Today, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed the Department of State Authorization Act (H.R. 1157), bipartisan legislation that re-establishes the role of Congress in supporting America’s diplomatic efforts and includes provisions to improve management, construction, and operations processes at the Department of State. Congress has not passed a State Department authorization bill in seventeen years.  

During markup Thursday, the committee also passed the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act, which included an amendment from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53). The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act authorizes an interagency program to improve counterterrorism operations and better coordinate U.S. assistance measures to address rising extremism in the region, including establishing a five-year strategy. Congresswoman Jacobs’ amendment would bolster efforts to improve security sector governance in the region by ensuring that initiatives in the bill incorporate lessons learned from previous efforts. The Jacobs Amendment passed unanimously by voice vote.  

Prior to Congress, Jacobs served at the United Nations and the State Department where she worked on post-coup transitions and responses to electoral violence and violent extremism in Fiji, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs releases the following statement: 

“Congress has a constitutional duty to oversee and authorize our diplomatic efforts at the Department of State, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues from both parties in support of the State Authorization bill. This legislation will improve operations at the State Department, codify important measures and initiatives, and strengthen the Biden Administration’s efforts to rebuild our standing in the world. 

“I also want to thank Chairman Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, and all of my colleagues on the committee for their unanimous support of my amendment to the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act. As someone who worked at the State Department, including on their programs in East and West Africa, I know that our diplomatic and security efforts in the region will benefit from greater deliberation of past successes and failures. Ranking Member McCaul’s legislation calls for a five-year strategy for the Sahel-Maghreb and my bipartisan amendment would guarantee that this strategy and other efforts incorporate lessons learned as we work on future solutions.”