Sec. 206. Foreign affairs training
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It is the sense of Congress that— the Department is a crucial national security agency, whose employees, both Foreign Service and Civil Service, require the best possible training and professional development at every stage of their careers to prepare them to promote and defend United States national interests and the health and safety of United States citizens abroad; the Department faces increasingly complex and rapidly evolving challenges, many of which are science- and technology-driven, and which demand continual, high-quality training and professional development of its personnel; the new and evolving challenges of national security in the 21st century necessitate the expansion of standardized training and professional development opportunities linked to equitable, accountable, and transparent promotion and leadership practices for Department and other national security agency personnel; and consistent with gift acceptance authority of the Department and other applicable laws in effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Department and the Foreign Service Institute may accept funds and other resources from foundations, not-for-profit corporations, and other appropriate sources to help the Department and the Institute enhance the quantity and quality of training and professional development offerings, especially in the introduction of new, innovative, and pilot model courses.
In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ; the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives . In order to provide the Civil Service of the Department and the Foreign Service with the level of professional development and training needed to effectively advance United States interests across the world, the Secretary shall— increase relevant offerings provided by the Department— of interactive virtual instruction to make training and professional development more accessible and useful to personnel deployed throughout the world; or at partner organizations, including universities, industry entities, and nongovernmental organizations, throughout the United States to provide useful outside perspectives to Department personnel by providing such personnel— a more comprehensive outlook on different sectors of United States society; and practical experience dealing with commercial corporations, universities, labor unions, and other institutions critical to United States diplomatic success; offer courses using computer-based or computer-assisted simulations, allowing civilian officers to lead decision making in a crisis environment, and encourage officers of the Department, and reciprocally, officers of other Federal departments to participate in similar exercises held by the Department or other government organizations and the private sector; and increase the duration and expand the focus of certain training and professional development courses, including by extending— the A–100 entry-level course to not less than 12 weeks, which better matches the length of entry-level training and professional development provided to the officers in other national security departments and agencies; and the Chief of Mission course to not less than 6 weeks for first time Chiefs of Mission and creating a comparable 6-week course for new Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Assistant Secretaries to more accurately reflect the significant responsibilities accompanying such roles.
The Director General of the Foreign Service shall— establish new fellowship programs for Foreign Service and Civil Service officers that include short- and long-term opportunities at organizations, including— think tanks and nongovernmental organizations; the Department of Defense, the elements of the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3003 )), and other relevant Federal agencies; industry entities, especially such entities related to technology, global operations, finance, and other fields directly relevant to international affairs; and schools of international relations and other relevant programs at universities throughout the United States; and not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit a report to Congress that describes how the Department could expand the Pearson Fellows Program for Foreign Service Officers and the Brookings Fellow Program for Civil Servants to provide fellows in such programs with the opportunity to undertake a follow-on assignment within the Department in an office in which fellows will gain practical knowledge of the people and processes of Congress, including offices other than the Legislative Affairs Bureau, including— an assessment of the current state of congressional fellowships, including the demand for fellowships and the value the fellowships provide to both the career of the officer and to the Department; and an assessment of the options for making congressional fellowships for both the Foreign and Civil Services more career-enhancing.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall establish a Board of Visitors of the Foreign Service Institute (referred to in this subsection as the Board ). The Board shall provide the Secretary with independent advice and recommendations regarding organizational management, strategic planning, resource management, curriculum development, and other matters of interest to the Foreign Service Institute, including regular observations about how well the Department is integrating training and professional development into the work of the Bureau for Global Talent Management.
The Board shall be— nonpartisan; and composed of 12 members, of whom— 2 members shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; 2 members shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; 2 members shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; 2 members shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and 4 members shall be appointed by the Secretary.
Members of the Board shall be appointed from among individuals who— are not officers or employees of the Federal Government; have never been members of the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Service; and are eminent authorities in the fields of diplomacy, management, leadership, economics, trade, technology, or advanced international relations education. Not fewer than 6 members of the Board shall have a minimum of 10 years of expertise outside the field of diplomacy.
Each member of the Board shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, except that of the members first appointed— 4 members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years; 4 members shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and 4 members shall be appointed for a term of 1 year. A member of the Board may be reappointed or replaced at the discretion of the official who made the original appointment. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be approved by the Secretary of State based upon a recommendation from the members of the Board.
The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall serve at the discretion of the Secretary. The Board shall meet— at the call of the Director of the Foreign Service Institute and the Chairperson; and not fewer than 2 times per year. Each member of the Board shall serve without compensation, except that a member of the Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of service for the Board.
Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary may accept the voluntary and uncompensated service of members of the Board. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Board established under this subsection. There is established in the Foreign Service Institute the position of Provost. The Provost shall— be appointed by the Board of Visitors of the Foreign Service Institute established under subsection (e); and report to the Director of the Foreign Service Institute.
The Provost— may not be an individual who is an officer or employee of the Federal Government or who has ever been a career member of the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Service; and shall be an eminent authority in the fields of diplomacy, education, management, leadership, economics, history, trade, or technology. The Provost shall— oversee, review, evaluate, and coordinate the academic curriculum for all courses taught and administered by the Foreign Service Institute; coordinate the implementation of a letter or numerical grading system for the performance of Foreign Service officers in courses of the Foreign Service Institute; and report not less frequently than quarterly to the Board of Visitors regarding the development of curriculum and the performance of Foreign Service officers.
The Provost shall serve for a term of not fewer than 5 years and may be reappointed for 1 additional 5-year term. The Provost shall receive a salary commensurate with the rank and experience of a member of the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Service, as determined by the Board of Visitors. National security agencies other than the Department should be afforded the ability to increase the enrollment of their personnel in courses at the Foreign Service Institute and other training and professional development facilities of the Department to promote a whole-of-government approach to mitigating national security challenges.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that describes— the training and professional development opportunities at the Foreign Service Institute and other Department facilities for congressional staff; the budget impacts of such opportunities; and potential course offerings. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a strategy for adapting and evolving training requirements to better meet the Department’s current and future needs for 21st century diplomacy.
The strategy required under subsection
(a)shall include the following elements: Integrating training requirements into the Department’s promotion policies, including establishing educational and professional development standards for training and attainment to be used as a part of tenure and promotion guidelines. Addressing multiple existing and emerging national security challenges, including— democratic backsliding and authoritarianism; countering, and assisting United States allies to address, state-sponsored disinformation, including through the Global Engagement Center; cyber threats; aggression and malign influence; the implications of climate change for United States diplomacy; and nuclear threats. Establishing residential training for the A–100 orientation course administered by the Foreign Service Institute and evaluating the feasibility of residential training for long-term training opportunities. In establishing the residential training program pursuant to paragraph (2)(C), the Secretary shall— collaborate with other national security departments and agencies that employ residential training for their orientation courses; and consider using the Department's Foreign Affairs Security Training Center in Blackstone, Virginia. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes— a strategy for broadening and deepening professional development and training at the Department, including assessing current and future needs for 21st century diplomacy; the process used and resources needed to implement the strategy referred to in subparagraph
(A)throughout the Department; and the results and impact of the strategy on the workforce of the Department, particularly the relationship between professional development and training and promotions for Department personnel, and the measurement and evaluation methods used to evaluate such results. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary submits the report required under paragraph (1), and annually thereafter for 2 years, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate committees of Congress a briefing on the information required to be included in the report. The Secretary is authorized to establish and implement an incentive program to encourage members of the Foreign Service who possess language proficiency in any of the languages that qualify for bonus points, as determined by the Secretary, to maintain critical foreign language skills. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes a detailed plan for implementing the program authorized under paragraph (1), including anticipated resource requirements to carry out such program. It is the sense of Congress that informed, data-driven, and long-term workforce management, including with respect to the Foreign Service, the Civil Service, locally employed staff, and contractors, is needed to align diplomatic priorities with the appropriate personnel and resources. In order to understand the Department’s long-term trends with respect to its workforce, the Secretary, is consultation with relevant bureaus and offices, including the Bureau of Global Talent Management, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Center for Analytics, shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that details the Department’s workforce, disaggregated by Foreign Service, Civil Service, locally employed staff, and contractors, including, with respect to the reporting period— the number of personnel who were hired; the number of personnel whose employment or contract was terminated or who voluntarily left the Department; the number of personnel who were promoted, including the grade to which they were promoted; the demographic breakdown of personnel; and the distribution of the Department’s workforce based on domestic and overseas assignments, including a breakdown of the number of personnel in geographic and functional bureaus, and the number of personnel in overseas missions by region. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit the report described in subparagraph
(A)for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2022. Not later than December 31, 2023, and annually thereafter for the following 9 years, the Secretary shall submit the report described in subparagraph
(A)for the most recently concluded fiscal year. The data in each of the reports required under this paragraph shall be used by Congress, in coordination with the Secretary, to inform recommendations on the appropriate size and composition of the Department. It is the sense of Congress that since a vacancy in the position of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is detrimental to the national security interests of the United States, the President should expeditiously nominate a qualified individual to such position whenever such vacancy occurs to ensure that the bureaus reporting to such position are able to fulfill their mission of— expanding and strengthening relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of other countries; and engaging, informing, and understanding the perspectives of foreign audiences. Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes— an evaluation of the May 2019 merger of the Bureau of Public Affairs and the Bureau of International Information Programs into the Bureau of Global Public Affairs with respect to— the efficacy of the current configuration of the bureaus reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in achieving the mission of the Department; the metrics before and after such merger, including personnel data, disaggregated by position and location, content production, opinion polling, program evaluations, and media appearances; the results of a survey of public diplomacy practitioners to determine their opinion of the efficacy of such merger and any adjustments that still need to be made; and a plan for evaluating and monitoring, not less frequently than once every 2 years, the programs, activities, messaging, professional development efforts, and structure of the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, and submitting a summary of each such evaluation to the appropriate committees of Congress; and a review of recent outside recommendations for modernizing diplomacy at the Department with respect to public diplomacy efforts, including— efforts in each of the bureaus reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs to address issues of diversity and inclusion in their work, structure, data collection, programming, and personnel, including any collaboration with the Chief Officer for Diversity and Inclusion; proposals to collaborate with think tanks and academic institutions working on public diplomacy issues to implement recent outside recommendations; and additional authorizations and appropriations necessary to implement such recommendations.
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Sec. 206
Foreign affairs training
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