Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-110

§2652c Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance

Title 22 › CHAPTER 38 — DEPARTMENT OF STATE › § 2652c

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of State must pick one of the Assistant Secretaries to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance. That person must report to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Within 30 days after November 29, 1999, the Secretary must write a directive that explains the job duties, how the Assistant Secretary will work with other State officials, any authorities the Secretary gives to the Assistant Secretary, and other needed details. The Assistant Secretary’s main job is to supervise all State Department work on verifying and enforcing international arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements. The Assistant Secretary or a designee must join interagency groups that review U.S. policies or programs that affect verification or compliance, including intelligence bodies dealing with measurement or signals intelligence, unless the Secretary or Under Secretary sits on the group and does not choose to send the Assistant Secretary. The President, or the Director of Central Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of Energy in special cases, may bar participation for national security reasons, and any such waiver must be sent in writing to the proper congressional committees. The Assistant Secretary is the main State policy contact with the intelligence community on these matters and is responsible within State for reports required by section 2577, parts of section 2593a(a) (paragraphs (4)–(6)) that relate to verification or compliance, parts of section 8003 that relate to verification or compliance, and other State Department verification or compliance reports being prepared as of November 29, 1999.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §2652c

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Designation of position
The Secretary of State shall designate one of the Assistant Secretaries of State authorized by section 2651a(c)(1) of this title as the Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance. The Assistant Secretary shall report to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
(b)Directive governing the Assistant Secretary of State
(1)In general
Not later than 30 days after November 29, 1999, the Secretary of State shall issue a directive governing the position of the Assistant Secretary.
(2)Elements of the directive
The directive issued under paragraph (1) shall set forth, consistent with this section— (A)
(B)the relationships between the Assistant Secretary and other officials of the Department of State;
(C)any delegation of authority from the Secretary of State to the Assistant Secretary; and
(D)such matters as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(c)Duties
(1)In general
The Assistant Secretary shall have as his principal responsibility the overall supervision (including oversight of policy and resources) within the Department of State of all matters relating to verification and compliance with international arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements or commitments.
(2)Participation of the Assistant Secretary
(A)Primary role
Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Assistant Secretary, or his designee, shall participate in all interagency groups or organizations within the executive branch of Government that assess, analyze, or review United States planned or ongoing policies, programs, or actions that have a direct bearing on verification or compliance matters, including interagency intelligence committees concerned with the development or exploitation of measurement or signals intelligence or other national technical means of verification.
(B)Requirement for designation
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to groups or organizations on which the Secretary of State or the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security sits, unless such official designates the Assistant Secretary to attend in his stead.
(C)National security limitation
(i)Waiver by President
The President may waive the provisions of subparagraph (A) if inclusion of the Assistant Secretary would not be in the national security interests of the United States.
(ii)Waiver by others
With respect to an interagency group or organization, or meeting thereof, working with exceptionally sensitive information contained in compartments under the control of the Director of Central Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of Energy, such Director or Secretary, as the case may be, may waive the provision of subparagraph (A) if inclusion of the Assistant Secretary would not be in the national security interests of the United States.
(iii)Transmission of waiver to Congress
Any waiver of participation under clause (i) or (ii) shall be transmitted in writing to the appropriate committees of Congress.
(3)Relationship to the intelligence community
The Assistant Secretary shall be the principal policy community representative to the intelligence community on verification and compliance matters.
(4)Reporting responsibilities
The Assistant Secretary shall have responsibility within the Department of State for— (A)
(B)so much of the report required under paragraphs (4) through (6) of section 2593a(a) of this title as relates to verification or compliance matters;
(C)so much of the reports required under section 8003 of this title as relates to verification or compliance matters; and
(D)other reports being prepared by the Department of State as of November 29, 1999, relating to arms control, nonproliferation, or disarmament verification or compliance matters.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (c)(4)(C), (D). Pub. L. 109–401 added subpar. (C) and redesignated former subpar. (C) as (D).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Reference to the Director of Central Intelligence or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Director’s capacity as the head of the intelligence community deemed to be a reference to the Director of National Intelligence. Reference to the Director of Central Intelligence or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Director’s capacity as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency deemed to be a reference to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. See section 1081(a), (b) of Pub. L. 108–458, set out as a note under section 3001 of Title 50, War and National Defense. Definitions Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(7) [div. B, title XI, § 1102], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–485, provided that: “In this title [see

Short Title

of 1999 Amendment note set out under section 2551 of this title]: “(1) Appropriate committees of congress.—The term ‘appropriate committees of Congress’ means the Committee on International Relations [now Committee on Foreign Affairs] and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. “(2) Assistant secretary.—The term ‘Assistant Secretary’ means the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance designated under section 1112 [22 U.S.C. 2652c]. “(3) Executive agency.—The term ‘Executive agency’ has the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code. “(4) Intelligence community.—The term ‘intelligence community’ has the meaning given the term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)) [now 50 U.S.C. 3003(4)]. “(5) START treaty or treaty.—The term ‘START Treaty’ or ‘Treaty’ means the Treaty With the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, including all agreed statements, annexes, protocols, and memoranda, signed at Moscow on
July 31, 1991. “(6) START ii treaty.—The term ‘START II Treaty’ means the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, and related protocols and memorandum of understanding, signed at Moscow on
January 3, 1993.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 2652c

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110