Reps. Sara Jacobs and Michael Baumgartner Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Encourage Expeditionary Diplomacy
Reps. Sara Jacobs (CA-51) and Michael Baumgartner (WA-05) introduced bipartisan legislation to empower U.S. diplomats to conduct expeditionary diplomacy, which is key to strengthening partnerships, gaining enhanced intelligence and local understanding, crisis response and management, supporting “whole of mission” strategies, and more. The bipartisan Expeditionary Diplomacy Renewal Act would help shift U.S. diplomacy away from a risk-averse, bunker-style approach and toward one that takes calculated, managed risks to ensure diplomats are more present, engaged, and effective in higher-risk environments.
This legislation builds upon Rep. Sara Jacobs’ Diplomatic Support and Security Act, which passed into law in 2022, and reformed the Accountability Review Board process to ensure more balanced risk tolerance, required training on risk management, and amended promotion requirements for employees to incentivize more expeditionary diplomacy.
Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Expeditionary diplomacy is essential for our diplomatic corps. We need to empower our diplomats to gain valuable information, build lasting partnerships, and respond to complex and deadly situations – especially in conflict zones or unstable regions. But too often, diplomats remain behind walls and wires, contained in capital cities, unable to do their jobs effectively. That’s why I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan Expeditionary Diplomacy Renewal Act, which would help find innovative solutions by establishing a dedicated team to study what’s getting in the way of expeditionary diplomacy and implement fixes. We can protect our diplomats’ safety and further U.S. national security and my bill shows the blueprint to do both.”
“The State Department cannot advance America’s interests from behind blast walls. Despite recent reforms, expeditionary diplomacy remains far too difficult to approve and practice in high-threat environments. Our bill takes the next step by defining expeditionary diplomacy, identifying the barriers to implementation, and creating a Tiger Team to drive real change. This legislation will help the Department move past its bunker mentality and empower our diplomats to manage risk responsibly — not avoid it. I’m proud to co-lead this effort with Congresswoman Sara Jacobs,” said Congressman Michael Baumgartner (WA-05).
“The Expeditionary Diplomacy Renewal Act sets out a clear path to remove unnecessary barriers that too often inhibit our Foreign Service Officers from conducting direct, personal diplomacy in the places that need it most. This legislation builds off of previous bipartisan efforts to encourage Department of State leadership to employ risk management practices that give more autonomy to our diplomats who knowingly choose to serve in challenging environments to advance American interests,” said Brian Volsky, Policy Director, Foreign Policy for America.
The Expeditionary Diplomacy Renewal Act would:
- Require the State Department to establish a definition of expeditionary diplomacy through consultation with external stakeholders;
- Require a Government Accountability Office report on challenges with respect to expeditionary diplomacy and recommendations to address such challenges;
- Express the Sense of Congress that the President’s Letters of Instructions should promote risk management to encourage expeditionary diplomacy;
- Amend the Foreign Service Act to add to Chief of Mission duties the requirement to exercise appropriate risk management practices and encourage expeditionary diplomacy
- Establish a “Tiger Team” at the Department to produce and monitor the implementation of recommendations to improve expeditionary diplomacy
Foreign Policy for America and the American Academy of Diplomacy have endorsed the Expeditionary Diplomacy Renewal Act.
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