On July 27, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved S. 1631, the Department of State Authorization Act of FY2018, as amended, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).
Among other provisions, the bill would authorize the Office of Global Women’s Issues within the State Department. The office would “serve as principal advisor to the [s]ecretary regarding gender equity, women’s empowerment, and violence against women and girls as a foreign policy matter.” The measure also would authorize an ambassador-at-large to head the office.
Although its origins date back to 1995, President Obama established the office in 2009; to date, it has not been enacted in statute.
