Kaine, Van Hollen, And Merkley Introduce Bill to Strengthen State Department Workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the State Department Integrity and Transparency Act, legislation to strengthen the State Department workforce and ensure senior State Department officials are selected based on merit. This bill would help ensure positions are staffed by nonpartisan, experienced, and thoroughly vetted foreign policy professionals.

"From countering an increasingly aggressive China to addressing Russia's continued war in Ukraine, the State Department plays a critical role in ensuring America's ability to protect our interests, promote global security, and advance democratic values," said Kaine. "We must ensure that the State Department remains staffed by qualified individuals. This legislation would ensure that the senior leadership at the State Department has the necessary experience and expertise to address the many challenges we face across the world."

"The civil servants who power our State Department play a critical role in advancing our national security interests and stewarding American diplomacy around the globe. This bill will help ensure the integrity of the State Department as a merit-based institution and will guard our diplomatic corps against politicization," said Van Hollen.

"A strong, experienced workforce is essential to the success of our federal agencies. In the face of Trump's never-ending attacks on dedicated public servants across the federal government, this bill ensures the State Department-the face of American diplomacy-will have the best possible foreign policy professionals working to protect our national security and interests overseas," said Merkley. "As the United States tackles growing global threats, we need to be able to confront these challenges wherever they appear with our best and brightest people."

Specifically, the State Department Integrity and Transparency Act would:

• Require that no fewer than 75 percent of the Department's assistant secretaries come from the Department's Senior Foreign Service or Senior Executive Service. This would bring the Department closer in line with the number of career professional appointees in the senior ranks at the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency.
• Extend the existing requirement that the Department submit a report to Congress on the qualifications of ambassadorial nominees to nominees for assistant secretary positions, and any relevant business interests that such nominee has before such country, region, or institution.
• Strengthen existing requirement that political campaigns not be a factor in the nomination of an ambassador and require a Presidential certification of compliance that competence, rather than contributions to political campaigns, is the primary reason for nominating an ambassador.
• Ensure that unvetted and non-Senate confirmed sub-ambassadorial political appointees do not serve in extended and cushy overseas assignments at significant taxpayer expense.

In addition to Kaine, Van Hollen, and Merkley, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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