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and an Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy and Security and eliminates the position for the Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma (Myanmar).
The bill imposes limitations on special appointments not expressly authorized by Congress.
The State Department may not implement any reduction-in-force actions unless it has provided justification to Congress.
The State Department shall establish and implement a standard parental leave policy applicable to employees across all bureaus and offices.
The State Department may waive various requirements related to hiring (1) certain employees with significant scientific, technological, or engineering expertise; or (2) Global Engagement Center employees.
The State Department shall make certain efforts to promote diversity in its workforce, including expanding anti-harassment and antidiscrimination training and gathering data to devise ways to promote participation from a range of demographic categories in professional development programs.
The State Department shall (1) semiannually consult with other departments and agencies regarding the security of certain information systems and commission independent penetration testing of such systems, (2) establish a process for security researchers to test State Department systems and submit information about discovered vulnerabilities, and (3) create a bug bounty program that provides rewards for information about previously unidentified security flaws in State Department information systems.
The bill directs the State Department to take various actions to update its public diplomacy efforts, including establishing a Director of Research and Evaluation to assess existing programs.
The State Department shall assess each country's capacity to combat public corruption. For countries that do not meet the minimum standards, the State Department shall utilize proper measures to combat corruption.
The State Department shall establish a working group on security assistance, including activities such as peacekeeping and military financing assistance. The bill revises various requirements and limits related to such assistance and transferring defense articles to foreign countries.
The summary continues for 1 more paragraph. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on July 25, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 9, 2019: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ELIOT ENGEL (D-NY) introduced it on June 19, 2019, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 19, 2019, 2640 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2558 days ago, on September 9, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers