Sec. 403. Department of State professional development and rotational program related to strategic competition
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The Secretary shall promote policies that enable greater opportunities for the Department of State workforce to acquire skills, education, training, and work experience relevant to strategic competition with the PRC and to promote the increased effectiveness of the workforce. The Secretary shall, to the extent possible and consistent with existing authorities, expand educational and professional development opportunities for the workforce of the Department related to strategic competition with the PRC.
The Secretary shall, consistent with existing authorities and in order to improve the Department’s coordination with other Federal departments and agencies with a significant role in the economic, technological, defense, public diplomacy, information, intelligence, and law enforcement aspects of United States competition with the PRC, establish an interagency rotational program at the Department. The rotational program shall facilitate rotations for Department personnel to other relevant Federal departments and agencies to acquire skills and experience related to— PRC malign influence operations, including activities and polices designed to subvert or undermine open societies, repress fundamental freedoms in other countries, engage in information operations, shape narratives favorable to the Chinese Communist Party, or suppress narratives unfavorable to it, and otherwise use coercive, covert, or corrupt methods to exert improper influence on governments, private sector, civil society, universities and other academic institutions, State and local legislators, and other relevant actors in the United States and abroad; economic tools relevant to national security, including sanctions, export controls, and investment screening; trade and investment in partner countries; commercial diplomacy and advocacy for United States businesses in emerging markets; energy security; security cooperation; cyber and technology; space; critical minerals and other strategic sectors where the PRC is dominant; supply chain security and cooperation; development and foreign assistance, including executing high-standard infrastructure development, especially in the transport, energy, and digital sectors; development finance; and other issue areas that the Secretary determines necessary for the Department workforce to develop for the purposes of strategic competition with the PRC.
In designing the rotational program required under this subsection, the Secretary may, if appropriate and consistent with existing authorities, include rotations or secondments for Department personnel to international organizations, private sector entities, or to the governments agencies of United States partners and allies. The Secretary shall collect and analyze data related to the rotational program required under this subsection, including to track the— number of personnel who participate; the duration of the rotations; the grade and job series and sending bureau or office; the receiving department or agency, bureau, and office; information as to whether the rotation was reciprocal between the sending and receiving bureau or offices; information regarding whether a backfill was acquired, and if so, through what mechanism; and any other information that the Secretary deems necessary to inform adjustments to program design to meet the objectives described in subsection (a).