,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dfhj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #d1      
#bjbf,ms4 ,rosen 7for herself and ,mr4  
,ricketts7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations
  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize the          
,secretary of ,state to extend limited  
consular appointments to eight years1   
with an additional two-year extension   
for needs of the ,foreign ,service4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,expanded ,consular ,fellows ,act  
of #bjbf4  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes
 the following findings3 7#a7 ,consular 
services provided at ,united ,states    
embassies and consulates worldwide1 and 
in the ,united ,states1 are critical to 
protecting the safety and security of   
,americans abroad1 safeguarding ,united 
,states borders1 supporting ,american   
families pursuing international         
adoptions1 and facilitating legitimate  
travel to the ,united ,states4  7#b7    

,foreign ,service posts process millions
 of visa applications each year1        
conducting rigorous security vetting of 
each application to detect fraud1       
mitigate security risks1 prevent        
unlawful migrations1 and protect the    
homeland4  7#c7 ,travel and tourism is  
the ,united ,states largest single      
services export1 accounting for #bb     
percent of services exports and #g      
percent of total exports in #bjbc4 ,in  
#bjbb1 the travel and tourism industry  
contributed #b1cjj1jjj1jjj1jjj to the   
,united ,states economy--approximately  
#b4ig percent of gross domestic         
product--and supported #i1ejj1jjj       
,united ,states jobs4  7#d7 ,demand for 
consular services will continue to      
increase as the ,united ,states enters  
an ,american decade of sports as the    
host of major international events      
between #bjbd and #bjcd--;including the 
,copa ,america1 ,club ,world ,cup1      
,,fifa ,world ,cup1 ,olympic and        
,paralympic ,games1 and ,rugby ,world   

,cups--which are expected to draw       
millions of international visitors and  
significantly increasing workloads for  
consular staff while simultaneously     
requiring enhanced security screening   
and adjudicative rigor4  7#e7 ,expanding
 limited non-career appointments for    
,department of ,state personnel         
performing consular functions1 including
 through the ,consular ,fellows         
,program1 is essential to increasing    
staffing capacity1 reducing recruitment 
costs and delays1 and ensuring the      
continued efficient delivery of consular
 services4  #b4 ,expansion of limited   
consular appointment authority ,section 
#cji of the ,foreign ,service ,act of   
#aihj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #cidi7 is amended--
 7#a7 in subsection 7a71 by inserting 1 
or #h years in duration for personnel   
performing consular services1 after may 
not exceed #e years in duration2 and    
7#b7 in subsection 7b77#f7-- 7,a7 in    
subparagraph 7,a71 by striking or2  7,b7
 in subparagraph 7,b71 by striking the  

period at the end and inserting 2 or2   
and  7,c7 by adding at the end the      
following new subparagraph3  7,c7 a     
limited noncareer appointment for a     
period not to exceed #b years1 in the   
case of personnel performing consular   
services4  4