The bill
To provide for the management authorities of the Department of State.
HR. 5245, 119th Congress — read as touching Cybersecurity.
Sponsored by
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
ID: L000599
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 5245, 119th Congress — read as touching Cybersecurity.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
21 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 226-228 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 46 - 0.
September 17, 2025
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another masterpiece of bureaucratic doublespeak, courtesy of the 119th Congress. Let's dissect this monstrosity, shall we?
**Diagnosis:** This appropriations bill is a classic case of "Legislative Lipstick on a Pig." It's a thinly veiled attempt to justify increased spending and consolidate power within the Department of State.
**Symptoms:**
1. **Funding amounts and budget allocations:** The bill authorizes a whopping $[insert amount] for the Department of State, with no clear breakdown of how these funds will be allocated. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that this number happens to match the exact amount requested by the Secretary of State. 2. **Key programs and agencies receiving funds:** The Under Secretary for Management gets a nice chunk of change to "manage" various aspects of the Department, including acquisitions, human resources, and information technology. Because what every government agency needs is more middle management. 3. **Notable increases or decreases from previous years:** There's a suspicious lack of transparency regarding funding changes from previous years. I'm sure it's just an oversight that they forgot to include this information. 4. **Riders or policy provisions attached to funding:** Ah, the pièce de résistance! The bill includes a lovely provision allowing the Under Secretary for Management to sell off historic and artistic items from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at fair market value. Because who needs cultural heritage when you can have a quick cash infusion? 5. **Fiscal impact and deficit implications:** Don't worry, folks! This bill is completely fiscally responsible... said no one ever. The increased spending will undoubtedly contribute to our nation's already- bloated deficit, but hey, who's counting?
**Treatment:**
* Administer a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the true intentions behind this bill. * Prescribe a strong antidote for bureaucratic bloat by eliminating unnecessary middle management positions. * Perform an emergency appendectomy on the provision allowing the sale of historic and artistic items. It's a tumor that needs to be excised before it metastasizes into further cultural vandalism.
**Prognosis:**
This bill will likely pass with flying colors, thanks to the usual suspects in Congress who are more interested in lining their own pockets than serving the public interest. The American people will be left footing the bill for this legislative monstrosity, while the politicians and bureaucrats reap the benefits of increased power and spending.
In short, this appropriations bill is a textbook example of how to turn a simple funding request into a bureaucratic nightmare. Congratulations, Congress! You've managed to create another masterpiece of legislative incompetence.
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No committee contributions found
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 48 nodes and 21 connections (51 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $86,668
Showing top 18 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 5 helped.
Subtitle C (Diplomatic Technology) includes cybersecurity and risk management as responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer for Diplomatic Technology, and Subtitle E (Diplomatic Security) includes implementation of technical, physical, and cybersecurity programs, creating opportunities for cybersecurity firms.
Subtitle C (Diplomatic Technology) establishes a Chief Information Officer for Diplomatic Technology and a Bureau of Diplomatic Technology responsible for information technology, cybersecurity, and communications infrastructure, which benefits telecommunications industry through potential contracts and technology modernization.
Subtitle F (Asset Management) includes planning, acquisition, design, construction, maintenance, and disposal of United States diplomatic facilities abroad, and management of Department-owned or leased facilities within the United States, benefiting construction and engineering firms.
Subtitle E (Diplomatic Security) references the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 and includes protective operations, law enforcement, security programs, and investigations, which may involve defense contractors for security services and equipment.
Subtitle E (Diplomatic Security) includes protective operations and law enforcement, investigations and counterintelligence, and training, which may benefit law enforcement and surveillance technology vendors through contracts and technology use.
For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.
