22 U.S.C. § 2720 — Closing of consular and diplomatic posts abroad

(a) Prohibited uses of funds. Unless subsection (d) applies or subsections (b) and (c) are followed: (1) State Department funds authorized for appropriation may not pay expenses related to closing a United States consular or diplomatic post abroad; and (2) those funds may not pay expenses of the Department's Bureau of Administration, or perform its functions, if a United States consular or diplomatic post is closed. (b) Post-closing notice. At least 45 days before closing such a post, the Secretary must notify the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. (c) Reprogramming. Money made available for post-closing expenses is treated as a reprogramming under section 2706 and cannot be obligated or spent except under the procedures for that reprogramming. (d) Exceptions. This section does not apply to a post closed because United States diplomatic relations with the country were broken or downgraded, or because of a real and present threat to United States diplomatic or consular personnel in the city combined with a State Department travel advisory warning United States citizens not to travel there. (e) Definition. "Consular or diplomatic post" does not include a post staffed only by agencies other than the State Department.