(a) Western hemisphere travel initiative fee.—To make permanent the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative fee, section 1(b) of the Passport Act of June 4, 1920 (22 U.S.C. 214(b)(1)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “(1)”; and

(2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

(b) Passport fees.—Section 1(b) of the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, as amended by subsection (a), shall be applied through fiscal year 2028 by striking “such costs” and inserting “the costs of providing consular services”.

(c) Modernization of passport processing.—A portion of the expanded expenditure authorities provided in subsections (a) and (b) shall be used to modernize consular systems, with an emphasis on passport and citizenship services.

During the 3-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, without regard to the provisions under sections 3309 through 3318 of title 5, United States Code, may directly appoint candidates to positions in the competitive service (as defined in section 2102 of such title) at the Department in the Passport and Visa Examining Series 0967.

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter for the following 3 years, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that describes—

(1) the current estimated wait times for passport processing;

(2) the steps that have been taken by the Department to reduce wait times to a reasonable time;

(3) efforts to improve the rollout of the online passport renewal processing program, including how much of passport revenues the Department is spending on consular systems modernization; and

(4) how the Department details its staff and resources to passport services programs.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Department shall make prominently available in United States passports, on the first two pages of the passport, the following information:

(1) A prominent, clear advisory for all travelers to check travel.state.gov for updated travel warnings and advisories.

(2) A prominent, clear notice urging all travelers to register with the Department prior to overseas travel.

(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the use of policies to restrict personnel from serving in certain assignments may undermine the Department’s ability to deploy relevant cultural and linguistic skills at diplomatic posts abroad if not applied judiciously; and

(2) the Department should continuously evaluate all processes relating to assignment restrictions, assignment reviews, and preclusions at the Department.

(b) Notification of status.—Beginning not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—

(1) provide a status update for all Department personnel who, prior to such date of enactment, were subject to a prior assignment restriction, assignment review, or preclusion for whom a review or decision related to assignment is pending; and

(2) on an ongoing basis, provide a status update for any Department personnel who has been the subject of a pending assignment restriction or pending assignment review for more than 30 days.

(c) Notification content.—The notification required under subsection (b) shall inform relevant personnel, as of the date of the notification—

(1) whether any prior assignment restriction has been lifted;

(2) if their assignment status is subject to ongoing review, and an estimated date for completion; and

(3) if they are subject to any other restrictions on their ability to serve at posts abroad.

(d) Adjudication of ongoing assignment reviews.—The Department shall establish a reasonable time limit for the Department to complete an assignment review, and establish a deadline by which it must inform personnel of a decision related to such a review. For any personnel the Department determines are ineligible to serve in an assignment due to an assignment restriction or assignment review, a Security Appeal Panel shall convene not later than 60 days of an appeal being filed.

(e) Security review panel.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Security Appeal Panel shall be comprised of—

(1) the head of an office responsible for human resources or discrimination who reports directly to the Secretary;

(2) the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Global Talent Management;

(3) the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research;

(4) an Assistant Secretary or Deputy, or equivalent, from a third bureau as designated by the Under Secretary for Management;

(5) a representative from the geographic bureau to which the restriction applies; and

(6) a representative from the Office of the Legal Adviser and a representative from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, who shall serve as non-voting advisors.

(f) Appeal rights.—Section 414(a) of the Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2734c(a)) is amended by striking the first two sentences and inserting “The Secretary shall establish and maintain a right and process for employees to appeal a decision related to an assignment, based on a restriction, review, or preclusion. Such right and process shall ensure that any such employee shall have the same appeal rights as provided by the Department regarding denial or revocation of a security clearance.”.

(g) FAM update.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall amend all relevant provisions of the Foreign Service Manual, and any associated or related policies of the Department, to comply with this section.

The Secretary shall ensure that all instructors at the Foreign Service Institute, including direct hires and contractors, who provide language instruction are—

(1) subject to suitability reviews and background investigations; and

(2) subject to continuous vetting or reinvestigations to the extend consistent with Department and Executive policy for other Department personnel.

(a) In general.—Section 47 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2719) is amended—

(1) by striking “The Secretary” and inserting the following:

“(a) In general.—The Secretary”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(b) Diplomatic security fellowship programs.—

“(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, working through the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, shall establish Diplomatic Security fellowship programs to provide grants to United States nationals pursuing undergraduate studies who commit to pursuing a career as a special agent, security engineering officer, or in the civil service in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

“(2) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations for the administration of Diplomatic Security fellowship programs that set forth—

“(A) the eligibility requirements for receiving a grant under this subsection;

“(B) the process by which eligible applicants may request such a grant;

“(C) the maximum amount of such a grant; and

“(D) the educational progress to which all grant recipients are obligated.”.

(b) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out this section.

Section 603(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4003(b)) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraph (2), (3), and (4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraphs:

“(2) experience serving at an international organization, multilateral institution, or engaging in multinational negotiations;

“(3) willingness to serve in hardship posts overseas or across geographically distinct regions;

“(4) experience advancing policies or developing expertise that enhance the United States’ competitiveness with regard to critical and emerging technologies.”.

(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the Department should possess hiring authorities to enable recruitment of individuals representative of the nation with special skills needed to address 21st century diplomacy challenges; and

(2) the Secretary shall conduct a survey of hiring authorities held by the Department to identify—

(A) hiring authorities already authorized by Congress;

(B) others authorities granted through Presidential decree or executive order; and

(C) any authorities needed to enable recruitment of individuals with the special skills described in paragraph (1).

(b) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes a description of all existing hiring authorities and legislative proposals on any new needed authorities.

(c) Special hiring authority.—For an initial period of not more than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary may appoint, without regard to the provisions of sections 3309 through 3318 of title 5, United States Code, candidates directly to positions in the competitive service at the Department, as defined in section 2102 of that title, in the following occupational series: 1560 Data Science, 2210 Information Technology Management, and 0201 Human Resources Management.

For up to 2 years following the end of a compensated internship at the Department or the United States Agency for International Development, the Department or USAID may offer employment to up to 25 such interns and appoint them directly to positions in the competitive service, as defined in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to the provisions of sections 3309 through 3318 of such title.

(a) In general.—Section 404 of the Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–323; 130 Stat. 1928) is amended—

(1) in subsection (b)—

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “3-year” and inserting “5-year”;

(B) in paragraph (5), by striking “; and”;

(C) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

“(7) does not include the use of Foreign Service-Limited or other noncareer Foreign Service hiring authorities; and

“(8) includes not fewer than 30 participants for each year of the pilot program.”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(e) Certification.—If the Secretary does not commence the lateral entry program within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees—

“(1) certifying that progress is being made on implementation of the pilot program and describing such progress, including the date on which applicants will be able to apply;

“(2) estimating the date by which the pilot program will be fully implemented;

“(3) outlining how the Department will use the Lateral Entry Program to fill needed skill sets in key areas such as cyberspace, emerging technologies, economic statecraft, multilateral diplomacy, and data and other sciences.”.

(a) Authorization.—The Secretary, in collaboration with the Director of the Foreign Service Institute, is authorized to establish a Mid-Career Mentoring Program (referred to in this section as the “Program”) for employees who have demonstrated outstanding service and leadership.

(b) Selection.—

(1) NOMINATIONS.—The head of each bureau shall semiannually nominate participants for the Program from a pool of applicants in the positions described in paragraph (2)(B), including from posts both domestically and abroad.

(2) SUBMISSION OF SLATE OF NOMINEES TO SECRETARY.—The Director of the Foreign Service Institute, in consultation with the Director General of the Foreign Service, shall semiannually—

(A) vet the nominees most recently nominated pursuant to paragraph (1); and

(B) submit to the Secretary a slate of applicants to participate in the Program, who shall consist of at least—

(i) 10 Foreign Service Officers and specialists classified at the FS-03 or FS-04 level of the Foreign Service Salary Schedule;

(ii) 10 Civil Service employees classified at GS-12 or GS-13 of the General Schedule; and

(iii) 5 Foreign Service Officers from the United States Agency for International Development.

(3) FINAL SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select the applicants who will be invited to participate in the Program from the slate received pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) and extend such an invitation to each selected applicant.

