,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #aaac ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #aj1 #bjai,mrs4 ,shaheen introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to protect and enhance core diplomatic capabilities at the ,department of ,state4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,enhancing ,america's ,core ,diplomatic ,capabilities ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings2 objective 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,foreign ,service of the ,united ,states1 established under the ,act of ,may #bd1 #aibd 7commonly known as the ,rogers ,act71 continued by the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aidf1 and further strengthened by the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj1 characterized by excellence and professionalism1 is essential in the national interest to assist the ,president and the ,secretary of ,state in conducting the foreign policy of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,consistent1 predictable staffing and management practices are essential to the maintenance of core diplomatic capabilities1 effective career development patterns1 and an orderly flow of talent in the ,foreign ,service4 7#c7 ,the expanding scope and increasing complexity of the foreign affairs of the ,united ,states have heightened the need for expanded training1 professional development1 and professional education opportunities for members of the ,foreign ,service4 7b7 ,objective ,the objective of this ,act is to strengthen and improve the core diplomatic capabilities of the ,united ,states by-- 7#a7 assuring that1 in accordance with merit principles1 sufficient numbers of ,foreign ,service personnel are recruited1 trained1 promoted1 and retained to effectively serve the interests of the ,united ,states and to provide the highest caliber of representation in the conduct of foreign affairs2 7#b7 providing expanded training1 professional development1 and professional education opportunities to career ,foreign ,service and civil service employees2 and 7#c7 promoting the role of members of the ,foreign ,service in certain key institutional leadership positions4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,the term core diplomatic capabilities means diplomatic functions pertaining to political affairs1 economic affairs1 and public diplomacy4 ,i ,foreign ,service ,officer ,staffing ,levels #aja4 ,policy of hiring sufficient numbers of entry-level members of the ,foreign ,service to meet long-term needs ,section #cjc of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #cidc7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,the ,secretary and inserting 7a7 ,in general4--,the ,secretary2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7b7 ,long-,term projections of personnel flows and needs ,decisions by the ,secretary on the numbers of individuals to be appointed as entry-level members of the ,service shall be based upon a systematic long-term projection of personnel flows and needs designed to provide-- 7#a7 a regular1 predictable flow of recruitment in the ,service2 7#b7 effective career development patterns to meet the needs of the ,service2 and 7#c7 a regular1 predictable flow of talent upward through the ranks of the ,service4 4 #ajb4 ,minimum number of ,foreign ,service ,officers 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall take all practicable measures to maintain within the ,foreign ,service a minimum number of ,foreign ,service officers1 based on staffing levels as of ,september #cj1 #bjaf1 as follows3 7#a7 #ije ,senior ,foreign ,service officers4 7#b7 #d1eih ,foreign ,service officers1 in aggregate1 at the levels of ,,fs-#ja1 ,,fs-#jb1 and ,,fs-#jc4 7#c7 #b1ffb ,foreign ,service officers1 in aggregate1 at the levels of ,,fs-#jd1 ,,fs-#je1 and ,,fs-#jf4 7#d7 ,quarterly report ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and quarterly thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives a report on the size of the ,foreign ,service workforce4 ,in the event that the current workforce is below the minimum levels set forth in subsection 7a71 the report shall include an explanation of the reasons for the deficiency and a plan for meeting such levels4 #ajc4 ,sense of ,congress on damage from year-to-year reductions in entry-level hiring ,it is the sense of ,congress that significant year-to-year reductions in the levels of entry-level hiring for the ,foreign ,service1 including levels below projected rates of attrition1 will inevitably result in shortages of appropriately experienced personnel at specific grades in future years and1 therefore1 are not in the interest of the ,service and should not be used to carry out reductions in the overall size of the ,service4 ,,ii ,enhanced ,training1 ,professional ,development1 and ,professional ,education ,opportunities for ,career ,department of ,state ,employees #bja4 ,report on expanded training opportunities 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on measures to provide enhanced training1 professional development1 and professional education opportunities to career ,foreign ,service and civil service employees to enhance core diplomatic capabilities4 7b7 ,elements ,the report required under subsection 7a7 shall include the following elements3 7#a7 ,an assessment of