,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dbac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #bi1 #bjba,mr4 ,castro of ,texas 7for himself and ,ms4 ,tenney7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to establish the ,young ,southeast ,asian ,leaders ,initiative1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short ,title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,young ,southeast ,asian ,leaders ,initiative ,act or the ,,yseali ,act4 #b4 ,young ,southeast ,asian ,leaders ,initiative 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established in the ,department of ,state the ,young ,southeast ,asian ,leaders ,initiative 7,,yseali7 program4 7b7 ,goals ,the ,,yseali program shall seek to build to capacity of young leaders in ,southeast ,asia to-- 7#a7 support young leaders from ,southeast ,asia by offering professional development and a global network to share expertise1 including in the areas of civic engagement1 economic empowerment and social entrepreneurship1 education and environmental issues2 and 7#b7 further strengthen the enduring partnership between the ,united ,states and ,southeast ,asia and connect ,united ,states experts with ,,yseali participants4 7c7 ,,yseali programs 7#a7 ,,yseali academic fellows program ,there is established the ,,yseali ,academic ,fellows ,program to bring students from ,,yseali partner countries to the ,united ,states for the purposes of building practical expertise1 leadership skills1 and professional networks relating to one or more of the ,,yseali themes4 ,the ,secretary of ,state may award fellowships under the ,academic ,fellows ,program to eligible individuals based on the following3 7,a7 ,citizenship and residency in a ,,yseali partner country4 7,b7 ,status as a full-time undergraduate student1 or recent graduate of college1 university1 or other institutions of higher learning4 7,c7 ,other criteria determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,,yseali professional fellows program ,there is established the ,,yseali ,professional ,fellows ,program to bring professionals from ,,yseali partner countries to the ,united ,states for the purposes of building practical expertise1 leadership skills1 and professional networks relating to one or more of the ,,yseali themes4 ,the ,secretary of ,state may award fellowships under the ,professional ,fellows ,program to eligible individuals based on the following3 7,a7 ,citizenship and residency in a ,,yseali partner country4 7,b7 ,status as an emerging leader in government1 civil society1 or the private sector1 and demonstrated expertise relating to one or more of the ,,yseali themes4 7,c7 ,current employment1 and two or more years of professional work experience relevant to one or more ,,yseali themes4 7,d7 ,other criteria determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,other initiatives ,the ,secretary of ,state may designate other initiatives as ,,yseali initiatives under this section if they advance the goals of the ,,yseali program as described in subsection 7b74 7d7 ,activities 7#a7 ,united ,states-based activities ,the ,secretary of ,state shall oversee all ,united ,states-based activities carried out under the ,,yseali program1 including the participation of ,,yseali ,academic ,fellows in a program at a ,united ,states university or college1 and the participation of ,,yseali ,professional ,fellows at ,united ,states private and public sector organizations for individually tailored work placements4 ,both fellowships may include site visits1 professional networking opportunities1 leadership training1 community service1 and organized cultural activities1 as appropriate4 7#b7 ,southeast ,asia-based activities ,the ,secretary of ,state should continue to support overseas initiatives of the program1 including the following3 7,a7 ,quality leadership training1 professional development1 and networking opportunities for ,,yseali alumni4 7,b7 ,reciprocal exchanges for ,,yseali ,professional ,fellows ,program's ,united ,states professional hosts and interlocutors to support post-,united ,states exchange action plans and other related public diplomacy goals1 as appropriate4 7,c7 ,opportunities for networking with ,,yseali alumni and professionals and experts who are ,american and ,southeast ,asian4 7,d7 ,the ,,yseali ,regional ,workshop program1 offering networking1 mentoring1 hands-on training1 and the tools necessary to lead communities in addressing economic1 environmental1 educational1 and civic engagement issues4 7,e7 ,the ,,yseali ,seeds for the ,future program1 providing small1 competitive grants to young leaders in ,southeast ,asia to improve their communities1 countries1 and the region towards one or more of the themes of civic engagement1 economic empowerment and social entrepreneurship1 education1 or environmental issues4 7,f7 ,the ,,yseali ,academy at ,fulbright ,university ,vietnam1 offering executive-level seminars for entry to mid-level professionals around the themes of technology and innovation1 public policy1 and entrepreneurship4 7,g7 ,the ,,yseali ,women's ,leadership ,academy ,program1 enhancing people-to-people ties and engagement with young and emerging leaders by promoting gender equality and advancing the status of women and girls1 such as in the public health sector4 7#c7 ,alumni platform ,the ,secretary of ,state is authorized to convene current ,,yseali participants and ,,yseali alumni through a platform to promote networking opportunities within the ,,yseali community4 7#d7 ,implementation ,to carry out this subsection1 ,united ,states diplomatic and consular posts1 the ,secretary of ,state1 and agency external partners managing and implementing the ,,yseali program-- 7,a7 shall promote ,united ,states policy goals in ,southeast ,asia by providing tools and resources to help young ,southeast ,asian leaders develop important skills and connections1 including through online campaigns and public diplomacy initiatives2 7,b7 shall establish a system for monitoring1 evaluating1 and improving the ,,yseali program2 and 7,c7 may accept financial contributions from foundations1 corporations1 private donors1 program partners1 and implementing agency external partners intended to foster the goals of the ,,yseali program4 7e7 ,reports 7#a7 ,strategy ,the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy for implementing the ,,yseali program1 including the following3 7,a7 ,,yseali program goals1 targets1 and planned outcomes for each year and1 separately1 for the ,,yseali program generally during the duration of its implementation4 7,b7 ,the continuation of ,,yseali program monitoring and evaluation plan1 including metrics for measuring ,,yseali program progress identification of annual ,,yseali program goals1 and targets4 7#b7 ,annual reports ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #d years1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and publish on a publicly available website of the ,department a report on-- 7,a7 ,,yseali program progress and an assessment of the metrics1 goals1 targets1 and outcomes described in paragraph 7#a77;,a71 including information relating to ,,yseali program implementation and outcome activities during the year covered by each report2 and 7,b7 recommendations for improvements or amendments to the ,,yseali program and strategy1 if any1 that would improve their effectiveness during subsequent years of ,,yseali program implementation4 7#c7 ,final report ,not later than the date of the submission of the last report required under paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final assessment report that evaluates ,,yseali program implementation and outcomes during the entire duration of ,,yseali program operation1 including recommendations regarding whether the ,,yseali program should be reauthorized and any changes that would improve its effectiveness4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,c7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 and 7,d7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,implementing agency external partners ,the term implementing agency external partners means any external partner that is not a ,united ,states ,government agency1 and may include one or more of the following entities3 7,a7 ,local or multinational corporations4 7,b7 ,nongovernmental organizations4 7,c7 ,universities4 7,d7 ,regional institutions4 7#c7 ,,yseali theme ,the term ,,yseali theme means-- 7,a7 civic engagement2 7,b7 economic empowerment and social entrepreneurship2 7,c7 education2 7,d7 environmental issues2 or 7,e7 any other theme included by the ,secretary of ,state4 7#d7 ,,yseali partner countries ,the term ,,yseali partner countries includes each member country of the ,association of ,southeast ,asian ,nations and each other country or political entity the ,secretary of ,state determines appropriate to include in the programs established under this section4