,i #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hghj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #i1 #bjbb,mr4 ,bera 7for himself and ,mr4 ,barr7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to improve hiring authorities available to the ,secretary of ,state with respect to expertise on ,china1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,expand e,xpertise in ,china ,education and ,language ,act or the ,,excel ,act4 #b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 strategic competition with the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 and the ,chinese ,communist ,party 7,,ccp7 is the most significant geostrategic challenge the ,united ,states faces to security and prosperity in the #bast century2 7#b7 the ,united ,states ,government needs to further invest in relevant linguistic1 cultural1 and regional expertise to effectively engage in strategic competition with the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 and 7#c7 existing hiring authorities across the ,executive ,branch are not being adequately utilized to bring in necessary expertise to win the strategic competition against the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 and that agencies may benefit from additional flexibility to recruit1 hire1 and retain talent4 #c4 ,hiring additional expertise at the ,department of ,state 7a7 ,direct hire authority 7#a7 ,in general ,not more than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall appoint1 without regard to the provisions of sections #ccji through #ccah of title ,v1 no fewer than #ca candidates with linguistic1 cultural1 or regional expertise relevant for strengthening ,united ,states understanding of and ability to compete with the ,people's ,republic of ,china directly to positions in the competitive service1 as defined in section #bajb of that title4 7#b7 ,termination ,the authority provided under subsection 7a7 shall terminate in #aj years after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7b7 ,long-,term and short-,term contracts 7#a7 ,training ,the ,secretary of ,state shall1 to such extent or in such amounts as provided in appropriations ,acts1 train ,foreign ,service and ,civil ,service employees who hold positions relevant to advancing ,united ,states policies toward competition with the ,,prc4 7#b7 ,topics covered ,the training shall cover the following topics3 7,a7 ,the domestic and foreign policy objectives of the ,,prc and the ,,ccp1 as demonstrated through publicly available speeches1 and ,,prc and ,,ccp documents4 7,b7 ,the tools the ,,prc and the ,,ccp use to achieve those objectives4 7,c7 ,the role of ideology in shaping ,,ccp policies and outlook4 7,d7 ,other topics deemed relevant by the ,china ,strategic ,advisory ,board4 7#c7 ,contracting or grants for training ,the ,secretary shall provide the training required in subsection 7b7 by obtaining assistance from knowledgeable persons and organizations through-- 7,a7 entering into short-term and long-term contracts1 including contracts for the services of consultants2 7,b7 making grants available1 or 7,c7 other appropriate measures1 as the ,secretary deems necessary4 #d4 ,providing enduring strategic advice via the ,china ,strategic ,advisory ,board 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established an advisory commission to be known as the ,china ,strategic ,advisory ,board 7referred to in this section as the ,advisory ,board74 7b7 ,duties and ,responsibilities ,the ,advisory ,board shall-- 7#a7 provide advice1 expertise1 and continuity in ,united ,states foreign policy matters pertaining to strategic competition with the ,,prc2 7#b7 review recruitment1 training1 and retention of ,civil ,service and ,foreign ,service members with the expertise and experience necessary to support ,united ,states policy toward the ,,prc2 and 7#c7 review programs across regional and functional bureaus intended to respond to strategic competition with the ,,prc1 including the ,counter ,,prc ,malign ,influence ,fund4 7c7 ,membership 7#a7 ,qualifications ,the ,advisory ,board shall consist of between #ab and #bd members1 and shall have at least #aj years of demonstratable record of substantial experience pertaining to issues related to ,united ,states strategic competition with ,china4 ,no sitting officer or employee of the ,united ,states ,government shall be appointed to the ,advisory ,board4 7#b7 ,appointments by democratic party ,the ,democratic ,party leaders in the ,house of ,representatives and in the ,senate shall jointly make the following appointments3 7,a7 ,one appointment with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbd4 7,b7 ,one appointment with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbf4 7,c7 ,one appointment with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbh4 7#c7 ,appointments by republican party ,the ,republican ,party leaders in the ,house of ,representatives and in the ,senate shall jointly make the following appointments3 7,a7 ,one appointment with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbd4 7,b7 ,one appointment with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbf4 7,c7 ,one appointment with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbh4 7#d7 ,appointments by ,president ,the ,president shall make the following appointments1 with at least #b of the appointees shall be between the ages of #cj and #ej years of age at the time of appointment3 7,a7 ,two appointments with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbd4 7,b7 ,two appointments with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbf4 7,c7 ,two appointments with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbh4 7#e7 ,appointments by ,secretary of ,state ,the ,secretary of ,state shall make the following appointments1 totaling at least #f appointments and no more than a maximum of #ab