(c) Program sessions.—

(1) FREQUENCY; DURATION.—All of the participants who accept invitations extended pursuant to subsection (b)(3) shall meet 3 to 4 times per year for training sessions with high-level leaders of the Department and USAID, including private group meetings with the Secretary and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

(2) THEMES.—Each session referred to in paragraph (1) shall focus on specific themes developed jointly by the Foreign Service Institute and the Executive Secretariat focused on substantive policy issues and leadership practices.

(d) Mentoring program.—The Secretary and the Administrator each shall establish a mentoring and coaching program that pairs a senior leader of the Department or USAID with each of the program participants who complete the Program during the 1-year period immediately following their participation in the Program.

(e) Annual report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for three years, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that describes the activities of the Program during the most recent year.

Section 304(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3944) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:

“(2) The Secretary shall also furnish to the President, on an annual basis and to assist the President in selecting qualified candidates for appointments or assignments as chief of mission, the names of between 5 and 10 career civil servants serving at the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development who are qualified to serve as chiefs of mission, together with pertinent information about such individuals.”.

(a) Establishment of pilot rotational program for civil service.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to provide qualified civil servants serving at the Department an opportunity to serve at a United States embassy, including identifying criteria and an application process for such program.

(b) Program.—The program established under this section shall—

(1) provide at least 20 career civil servants the opportunity to serve for 2 to 3 years at a United States embassy to gain additional skills and experience;

(2) offer such civil servants the opportunity to serve in a political or economic section at a United States embassy; and

(3) include clear and transparent criteria for eligibility and selection, which shall include a minimum of 5 years of service at the Department.

(c) Subsequent position and promotion.—Following a rotation at a United States embassy pursuant to the program established by this section, participants in the program must be afforded, at minimum, a position equivalent in seniority, compensation, and responsibility to the position occupied prior serving in the program. Successful completion of a rotation at a United States embassy shall be considered favorably with regard to applications for promotion in civil service jobs at the Department.

(d) Implementation.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall identify not less than 20 positions in United States embassies for the program established under this section and offered at least 20 civil servants the opportunity to serve in a rotation at a United States embassy pursuant to this section.

Not later than 30 days following the end of each calendar quarter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1) a list of every chief of mission or United States representative overseas with the rank of Ambassador who, during the prior quarter, was outside a country of assignment for more than 14 cumulative days for purposes other than official travel or temporary duty orders;

(2) the number of days each such chief of mission or United States representative overseas with the rank of Ambassador was outside a country of assignment during the previous quarter for purposes other than official travel or temporary duty orders; and

(3) a list of any country other than the country of assignment in which a chief of mission or United States representative overseas with the rank of Ambassador has spent more than 14 days during the previous quarter.

Not later than April 1, 2024, and annually thereafter for the next 4 years, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes—

(1) the Foreign Service cone of each current chief of mission and deputy chief of mission (or whoever is acting in the capacity of chief or deputy chief if neither is present) for each United States embassy at which there is a Foreign Service office filling either of those positions; and

(2) aggregated data for all chiefs of mission and deputy chiefs of mission described in paragraph (1), disaggregated by cone.

(a) No termination or reduction of retirement annuity or pay for reemployment.—Notwithstanding section 824 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4064), if a covered annuitant becomes employed by the Department—

(1) the payment of any retirement annuity, retired pay, or retainer pay otherwise payable to the covered annuitant shall not terminate; and

(2) the amount of the retirement annuity, retired pay, or retainer pay otherwise payable to the covered annuitant shall not be reduced.

(b) Covered annuitant defined.—In this section, the term “covered annuitant” means any individual who is receiving a retirement annuity under—

(1) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System under subchapter I of chapter 8 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4041 et seq.); or

(2) the Foreign Service Pension System under subchapter II of such chapter (22 U.S.C. 4071 et seq.).

(a) Comprehensive policy on vetting and transparency.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a consistent and enhanced vetting process to ensure that individuals with substantiated claims of discrimination, harassment, or bullying are not considered for promotions to senior positions.

(b) Elements of comprehensive vetting policy.—Following the conclusion of any investigation into an allegation of discrimination, harassment, or bullying, the Office of Civil Rights, Office of Global Talent Management, and other offices with responsibilities related to the investigation shall jointly or individually submit a written summary of any findings of any substantiated allegations, along with a summary of findings to the Committee responsible for promotions (the “D Committee”) prior to such Committee rendering a recommendation for promotion.

(c) Response.—The Secretary shall develop a process for candidates to respond to any allegations that are substantiated and presented to the D Committee.

(d) Annual reports.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five years, the Secretary shall submit to the Department workforce and the appropriate congressional committees a report on the number of candidates confirmed for senior diplomatic posts against whom there were found to have been substantiated allegations.

(a) Streamlined reporting.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a single point of initial reporting for allegations of discrimination, bullying, and harassment that provides an initial review of the allegations and, if necessary, the ability to file multiple claims based on a single complaint.

(b) Ensuring implementation of corrective action and management recommendations.—The Secretary shall ensure follow up with each complainant who makes an allegation of discrimination, harassment, or bullying pursuant to subsection (a) and the head of the respective bureau not later than 180 days after the conclusion of any investigation where an allegation is substantiated, and again one year after the conclusion of any such investigation, to ensure that any recommendations for corrective action related to the complainant have been acted on where appropriate. If such recommendations have not be implemented, a written statement shall be provided to the head of the bureau and complainant and affected employees explaining why the recommendations have not been implemented.

(c) Climate surveys of employees of the Department.—

(1) REQUIRED BIENNIAL SURVEYS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a Department-wide survey of all Department personnel regarding harassment, discrimination, bullying, and related retaliation that includes workforce perspectives on the accessibility and effectiveness of the Bureau of Global Talent Management and Office of Civil Rights in the efforts and processes to address these issues.

(2) PILOT SURVEYS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a Department-wide survey for Locally Employed Staff regarding retention, training, promotion, and other matters, including harassment, discrimination, bullying, and related retaliation, that includes workforce perspectives on the accessibility and effectiveness of complaint measures.

(3) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the conclusion of each survey conducted pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall make the key findings available to the Department workforce and shall submit them to the appropriate congressional committees.

(d) Retaliation prevention efforts.—

(1) EMPLOYEE EVALUATION.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—If there is a pending investigation of discrimination, bullying, or harassment against a superior who is responsible for rating or reviewing the complainant employee, the complainant shall be reviewed by the superior’s supervisor.

(B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2) RETALIATION PREVENTION GUIDANCE.—Any Department employee against whom an allegation of discrimination, bullying, or harassment has been made shall receive written guidance (a “retaliation hold”) on the types of actions that can be considered retaliation against the complainant employee. The employee’s immediate supervisor shall also receive the retaliation hold guidance.

(a) In general.—Chapter 9 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents in section 2 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 907 the following:

“Sec. 908. Education allowance”.

(a) Per diem allowance.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), any newly hired Foreign Service employee who is in initial orientation training, or any other training expected to last less than 6 months before transferring to the employee’s first assignment, in the Washington, D.C., area shall, for the duration of such training, receive a per diem allowance at the levels prescribed under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

(2) LIMITATION ON LODGING EXPENSES.—A newly hired Foreign Service employee may not receive any lodging expenses under the applicable per diem allowance pursuant to paragraph (1) if that employee—

(A) has a permanent residence in the Washington, D.C., area (not including Government-supplied housing during such orientation training or other training); and

(B) does not vacate such residence during such orientation training or other training.

(b) Definitions.—In this section—

(1) the term “per diem allowance” has the meaning given that term under section 5701 of title 5, United States Code; and

(2) the term “Washington, D.C., area” means the geographic area within a 50 mile radius of the Washington Monument.

(a) Additional personnel to address mental health.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall seek to increase the number of personnel within the Bureau of Medical Services to address mental health needs for both foreign and civil servants.

(2) EMPLOYMENT TARGETS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall seek to employ not fewer than 15 additional personnel in the Bureau of Medical Services, compared to the number of personnel employed as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Study.—The Secretary shall conduct a study on the accessibility of mental health care providers and services available to Department personnel, including an assessment of—

(1) the accessibility of mental health care providers at diplomatic posts and in the United States;

(2) the accessibility of inpatient services for mental health care for Department personnel;

(3) steps that may be taken to improve such accessibility;

(4) the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on the mental health of Department personnel, particularly those who served abroad between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, and Locally Employed Staff, where information is available;

(5) recommended steps to improve the manner in which the Department advertises mental health services to the workforce; and

(6) additional authorities and resources needed to better meet the mental health needs of Department personnel.

