← Back to Bills
H.R. 5323House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

To enhance subnational diplomacy efforts within the Department of State, and for other purposes.

Sponsored by Ted LieuRep. Ted Lieu (D-CA)
Introduced September 11, 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM UTC

The bill establishes an Office of Subnational Diplomacy in the State Department to help U.S. state, county, city, and municipal governments engage more effectively with foreign partners. Led by a Special Representative, the office will work to attract foreign investment, counter foreign malign influence, and align local activities with U.S. foreign policy goals. It also aims to build capacity among local officials and coordinate with national subnational leadership groups.

Key Provisions

  • Creates a new Office of Subnational Diplomacy within the State Department to work directly with U.S. state, county, city, and municipal governments.
  • Places the office under a Special Representative for Subnational Diplomacy who reports to the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs.
  • Charges the Special Representative with advising the Under Secretary, coordinating the Department’s support for local‑foreign government engagements, and serving as the primary official on subnational diplomacy matters.
  • Provides guidance to local officials on risks of foreign influence and best practices for resilience against malign activities.
  • Assists subnational governments in attracting foreign investment, bidding for major international events, tracking local foreign direct investment trends, and building staff capacity for foreign engagement.
  • Promotes sports diplomacy and other cooperative programs with foreign entities, and helps local officials negotiate agreements or memoranda of understanding with foreign governments.
  • Coordinates activities with national associations of subnational leaders such as the Conference of Mayors, National Governors Association, and National League of Cities.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action
HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Affairs Committee

September 11, 2025

View full timeline
HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

September 11, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Affairs Committee

September 11, 2025

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 5323 on the floor

1 Republican
Joe Wilson
Rep. Joe WilsonR-SC-2 · Jun 11, 2026

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 5248 and specifically Section 8 regarding subnational diplomacy, an effort I was grateful to champion with my colleague Ted Lieu. H.R. 5248 is an…

Record

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode
Latest
Raw Text PDF XML
Introduced in HouseIssued September 11, 2025

I

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 5323

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 11, 2025

Mr. Lieu (for himself and Mr. Meeks) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To enhance subnational diplomacy efforts within the Department of State, and for other purposes.

1.

Office of Subnational Diplomacy

(a)

In general

There shall be established in the Department of State an Office of Subnational Diplomacy (referred to in this subsection as the Office). The Office shall enable the work of the Department with sub-national units of governments (such as State, county, city, and municipal governments) within the United States to improve the ability of such units of government to attract foreign investment, counter foreign malign influence within the United States, and contribute to the foreign policy priorities of the United States.

(b)

Head of office

The head of the Office shall be the Special Representative for Subnational Diplomacy, who shall report to the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs.

(c)

Responsibilities

The Special Representative for Subnational Diplomacy shall additionally be responsible for—

(1)

advising the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs on sub-national engagements within the United States;

(2)

serving as the principal official on such matters within the Department;

(3)

coordinating the Department’s support for local and municipal governmental engagements with foreign governments;

(4)

advising subnational government officials on the potential risks of engagements with countries of concern and sharing best practices to build resilience against foreign political interference and malign influence;

(5)

assisting subnational governments in—

(A)

attracting or bidding to host major international events;

(B)

tracking foreign direct investment at the county and municipal levels to highlight trends and opportunities;

(C)

attracting foreign direct investment and other forms of economic cooperation;

(D)

building the capacity and knowledge of subnational government staff who have responsibility for engaging with foreign countries;

(E)

advancing sports diplomacy with foreign countries and entities;

(F)

implementing programs to cooperate with foreign governments and entities on policy priorities or managing shared resources; and

(G)

understanding the local implications of foreign policy developments or policy changes;

(6)

supporting the economic interests of the United States through subnational engagements, in consultation and coordination with other relevant agencies;

(7)

advising and informing local officials during the negotiation of agreements or memoranda of understanding with foreign governments related to subnational engagements and priorities; and

(8)

coordinating subnational engagements with associations of subnational elected leaders, such as the United States Conference of Mayors, National Governors Association, National League of Cities, and similar associations.