[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1184 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1184
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a
study to evaluate the activities of sister city partnerships operating
within the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 18, 2023
Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Braun, Mr.
Rubio, and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a
study to evaluate the activities of sister city partnerships operating
within the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Sister City Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Education and the Workforce of
the House of Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Foreign community.--The term ``foreign community''
means any subnational unit of government outside of the United
States.
(3) Sister city partnership.--The term ``sister city
partnership'' means a formal agreement between a United States
community and a foreign community that--
(A) is recognized by Sister Cities International;
and
(B) is operating within the United States.
(4) United states community.--The term ``United States
community'' means a State, county, city, or other unit of local
government in the United States.
SEC. 3. STUDY OF SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIPS OPERATING WITHIN THE UNITED
STATES INVOLVING FOREIGN COMMUNITIES IN COUNTRIES WITH
SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC SECTOR CORRUPTION.
(a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study of the activities of sister city partnerships involving
foreign communities in countries receiving a score of 45 or less on
Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index.
(b) Elements of the Study.--The study conducted under subsection
(a) shall--
(1) identify--
(A) the criteria by which foreign communities
identify United States communities as candidates for
sister city partnerships, including themes with respect
to the prominent economic activities and demographics
of such United States communities;
(B) the activities conducted within sister city
partnerships;
(C) the economic and educational outcomes of such
activities;
(D) the types of information that sister city
partnerships make publicly available, including
information relating to contracts and activities;
(E) the means by which United States communities
safeguard freedom of expression within sister city
partnerships; and
(F) the oversight practices that United States
communities implement to mitigate the risks of foreign
espionage and economic coercion within sister city
partnerships;
(2) assess--
(A) the extent to which United States communities
ensure transparency regarding sister city partnership
contracts and activities;
(B) the extent to which sister city partnerships
involve economic arrangements that make United States
communities vulnerable to malign market practices;
(C) the extent to which sister city partnerships
involve educational arrangements that diminish the
freedom of expression;
(D) the extent to which sister city partnerships
allow foreign nationals to access local commercial,
educational, and political institutions;
(E) the extent to which foreign communities could
use sister city partnerships to realize strategic
objectives that do not conduce to the economic and
national security interests of the United States;
(F) the extent to which sister city partnerships
could enable or otherwise contribute to foreign
communities' malign activities globally, including
activities relating to human rights abuses and academic
and industrial espionage; and
(G) the extent to which United States communities
seek to mitigate foreign nationals' potentially
inappropriate use of visa programs to participate in
activities relating to sister city partnerships; and
(3) review--
(A) the range of activities conducted within sister
city partnerships, including activities relating to
cultural exchange and economic development;
(B) how such activities differ between sister city
partnerships; and
(C) best practices to ensure transparency regarding
sister city partnerships' agreements, activities, and
employees.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after initiating
the study required under subsection (a), the Comptroller
General shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that contains the results of such study, including
the findings, conclusions, and recommendations (if any) of the
study.
(2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) may
include a classified annex, if necessary.
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