(c) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to appropriate congressional committees a report containing the findings of the study under subsection (b).

(a) In general.—The Secretary and the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development are authorized to provide for unanticipated non-medical care, including childcare, eldercare, and essential services directly related to caring for an acute injury or illness, for USAID and Department employees and their family members, including through the provision of such non-medical services, referrals to care providers, and reimbursement of reasonable expenses for such services.

(b) Limitation.—Services provided pursuant to this section shall not exceed $2,000,000 per fiscal year.

Section 904 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4084) is amended—

(1) in subsection (g), by striking “abroad for employees and eligible family members” and inserting “under this section”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(a) Physical and mental health care services in special circumstances.—

“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to direct health care providers employed under subsection (c) of this section to furnish physical and mental health care services to an individual otherwise ineligible for services under this section if necessary to preserve life or limb or if intended to facilitate an overseas evacuation, recovery, or return. Such services may be provided incidental to the following activities:

“(A) Activities undertaken abroad pursuant to section 3 and section 4 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2670, 2671).

“(B) Recovery of hostages or of wrongfully or unlawfully detained individuals abroad, including pursuant to section 302 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741).

“(C) Secretarial dispatches to international disaster sites deployed pursuant to section 207 of the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 (22 U.S.C. 5506).

“(D) Deployments undertaken pursuant to section 606(a)(6)(A)(iii) of the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999 (22 U.S.C. 4865(a)(6)(A)(iii)).

“(2) PRIORITIZATION OF OTHER FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall prioritize the allocation of Department resources to the health care program described in subsections (a) through (g) above the functions described in paragraph (1).

“(3) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary should prescribe applicable regulations to implement this section, taking into account the prioritization in paragraph (2) and the activities described in paragraph (1).

“(4) REIMBURSABLE BASIS.—Services rendered under this subsection shall be provided on a reimbursable basis to the extent practicable.”.

(a) Reducing hardship for transportation of domestic animals.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c) of section 40118 of title 49, United States Code, the Department is authorized to pay for the transportation by a foreign air carrier of Department personnel and any in-cabin or accompanying checked baggage or cargo if—

(A) no air carrier holding a certificate under section 41102 of such title is willing and able to transport up to 3 domestic animals accompanying such Federal personnel; and

(B) the transportation is from a place—

(i) outside the United States to a place in the United States;

(ii) in the United States to a place outside the United States; or

(iii) outside the United States to another place outside the United States.

(2) LIMITATION.—An amount paid pursuant to paragraph (1) for transportation by a foreign carrier may not be greater than the amount that would otherwise have been paid had the transportation been on an air carrier holding a certificate under section 41102 had that carrier been willing and able to provide such transportation. If the amount that would otherwise have been paid to such an air carrier is less than the cost of transportation on the applicable foreign carrier, the Department personnel may pay the difference of such amount.

(3) DOMESTIC ANIMAL DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term “domestic animal” means a dog or a cat.

(a) Sense of congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) locally employed staff provide essential contributions at United States diplomatic and consular posts around the world, including by providing—

(A) security to United States government personnel serving in the country;

(B) advice, expertise, and other services for the promotion of political, economic, public affairs, commercial, security, and other interests of critical importance to the United States;

(C) a wide range of logistical and administrative support to every office in each mission working to advance United States interests around the world, including services and support vital to the upkeep and maintenance of United States missions;

(D) consular services to support the welfare and well-being of United States citizens and to provide for the expeditious processing of visa applications;

(E) institutional memory on a wide range of embassy engagements on bilateral issues; and

(F) enduring connections to host country contacts, both inside and outside the host government, including within media, civil society, the business community, academia, the armed forces, and elsewhere; and

(2) locally employed staff make important contributions that should warrant the United States Government to give due consideration for their security and safety when diplomatic missions face emergency situations.

(b) Authorization to provide emergency support.—In emergency situations, in addition to other authorities that may be available in emergencies or other exigent circumstances, the Secretary is authorized to use funds made available to the Department to provide support to ensure the safety and security of locally employed staff and their immediate family members, including for—

(1) providing transport or relocating locally employed staff and their immediate family members to a safe and secure environment;

(2) providing short-term housing or lodging for up to six months for locally employed staff and their immediate family members;

(3) procuring or providing other essential items and services to support the safety and security of locally employed staff and their immediate family members.

(c) Temporary housing.—To ensure the safety and security of locally employed staff and their immediate family members consistent with this section, Chiefs of Missions are authorized to allow locally employed staff and their immediate family members to reside temporarily in the residences of United States direct hire employees, either in the host country or other countries, provided that such stays are offered voluntarily by United States direct hire employees.

(d) Foreign affairs manual.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall amend the Foreign Affairs Manual to reflect the authorizations and requirements of this section.

(e) Emergency situation defined.—In this section, the term “emergency situation” means armed conflict, civil unrest, natural disaster, or other types of instability that pose a threat to the safety and security of locally employed staff, particularly when and if a United States diplomatic or consular post must suspend operations.

(f) Report.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—No later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees describing prior actions the Department has taken with regard to locally employed staff and their immediate family members following suspensions or closures of United States diplomatic posts over the prior 4 years, including Kyiv, Kabul, Minsk, and Khartoum.

(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under paragraph (1) shall—

(A) describe any actions the Department took to assist locally employed staff and their immediate family members;

(B) identify any obstacles that made providing support or assistance to locally employed staff and their immediate family members difficult;

(C) examine lessons learned and propose recommendations to better protect the safety and security of locally employed staff and their family members, including any additional authorities that may be required; and

(D) provide an analysis of and offer recommendations on any other steps that could improve efforts to protect the safety and security of locally employed staff and their immediate family members.

Section 3 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2670) is amended—

(1) in subsection (l), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(2) in subsection (m) by striking the period at the end and by inserting “; and”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(n) pay expenses to provide internet services in residences owned or leased by the United States Government in foreign countries for the use of Department personnel where Department personnel receive a post hardship differential equivalent to 30 percent or more above basic compensation.”.

(a) Establishment and implementation of prevailing wage rates goal.—Section 401(a) of the Department of State Authorities Act, fiscal year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 3968a(a)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “periodically” and inserting “every 3 years”.

(b) Report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—

(1) compensation (including position classification) plans for locally employed staff based upon prevailing wage rates and compensation practices for corresponding types of positions in the locality of employment; and

(2) an assessment of the feasibility and impact of changing the prevailing wage rate goal for positions in the local compensation plan from the 50th percentile to the 75th percentile.

(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) challenges finding and maintaining spousal employment and family dissatisfaction are one of the leading reasons employees cite for leaving the Department;

(2) tandem Foreign Service personnel represent important members of the Foreign Service community, who act as force multipliers for our diplomacy;

(3) the Department can and should do more to keep tandem couples posted together and consider family member employment needs when assigning tandem officers; and

(4) common sense steps providing more flexibility in the assignments process would improve outcomes for tandem officers without disadvantaging other Foreign Service officers.

(b) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) FAMILY TOGETHERNESS.—The term “family togetherness” means facilitating the placement of Foreign Service personnel at the same United States diplomatic post when both spouses are members of a tandem couple of Foreign Service Officers.

(2) TANDEM FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER; TANDEM.—The terms “tandem Foreign Service personnel” and “tandem” mean a member of a couple of which one spouse is a career or career candidate employee of the Foreign Service and the other spouse is a career or career candidate employee of the Foreign Service or an employee of one of the agencies authorized to use the Foreign Service Personnel System under section 202 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3922).

(c) Family togetherness in assignments.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Department shall amend and update its policies to further promote the principle of family togetherness in the Foreign Service, which shall include the following:

(1) ENTRY-LEVEL FOREIGN SERVICE PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall adopt policies and procedures to facilitate the assignment of entry-level tandem Foreign Service personnel on directed assignments to the same diplomatic post or country as their tandem spouse if they request to be assigned to the same post or country. The Secretary shall also provide a written justification to the requesting personnel explaining any denial of a request that would result in a tandem couple not serving together at the same post or country.

(2) TENURED FOREIGN SERVICE PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall add family togetherness to the criteria when making a needs of the Service determination, as defined by the Foreign Affairs Manual, for the placement of tenured tandem Foreign Service personnel at United States diplomatic posts.

(3) UPDATES TO ANTINEPOTISM POLICY.—The Secretary shall update antinepotism policies so that nepotism rules only apply when an employee and a relative are placed into positions wherein they jointly and exclusively control government resources, property, or money or establish government policy.

(4) TEMPORARY SUPERVISION OF TANDEM SPOUSE.—The Secretary shall update policies to allow for a tandem spouse to temporarily supervise another tandem spouse for up to 90 days in a calendar year, including at a United States diplomatic mission.

(d) Report.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes—

(1) the number of Foreign Service tandem couples currently serving; and

(2) an estimate of the cost savings that would result if all Foreign Service tandem couples were placed at a single post.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Department shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—

(1) a list of the overseas United States diplomatic missions that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, are not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities;

(2) any efforts in progress to make such missions readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and

(3) an estimate of the cost to make all such missions readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

(a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings:

(1) In a rapidly evolving and digitally interconnected global landscape, access to and maintenance of reliable, readily available data is key to informed decisionmaking and diplomacy and therefore should be considered a strategic asset.

(2) In order to achieve its mission in the 21st century, the Department must adapt to these trends by maintaining and providing timely access to high-quality data at the time and place needed, while simultaneously cultivating a data-savvy workforce.

(3) Leveraging data science and data analytics has the potential to improve the performance of the Department’s workforce by providing otherwise unknown insights into program deficiencies, shortcomings, or other gaps in analysis.

(4) While innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to empower the Department to analyze and act upon data at scale, systematized, sustainable data management and information synthesis remain a core competency necessary for data-driven decisionmaking.

(5) The goals set out by the Department’s Enterprise Data Council (EDC) as the areas of most critical need for the Department, including Cultivating a Data Culture, Accelerating Decisions through Analytics, Establishing Mission-Driven Data Management, and Enhancing Enterprise Data Governance, are laudable and will remain critical as the Department develops into a data-driven agency.

(b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the Department should prioritize the recruitment and retainment of top data science talent in support of its data-informed diplomacy efforts as well as its broader modernization agenda; and

(2) the Department should strengthen data fluency among its workforce, promote data collaboration across and within its bureaus, and enhance its enterprise data oversight.

(a) Bureau Chief Data Officer Program.—

(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish a program, which shall be known as the “Bureau Chief Data Officer Program” (referred to in this section as the “Program”), overseen by the Department’s Chief Data Officer. The Bureau Chief Data Officers hired under this program shall report to the Department’s Chief Data Officer.

(2) GOALS.—The goals of the Program shall include the following:

(A) Cultivating a data culture by promoting data fluency and data collaboration across the Department.

(B) Promoting increased data analytics use in critical decisionmaking areas.

(C) Promoting data integration and standardization.

(D) Increasing efficiencies across the Department by incentivizing acquisition of enterprise data solutions and subscription data services to be shared across bureaus and offices and within bureaus.

(b) Implementation plan.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan that outlines strategies for—

(1) advancing the goals described in subsection (a)(2);

(2) hiring Bureau Chief Data Officers at the GS-14 or GS-15 grade or a similar rank;

(3) assigning at least one Bureau Chief Data Officer to—

(A) each regional bureau of the Department;

(B) the Bureau of International Organization Affairs;

(C) the Office of the Chief Economist;

(D) the Office of the Science and Technology Advisor;

(E) the Bureau of Cyber and Digital Policy;

(F) the Bureau of Diplomatic Security;

(G) the Bureau for Global Talent Management; and

(H) the Bureau of Consular Affairs; and

(4) allocation of necessary resources to sustain the Program.

(c) Assignment.—In implementing the Bureau Chief Data Officer Program, Bureaus may not dual-hat currently employed personnel as Bureau Chief Data Officers.

(d) Annual reporting requirement.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 3 years, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding the status of the implementation plan required under subsection (b).

(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the rapid development of publicly available, affordable generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including the use of large language models (LLM) to fuel natural language processing applications, has the potential to fundamentally alter the nature of disinformation and propaganda campaigns by enabling finely tailored, auto-generated disinformation swiftly, in any language, at scale, and at low-costs;

(2) academia and private industry, including social media platforms, play a critical role in establishing safeguards for powerful, publicly available tools for producing AI-generated content, and it is in the United States national security interest to ensure that these technologies are not misused by foreign malign actors to enhance influence operations abroad;

(3) the ability to identify, track, and label original text, audio, and visual content is becoming increasingly vital to United States national interests as sophisticated AI-generated content creation becomes increasingly available to the public at low costs;

(4) coalitions such as the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authority (C2PA) play important roles in establishing open industry standards for content authenticity and digital content provenance, which will become increasingly vulnerable to manipulation and distortion through AI-powered tools; and

(5) the Department, as the lead agency for United States public diplomacy, should work within the interagency process to develop a common approach to United States international engagement on issues related to AI-enabled disinformation.

(b) Statement of policy.—It shall be the policy of the United States—

(1) to share knowledge with allies and partners of instances when foreign state actors have leveraged generative AI to augment disinformation campaigns or propaganda;

(2) to work with private industry and academia to mitigate the risks associated with public research on generative AI technologies; and

(3) to support efforts in developing digital content provenance detection techniques and technologies in line with United States national security interests.

(c) Establishment of countering AI-Enabled Disinformation Task Force.—

(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish within the Department a Countering AI-Enabled Disinformation Task Force (referred to in this section as the “Task Force”) to—

(A) identify potential responses to the growing threat of AI-enabled disinformation and its use by foreign state actors to augment influence operations and disinformation campaigns;

(B) work closely with private industry and academia to identify and coordinate efforts in developing digital content provenance detection techniques and technologies;

(C) develop the Department’s internal coordination across regional and functional bureaus on the issue of AI-enabled disinformation;

(D) develop a unified approach to international coordination on—

(i) establishing standards around digital content provenance techniques and technologies, specifically as it relates to countering AI-enabled disinformation campaign; and

(ii) assessing the potential for establishing frameworks around the proliferation of tools that facilitate AI-enabled disinformation; and

(E) identify any additional tools or resources necessary to enhance the Department’s ability to—

(i) detect AI-enabled foreign disinformation and propaganda;

(ii) rapidly produce original counter-messaging to address AI-enabled disinformation campaigns;

(iii) expand digital literacy programming abroad to include education on how media consumers in recipient countries can identify and inoculate themselves from synthetically produced media; and

(iv) coordinate and collaborate with other governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, and others, as necessary.

(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be comprised of a representative from relevant offices, as determined by the Secretary, including—

(A) the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy;

(B) the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs;

(C) the Global Engagement Center;

(D) the Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary;

(E) the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs;

(F) the Bureau for Intelligence and Research;

(G) the Center for Analytics of the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions;

(H) the Foreign Service Institute School of Applied Information Technology; and

(I) any others the Secretary determines appropriate.

(d) Task Force report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the establishment and progress of the Task Force’s work, including in pursuit of the objectives described in subsection(c)(1).

(e) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term “artificial intelligence” has the meaning given that term in section 238(g) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 10 U.S.C. 4001 note).

(2) DIGITAL CONTENT PROVENANCE.—The term “digital content provenance” means the verifiable chronology of the origin and history of a piece of digital content, such as an image, video, audio recording, or electronic document.

Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(n) Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.—

“(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be within the Department of State a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, which may be dual-hatted as the Department’s Chief Data Officer, who shall be a member of the Senior Executive Service.

“(2) DUTIES DESCRIBED.—The principal duties and responsibilities of the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer shall be—

“(A) to evaluate, oversee, and, if appropriate, facilitate the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning applications to improve policy, programs, and management operations of the Department of State; and

“(B) to act as the principal advisor to the Secretary of State on the ethical use of AI and advanced analytics in conducting data-informed diplomacy.

“(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer should be an individual with demonstrated skill and competency in—

“(A) the use and application of data analytics, AI, and machine learning; and

“(B) transformational leadership and organizational change management, particularly within large, complex organizations.

