Congress·In Committee·S. 4790

Esther Coopersmith Award Act

State Department: New Award for Diplomats Supporting Women's Rights

Jun 16·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 senate committee

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations received this bill on June 16, 2026. It has not moved since that date and remains under review by the committee. Most bills like this do not receive a vote and often stall at this stage.

Companion bill: State Department: New Award for Peace and Women's Rights →

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Could go either way

The bill has bipartisan support from well-known senators and builds on previous laws signed by both parties. However, small bills like this often get stuck behind bigger priorities.

How we got here

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

Companion
Identical companion bill H.R. 9405 (119th) was introduced in the other chamber.
H.R. 9405 (119th) →

Key Points

This bill creates a new honor called the Esther Coopersmith Award at the State Department. It will be given every year to government workers or teams who do outstanding work to help women and girls in areas facing conflict or violence.
The award focuses on diplomats who help women get involved in peace talks and government decisions. Research shows that when women are part of these processes, countries are more likely to stay stable and peaceful for a long time.
Winners of the award will get to meet with the Secretary of State and travel to a major international security meeting. They will also teach new diplomats about their work to help the next generation of leaders learn how to support women's rights abroad.
The State Department will have to send a report to Congress explaining what the winners did and how their work helped American interests. This ensures that successful strategies for promoting peace are shared and used in other parts of the world.

Impact Analysis

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

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 16, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 16, 2026

Introduced in Senate

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

Esther Coopersmith Award Act

Bill NumberS 4790

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.