Pacific Islands Embassies Act
This bill requires the Department of State to establish U.S. embassies in Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tonga.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8683 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8683
To provide for the establishment of United States embassies in the
Republic of Vanuatu, the Republic of Kiribati, and the Kingdom of
Tonga, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 9, 2022
Mr. Barr (for himself, Mr. Case, and Mr. Stewart) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of United States embassies in the
Republic of Vanuatu, the Republic of Kiribati, and the Kingdom of
Tonga, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pacific Islands Embassies Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Pacific Islands are vital to United States national
security and national interests in the Indo-Pacific region and
globally.
(2) The Pacific Islands region spans 15 percent of the
world's surface area and controls access to open waters in the
Central Pacific, sea lanes to the Western Hemisphere, supply
lines to United States forward-deployed forces in East Asia,
and economically important fisheries.
(3) The Pacific Islands region is home to the State of
Hawaii, 11 United States territories, United States Naval Base
Guam, and United States Andersen Air Force Base.
(4) Pacific Island countries cooperate with the United
States and United States partners on maritime security and
efforts to stop illegal, unreported, and destructive fishing.
(5) The Pacific Islands are rich in biodiversity and on the
frontlines of sea level rise, worsening tropical storms, and
coral reef loss associated with climate change.
(6) The People's Republic of China (PRC) seeks to increase
its influence in the Pacific Islands region, including through
infrastructure development under the PRC's Belt and Road
Initiative and its new security agreement with the Solomon
Islands.
(7) The United States Embassy in Papua New Guinea manages
the diplomatic affairs of the United States to the Republic of
Vanuatu, and the United States Embassy in Fiji manages the
diplomatic affairs of the United States to the Republic of
Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga.
(8) The United States requires a physical diplomatic
presence in the Republic of Vanuatu, the Republic of Kiribati,
and the Kingdom of Tonga, to ensure the physical and operation
security of our efforts in those countries to deepen relations,
protect United States national security, and pursue United
States national interests.
(9) Increasing the number of United States embassies
dedicated solely to a Pacific Island country demonstrates the
United States' ongoing commitment to the region and to the
Pacific Island countries.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMBASSIES.
(a) Establishment of United States Embassies in Vanuatu, Kiribati,
and Tonga.--As soon as possible, and not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
establish physical United States embassies in the Republic of Vanuatu,
the Republic of Kiribati, and the Kingdom of Tonga and recommend to the
President ambassadors to lead each of these 3 embassies.
(b) Other Strategies.--In establishing embassies pursuant to
subsection (a) and creating the physical infrastructure to ensure the
physical and operational safety of embassy personnel, the Secretary of
State may pursue strategies such as renting or purchasing an existing
building or colocation of embassies with like-minded partners like
Australia and New Zealand.
(c) Waiver Authority.--The President may waive the requirements
under subsection (a) for a period of one year if the President
determines and reports to Congress in advance that such waiver is
necessary to protect the national security interests of the United
States.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated for the Department of
State--
(1) $40,200,000 for fiscal year 2023 for embassy
construction and maintenance of the 3 embassies to be
established pursuant to section 3; and
(2) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 to maintain the
embassies.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
(a) Progress Report.--Not later than 180 days following the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(1) a description of the status of activities carried out
to achieve the objectives described in this Act;
(2) an estimate of when embassies will be fully established
pursuant to section 3(a); and
(3) an update on events in the Pacific Islands region
relevant to the establishment of United States embassies,
including activities by the People's Republic of China.
(b) Report on Final Disposition.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit
a report confirming the establishment of the 3 embassies required under
section 3(a).
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line