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Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§276l British-American Interparliamentary Group

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS, CONGRESSES, ETC. › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II–A— - BRITISH-AMERICAN INTERPARLIAMENTARY GROUP › § 276l

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Up to 24 Members of Congress are named to a U.S. delegation that meets each year with members of the British Parliament to talk about shared problems and U.S.–British relations. The group can also meet when Congress is not in session, and that time limit does not apply to meetings held inside the United States. The group is called the “United States group” of the United States Interparliamentary Group. Half the members come from the House and are chosen by the Speaker (at least 4 must be on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs). Half come from the Senate and are chosen by the President Pro Tempore after advice from the Senate leaders (at least 4 must be on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations unless the leaders decide otherwise). The House delegation’s chair or vice chair must be from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The President Pro Tempore names the Senate delegation’s chair or vice chair. Congress may provide $50,000 each year to pay the group’s expenses, split equally for House and Senate. Payments require vouchers approved by each delegation chair, and that chair’s certificate is final for auditing. The group must send Congress an annual report that shows how the money was spent.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §276l

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not to exceed 24 Members of Congress shall be appointed to meet annually and when the Congress is not in session (except that this restriction shall not apply to meetings held in the United States), with representatives of the House of Commons and the House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain for discussion of common problems in the interest of relations between the United States and Great Britain. The Members of Congress so appointed shall be referred to as the “United States group” of the United States Interparliamentary Group.
(b)Of the Members of Congress appointed for purposes of this section—
(1)half shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from among Members of the House (not less than 4 of whom shall be members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs), and
(2)half shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, upon recommendations of the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, from among Members of the Senate (not less than 4 of whom shall be members of the Committee on Foreign Relations) unless the majority and minority leaders of the Senate determine otherwise.
(c)(1)The Chair or Vice Chair of the House delegation of the United States group shall be a member from the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
(2)The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall designate the Chair or Vice Chair of the Senate delegation.
(d)There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000 for each fiscal year to assist in meeting the expenses of the United States group for each fiscal year for which an appropriation is made, half of which shall be for the House delegation and half of which shall be for the Senate delegation. The House and Senate portions of such appropriations shall be disbursed on vouchers to be approved by the Chair of the House delegation and the Chair of the Senate delegation, respectively.
(e)The certificate of the Chair of the House delegation or the Senate delegation of the United States group shall be final and conclusive upon the accounting officers in the auditing of the accounts of the United States group.
(f)The United States group shall submit to the Congress a report for each fiscal year for which an appropriation is made for the United States group, which shall include its expenditures under such appropriation.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 168 of Pub. L. 102–138. Subsec. (g) of section 168 of Pub. L. 102–138 amended section 1928e of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Appropriations for Expenses of Interparliamentary Groups Pub. L. 98–164, title I, § 109(b), (c), Nov. 22, 1983, 97 Stat. 1019, as amended by Pub. L. 99–415, § 7(b), Sept. 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 949; Pub. L. 100–459, title III, § 303(b), Oct. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2207; Pub. L. 101–515, title III, § 304(b), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 2128; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title VII, § 701(a)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–459; Pub. L. 107–77, title IV, § 408(b)(4), Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 791; Pub. L. 110–161, div. J, title VI, § 634(s), Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 2331, provided that: “(b) There are authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year $100,000, to be equally divided between delegations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, to assist in meeting the expenses of the United States Group of the British-American Parliamentary Group. Amounts appropriated under this section [amending section 1928e of this title and enacting this note] are authorized to remain available until expended. “(c) There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year $100,000 for expenses of United States participation in the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue (United States-European Union Interparliamentary Group).” [A permanent appropriation to carry out section 109(b) and (c) of Pub. L. 98–164, set out above, is contained in section 101(a) [title III, § 303] of Pub. L. 100–202, set out as a Permanent Appropriation for Delegation Expenses note under section 276e of this title.]

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 276l

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73