The Bureau of Public Affairs (PA) was the part of the United States Department of State that carries out the secretary of state's mandate to help Americans understand the importance of foreign policy. The bureau was led by the assistant secretary of state for public affairs. On May 28, 2019, the bureau merged with the Bureau of International Information Programs into the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, and the duties of the assistant secretary of state merged into the duties of the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs. The PA Bureau pursued the State Department's mission to inform the American people and to feed their concerns and comments back to the policymakers. It accomplished this in a variety of ways, which included:

Office of Regional Media Outreach

The Office of Regional Media Outreach (RMO) provided local, regional, specialty, and national media a central connection point to department newsmakers. Their database of newsmakers enabled members of the media to quickly find an expert at the department to provide insight, analysis, and expertise on foreign affairs, news and events. Searches could be made by name, issue, position or language spoken. Once an expert was identified, their staff would set up an interview for television, radio, or print media. They listed their forty-seven available experts.

Office of Electronic Information

The Office of Electronic Information and Publications oversaw the State Department's website, gathering information from all other parts of the Department, as well as participating in the process of publishing printed documents.

Issues and press

This tab of the State Department's website gives the official U.S. position on the major issues in the news. As it is the official publication of opinion from the U.S. State Department, it offers its own view of an issue, and any reports that support it. It is a start for preliminary research. On this same tab you can find daily press briefings from the major outlets of official statement. A record of "Remarks, Testimony: Senior Officials" since 2001, "Daily Briefings" and "Remarks, Testimony: Senior Officials" Also available is a statement from Secretary Rice and information about joining the listserv to receive 2-5 briefings a day. RSS Feeds and press releases from the Foreign Press Center, USAID, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN). There is a section dedicated to audio and video content, including podcasts. "Major State Department Publications" giving information on past bribery charges and a "Guide to Doing Business" in the U.S. are all available online.

Travel and business

This tab of State's website offers important information and tips for traveling and business. For travel, they offer information on properly documenting your identity on trips. Also included is information on visas, and the developing technology of "e-passports". For business, they offer studies on major foreign markets and subsequent regulations, and provide a tool for international market research.