District of Columbia Sister City Integrity Act

The District of Columbia Sister City Integrity Act would prohibit the District of Columbia government from forming or maintaining any Sister City relationships with jurisdictions located in foreign adversary countries. A "foreign adversary country" is defined by referencing the term “covered nation” in 10 U.S.C. 4872(f)(2). For any Sister City relationships that already exist and involve such a jurisdiction, DC would be required to terminate them by the earlier of the contract’s end date or 180 days after enactment. Additionally, the Act would bar the use of federal funds for liaison and outreach to diplomatic and international communities unless DC certifies to the President that it is in compliance with the Act. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Marsha Blackburn on July 31, 2025. In short, the bill ties DC’s international-city relationships to U.S. national-security-aligned prohibitions on certain foreign-adversary nations and imposes funding-related enforcement and timelines for compliance.