“(4) PARTNER WITH THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER ON SCALING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE CASES.—To ensure alignment between the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Information Officer will consult with the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer on best practices for rolling out and scaling AI capabilities across the Bureau of Information and Resource Management’s broader portfolio of software applications.

“(5) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘artificial intelligence’ has the meaning given the term in section 238(g) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 10 U.S.C. 4001 note).”.

(a) In general.—The Chief Information Officer of the Department shall be consulted on all decisions to approve or disapprove, significant new unclassified information technology expenditures, including software, of the Department, including expenditures related to information technology acquired, managed, and maintained by other bureaus and offices within the Department, in order to—

(1) encourage the use of enterprise software and information technology solutions where such solutions exist or can be developed in a timeframe and manner consistent with maintaining and enhancing the continuity and improvement of Department operations;

(2) increase the bargaining power of the Department in acquiring information technology solutions across the Department;

(3) reduce the number of redundant Authorities to Operate (ATO), which, instead of using one ATO-approved platform across bureaus, requires multiple ATOs for software use cases across different bureaus;

(4) enhance the efficiency, reduce redundancy, and increase interoperability of the use of information technology across the enterprise of the Department;

(5) enhance training and alignment of information technology personnel with the skills required to maintain systems across the Department;

(6) reduce costs related to the maintenance of, or effectuate the retirement of, legacy systems;

(7) ensure the development and maintenance of security protocols regarding the use of information technology solutions and software across the Department; and

(8) improve end-user training on the operation of information technology solutions and to enhance end-user cybersecurity practices.

(b) Strategy and implementation plan required.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Officer of the Department shall develop, in consultation with relevant bureaus and offices as appropriate, a strategy and a 5-year implementation plan to advance the objectives described in subsection (a).

(2) CONSULTATION.—No later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Officer shall submit the strategy required by this subsection to the appropriate congressional committees and shall consult with the appropriate congressional committees, not less than on an annual basis for 5 years, regarding the progress related to the implementation plan required by this subjection.

(c) Improvement plan for the Bureau for Information Resources Management.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Officer shall develop policies and protocols to improve the customer service orientation, quality and timely delivery of information technology solutions, and training and support for bureau and office-level information technology officers.

(2) SURVEY.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five years, the Chief Information Officer shall undertake a client satisfaction survey of bureau information technology officers to obtain feedback on metrics related to—

(A) customer service orientation of the Bureau of Information Resources Management;

(B) quality and timelines of capabilities delivered;

(C) maintenance and upkeep of information technology solutions;

(D) training and support for senior bureau and office-level information technology officers; and

(E) other matters which the Chief Information Officer, in consultation with client bureaus and offices, determine appropriate.

(3) SUBMISSION OF FINDINGS.—Not later than 60 days after completing each survey required under paragraph (2), the Chief Information Officer shall submit a summary of the findings to the appropriate congressional committees.

(d) Significant expenditure defined.—For purposes of this section, the term “significant expenditure” means any cumulative expenditure in excess of $250,000 total in a single fiscal year for a new unclassified software or information technology capability.

It is the sense of Congress that in order to modernize the Department, enterprise-wide governance regarding budget and finance, information technology, and the creation, analysis, and use of data across the Department is necessary to better align resources to strategy, including evaluating trade-offs, and to enhance efficiency and security in using data and technology as tools to inform and evaluate the conduct of United States foreign policy.

(a) Digital connectivity and cybersecurity partnership.—The Secretary is authorized to establish a program, which may be known as the “Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership”, to help foreign countries—

(1) expand and increase secure internet access and digital infrastructure in emerging markets, including demand for and availability of high-quality information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, software, and services;

(2) protect technological assets, including data;

(3) adopt policies and regulatory positions that foster and encourage open, interoperable, reliable, and secure internet, the free flow of data, multi-stakeholder models of internet governance, and pro-competitive and secure ICT policies and regulations;

(4) access United States exports of ICT goods and services;

(5) expand interoperability and promote the diversification of ICT goods and supply chain services to be less reliant on PRC imports;

(6) promote best practices and common standards for a national approach to cybersecurity; and

(7) advance other priorities consistent with paragraphs (1) through (6), as determined by the Secretary.

(b) Use of funds.—Funds made available to carry out this section, including unexpended funds from fiscal years 2018 through 2022, may be used to strengthen civilian cybersecurity and information and communications technology capacity, including participation of foreign law enforcement and military personnel in non-military activities, notwithstanding any other provision of law, provided that such support is essential to enabling civilian and law enforcement of cybersecurity and information and communication technology related activities in their respective countries.

(c) Implementation plan.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan for the coming year to advance the goals identified in subsection (a).

(d) Consultation.—In developing and operationalizing the implementation plan required under subsection (c), the Secretary shall consult with—

(1) the appropriate congressional committees;

(2) United States industry leaders;

(3) other relevant technology experts, including the Open Technology Fund;

(4) representatives from relevant United States Government agencies; and

(5) representatives from like-minded allies and partners.

(e) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out this section. Such funds, including funds authorized to be appropriated under the heading “Economic Support Fund”, may be made available, notwithstanding any other provision of law to strengthen civilian cybersecurity and information and communications technology capacity, including for participation of foreign law enforcement and military personnel in non-military activities, and for contributions. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

Part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

(a) Exigent circumstances and crisis response.—To assist the Department in addressing and responding to exigent circumstances and urgent crises abroad, the Department is authorized to employ a limited number of personal services contractors in order to meet exigent needs, subject to the requirements of this section.

(b) Authority.—The authority to employ personal services contractors is in addition to any existing authorities to enter into personal services contracts.

(c) Employing and allocation of personnel.—To meet the needs described in subsection (a) and subject to the requirements in subsection (d), the Department may—

(1) enter into contracts to employ a total of up to 100 personal services contractors at any given time for each of fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026; and

(2) allocate up to 20 personal services contractors to a given bureau, without regard to the sources of funding such office relies on to compensate individuals.

(d) Limitation.—Employment authorized by this section shall not exceed two calendar years.

(e) Notification and reporting to Congress.—

(1) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 15 days after the use of authority under this section, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of the number of personal services contractors being employed, the expected length of employment, the relevant bureau, the purpose for using personal services contractors, and the justification, including the exigent circumstances requiring such use.

(2) ANNUAL REPORTING.—Not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Department shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the number of personal services contractors employed pursuant to this section for the prior fiscal year, the length of employment, the relevant bureau by which they were employed pursuant to this section, the purpose for using personal services contractors, disaggregated demographic data of such contractors, and the justification for the employment, including the exigent circumstances.

(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the number of hard-to-fill vacancies at United States diplomatic missions are far too high and present a national security risk to the United States; and

(2) if the Department is unable to incentivize officers to accept hard-to-fill positions, the Department should consider directed assignments to more effectively advance the national interests of the United States.

(b) Report on development of incentives for hard-to-fill posts.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on efforts to develop new incentives for hard-to-fill positions at United States diplomatic missions. The report shall include a description of the incentives developed to date and proposals to try to more effectively fill hard-to-fill posts.

(a) Report with recommendations and management structure.—Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Management shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report with any recommendations for the long-term structure and management of the Office of Civil Rights, including—

(1) whether OCR should report directly to someone other than the Secretary, such as the Under Secretary of Management;

(2) any changes made within OCR to its investigative processes to improve the integrity and thoroughness of its investigations; and

(3) any recommendations to improve the management structure, investigative process, and oversight of the Office.

(a) In general.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall institute the following changes and ensure that the following elements have been integrated into the ongoing crisis response management and response by the Crisis Management and Strategy Office:

(1) The Department’s crisis response planning and operations shall conduct, maintain, and update on a regular basis contingency plans for posts and regions experiencing or vulnerable to conflict or emergency conditions, including armed conflict, national disasters, significant political or military upheaval, and emergency evacuations.

(2) The Department’s crisis response efforts shall be led by an individual with significant experience responding to prior crises, who shall be so designated by the Secretary.

(3) The Department’s crisis response efforts shall provide at least quarterly updates to the Secretary and other relevant senior officials, including a plan and schedule to develop contingency planning for identified posts and regions consistent with paragraph (1).

(4) The decision to develop contingency planning for any particular post or region shall be made independent of any regional bureau.

