Sec. 5108. IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING TO NATIONAL SECURITY

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## SEC. 5108 IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING TO NATIONAL SECURITY ###

(a)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— ####

(1)the Department is a crucial national security agency, whose employees, both Foreign and Civil Service, require the best possible training 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; ####

(2)the Department’s investment of time and resources with respect to the training and education of its personnel is considerably below the level of other Federal departments and agencies in the national security field, and falls well below the investments many allied and adversarial countries make in the development of their diplomats; ####

(3)the Department faces increasingly complex and rapidly evolving challenges, many of which are science and technology-driven, and which demand the continual, high-quality training and education of its personnel; ####

(4)the Department must move beyond reliance on “on-the-job training” and other informal mentorship practices, which lead to an inequality in skillset development and career advancement opportunities, often particularly for minority personnel, and towards a robust professional tradecraft training continuum that will provide for greater equality in career advancement and increase minority participation in the senior ranks; ####

(5)the Department’s Foreign Service Institute and other training facilities should seek to substantially increase their educational and training offerings to Department personnel, including developing new and innovative educational and training courses, methods, programs, and opportunities; and ####

(6)consistent with existing Department gift acceptance authority and other applicable laws, the Department and 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 offerings, especially in the introduction of new, innovative, and pilot model courses. ###

(b)Training Float Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy to establish a “training float” to allow for up to 15 percent of the Civil and Foreign Service to participate in long-term training at any given time. The strategy should identify steps necessary to ensure the implementation of the training priorities identified in subsection (c), sufficient training capacity and opportunities are available to Civil and Foreign Service officers, the equitable distribution of long-term training opportunities to Civil and Foreign Service officers, and the provision of any additional resources or authorities necessary to facilitate such a training float, including programs at the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, the Foreign Service Institute, the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center, and other facilities or programs operated by the Department of State. The strategy shall identify which types of training would be prioritized, the extent (if any) to which such training is already being provided to Civil and Foreign Service officers by the Department of State, any factors incentivizing or disincentivizing such training, and why such training cannot be achieved without Civil and Foreign Service officers leaving the workforce. In addition to training opportunities provided by the Department, the strategy shall consider training that could be provided by the other United States Government training institutions, as well as nongovernmental educational institutions. The strategy shall consider approaches to overcome disincentives to pursuing long-term training. ###

(c)Training and Professional Development Prioritization In order to provide the Civil Service and the Foreign Service with the level of professional development and training needed to effectively advance United States interests across the world, the Secretary of State shall— ####

(1)increase relevant offerings provided by the Department of State— #####

(A)of interactive virtual instruction to make training and professional development more accessible and useful to personnel deployed throughout the world; or #####

(B)at partner organizations, including universities, industry entities, and nongovernmental organizations, throughout the United States to provide useful outside perspectives to Department of State personnel by providing such personnel— ######

(i)a more comprehensive outlook on different sectors of United States society; ######

(ii)practical experience dealing with commercial corporations, universities, labor unions, and other institutions critical to United States diplomatic success; and ######

(iii)courses specifically focused on commercial diplomacy that increase the understanding of private sector needs that arise as United States companies enter and compete in the international market; ####

(2)provide the opportunity to participate in 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 of State, and reciprocally, officers of other Federal departments to participate in similar exercises held by the Department of State or other government organizations and the private sector; ####

(3)increase the duration and expand the focus of certain training and professional development courses, including by extending— #####

(A)the A–100 entry-level course to as long as 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 #####

(B)the Chief of Mission course to as long as 6 weeks for first time Chiefs of Mission and creating comparable courses for new Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Assistant Secretaries to more accurately reflect the significant responsibilities accompanying such roles; and ####

(4)ensure that Foreign Service officers who are assigned to a country experiencing significant population displacement due to the impacts of climatic and non-climatic shocks and stresses, including rising sea levels and lack of access to affordable and reliable energy and electricity, receive specific instruction on United States policy with respect to resiliency and adaptation to such climatic and non-climatic shocks and stresses. ###

(d)Other Agency Responsibilities Other national security agencies should increase the enrollment of their personnel in courses at the Foreign Service Institute and other Department of State training facilities to promote a whole-of-government approach to mitigating national security challenges.