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H.R.1516 / 119th Congress

To require the Secretary of State to report an assessment of the Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau, including whether the Bureau should be maintained, explanations of its function, and cost analysis of the Bureau.

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Official summary

No official summary is available in the imported record yet.

Who introduced it

Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4] · R–IN

Committees

  • Foreign Affairs Committee
0 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

    Actions

    A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

    1. Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

    2. Introduced in House

    3. Introduced in House

    Bill text & related measures

    Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.

    Related bills identified by Congress.gov

    No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

    Source last updated: May 9, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

    Explore the bill from different angles

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    Neutral evidence review

    Objective

    Analyze H.R.1516 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

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    Fairness and public impact

    Progressive lens

    Examine H.R.1516 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

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    Institutions and government scope

    Conservative lens

    Examine H.R.1516 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

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    Individual rights and government power

    Liberty lens

    Examine H.R.1516 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

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    Read the proposal in plain language

    AI-generated · Source-checked by AI · Nov 1, 2026

    Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-24 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.

    What it would do

    This proposal would require the Secretary of State to report to Congress on whether to keep the State Department’s Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau. The report would explain the bureau’s unique role, examine operating costs and possible costs and savings from closing it, and outline whether other bureaus would take over any functions or staff. It would require an assessment, rather than direct the bureau’s closure.

    Check the sources
    (a) In general The Secretary of State submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees no more than 180 days after the passage of this bill concerning the Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau (referred to as the Bureau).
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24
    (b) Composition The report shall consist of— (1) a bottom-line assessment as to whether the Bureau should be maintained; (2) an explanation of the unique function the Bureau serves; (3) an analysis of the costs associated with the function of the Bureau, including— (A) potential costs related to the dissolution of the Bureau; and (B) potential savings, both immediate and long-term, related to the dissolution of the Bureau; and (4) a plan detailing which, if any, functions or personnel of the Bureau would be absorbed by other Bureaus at the Department.
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24

    How it would work

    The Secretary of State would submit the report within 180 days after “passage of this bill,” the deadline trigger used in the text.

    Check the source
    The Secretary of State submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees no more than 180 days after the passage of this bill concerning the Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau (referred to as the Bureau).
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24

    The report would go to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

    Check the sources
    The Secretary of State submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24
    (c) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24

    The report would have to assess whether the bureau should be kept and explain what unique function it serves.

    Check the source
    The report shall consist of— (1) a bottom-line assessment as to whether the Bureau should be maintained; (2) an explanation of the unique function the Bureau serves;
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24

    The report would analyze the bureau’s costs, including potential costs of closing it and potential immediate and long-term savings. The provision calls for analysis; it does not establish that closing the bureau would save money.

    Check the source
    (3) an analysis of the costs associated with the function of the Bureau, including— (A) potential costs related to the dissolution of the Bureau; and (B) potential savings, both immediate and long-term, related to the dissolution of the Bureau;
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24

    The report would include a plan identifying which functions or staff, if any, other State Department bureaus would take over. The wording allows for a plan identifying no such transfers.

    Check the source
    (4) a plan detailing which, if any, functions or personnel of the Bureau would be absorbed by other Bureaus at the Department.
    Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-02-24

    What the record shows

    The supplied actions snapshot, updated May 9, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on February 24, 2025.

    Check the source
    Source snapshot updated 2025-05-09T19:03:48Z. 2025-02-24: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 2025-02-24: Introduced in House
    Official legislative record · 2025-05-09T19:03:48Z

    Riders & Targeted Benefits

    Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-24. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.

    This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.

    Riders

    Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.

    None identified in the reviewed text

    No unrelated provision was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of other versions or accompanying materials.

    Earmarks

    Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.

    None identified in the reviewed text

    No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying earmark disclosures and committee materials were not supplied.

    Other targeted benefits

    Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.

    None identified in the reviewed text

    No materially narrow exemption, carve-out, or preferential benefit was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of other versions or accompanying materials.

    What this analysis cannot establish

    • This analysis covers the supplied introduced text. The dated actions snapshot does not establish subsequent legislative action or enactment; its silence does not prove that the bill never advanced or became law.
    • The text uses “passage of this bill” without defining that deadline trigger. The supplied evidence does not establish a calendar due date.
    • The bundle contains no completed assessment or cost estimates, so it does not establish whether retaining or closing the bureau would be preferable or what either option would cost.

    Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: May 9, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI