Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8833

Sister City Transparency Act

Sister City Transparency Act: Study of Foreign Partnerships

May 14·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

The Sister City Transparency Act is currently in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Since May 13, 2026, the bill has not moved, and it must be reviewed by this committee before it can proceed. Most bills do not receive a committee vote, so this proposal is currently stalled.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill is led by a small group of Republicans and does not currently have support from the majority party. Most bills that only call for a study without a big push from leadership do not make it to a final vote.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 2724 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 2724 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill asks the government to look into sister city deals between American towns and cities in foreign countries. It focuses on partnerships with countries that have high levels of government corruption.
The goal is to find out if these partnerships are being used for spying or to unfairly pressure American communities. The study will check if foreign groups are using these deals to get secret access to local businesses, schools, or political offices.
The study will also look at whether these agreements hurt free speech or lead to human rights abuses. It wants to make sure that local governments are being open and honest about the contracts they sign with foreign partners.
A report with the findings must be given to Congress within six months of the study starting. This report will help lawmakers decide if new rules are needed to protect national security at the local level.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 14, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

May 14, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Sister City Transparency Act

Bill NumberHR 8833

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(2)

R: 2

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.