(5) The crisis response team shall develop and maintain best practices for evacuations, closures, and emergency conditions.

(b) Update.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit an update to the appropriate congressional committees outlining the steps taken to implement this section, along with any other recommendations to improve the Department’s crisis management and response operations.

(a) In general.—Chapter 5 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3981 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents for the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 505 the following:

“Sec. 506. Duties of economic officers.”.

(a) In general.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding the recruitment, retention, and promotion of economic officers in the Foreign Service.

(b) Elements.—The report required under subsection (b) shall include—

(1) an overview of the key challenges the Department faces in—

(A) recruiting individuals to serve as economic officers in the Foreign Service; and

(B) retaining individuals serving as economic officers in the Foreign Service, particularly at the level of GS–14 of the General Schedule and higher;

(2) an overview of the key challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified individuals to serve in economic positions in the Civil Service;

(3) a comparison of promotion rates for economic officers in the Foreign Service relative to other officers in the Foreign Service;

(4) the identification, disaggregated by region, of hard-to-fill posts and proposed incentives to improve staffing of economic officers in the Foreign Service at such posts; and

(5) a summary and analysis of the factors that lead to the promotion of—

(A) economic officers in the Foreign Service; and

(B) individuals serving in economic positions in the Civil Service.

(a) Mandate to revise department of state performance measures for economic and commercial diplomacy.—The Secretary shall, as part of the Department’s next regularly scheduled review on metrics and performance measures, include revisions of Department performance measures for economic and commercial diplomacy, by identifying outcome-oriented, and not process-oriented, performance metrics, including metrics that—

(1) measure how Department efforts advanced specific economic and commercial objectives and led to successes for the United States or other private sector actors overseas; and

(2) focus on customer satisfaction with Department services and assistance.

(b) Plan for ensuring complete data for performance measures.—As part of the review required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall include a plan for ensuring that—

(1) the Department, both at its main headquarters and at domestic and overseas posts, maintains and fully updates data on performance measures; and

(2) Department leadership and the appropriate congressional committees can evaluate the extent to which the Department is advancing United States economic and commercial interests abroad through meeting performance targets.

(c) Report on private sector surveys.—The Secretary shall prepare a report that lists and describes all the methods through which the Department conducts surveys of the private sector to measure private sector satisfaction with assistance and services provided by the Department to advance private sector economic and commercial goals in foreign markets.

(d) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1) the revised performance metrics required under subsection (a); and

(2) the report required under subsection (c).

Section 207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Embassy economic team.—

“(1) COORDINATION AND SUPERVISION.—Each chief of mission shall coordinate and supervise the implementation of all United States economic policy interests within the host country in which the diplomatic mission is located, among all United States Government departments and agencies present in such country.

“(2) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The chief of mission is responsible for the performance of the diplomatic mission in advancing United States economic policy interests within the host country.

“(3) MISSION ECONOMIC TEAM.—The chief of mission shall designate appropriate embassy staff to form a mission economic team that—

“(A) monitors notable economic, commercial, and investment-related developments in the host country; and

“(B) develops plans and strategies for advancing United States economic and commercial interests in the host country, including—

“(i) tracking legislative, regulatory, judicial, and policy developments that could affect United States economic, commercial, and investment interests;

“(ii) advocating for best practices with respect to policy and regulatory developments;

“(iii) conducting regular analyses of market systems, trends, prospects, and opportunities for value-addition, including risk assessments and constraints analyses of key sectors and of United States strategic competitiveness, and other reporting on commercial opportunities and investment climate; and

“(iv) providing recommendations for responding to developments that may adversely affect United States economic and commercial interests.”.

(a) Purposes.—The purposes of deal teams at United States embassies and consulates are—

(1) to promote a private sector-led approach—

(A) to advance economic growth and job creation that is tailored, as appropriate, to specific economic sectors; and

(B) to advance strategic partnerships;

(2) to prioritize efforts—

(A) to identify commercial and investment opportunities;

(B) to advocate for improvements in the business and investment climate;

(C) to engage and consult with private sector partners; and

(D) to report on the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C), in accordance with the applicable requirements under sections 706 and 707 of the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 9902 and 9903);

(3) (A) (i) to identify trade and investment opportunities for United States companies in foreign markets; or

(ii) to assist with existing trade and investment opportunities already identified by United States companies; and

(B) to deploy United States Government economic and other tools to help such United States companies to secure their objectives;

(4) to identify and facilitate opportunities for entities in a host country to increase exports to, or investment in, the United States in order to grow two-way trade and investment;

(5) to modernize, streamline, and improve access to resources and services designed to promote increased trade and investment opportunities;

(6) to identify and secure United States or allied government support of strategic projects, including projects vulnerable to predatory investment by an authoritarian country or entity in such country, where support or investment serves an important United States interest;

(7) to coordinate across the Unites States Government to ensure the appropriate and most effective use of United States Government tools to support United States economic, commercial, and investment objectives; and

(8) to coordinate with the multi-agency DC Central Deal Team, established in February 2020, on the matters described in paragraphs (1) through (7) and other relevant matters.

(b) Clarification.—A deal team may be composed of the personnel comprising the mission economic team formed pursuant to section 207(e)(3) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 504.

(c) Restrictions.—A deal team may not provide support for, or assist a United States person with a transaction involving, a government, or an entity owned or controlled by a government, if the Secretary determines that such government—

(1) has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, as described in—

(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (subtitle B of title XVII of Public Law 115–232);

(B) section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a));

(C) section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or

(D) any other relevant provision of law; or

(2) has engaged in an activity that would trigger a restriction under section 116(a) or 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(a) and 2304(a)(2)) or any other relevant provision of law.

(d) Further restrictions.—

(1) PROHIBITION ON SUPPORT OF SANCTIONED PERSONS.—Deal teams may not carry out activities prohibited under United States sanctions laws or regulations, including dealings with persons on the list of specially designated persons and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury, except to the extent otherwise authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary.

(2) PROHIBITION ON SUPPORT OF ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS.—Any person receiving support from a deal team must be in compliance with all United States sanctions laws and regulations as a condition for receiving such assistance.

(e) Chief of mission authority and accountability.—The chief of mission to a foreign country—

(1) is the designated leader of a deal team in such country; and

(2) shall be held accountable for the performance and effectiveness of United States deal teams in such country.

(f) Guidance cable.—The Department shall send out regular guidance on Deal Team efforts by an All Diplomatic and Consular Posts (referred to in this section as “ALDAC”) that—

(1) describes the role of deal teams; and

(2) includes relevant and up-to-date information to enhance the effectiveness of deal teams in a country.

(g) Confidentiality of information.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—In preparing the cable required under subsection (f), the Secretary shall protect from disclosure any proprietary information of a United States person marked as business confidential information unless the person submitting such information—

(A) had notice, at the time of submission, that such information would be released by; or

(B) subsequently consents to the release of such information.

(2) TREATMENT AS TRADE SECRETS.—Proprietary information obtained by the United States Government from a United States person pursuant to the activities of deal teams shall be—

(A) considered to be trade secrets and commercial or financial information (as such terms are used under section 552b(c)(4) of title 5, United States Code); and

(B) exempt from disclosure without the express approval of the person.

(h) Sunset.—The requirements under subsections (f) through (h) shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(a) Establishment.—The Secretary shall annually present a new award, to be known as the “Deal Team of the Year Award” to the deal team at one United States mission in each region of the Department to recognize outstanding achievements in supporting a United States company or companies pursuing commercial deals abroad or in identifying new deal prospects for United States companies.

(b) Award content.—

(1) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—Each member of a deal team receiving an award pursuant to subsection (a) shall receive a certificate that—

(A) is signed by the Secretary; and

(B) (i) in the case of a member of the Foreign Service, is included in the next employee evaluation report; or

(ii) in the case of a Civil Service employee, is included in the next annual performance review.

(2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—If an award is presented pursuant to subsection (a) to a Federal Government employee who is not employed by the Department, the employing agency may determine whether to provide such employee any recognition or benefits in addition to the recognition or benefits provided by the Department.

(c) Eligibility.—Any interagency economics team at a United States overseas mission under chief of mission authority that assists United States companies with identifying, navigating, and securing trade and investment opportunities in a foreign country or that facilitates beneficial foreign investment into the United States is eligible for an award under this section.

