S. 3681Senate117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

A bill to require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress classified dissent cables relating to the withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 8, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTC

The bill requires the Secretary of State to turn over any classified State Department cables or memos that contain dissenting opinions about the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan to Congress, and to release unclassified versions to the public. It sets deadlines for these actions and protects the identity of the authors by redacting personal information. The measure affects the State Department’s internal communications and provides Congress and the public with insight into dissenting views on the withdrawal.

Key Provisions

Within 30 days of the law’s enactment, the Secretary must submit to Congress any classified State Department cable or memo that expresses a dissenting recommendation or opinion about the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Within 60 days of the law’s enactment, the Secretary must make an unclassified version of each such cable or memo publicly available.
The author’s name and any personally identifiable information must be redacted before the documents are submitted to Congress or released to the public.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S788)

Foreign Relations Committee

February 17, 2022

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

February 17, 2022

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S788)

Foreign Relations Committee

February 17, 2022

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about S. 3681 on the floor

1 Republican1 Democrat

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Feb 17, 2022

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. John ThuneR-SD · Feb 17, 2022

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. John ThuneR-SD · Feb 17, 2022

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued February 17, 2022

117th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 3681

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 17, 2022

Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Braun, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress classified dissent cables relating to the withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.

Submission to Congress of dissent cables relating to withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan

(a)

Submission of classified dissent cables to Congress

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress any classified Department of State cable or memo that expresses a dissenting recommendation or opinion with respect to the withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.

(b)

Public availability of unclassified dissent cables

Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall make available to the public an unclassified version of any such cable or memo.

(c)

Protection of personally identifiable information

The name and any other personally identifiable information of an author of a cable or memo referred to in subsection (a) shall be redacted before submission under that subsection or publication under subsection (b).