# 119-s-4719: State Department Integrity and Transparency Act

119-s-4719, State Department Integrity and Transparency Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA); status introduced (as of 2026-06-28).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4719
- As of: 2026-06-28
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4719
- Congress: 119
- Title: State Department Integrity and Transparency Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-09
- Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: International Affairs
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-28

## Summary

**Strengthening professionalism and transparency in senior State Department appointments.** The bill would boost career staffing in top diplomatic roles, require fuller public disclosures about nominees, and limit short-term overseas political placements. - Department leaders: Would require at least 75% of Assistant Secretaries to have served in the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Service, raising the share of career officials in top policy posts. - Nominees and public transparency: Would force nominees to detail language competence and explain their knowledge of a country’s history, culture, economy, politics, and any relevant business ties. It would also require disclosure of bundled campaign contributions and immediate family financial interests and post those reports and competency certificates on a public State Department website. - Presidential certification and Senate oversight: Would require the President to certify to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that nominees meet required qualifications and that contributions by the nominee or family did not influence the nomination. - Temporary overseas appointments: Would cap special Schedule B and Schedule C overseas appointments at 90 days, limit officials to one such placement per calendar year, and make the rule effective January 1, 2029.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More nominee disclosure for diplomats: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would require nominees for chiefs of mission and assistant secretaries to disclose campaign "bundled contributions" they helped arrange, using Federal Election Campaign Act definitions. Each competence report would have to explain the nominee’s knowledge of the principal langua…
- Short-term diplomatic appointment limits: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would limit special appointments and Schedule B or Schedule C positions at U.S. diplomatic missions so each appointment may not exceed 90 days. It would also bar any individual from holding more than one such appointment in the same calendar year. These limits would take effect…
- Career requirement for Assistant Secretaries: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would require that at least 75% of Department of State Assistant Secretaries have served in the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Service. This would create a statutory hiring threshold favoring career senior service members for many top State Department jobs. The…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-2231: GLOBE Act of 2025
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4719 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4719)

## Related
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-2231: GLOBE Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2231)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4719 (as of 2026-06-28).