U.S. and Pacific Islands Forum Partnership Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1220 To establish the position of Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 19, 2023 Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To establish the position of Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S. and Pacific Is- 4 lands Forum Partnership Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Pacific Islands Forum (referred to in 8 this Act as ‘‘PIF’’) was established in 1971. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1220.IS S1220 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1220 IS (2) PIF is committed to accelerating economic 1 growth, social progress, cultural development, and 2 regional peace and stability. 3 (3) The United States is committed to a free 4 and open Indo-Pacific and to peace, security, and 5 prosperity in the region. 6 (4) The United States seeks to maintain and 7 further develop a constructive and cordial relation- 8 ship with PIF and its member nations, including the 9 Freely Associated States (the Marshall Islands, Mi- 10 cronesia, and Palau), which have special economic 11 and security ties with the United States. 12 (5) The United States seeks to contribute to re- 13 gional stability in the Pacific region through assist- 14 ance efforts to combat illegal fishing, enhance mari- 15 time security, build resilient infrastructure, and pro- 16 mote sound, just, and responsive governance within 17 the Pacific region to empower citizens, help combat 18 corruption, and strengthen nations’ autonomy. 19 (6) The Smaller Island States of PIF (the Cook 20 Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 21 Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, 22 and Tuvalu) are the most vulnerable of PIF coun- 23 tries. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1220.IS S1220 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1220 IS (7) Increased United States diplomatic engage- 1 ment and developmental assistance can help alleviate 2 the vulnerabilities linked to the small size of the 3 Smaller Island States, their lack of natural re- 4 sources, remoteness, and across the PIF region, by 5 addressing the range of development challenges that 6 limit their capacity to ensure democratic, economic, 7 and environmental resilience and long-term sustain- 8 able development. 9 (8) It is in the long-term interest of the United 10 States to maintain and expand a relationship with 11 PIF and its member nations. 12 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 13 It is the sense of Congress that— 14 (1) the United States must increase its diplo- 15 matic activity and presence in the Pacific, particu- 16 larly among Pacific Island nations; and 17 (2) the Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands 18 Forum— 19 (A) should coordinate policies across the 20 Pacific region with like-minded democracies; 21 and 22 (B) should have a direct line to the Presi- 23 dent and the Secretary of State to communicate 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1220.IS S1220 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1220 IS regarding the unique and particular needs of 1 Pacific partner nations. 2 SEC. 4. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM. 3 Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities 4 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended by adding at 5 the end the following: 6 ‘‘(n) SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDS 7 FORUM.— 8 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap- 9 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 10 Senate, a qualified individual to serve as Special 11 Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum (referred to in 12 this section as the ‘Special Envoy’). The Special 13 Envoy may not concurrently serve as a United 14 States Ambassador to an individual country. 15 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Special Envoy shall— 16 ‘‘(A) represent the United States in its role 17 as dialogue partner to the Pacific Islands 18 Forum; and 19 ‘‘(B) carry out such other duties as the 20 President or the Secretary of State may pre- 21 scribe.’’. 22 SEC. 5. REPORT. 23 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1220.IS S1220 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1220 IS report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen- 1 ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 2 of Representatives that describes how the Department of 3 State will increase its ability to recruit and retain highly- 4 qualified ambassadors, special envoys, and other senior 5 personnel in posts in Pacific island countries as the De- 6 partment expands its diplomatic footprint throughout the 7 region. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1220.IS S1220 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS