Sec. 5302. STUDY ON FOREIGN SERVICE ALLOWANCES

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## SEC. 5302 STUDY ON FOREIGN SERVICE ALLOWANCES ###

(a)Report Required ####

(1)In general Not later than one year after date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing an empirical analysis on the effect of overseas allowances on the foreign assignment of Foreign Service officers (FSOs), to be conducted by a federally-funded research and development center with appropriate expertise in labor economics and military compensation. ####

(2)Contents The analysis required under paragraph

(1)shall— #####

(A)identify all allowances paid to FSOs assigned permanently or on temporary duty to foreign areas; #####

(B)examine the efficiency of the Foreign Service bidding system in determining foreign assignments; #####

(C)examine the factors that incentivize FSOs to bid on particular assignments, including danger levels and hardship conditions; #####

(D)examine the Department’s strategy and process for incentivizing FSOs to bid on assignments that are historically in lower demand, including with monetary compensation, and whether monetary compensation is necessary for assignments in higher demand; #####

(E)make any relevant comparisons to military compensation and allowances, noting which allowances are shared or based on the same regulations; #####

(F)recommend options for restructuring allowances to improve the efficiency of the assignments system and better align FSO incentives with the needs of the Foreign Service, including any cost savings associated with such restructuring; #####

(G)recommend any statutory changes necessary to implement subparagraph (F), such as consolidating existing legal authorities for the provision of hardship and danger pay; and #####

(H)detail any effects of recommendations made pursuant to subparagraphs

(F)and

(G)on other United States Government departments and agencies with civilian employees permanently assigned or on temporary duty in foreign areas, following consultation with such departments and agencies. ###

(b)Briefing Requirement Before initiating the analysis required under subsection (a)(1), and not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the implementation of this section that includes the following: ####

(1)The name of the federally funded research and development center that will conduct such analysis. ####

(2)The scope of such analysis and terms of reference for such analysis as specified between the Department and such federally funded research and development center. ###

(c)Availability of Information ####

(1)In general The Secretary shall make available to the federally-funded research and development center carrying out the analysis required under subsection (a)(1) all necessary and relevant information to allow such center to conduct such analysis in a quantitative and analytical manner, including historical data on the number of bids for each foreign assignment and any survey data collected by the Department from eligible bidders on their bid decision-making. ####

(2)Cooperation The Secretary shall work with the heads of other relevant United States Government departments and agencies to ensure such departments and agencies provide all necessary and relevant information to the federally-funded research and development center carrying out the analysis required under subsection (a)(1). ###

(d)Interim Report to Congress The Secretary shall require that the chief executive officer of the federally-funded research and development center that carries out the analysis required under subsection (a)(1) submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an interim report on such analysis not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.