,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #igbh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #af1 #bjbf,mr4 ,bera 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,olszewski1 ,ms4 ,mc,bride1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,escobar1 and ,mr4 ,quigley7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj to modify the requirements relating to reductions in force for ,foreign ,service officers and certain other ,federal employees1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting ,america's ,diplomatic ,workforce ,act4 #b4 ,improved transparency and justifications for significant reductions in force 7a7 ,prohibition ,except as provided in subsection 7b71 during any #f-month period1 a covered agency may not separate more than #ej employees from service pursuant to #a or more reductions in force4 7b7 ,requirements ,a covered agency may separate more than #ej employees from service pursuant to #a or more reductions in force during a #f-month period only if1 before carrying out the reduction in force that would cause the covered agency to violate subsection 7a71 the covered agency-- 7#a7 not later than #bj days before submitting a notice of the reduction in force to affected employees1 submits to the appropriate congressional committees of jurisdiction a detailed explanation of the reduction in force that includes-- 7,a7 the steps the covered agency has taken to exhaust all other options before carrying out the proposed reduction in force1 including whether the covered agency considered reassigning the employees to an equivalent position2 7,b7 the justification for the reduction in force2 7,c7 an assessment of whether the proposed reduction in force will negatively impact the covered agency's ability to carry out its mission and obligations required by statute2 7,d7 an assessment of how the proposed reduction in force will affect ,united ,states diplomatic presence and engagement and the ,united ,states ability to compete with adversaries2 and 7,e7 with respect to employees in the civil service1 information about how the covered agency has complied with-- 7i7 subchapter ,i of chapter #ce of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7ii7 part #cea of title #e1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or any successor regulation72 and 7#b7 briefs the appropriate congressional committees of jurisdiction on the justification for the reduction in force and the other criteria described in paragraph 7#a74 #c4 ,foreign service reduction in force procedures 7a7 ,in general ,section #faa of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #djaj;a7 is amended-- 7#a7 by amending subsection 7a7 to read as follows3 7a7 ,authorization ,the ,secretary may conduct reductions in force for the separation of members of the ,service holding a career or career candidate appointment under chapter #c for reasons such as reorganization or shortage of funds4 2 7#b7 by redesignating subsections 7b7 and 7c7 7as amended7 as subsections 7f7 and 7g71 respectively2 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7a7 the following new subsections3 7b7 ,competitive area ,the competitive area for a reduction in force shall be worldwide1 with employees of the same rank and cone or specialist competing against each other for retention4 7c7 ,criteria ,reduction in force procedures shall be designed to ensure that determinations are based primarily on performance as determined by previous selection board rankings4 ,tenure of employment1 language capabilities1 and military preference1 subject to section #ceja7;a77#c7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall also be considered4 7d7 ,required notice ,absent unforeseen circumstances1 members of the ,service shall be given #abj days advance notice of separation4 ,in no case shall members be given less than #fj days advance notice4 7e7 ,protections ,members of the ,service shall be afforded the same protections afforded to career members of the civil service under section #cejc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 in the event of a transfer of function4 2 and 7#d7 in subsection 7g71 as redesignated by paragraph 7#b71 by striking ,grievances under chapter #aa through of this section and inserting ,the ,foreign ,service ,grievances ,board shall have the same authority as the ,merit ,systems ,protection ,board to adjudicate reduction in force grievances44 7b7 ,management rights ,section #ajje7;a77#c7 of the ,foreign ,service ,act of #aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #daje7;a77#c77 is amended by striking 1 and to prescribe regulations for the separation of employees pursuant to such reductions in force conducted under section #faa4 #d4 ,notice period required for reductions in force ,the notice period for a reduction in force pursuant to section #cejb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 at a covered agency shall be #fj days4 #e4 ,prior consultation and briefing requirements for significant changes to the foreign affairs manual ,section #ecah7;c7 of the ,department of ,state ,authorization ,act of #bjba 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfeh;a7c77 is amended by inserting at the end of the following3 7d7 ,notice2 consultation2 briefing ,before effectuating any significant changes in the ,foreign ,affairs ,manual1 the ,secretary of ,state shall-- 7#a7 provide notice to1 and consult with1 the appropriate congressional committees in writing1 not later than #cj days before such changes are scheduled to take effect2 and 7#b7 provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees regarding the proposed changes4 4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,covered agency ,the term covered agency means-- 7,a7 the ,department of ,state2 7,b7 the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development2 7,c7 the ,millennium ,challenge ,corporation2 7,d7 the ,united ,states ,international ,development ,finance ,corporation2 7,e7 the ,peace ,corps2 7,f7 the ,foreign ,agricultural ,service within the ,department of ,agriculture2 7,g7 the ,animal and ,plant ,health ,inspection ,service within the ,department of ,agriculture2 7,h7 the ,foreign ,commercial ,service within the ,department of ,commerce2 7,i7 the ,united ,states ,trade and ,development ,agency2 and 7,j7 the ,united ,states ,agency for ,global ,media and its networks4