appointments3 7,a7 ,two appointments with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbd4 7,b7 ,two appointments with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbf4 7,c7 ,two appointments with a term that expires on ,december #cj1 #bjbh4 7,d7 ,the appointees shall meet the following criteria3 7i7 ,at least one of the appointees shall be between the ages of #cj and #ej years of age at the time of appointment4 7ii7 ,at least one shall be able to credibly represent the views of the ,united ,states business community4 7iii7 ,at least one shall have demonstrable experience as a ,united ,states diplomat4 7#f7 ,deadline ,each appointing authority referred to in paragraphs 7#b7 through 7#e7 shall make appointments not later than ,january #a1 #bjbc4 7#g7 ,replacement ,each appointing authority referred to in paragraphs 7#b7 through 7#e7 shall make appointments to replace the appointees that the authority appointed whose terms have expired4 ,the appointing authority shall make replacement appointments not later than ,january #cjth of the calendar year following the term expiration4 7d7 ,term 7#a7 ,in general ,following the initial appointments described in subsections 7c77#b7 through 7c77#e71 the term of each member shall be #f years4 7#b7 ,additional terms ,members may be reappointed for no more than one additional term of service4 7#c7 ,rotating term expiration ,following #f years of service for the first class of ,advisory ,board members1 the terms of #a_/c of the body shall expire4 ,every two subsequent years following that date1 the terms of #a_/c of the members shall expire on a rotational basis4 ,each appointing authority referred to in subsection 7c77#b7 through 7#d7 shall have rotating permission to appoint new members4 7e7 ,selection of chairperson ,the ,advisory ,committee shall select1 from among its members1 a chairperson and vice chairperson to each serve a term of one year4 ,a chairperson or vice chairperson may be reelected upon expiration of his or her term4 7f7 ,meetings 7#a7 ,quorum2 frequency ,a majority of the members of the ,advisory ,board shall constitute a quorum4 ,the ,advisory ,board shall meet at least quarterly or as frequently as may be necessary to carry out its duties4 7#b7 ,subcommittees ,the ,advisory ,board may be divided into subcommittees that meet separately from the whole ,board4 7#c7 ,meetings with officials ,the ,advisory ,board shall collectively meet with the ,secretary of ,state and the ,administrator of the ,u4,s4 ,agency for ,international ,development no less than once per year4 7g7 ,briefing ,the ,advisory ,board shall provide semi-annual briefings to the appropriate ,congressional committees on findings and recommendations4 7h7 ,security ,clearances 7#a7 ,in general ,all members of the ,advisory ,board shall be granted the necessary security clearances1 subject to the standard procedures for granting such clearances4 7#b7 ,need to know ,for purposes of any law or regulation governing access to classified records1 a member of the ,advisory ,committee seeking access under this paragraph to a record shall be deemed to have a need to know4 7i7 ,compensation ,members of the ,advisory ,board shall-- 7#a7 each receive compensation at a rate of not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at ,,gs-#ae of the ,general ,schedule under section #eccb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 for each day such member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of the ,advisory ,board2 and 7#b7 be allowed travel expenses1 including per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter ,i of chapter #eg of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services of the ,advisory ,board4 7j7 ,authorization of ,funding ,there are authorized to be appropriated #ajj1jjj for each fiscal year to carry out this section4 7k7 ,access to information ,the ,secretary of ,state shall ensure that the ,advisory ,board has access to all appropriate information to carry out its duties and responsibilities under this section4 #e4 ,identifying long-term solutions through the ,government ,accountability ,office 7a7 ,study ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct a study on the personnel capacity and capability at the ,department of ,state and ,,usaid to support ,united ,states strategic competition with the ,people's ,republic of ,china and on available mechanisms to address any identified gaps4 7b7 ,elements ,in conducting the study under subsection 7a71 the ,comptroller ,general shall-- 7#a7 identify the percentage of vacant foreign service positions and civil service positions in the ,indo-,pacific vis--vis other regions globally2 7#b7 consult ,directors and ,deputy ,directors the ,comptroller at ,state and ,,usaid that the ,comptroller ,general deems relevant for informing ,united ,states policies on competition with the ,,prc to provide a qualitative assessment of the gaps in understanding of the ,,prc among the foreign service1 civil service1 and intelligence community and how this perceived gap hampers their work2 and 7#c7 identify actions across ,congress1 the ,white ,house1 and the ,department of ,state can take in the #a1 #e1 and #aj year period to address current gaps4 7c7 ,briefing and report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and every #ahj days thereafter1 the ,comptroller ,general shall provide the appropriate ,congressional ,committees an interim briefing on the progress of the study conducted under subsection 7b71 including any preliminary observations1 interim findings1 and barriers to completing the work4 7d7 ,form ,the study required by subsection 7a7 may be submitted in classified or unclassified form1 but must have an unclassified summary4 #f4 ,definition ,in this ,act1 the term appropriate congressional committees means the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4