Risch Introduces Embassy in a Box Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday introduced the Embassy in a Box Act, legislation requiring the State Department to create and implement a process for better supporting new diplomatic missions.

“As the State Department moves to open small embassies to advance our diplomatic interests and counter Chinese influence, it is critical they are properly resourced and staffed. Unfortunately, the current process is opaque and can take several years to get an embassy up and running properly,” said Risch. “It is past time the Department put procedures and processes in place to ensure our diplomats can hit the ground running. This bill helps the Department get around its own bureaucratic red tape and back to the business of conducting diplomacy.”

The Embassy in a Box Act:

• Requires the State Department to develop an “embassy in a box concept” that provides expedited procedures and physical resources needed to stand up new diplomatic missions overseas.
• Requires the secretary of State to issue guidance so the Department can build new embassies more quickly and save taxpayer dollars.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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