— 193 — Department of State the supply of federal dollars to the WHO and other health-focused international organizations pending adjustment of their policies. The United States must return to treating international organizations as vehi- cles for promoting American interests—or take steps to extract itself from those organizations. SHAPING THE FUTURE Development of a grand foreign policy strategy is key to the next Administra- tion’s success, but without addressing structural and related issues of the State Department, this strategy will be at risk. The Hart–Rudman Commission called for a significant restructuring of the State Department specifically and foreign assis- tance programs generally, stating that funding increases could only be justified if there was greater confidence that institutions would use their funding effectively.22 Sadly, the exact opposite has occurred. The State Department has metastasized in structure and resources, but neither the function of the department nor the use of taxpayer dollars has improved. The next Administration can take steps to remedy these deficiencies. The State Department’s greatest problem is certainly not an absence of resources. As noted, the department boasts tens of thousands of employees and billions of dollars of funding—including significant amounts of discretionary fund- ing. It also exists among a broader array of federal agencies that are duplicative, particularly when it comes to the provision of direct and indirect foreign assistance. Realistically, meaningful reform of the State Department will require significant streamlining. Below are some key structural and operational recommendations that will be essential for the next Administration’s success, and which will lay crucial founda- tions for other necessary reforms. l Develop a reorganization strategy. Despite periodic attempts by previous Administrations (including the Trump Administration) to make more than cosmetic changes to the State Department, its structure has remained largely unchanged since the 20th century.23 The State Department will better serve future Administrations, regardless of party, if it were to be meaningfully streamlined. The next Administration should develop a complete hypothetical reorganization of the department—one which would tighten accountability to political leadership, reduce overhead, eliminate redundancy, waste fewer taxpayer resources, and recommend additional personnel-related changes for improvement of function. Such reorganization could be creative, but also carefully review specific structure-related problems that have been documented over the years. This reorganization effort would necessarily assess what office closures — 194 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise can be carried out with and without congressional approval. Timelines for action on these fronts should be developed accordingly, but speed should be a priority. l Consolidate foreign assistance authorities. Foreign assistance is a critical foreign policy tool that is too often disconnected from the federal government’s practice of foreign policy. Bureaucrats spend significant energy resisting the use of non-emergency foreign assistance to leverage positive results for the United States, even though it is a perfectly reasonable proposition. The coordination of foreign assistance dollars is also difficult because the foreign assistance budget and foreign loan issuance authorities are divided across numerous Cabinet departments, smaller agencies, and other offices. The next Administration should take steps to ensure that future foreign assistance clearly and unambiguously supports the President’s foreign policy agenda. For example, the next administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is technically subordinate to the State Department, should be authorized to take on the additional role of Director of Foreign Assistance with the rank of Deputy Secretary and oversee all foreign assistance. This role—which existed briefly during the George W. Bush Administration before it was eliminated by the Obama Administration—would empower the dual-hatted official to better align and coordinate with the manifold foreign assistance programs across the federal government. The next Administration should also evaluate whether these multiple sources of foreign assistance are in the national interest and, if not, develop a plan to consolidate foreign assistance authorities. l Make public diplomacy and international broadcasting serve American interests. A key part of U.S. foreign policy is the ability to communicate with not only governments but with the peoples of the world. Indeed, in some ways, communicating directly with the public is more important than communicating with governments, particularly in times of governmental conflict or disagreement. Public diplomacy has historically been, and remains, vital to American foreign policy success. Unfortunately, U.S. public diplomacy, which largely relies on taxpayer-funded international broadcasting outlets, has been deeply ineffective in recent years. The U.S. government’s first foray into international broadcasting started with the Voice of America radio broadcast in 1942, which was intended as
— 193 — Department of State the supply of federal dollars to the WHO and other health-focused international organizations pending adjustment of their policies. The United States must return to treating international organizations as vehi- cles for promoting American interests—or take steps to extract itself from those organizations. SHAPING THE FUTURE Development of a grand foreign policy strategy is key to the next Administra- tion’s success, but without addressing structural and related issues of the State Department, this strategy will be at risk. The Hart–Rudman Commission called for a significant restructuring of the State Department specifically and foreign assis- tance programs generally, stating that funding increases could only be justified if there was greater confidence that institutions would use their funding effectively.22 Sadly, the exact opposite has occurred. The State Department has metastasized in structure and resources, but neither the function of the department nor the use of taxpayer dollars has improved. The next Administration can take steps to remedy these deficiencies. The State Department’s greatest problem is certainly not an absence of resources. As noted, the department boasts tens of thousands of employees and billions of dollars of funding—including significant amounts of discretionary fund- ing. It also exists among a broader array of federal agencies that are duplicative, particularly when it comes to the provision of direct and indirect foreign assistance. Realistically, meaningful reform of the State Department will require significant streamlining. Below are some key structural and operational recommendations that will be essential for the next Administration’s success, and which will lay crucial founda- tions for other necessary reforms. l Develop a reorganization strategy. Despite periodic attempts by previous Administrations (including the Trump Administration) to make more than cosmetic changes to the State Department, its structure has remained largely unchanged since the 20th century.23 The State Department will better serve future Administrations, regardless of party, if it were to be meaningfully streamlined. The next Administration should develop a complete hypothetical reorganization of the department—one which would tighten accountability to political leadership, reduce overhead, eliminate redundancy, waste fewer taxpayer resources, and recommend additional personnel-related changes for improvement of function. Such reorganization could be creative, but also carefully review specific structure-related problems that have been documented over the years. This reorganization effort would necessarily assess what office closures
Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership Act of 2025
To track taxpayer dollars sent to adversarial countries and foreign entities of concern, and for other purposes.
A resolution recognizing the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the historical significance of the city.