I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3836 

To require a report on diversity recruitment, employment, retention, and 

promotion at the Department of State, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 27, 2015 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Ms. BASS, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To require a report on diversity recruitment, employment, 

retention, and promotion at the Department of State, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Affairs Inclu5 sion Reporting Act’’ or the ‘‘FAIR Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REPORT ON DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT, EMPLOY7 MENT, RETENTION, AND PROMOTION AT THE 

8 DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act and quadrennially thereVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Oct 28, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3836.IH H3836

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3836 IH

1 after, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a 

2 report that— 

3 (1) describes the efforts, consistent with exist4 ing law, including procedures, effects, and results 

5 since the period covered by the prior such report, to 

6 promote in the Department of State equal oppor7 tunity and inclusion for all United States employees 

8 in direct hire and personal service contractors sta9 tus, particularly employees of the Foreign Service, 

10 including equal opportunity for all races, ethnicities, 

11 ages, genders, and service-disabled veterans, with a 

12 focus on traditionally underrepresented minority 

13 groups; 

14 (2) includes a section on— 

15 (A) the diversity of selection boards; 

16 (B) the employment of minority and serv17 ice-disabled veterans during the most recent 10- 

18 year period, including— 

19 (i) the number hired through direct 

20 hires, internships, and fellowship pro21 grams; 

22 (ii) the number promoted to senior 

23 positions, including FS–01, GS–15, Senior 

24 Executive Service, and Senior Foreign 

25 Service; and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3836 IH

1 (iii) attrition rates by grade, civil and 

2 foreign services, and the senior level ranks 

3 specified in clause (ii); 

4 (C) mentorship and retention programs; 

5 and 

6 (3) is organized in terms of real numbers and 

7 percentages at all levels. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub9 section (a) shall describe the efforts of the Department 

10 of State to— 

11 (1) propagate fairness, impartiality, and inclu12 sion in the work environment domestically and 

13 abroad; 

14 (2) eradicate harassment, intolerance, and dis15 crimination; 

16 (3) refrain from engaging in unlawful discrimi17 nation in any phase of the employment process, in18 cluding recruitment, hiring, evaluation, assignments, 

19 promotion, retention, and training; 

20 (4) eliminate illegal retaliation against employ21 ees for participating in a protected equal employ22 ment opportunity activity; 

23 (5) provide reasonable accommodation for quali24 fied employees and applicants with disabilities; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3836 IH

1 (6) resolve workplace conflicts, confrontations, 

2 and complaints in a prompt, impartial, constructive, 

3 and timely manner; 

4 (7) improve demographic data availability and 

5 analysis regarding recruitment, hiring, promotion, 

6 training, length in service, assignment restrictions, 

7 and pass-through programs; 

8 (8) recruit a diverse staff by— 

9 (A) recruiting women, minorities, veterans, 

10 and undergraduate and graduate students; 

11 (B) recruiting at historically Black colleges 

12 and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, 

13 women’s colleges, and colleges that typically 

14 serve majority minority populations; 

15 (C) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs 

16 in urban communities; 

17 (D) placing job advertisements in news18 papers, magazines, and job sites oriented to19 ward women and people of color; 

20 (E) providing opportunities through the 

21 Foreign Service Internship Program and other 

22 hiring initiatives; and 

23 (F) recruiting mid- and senior-level profes24 sionals through programs such as— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3836 IH

1 (i) the International Career Advance2 ment Program; 

3 (ii) the Public Policy and Inter4 national Affairs Fellowship Program; 

5 (iii) the Institute for International 

6 Public Policy Fellowship Program; 

7 (iv) Seminar XXI at the Massachu8 setts Institute of Technology’s Center for 

9 International Studies; and 

10 (v) other similar, highly respected, 

11 international leadership programs; and 

12 (9) provide opportunities through— 

13 (A) the Charles B. Rangel International 

14 Affairs Fellowship Program; and 

15 (B) the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Af16 fairs Fellowship Program. 

17 (c) SCOPE OF INITIAL REPORT.—The first report 

18 submitted to Congress under subsection (a) shall include 

19 the information described in subsection (b) for the three 

20 fiscal years immediately preceding the fiscal year in which 

21 such first report is submitted. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3836 IH

1 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF THE CHARLES B. RANGEL INTER2 NATIONAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM AND THE 

3 THOMAS R. PICKERING FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

4 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

5 Beginning in fiscal year 2016, the Secretary of State 

6 shall— 

7 (1) increase by ten the number of fellows se8 lected for the Charles B. Rangel International Af9 fairs Program; and 

10 (2) increase by ten the number of fellows se11 lected for the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs 

12 Fellowship Program. 

13 SEC. 4. RETENTION OF MID- AND SENIOR-LEVEL PROFES14 SIONALS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED 

15 GROUPS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State should 

17 provide attention and oversight to the employment, reten18 tion, and promotion of underrepresented groups to pro19 mote a diverse ethnic representation among mid- and sen20 ior-level career professionals through programs, such as— 

21 (1) the International Career Advancement Pro22 gram; 

23 (2) Seminar XXI at the Massachusetts Insti24 tute of Technology’s Center for International Stud25 ies; and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3836 IH

1 (3) other highly respected international leader2 ship programs. 

3 (b) REVIEW OF PAST PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of 

4 State should review past programs designed to increase 

5 minority representation in international affairs positions, 

6 including— 

7 (1) the Public Policy and International Affairs 

8 Fellowship Program; and 

9 (2) the Institute for International Public Policy 

10 Fellowship Program. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS