June 16, 2026
Mr. Kaine (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
To establish, at the Department of State, the Esther Coopersmith Award in recognition of a distinguished diplomat advancing sustainable peace and security.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Esther Coopersmith Award Act
.
Sec. 2. Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
The United Nations Secretary General’s 2025 Report on Women, Peace and Security notes an estimated 676,000,000 women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of a deadly conflict event during 2024, which is the highest number since the 1990s.
(2)
The meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and conflict resolution processes—
(A)
promotes more inclusive and democratic societies; and
(B)
is critical to the long-term stability and security of those countries and regions.
(3)
In 2017, President Trump signed the bipartisan Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–68), which codified decades’ long efforts to strategically address material threats to United States national security by supporting United States leadership in improving the participation of women in peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and decision-making institutions.
(4)
In 2018, President Trump signed the bipartisan Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act (Public Law 115–428) to recognize the vital contribution women’s full and unfettered economic participation and inclusion plays in fostering global growth, prosperity, and stability.
(5)
In October 2023, President Biden released the United States Strategy and National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security to better equip United States national security agencies with the tools to address shifts in geopolitical challenges and advancements in technology.
(6)
Executive Order 13595 (76 Fed. Reg. 80205 (December 19, 2011); instituting a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security)—
(A)
institutionalized a United States Government-wide effort promoting women’s participation in conflict prevention, management and resolution, and post-conflict recovery; and
(B)
noted the responsibility of all nations to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including when implemented by means of sexual violence.
(7)
For 70 years, the late United States diplomat Esther Coopersmith leveraged creativity and innovation to build bridges and forge common understanding, which contributed invaluably to United States peace and security.
Sec. 3. Alignment of award recognizing United States diplomatic efforts within United States law
Section 614 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is amended by inserting and the rights of women and girls
after freedom of religion
.
Sec. 4. Establishment of the Esther Coopersmith Award for Advancing Peace and Security
(a) Establishment
The Secretary of State shall establish an annual individual or group performance award, which shall be known as the Esther Coopersmith Award
.
(b) Recipients
Recipients of the Esther Coopersmith Award shall—
(1)
be members of the Civil Service or of the Foreign Service who have made meaningful contributions advancing the purposes of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–68) or the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act 2018 (Public Law 115–428) to sustainably prevent, mitigate, or resolve conflict, violence, or instability;
(2)
include one honorable mention recipient annually; and
(3)
meet with the Secretary of State.
(c) Efforts To be recognized
Recipients of the Esther Coopersmith Award shall be recognized for actions promoting women’s leadership in efforts, such as—
(1)
integrating the perspectives and interests of affected women into conflict-prevention activities and strategies;
(2)
encouraging partner governments to adopt plans to improve the meaningful participation of women in peace and security processes and decision-making institutions;
(3)
promoting the physical safety, economic security, and dignity of women and girls;
(4)
supporting the equal access of women to aid distribution mechanisms and services; and
(5)
supporting foreign capacity to collect or analyze data for the purpose of developing and enhancing early warning systems of conflict and violence.
(d) Representation
In accordance with section 5(a)(1) of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2152j–1(a)(1)), the Secretary of State shall support recipients’ official travel to attend a major global security conference to support the alignment of global efforts advancing peace and security.
(e) Administration
The Secretary of State shall—
(1)
designate the Office of Global Women’s Issues to administer the Esther Coopersmith Award; and
(2)
receive input regarding award recipients through an award review panel composed of Assistant Secretaries of State and Chiefs of Missions.
Sec. 5. Mandatory training
In accordance with section 6(a) of the Women, Peace and Security Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2152j–2(a)), award recipients and honorable mentions shall present their work virtually to—
(1)
the Chiefs of Mission Conference; and
(2)
at least 1 entry level training course (such as the A–100 class) for incoming Foreign Service officers.
Sec. 6. Report
(a) In general
Not later than 90 days after the Secretary of State selects recipients pursuant to section 4, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that describes the efforts undertaken by the recipients to promote women’s roles in supporting peace and security.
(b) Matters To be included
The report required under subsection (a) shall—
(1)
describe United States interests in resolving the conflict, instability, or violence addressed by the recipients;
(2)
describe the recipients’ actions and resulting outcomes, including those taken by a United States Mission, Department of State bureau, foreign government, or other stakeholders;
(3)
assess areas for potential further action and lessons learned; and
(4)
identify steps to be taken by the Department of State to replicate or carry forward work initiated by the award recipient, if applicable.
Sec. 7. Sunset
This Act, and the amendment made by this Act, shall cease to have any force or effect beginning on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.