(d) Report.—Not later than the last day of the fiscal year in which awards are presented pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—

(1) each mission receiving a Deal Team of the Year Award.

(2) the names and agencies of each awardee within the recipient deal teams; and

(3) a detailed description of the reason such deal teams received such award.

Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a strategy to the appropriate congressional committees that assesses the potential benefits and costs of a national advertising campaign to improve the recruitment in the Civil Service and the Foreign Service by raising public awareness of the important accomplishments of the Department.

(a) Coordination of resources.—The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the Secretary shall direct public affairs sections at United States embassies and USAID Mission Program Officers at USAID missions to coordinate, enhance and prioritize resources for public diplomacy and awareness campaigns around United States diplomatic and development efforts, including through—

(1) the utilization of new media technology for maximum public engagement; and

(2) enact coordinated comprehensive community outreach to increase public awareness and understanding and appreciation of United States diplomatic and development efforts.

(b) Development outreach and coordination officers.—USAID should prioritize hiring of additional Development Outreach and Coordination officers in USAID missions to support the purposes of subsection (a).

(c) Best practices.—The Secretary and the Administrator of USAID shall identify 10 countries in which Embassies and USAID missions have successfully executed efforts, including monitoring and evaluation of such efforts, described in (a) and develop best practices to be turned into Department and USAID guidance.

In section 308(h) of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6207(h)) is amended—

(1) by striking subparagraphs (1), (3), and (5); and

(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (4) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively.

(a) Voice of America.—Section 303 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6202) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(d) Voice of America operations and structure.—

“(1) OPERATIONS.—The Director of the Voice of America (VOA)—

“(A) shall direct and supervise the operations of VOA, including making all major decisions relating its staffing; and

“(B) may utilize any authorities made available to the United States Agency for Global Media or to its Chief Executive Officer under this Act or under any other Act to carry out its operations in an effective manner.

“(2) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of VOA shall submit a plan to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives to ensure that the personnel structure of VOA is sufficient to effectively carry out the principles described in subsection (c).”.

(b) Appointment of Chief Executive Officer.—Section 304 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6203) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a), by striking “as an entity described in section 104 of title 5, United States Code” and inserting “under the direction of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board”; and

(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking the second sentence and inserting the following: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a vacancy arises, until such time as a Chief Executive Officer, to whom sections 3345 through 3349b of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply, is appointed and confirmed by the Senate, an acting Chief Executive Officer shall be appointed by the International Broadcasting Advisory Board and shall continue to serve and exercise the authorities and powers under this title as the sole means of filling such vacancy, for the duration of the vacancy. In the absence of a quorum on the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, the first principal deputy of the United States Agency for Global Media shall serve as acting Chief Executive Officer.”.

(c) Chief Executive Officer authorities.—Section 305(a)(1) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6204(a)(1)) is amended by striking “To supervise all” and inserting “To oversee, coordinate, and provide strategic direction for”.

(d) International Broadcasting Advisory Board.—Section 306(a) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6205(a)) is amended by striking “advise the Chief Executive Officer of” and inserting “oversee and advise the Chief Executive Officer and”.

(e) Radio Free Africa; Radio Free Americas.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives that details the financial and other resources that would be required to establish and operate 2 nonprofit organizations, modeled after Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, for the purposes of providing accurate, uncensored, and reliable news and information to—

(1) the region of Africa, with respect to Radio Free Africa; and

(2) the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, with respect to Radio Free Americas.

(a) In general.—The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(b) Technical and conforming amendments to the mutual educational and cultural exchange Act of 1961.—Section 112(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2460(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (8), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(10) the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program established under section 115, which provides funding for international internships and research placements for early- to mid-career individuals from the United States to study nonviolent civil rights movements in self-arranged placements with universities or nongovernmental organizations in foreign countries.”.

(a) Strategy required.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a strategy to explain to the American people the value of the work of the Department and United States foreign policy to advancing the national security of the United States. The strategy shall include—

(1) tools to inform the American people about the non-partisan importance of United States diplomacy and foreign relations and to utilize public diplomacy to meet the United States’ national security priorities;

(2) efforts to reach the widest possible audience of Americans, including those who historically have not had exposure to United States foreign policy efforts and priorities;

(3) additional staffing and resource needs including—

(A) domestic positions within the Bureau of Global Public Affairs to focus on engagement with the American people as outlined in paragraph (1);

(B) positions within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to enhance program and reach the widest possible audience;

(C) increasing the number of fellowship and detail programs that place Foreign Service and civil service employees outside the Department for a limited time, including Pearson Fellows, Reta Joe Lewis Local Diplomats, Brookings Fellows, and Georgetown Fellows; and

(D) recommendations for increasing participation in the Hometown Diplomats program and evaluating this program as well as other opportunities for Department officers to engage with American audiences while traveling within the United States.

Section 1287 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) is amended by striking subsection (j).

Section 5603(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(4) United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80–402).”.

(a) Not later than two year after the date of the enactment of this Act—

(1) the Secretary shall increase the number of diplomats in the Diplomats in Residence Program from seventeen to at least twenty; and

(2) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall increase the number of development diplomats in the Diplomats in Residence Program from one to at least three.

Section 45 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2717) is amended—

(1) by striking “100 percent of the registration fees collected by the Office of Trade Controls of the Department of State” and inserting “100 percent of the defense trade control registration fees collected by the Department of State”;

(2) by inserting “management, licensing, compliance, and policy activities in the defense trade controls function, including” after “expenses incurred for”;

(3) in paragraph (1), by striking “contract personnel to assist in”;

(4) in paragraph (2), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(5) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(6) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

“(4) the facilitation of defense trade policy development and implementation, review of commodity jurisdiction determinations, public outreach to industry and foreign parties, and analysis of scientific and technological developments as they relate to the exercise of defense trade control authorities; and

“(5) contract personnel to assist in such activities.”.

Section 5949(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:

“(3) SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State may provide a waiver on a date later than the effective date described in subsection (c) if the Secretary determines the waiver is in the critical national security interests of the United States.”.

(a) Ineligibility.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Officials of foreign governments, and their immediate family members, about whom the Secretary has credible information have been involved, directly or indirectly, in significant corruption, including corruption related to the extraction of natural resources, or a gross violation of human rights, including the wrongful detention of locally employed staff of a United States diplomatic mission or a United States citizen or national, shall be ineligible for entry into the United States.

(2) ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS.—Concurrent with the application of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, as appropriate, refer the matter to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury to determine whether to apply sanctions authorities in accordance with United States law to block the transfer of property and interests in property, and all financial transactions, in the United States involving any person described in such paragraph.

(3) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall also publicly or privately designate or identify the officials of foreign governments about whom the Secretary has such credible information, and their immediate family members, without regard to whether the individual has applied for a visa.

(b) Exceptions.—

(1) SPECIFIC PURPOSES.—Individuals shall not be ineligible for entry into the United States pursuant to subsection (a) if such entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives or is necessary to permit the United States to fulfill its obligations under the United Nations Headquarters Agreement.

(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to derogate from United States obligations under applicable international agreements.

(c) Waiver.—The Secretary may waive the application of subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that the waiver would serve a compelling national interest or that the circumstances that caused the individual to be ineligible have changed sufficiently.

(d) Report.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report, including a classified annex if necessary, that includes—

(A) a description of information related to corruption or violation of human rights concerning each of the individuals found ineligible in the previous 12 months pursuant to subsection (a)(1) as well as the individuals who the Secretary designated or identified pursuant to subsection (a)(3), or who would be ineligible but for the application of subsection (b); and

(B) a list of any waivers provided under subsection (c), together with a justification for each waiver.

(2) FORM AND PUBLICATION.—

(A) FORM.—Each report required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make available to the public on a publicly accessible internet website of the Department the unclassified portion of each report required under paragraph (1).

(e) Clarification.—For purposes of subsections (a) and (d), the records of the Department and of diplomatic and consular offices of the United States pertaining to the issuance or refusal of visas or permits to enter the United States shall not be considered confidential.

