S.Amdt. 2134

SA 2134. Mr. WICKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. ENHANCEMENT OF COMMERCIAL ENGAGEMENT.

(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce.
(b) Program.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
including any provision of title 5, United States Code, the
Secretary may appoint locally-engaged staff in Pacific Island
countries for the purpose of promoting increased economic and
commercial engagement between the United States and those
countries.
(c) Availability of Funds.--Until September 30, 2024,
amounts appropriated to the Secretary under any other
provision of law shall be available to carry out subsection
(b).
(d) Report.--Not later than March 15, 2025, the Secretary,
in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary
of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report on the activities of any staff appointed
under subsection (b), which shall include--
(1) an assessment of the commercial results of those
activities, including the impact on United States companies
and on the economies of the applicable Pacific Island
countries;
(2) an assessment of the impact of those activities with
respect to the diplomatic and security interests of the
United States;
(3) recommendations for the future of United States
commercial engagement in Pacific Island countries; and
(4) any other matter that the Secretary determines is
appropriate.
(e) Rule of Construction.--For the purposes of this
section, American Samoa shall be considered to be a Pacific
Island country.
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