Sec. 309. Diplomatic programs
318 words·~1 min read·
/bill/116/hr/3352/ih/section-309A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary should continue to hold entry-level classes for Foreign Service officers and specialists and continue to recruit civil servants through programs such as the Presidential Management Fellows Program and Pathways Internship Programs in a manner and at a frequency consistent with prior years and consistent with the need to maintain a pool of experienced personnel effectively distributed across skill codes and ranks. It is further the sense of Congress that absent continuous recruitment and training of Foreign Service officers and civil servants, the Department will lack experienced, qualified personnel in the short, medium, and long terms.
The Secretary may not obligate or expend any amounts for any reduction-in-force action under section 3502 or 3595 of title 5, United States Code, or for any incentive payments for early separation or retirement under any other provision of law unless— the appropriate congressional committees are notified not less than 15 days in advance of such obligation or expenditure; and the Secretary has provided to the appropriate congressional committees a detailed report that describes the Department’s strategic staffing goals, including— a justification that describes how any proposed workforce reduction enhances the effectiveness of the Department; a certification that such workforce reduction is in the national interest of the United States; a comprehensive strategic staffing plan for the Department, including five-year workforce forecasting and a description of the anticipated impact of any proposed workforce reduction; and a dataset displaying comprehensive workforce data for all current and planned employees of the Department, disaggregated by— Foreign Service officer and Foreign Service specialist rank; civil service job skill code, grade level, and bureau of assignment; contracted employees, including the equivalent job skill code and bureau of assignment; and employees hired under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, including their equivalent grade and job skill code and bureau of assignment.