Notwithstanding the limitations specified in section 304(c) of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603(c)) and without regard to whether a country is a State Party to the Convention (as defined in sections 302 of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)), the Secretary may exercise the authority under section 304 of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) to impose import restrictions set forth in section 307 of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2606) if the Secretary determines that—

(1) imposition of such restrictions is in the national interest of the United States; and

(2) an emergency condition (as defined in section 304 of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2603)) applies.

Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

(a) Jurisdiction.—Whoever, while a United States national or lawful permanent resident serving with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, or other international organization the Secretary has designated for purposes of this section and published in the Federal Register, or while accompanying such an individual, engages in conduct, or conspires or attempts to engage in conduct, outside the United States that would constitute an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year if the conduct had been engaged in within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, shall be subject to United States jurisdiction in order to be tried for that offense.

(b) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) ACCOMPANYING SUCH INDIVIDUAL.—The term “accompanying such individual” means—

(A) being a dependent, or family member of a United States national or lawful permanent resident serving with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, or other international organization designated under subsection (a);

(B) residing with such United States national or lawful permanent resident serving with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, or other international organization designated under subsection (a); and

(C) not being a national of or ordinarily resident in the country where the offense is committed.

(2) SERVING WITH THE UNITED NATIONS, ITS SPECIALIZED AGENCIES, OR OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AS THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY DESIGNATE.—The term “serving with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, or other international organization as the Secretary of State may designate” under subsection (a) means—

(A) being a United States national or lawful permanent resident employed as an employee, a contractor (including a subcontractor at any tier), an employee of a contractor (or a subcontractor at any tier), an expert on mission, or an unpaid intern or volunteer of the United Nations, including any of its funds, programs or subsidiary bodies, or any of the United Nations specialized agencies, or of any international organization designated under subsection (a)(1); and

(B) being present or residing outside the United States in connection with such employment.

(3) UNITED STATES NATIONAL.—The term “United States national” has the meaning given the term “national of the United States” in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)).

(c) Rules of construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or affect the application of extraterritorial jurisdiction related to any other Federal law.

The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.), as amended by section 707 is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

(a) In general.—The Secretary of State is authorized to bolster efforts to increase the number of United States citizens representative of the American people occupying positions in the United Nations system, agencies, and commissions, and in other international organizations, including by awarding grants to educational institutions and students.

(b) Report.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that identifies—

(1) the number of United States citizens who are involved in internship programs at international organizations;

(2) the distribution of the individuals described in paragraph (1) among various international organizations; and

(3) grants, programs, and other activities that are being utilized to recruit and fund United States citizens to participate in internship programs at international organizations.

(c) Eligibility.—An individual referred to in subsection (a) is an individual who—

(1) is enrolled at or received their degree withvin two years from—

(A) an institution of higher education; or

(B) an institution of higher education based outside the United States, as determined by the Secretary of State; and

(2) is a citizen of the United States.

(d) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for the Department of State for fiscal year 2024 to carry out the grant program authorized under subsection (a).

(a) Training programs.—Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end of the following new subsection:

“(e) Training in multilateral diplomacy.—

“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with other senior officials as appropriate, shall establish training courses on—

“(A) the conduct of diplomacy at international organizations and other multilateral institutions; and

“(B) broad-based multilateral negotiations of international instruments.

“(2) REQUIRED TRAINING.—Members of the Service, including appropriate chiefs of mission and other officers who are assigned to United States missions representing the United States to international organizations and other multilateral institutions or who are assigned in other positions that have as their primary responsibility formulation of policy related to such organizations and institutions, or participation in negotiations of international instruments, shall receive specialized training in the areas described in paragraph (1) prior to the beginning of service for such assignment or, if receiving such training at that time is not practical, within the first year of beginning such assignment.”.

(b) Training for Department employees.—The Secretary of State shall ensure that employees of the Department of State who are assigned to positions described in paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (as added by subsection (a) of this section), including members of the civil service or general service, or who are seconded to international organizations for a period of at least one year, receive training described in such subsection and participate in other such courses as the Secretary may recommend to build or augment identifiable skills that would be useful for such Department officials representing United States interests at these institutions and organizations.

Section 112b of title 1, United States Code, as most recently amended by section 5947 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; 136 Stat. 3476), is further amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (l) as subsections (i) through (m), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:

(a) Notification required.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which a chief of mission concurs with providing United States Government support to entities or individuals engaged in facilitating or supporting United States Government military- or security-related operations within the area of responsibility of the chief of mission, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of such concurrence.

(b) Semiannual review, determination, and briefing required.—Not less frequently than semiannually, the Secretary, in order to ensure that the support described in subsection (a) continues to align with United States foreign policy objectives and the objectives of the Department, shall—

(1) conduct a review of any concurrence described in subsection (a) that is in effect;

(2) determine, based on such review, whether to revoke any such concurrence pending further study and review; and

(3) brief the appropriate congressional committees regarding the results of such review.

(c) Revocation of concurrence.—If the Secretary determines, pursuant to a review conducted under subsection (b), that any concurrence described in subsection (a) should be revoked, the Secretary may revoke such concurrence.

(d) Annual report required.—Not later than January 31 of each year, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—

(1) a description of any support described in subsection (a) that was provided with the concurrence of a chief of mission during the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the report is submitted; and

(2) an analysis of the effects of such support on diplomatic lines of effort, including with respect to—

(A) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related Programs and associated anti-terrorism assistance programs;

(B) international narcotics control and law enforcement programs; and

(C) foreign military sales, foreign military financing, and associated training programs.

(a) Country reports on human rights practices.—The Secretary shall examine the production of the 2023 and subsequent annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor as required under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d), 2304(b)) to maximize—

(1) cost and personnel efficiencies;

(2) the potential use of data and analytic tools and visualization; and

(3) advancement of the modernization agenda for the Department announced by the Secretary on October 27, 2021.

(b) Elimination of obsolete reports.—

(1) REPORTS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN AND THE TALIBAN.—

(A) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Notwithstanding sections 7019(e) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2021 (division K of Public Law 116–260), the following reports are not required to be submitted after the date of the enactment of this Act:

(i) Quarterly report detailing the number of personnel present in Afghanistan under Chief of Mission authority under section (22 U.S.C. 2927), as described in House Report 116–444.

(ii) Quarterly report detailing the status of intra-Afghan peace negotiations.

(B) BIMONTHLY REPORT DETAILING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TALIBAN.—Section 7044(a)(4) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2021 (division K of Public Law 116–260) is amended by striking “the following purposes” and all that follows through “(B)”.

(2) ANNUAL REPORTS RELATING TO FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECURITY AND SEMICONDUCTORS.—Division H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act fo Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283) is amended—

(A) in section 9202(a)(2) (47 U.S.C. 906(a)(2))—

(i) by striking subparagraph (C); and

(ii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (C); and

(B) in section 9905 (15 U.S.C. 4655)—

(i) by striking subsection (c); and

(ii) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).

(3) REPORTS RELATING TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE TO COUNTER RUSSIAN INFLUENCE AND MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS CONTROLLED BY RUSSIA.—The Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (title II of Public Law 115–44) is amended—

(A) in section 254(e)—

(i) in paragraph (1)—

(I) by striking “In general.—”;

(II) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, and moving such paragraphs 2 ems to the left; and

(ii) by striking paragraph (2); and

(B) by striking section 255.

(4) ANNUAL REPORT ON PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.—Section 202 of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–208) is amended by striking subsection (a).

(5) ANNUAL REPORT ON ADVANCING FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.—Section 2121 of the Advance Democratic Values, Address Nondemocratic Countries, and Enhance Democracy Act of 2007 (title XXI of Public Law 110–53) is amended by striking subsection (c).

(6) ANNUAL REPORTS ON UNITED STATES-VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE MEETINGS.—Section 702 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151n note) is repealed.

(c) Modification of reporting requirements.—

(1) CHANGING THE FREQUENCY OF THE REPORT ON THE USE OF PAKISTAN COUNTERINSURGENCY CAPABILITY FUND.—Notwithstanding section 7010 of House of Representatives Report 112–331, the Secretary of State shall provide to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a written report on the use of funds made available under the heading “Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund” on an annual basis.

(2) REPORT ON DEMOCRATIZATION IN BURMA.—Section 570(d) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 (titles I through V of Public Law 104–208) is amended by striking “Every six months following the enactment of this Act, the President shall report to” and inserting “The President shall submit an annual report to”.