H.R. 1590 - UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP ACT OF 2003  

This bill, introduced on April 3, 2003 by Mr. Lantos (D-CA) and cosponsored by Mr. Dreier (R-CA), seeks to enhance United States leadership and the functioning of international organizations and multilateral institutions. 

Status 

HR 1590 was referred upon introduction to the House Committee on International Relations, and was not reported out. However, the bill in its entirety was inserted into Title IV, subtitle B, sections 431-439 in HR 1950, known as the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005. The authorization act has been passed by the House of Representatives and is on the calendar for the Senate for March 2004.

Provisions

The legislation directs the President, Secretary of State and/or other relevant officers of the U.S. government to:

• Establish a democracy caucus at the United Nations, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the United Nations Conference on Disarmament and other broad-based international organizations. Identifies purpose of democracy caucus;

• Ensure that a high-level delegation from the U.S. Government is sent annually to consult with key foreign governments in order to promote the United States' agenda at key international for a;

• Use U.S. influence to aid in reformation of criteria for leadership at all international institutions of which the U.S. is a member;

• Increase training in the conduct of multilateral diplomacy for members of the foreign service and certain civil service State Department officials;

• Consider experience in multilateral negotiations for promotion in the foreign service; 

• Submit a report to Congress on mechanisms for achieving the objective of developing a core group of diplomats and other government employees who have expertise and broad experience in conducting multilateral diplomacy. 

• Establish a new office of multilateral negotiations within the State Department; and

• Submit a plan to implement previously passed legislation that resumes the payment of U.S. obligations to international organizations at the beginning of each calendar year, instead of in the middle.

What We Do 

Citizens for Global Solutions helped to bring about the introduction of HR 1590, and strongly supports its inclusion in the final State Department Authorization Act. 

Resources

HR 1590 on Library of Congress Thomas Legislative Information Center 

Text of HR 1590 in PDF Format