Sec. 30213. Increasing Department of State personnel and resources devoted to the Indo-Pacific

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Congress makes the following findings: In fiscal year 2020, the Department of State allocated $1,500,000,000 to the Indo-Pacific region in bilateral and regional foreign assistance resources, including as authorized by section 201(b) of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 ( Public Law 115–409 ; 132 Stat. 5391), and $798,000,000 in the fiscal year 2020 diplomatic engagement budget. These amounts represent only 5 percent of the diplomatic engagement budget and only 4 percent of the total Department of State-USAID budget.

Over the last 5 years the diplomatic engagement budget and personnel levels in the Indo-Pacific averaged only 5 percent of the total, while foreign assistance resources averaged only 4 percent of the total. In 2020, the Department of State began a process to realign certain positions at posts to ensure that its personnel footprint matches the demands of great-power competition, including in the Indo-Pacific. It is the sense of Congress that— the size of the United States diplomatic corps must be sufficient to meet the current and emerging challenges of the 21st century, including those in the Indo-Pacific region and elsewhere; robust Chinese-language skills are necessary for the success of the United States diplomatic corps and integral to its ability to meet national security objectives; the increase must be designed to meet the objectives of an Indo-Pacific strategy focused on strengthening the good governance and sovereignty of countries that adhere to and uphold the rules-based international order; and the increase must be implemented with a focus on increased numbers of economic, political, and public diplomacy officers, representing a cumulative increase of at least 200 Foreign Service officer generalists, to— advance free, fair, and reciprocal trade and open investment environments for United States entities, and engaged in increased commercial diplomacy in key markets; better articulate and explain United States policies, strengthen civil society and democratic principles, enhance reporting on global activities, promote people-to-people exchanges, and advance United States influence; and increase capacity at small- and medium-sized embassies and consulates in the Indo-Pacific and other regions around the world, as necessary.

It shall be the policy of the United States to— ensure Department of State funding levels and personnel footprint in the Indo-Pacific reflect the region’s high degree of importance and significance to United States political, economic, and security interests; and increase diplomatic engagement and foreign assistance funding and the quantity of personnel dedicated to the Indo-Pacific region respective to the Department of State’s total budget. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees (including the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate) of Congress an action plan that includes the following elements:

Identification of requirements to advance United States strategic objectives in the Indo-Pacific and the personnel and budgetary resources for the Department of State needed to satisfy such objectives, assuming an unconstrained resource environment. A plan to increase the portion of the Department’s budget dedicated to the Indo-Pacific in terms of DE and FA focused on development, economic, and security assistance. A plan to increase the number of positions at posts in the Indo-Pacific region and bureaus with responsibility for the Indo-Pacific region, including a description of increases at each post or bureau, a breakdown of increases by cone, and a description of how such increases in personnel will advance United States strategic objectives in the Indo-Pacific region.

A plan to increase the number of Chinese-language speakers and translation specialists at posts in the Indo-Pacific region and within bureau offices with responsibility for the Indo-Pacific region, including in INR. A description of any staffing or other training or personnel reforms that may be required to quickly increase departmental capacity to address the inter-disciplinary, interconnected opportunities and challenges presented in the Indo-Pacific, including but not limited to issues related to climate change, public health, supply chains, cybersecurity, and digital technology issues.

Defined concrete and annual benchmarks that the Department will meet in implementing the action plan. A description of any barriers to implementing the action plan and recommendations to address these barriers, noting whether additional authorities or resources from Congress is needed to address these barriers. Every 180 days after the submission of the action plan described in subsection

(d)for not more than 3 years, the Secretary of State shall submit an update and brief the appropriate congressional committees (including the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate) on the implementation of such action plan, with supporting data and including a detailed assessment of benchmarks reached. There is authorized to be appropriated, for fiscal year 2022, $2,000,000,000 in bilateral and regional foreign assistance resources to carry out the purposes of part I and chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq. , 2346 et seq.) to the Indo-Pacific region and $1,250,000,000 in diplomatic engagement resources to the Indo-Pacific region. Amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection

(f)include funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 201(b) of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 ( Public Law 115–409 ). Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the extent to which the strategic objectives described in the action plan in subsection

(d)have been satisfied or progress toward such satisfaction has been made.

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