current and planned training1 professional development1 and professional education opportunities1 including topics such as leadership1 management1 resource allocation1 whole-of-government team leadership and management1 and trade craft pertaining to core diplomatic capabilities4 7#b7 ,an assessment of the processes and resources required to make the ,george ,p4 ,shultz ,national ,foreign ,affairs ,training ,center an accredited academic institution1 on a level equivalent to the ,united ,states military's war colleges1 capable of granting a master of arts degree in diplomatic studies1 to enhance its capabilities to educate ,foreign ,service1 civil service1 and other civilian and military interagency professionals in the practice of diplomacy and international development4 #bjb4 ,reestablishment of the ,senior ,seminar ,the ,secretary of ,state shall1 not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 reestablish the ,george ,p4 ,shultz ,national ,foreign ,affairs ,training ,center's full-time ,senior ,seminar in ,foreign ,policy for highly qualified ,foreign ,service1 civil service1 and military personnel from the ,department of ,state1 other agencies and the ,armed ,forces4 ,the seminar's duration shall be a minimum of nine months4 ,participants in the seminar shall be competitively selected based upon past performance and future potential4 #bjc4 ,suspension of time in class requirement for members of the ,foreign ,service engaged in long-term training ,section #fjg7;d7 of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #djjg7;d77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking 2 and and inserting a semicolon2 7#b7 by redesignating paragraph 7#b7 as paragraph 7#c72 and 7#c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#a7 the following new paragraph3 7#b7 the ,secretary may1 for purposes of this section1 increase the maximum time spent in class for a member of the ,service by the amount of time spent by such member in long-term training while in such class to encourage participation in such training2 and 4 #bjd4 ,foreign language maintenance incentive program ,the ,secretary of ,state is authorized to establish and implement an incentive program to encourage members of the ,foreign ,service who possess language proficiency in a qualifying list of languages1 as determined by the ,secretary1 to maintain critical foreign language skills4 ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate committees a report detailing a plan to implement the program1 including resource requirements4 ,,iii ,promoting ,a ,professional ,diplomatic ,service #cja4 ,limitation of certain key positions to career diplomats 7a7 ,director ,general of the ,foreign ,service ,section #bjh of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #cibh7 is amended1 in the first sentence1 by striking current or former career member of the ,foreign ,service and inserting current career member of the ,senior ,foreign ,service who has served at least once as a chief of mission4 7b7 ,director of ,human ,resources 7#a7 ,in general ,chapter #b of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #ciba et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #bjh the following new section3 #bjh;,a4 ,director of ,human ,resources ,the ,secretary shall appoint a ,director of ,human ,resources1 who shall be a current career member of the ,senior ,foreign ,service who has served at least once as a chief of mission4 ,the ,director should assist the ,secretary of ,state in the management of the human resources matters of the ,department of ,state and perform such functions as the ,secretary of ,state may prescribe4 4 7#b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents in section #b of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7,public ,law #if-dfe2 #id ,stat4 #bjga7 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #bjh the following new item3 ,sec4 #bjh;,a4 ,director of ,human ,resources4 4 7c7 ,director of the ,george ,p4 ,shultz ,national ,foreign ,affairs ,training ,center ,section #gja7;a7 of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #djba7;a77 is amended by inserting before the last sentence the following3 ,the ,director shall be a current career member of the ,senior ,foreign ,service who has served at least once as a chief of mission44 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsections 7a7 through 7c7 shall take effect upon the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and the requirements under the provisions of law amended by such subsections shall apply to any individual serving in a position covered by any such provision on or after such date4 #cjb4 ,recognition of ,foreign ,service ,officers as commissioned officers ,when referring to ,foreign ,service officers in its public and internal communications1 the ,department of ,state and other ,departments and ,agencies shall1 in recognition of the status of such officers as commissioned officers of the ,united ,states ,government1 use the terminology found in the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7,public ,law #aaj-deg7 and refer to such individuals as ,foreign ,service officers rather than using other terms such as ,foreign ,service generalists4 ,the term ,foreign ,service specialists may be used as appropriate to refer to personnel who fit that description4