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DEPARTMENT OF STATE OPERATIONS

AUTHORIZATION AND EMBASSY SECURITY ACT,

FISCAL YEAR 2016

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

S. 1635

MAY 26, 2016

Serial No. 114–182

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP ON 

S. 1635, Department of State Operations Authorization and Embassy Security 

Act, Fiscal Year 2016 ........................................................................................... 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 1635 offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of California, and chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs ........................ 162

Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 

1635 offered by: 

The Honorable Mo Brooks, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of Alabama ................................................................................ 242

The Honorable Steve Chabot, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of Ohio ................................................................................ 245

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in Congress 

from the Commonwealth of Virginia ................................................ 247

The Honorable Scott DesJarlais, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of Tennessee ....................................................................... 249

The Honorable Jeff Duncan, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of South Carolina ............................................................... 250

The Honorable Jeff Duncan .................................................................. 251

The Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New York ....................................................................... 252

The Honorable William Keating, a Representative in Congress 

from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ..................................... 255

The Honorable Robin L. Kelly, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of Illinois ............................................................................ 257

The Honorable Alan S. Lowenthal, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of California .............................................................. 258

The Honorable Grace Meng, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New York ....................................................................... 259

The Honorable Ted Poe, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of Texas ..................................................................................... 260

The Honorable Ted Poe ......................................................................... 262

The Honorable Ted Poe ......................................................................... 264

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of Florida ................................................................... 267

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen .................................................... 270

The Honorable Edward R. Royce .......................................................... 272

The Honorable Brad Sherman, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of California ....................................................................... 274

The Honorable Brad Sherman .............................................................. 275

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of New Jersey ............................................................ 277

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith .................................................. 279

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith .................................................. 281

The Honorable Ted S. Yoho, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of Florida ............................................................................ 282

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 298

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 299

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 301

Page

IV

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New Jersey: Material submitted for the record ............................ 302

(1)

DEPARTMENT OF STATE OPERATIONS 

AUTHORIZATION AND EMBASSY SECURITY 

ACT, FISCAL YEAR 2016

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:38 a.m., in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Edward Royce (chairman of the committee) presiding. 

Chairman ROYCE. The committee will come to order. 

Pursuant to notice, we meet today to mark up Senate bill 1635, 

our Department of State Authorities Act. And without objection, all 

members may have 5 days to submit statements or extraneous material for the record. 

So I now call up the bill, S. 1635. 

Without objection, Royce Amendment 109 in the nature of a substitute, circulated and posted earlier this week, will be considered 

base text, is considered as read, and is open for amendment at any 

point. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. As members were notified yesterday, I am 

going to go ahead and call up the bipartisan en bloc before recognizing myself and others for statements. And so, without objection, 

the following amendments circulated to your offices yesterday, 

which all members have in front of them, will be considered en bloc 

and are considered as read. 

There is the Brooks amendment 46, the Chabot amendment 40, 

the Connolly amendment 77, DesJarlais amendment 10, Duncan 

amendments 64 and Duncan 65, Engel amendment 95, Keating 

amendment 14, Kelly amendment 42, Lowenthal amendment 75, 

Meng amendment 83, Poe amendment 105, 106, and 107, RosLehtinen amendment 46 and 47, Royce amendment 120, Sherman 

amendment 37, Sherman amendment 38, Smith amendments 94, 

96, and 98, and the Yoho amendment 97. 

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Chairman ROYCE. After recognizing myself and the ranking 

member, I will be pleased to recognize any member seeking recognition to speak on the bill and on the en bloc amendments. 

So here is the concept. The annual authorization of the Department of the State is the signature legislative action of this committee. It is our responsibility. The House has passed an authorization bill in each of the last six Congresses, and I think we are all 

proud of that. But, unfortunately, when we bring the Senate into 

the mix, it has been 15 years since this legislation was signed into 

law. 

We have an opportunity to break this streak. 

A lack of regular authorizations undermines this committee’s 

ability to influence the agenda and activities of the Department of 

State, and as a result, we have seen the Department go to other 

committees to advance priorities. Now, that undermines our congressional oversight. 

Today, we will take up the Senate’s recently passed State Authorities bill from Fiscal Year 2016, which we have collaborated on 

with them. It has been 12 years since the Senate passed such a 

bill. So we should be enthusiastic about the opportunity we now 

have. The process for Fiscal Year 2016 is completed. 

So today we are considering State Authorities for Fiscal Year 

2017. In particular, this legislation includes a number of critical 

Embassy security reforms and improvements. And, for example, 

thanks to an amendment by Representatives Frankel and Randy 

Weber, the Department will be authorized to use so-called best 

value criteria when contracting for local guards at U.S. facilities 

overseas, and we all know, in retrospect, how imperative this is to 

make this change. 

The bill requires the State Department to designate a list of 

high-risk, high-threat posts, effectively prioritizing resources, 

prioritizing security for these posts. The State Department and Defense Department are directed to jointly develop enhanced contingency plans for emergency situations, including planning for rapid 

deployment of military resources to keep our personnel safe in time 

of crisis. And we have included important provisions that improve 

security for children and families of U.S. diplomats abroad. 

The bill also contains important provisions to increase accountability for sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. peacekeepers. 

This has been the subject of committee hearings. We have also included important provisions to strengthen the oversight capacity of 

the Inspector General, an office that this committee successfully 

fought to have filled after sitting vacant for 5 years. 

Lastly, the bill increases flexibility in the Department’s workforce, allowing civil servants more opportunities to serve overseas, 

authorizing a pilot program to acquire skilled workers from the private sector at the midcareer level. 

So I want to thank the many members who contributed to this 

bill. I want to thank our ranking member, Mr. Engel, and let me 

include Chairman McCaul for his language to improve the Rewards 

for Justice Program, and Mr. Brooks for his language to increase 

financial transparency and accountability at the United Nations, 

among others. 

285

And as a result of these many contributions from members on 

both sides of the aisle here, this is a strengthened and important 

product, a bipartisan bill that bolsters this committee’s role as 

overseer of State Department operations, and I look forward to seeing this measure advance. 

And I turn now to Mr. Engel for his opening statement. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this markup. 

This is perhaps the most significant markup since I have been 

ranking member of the committee. I want to second every word you 

just uttered. I think your statement hit it right on the head, and 

I thank you for that statement. 

In the year 2002, in the wake of a horrific terrorist attack, the 

way our country looked at the world was quickly changing, but no 

one could have predicted the way the next years would unfold. A 

disastrous intervention in the Middle East that toppled a regime 

and paved the way for a group of extremists even worse than alQaeda. The rapid growth in the Asia-Pacific that has drawn the 

focus of the administration. The true extent of the threats of climate change coming into clear focus. The development of new technologies that connect people around the world in ways we have 

never known, for better or worse. 

In the last 14 years, the challenges and opportunities of the 21st 

century have come into definition. Our policies, here and around 

the world, have done their best to keep pace. But 14 years ago—

14 years ago—was also the last time a State Department authorization bill made it to the President’s desk. It has been 14 years 

since Congress made a top-to-bottom assessment of the way we 

carry out our diplomacy. And without assigning blame as to why 

this hasn’t happened, one thing is sure: We are long overdue to 

move forward on this bill. 

We need to be taking constant stock of the way the State Department and other agencies are working to advance American leadership and interests around the world, and we need to be diligent in 

looking for ways to enhance those efforts. 

The Defense Department gets reauthorized every single year, the 

Defense Department, virtually without fail. We should place no less 

importance on the agencies whose job it is to prevent conflict and 

diffuse crises. As I have said before on this committee, stopping an 

ongoing crisis is a much costlier business than preventing one in 

terms of American dollars, and often American lives. Our diplomats 

are some of the most talented people we have working on the front 

lines of national security. If we fail to give diplomacy the tools and 

resources needed for success, we do so at our peril. 

Furthermore, in my view, if we don’t pass this bill—and this is 

what the chairman said and he was so right—if we don’t pass the 

bill, we put the importance of this committee at risk. With great 

respect for our colleagues on the other committees that deal with 

national security, by failing to act on our own oversight responsibilities we open the door for other committees to chip away at our jurisdiction. 

And again, this is something that the chairman and I have 

worked together on. We don’t want other committees raiding our 

jurisdiction. So if we pass things, like we are about to do, that 

286

shows a great deal of importance in what we are doing and tells 

other committees who might want to poach jurisdiction: Go away. 

So I am glad to support the measure we are considering today. 

I am grateful to members and staff on both sides of the aisle for 

all their hard work. 

There are a few things in particular I would like to emphasize 

as we start this markup. 

First is to remind ourselves that, at its core, diplomacy is about 

people. Two days ago, the Foreign Service marked its 92nd anniversary. For nearly a century, some of our most dedicated, courageous Americans have chosen this path of public service. From consular officers to political counselors to career Ambassadors, countless men and women have made their mark in every corner of the 

globe as our country’s face to the world, and that is a remarkable 

record. 

And if that century has taught us one thing, it is that if we want 

to get our foreign policy right, we need to have the right people 

making that policy a reality. We need to have them in the right 

places at the right times, and we need to make sure they can do 

their jobs with confidence in their security. 

Diplomacy can be a dangerous business, as we have seen too 

many times. Our diplomats understand that, but they also know 

that you cannot conduct diplomacy from inside a bunker. If we are 

serious about making progress on issues such as climate change, 

human rights, violent extremism, and public health, our diplomats 

need to do much more than just meet with government officials. To 

deal with the complex issues that weave a modern foreign policy, 

we need to practice diplomacy from the bottom up, engaging with 

people and communities in a way that we wouldn’t have considered 

a generation ago. 

That is why this bill focuses on the security of our Embassies 

and proper training of our personnel. This bill allows the State Department to hire local protection for our Embassies on the basis of 

best value rather than lowest cost. In my view, if we are hiring 

people who we are sure will keep our diplomats safe, there is a 

great deal of value in that, even if the dollars-and-cents cost is little more. I want to thank Representative Frankel for her work on 

this provision. 

The bill also authorizes funding to improve the security of socalled soft targets, not typical diplomatic facilities, but things like 

schools and school buses for the children of diplomats abroad. 

So with this bill, we are doing more to focus on the people who 

make up our State Department. And while we are focused on people, we also want the State Department to reflect who we are as 

a country. Our Foreign Service should look the way America looks, 

people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. America’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and as our face to 

the world, our diplomatic corps should reflect that strength. 

Diversity is also about more than practicing what we preach. 

Bringing together a diverse workforce means bringing together 

more ideas and different points of view when our leaders face 

tough decisions. The challenges we face are too complex for us to 

lean on old ways of thinking or close our eyes to new approaches. 

287

So we have included in this bill a number of provisions to encourage the Department to recruit, train, and retain a diverse workforce. We have seen a lot of reporting that the State Department 

has been slow to change in these areas, and hopefully these measures will speed the Department in the right direction. 

And lastly, I want to thank Chairman Royce for including my 

Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission legislation in this 

bill. We are facing an unprecedented heroin epidemic, so we need 

to make sure our drug policy is focused on saving lives. On the domestic side, we need to do much more on prevention and treatment. My provision will allow us to look outward and take stock 

of what has worked and what hasn’t when it comes to our drug policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

So I am grateful this measure is moving forward, and I am grateful for all the creative and forward-looking ideas that have gone 

into this bill. I look forward to continuing to work on it. I am very 

proud of this committee, members on both sides of the aisle, in acting on this long overdue legislation. I am very proud of the bipartisanship that we have shown on this committee. I am very proud 

of Chairman Royce’s leadership. And I want to thank all the members, on both sides of the aisle, for their cooperation. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Engel. 

We have Mr. Chris Smith from New Jersey. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. First of all, 

thank you for scheduling this and for your leadership in bringing 

this important bill—and Mr. Engel—to the full committee. I want 

to thank Chairman Corker as well for his wonderful work on this 

bill. 

You know, the Embassy Security Act and this State Department 

reauthorization, I remember back in 2000, I was the prime sponsor 

of the original Admiral Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations 

Authorization Act, which we also called the Embassy Security Act. 

And after we got hit in Dar es Salaam and in Nairobi, Kenya, there 

was a very concerted effort to ensure that setbacks, Mylar on the 

windows, and all the other protections were put into place, the hiring of more diplomatic security. 

And as the chairman pointed out so well, we have been stymied 

for well over a decade in trying to get an authorization. As a matter of fact, the way I got my bill passed was to hook it. House 

passed. Senate wouldn’t take it up. We hooked it by reference to 

an appropriations bill, a convoluted way to get something into law. 

This will be straight up and the way it should be that both committees of the Senate and House do this important work. 

There are many important things in this bill, like I said, from 

strengthening Embassy security to addressing critical U.N. reforms, not the least of which is the sexual exploitation and abuse 

committed by U.N. peacekeepers. I have held several hearings on 

the abuse of peacekeepers, including in the DR Congo, I went 

there, I went to Goma, I met with peacekeepers. 

That is still an unfinished business. Peacekeepers are still exploiting children and they were still a part of sex trafficking. Zero 

tolerance, which is what the U.N. has said is the standard. One of 

the hearings we called ‘‘Zero Compliance.’’ It has gotten better in 

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some ways. This legislation will help it get even better. So I want 

to thank the chairman again. 

On whistleblowers, we have had two hearings on whistleblowers. 

One of them was cosponsored by my good friend and colleague, 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. We looked at WIPO, the World Intellectual 

Property Organization, its director general, who has retaliated 

against whistleblowers who sat right there at the witness table and 

told harrowing tales how they had been retaliated against. 

It is unconscionable that people who see waste, fraud, and abuse, 

and great unethical behavior, are themselves retaliated against. 

This legislation, or the amendment I am offering here, says use our 

voice, our vote, and our influence to ensure that whistleblowers are 

protected and the integrity of the U.N. system is advanced. 

I also want to thank you for agreeing to include the amendment 

to address the persistent refusal of nations to extradite fugitives 

from justice who have been convicted of serious crimes. In 1963, a 

guy by the name of Wright was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison in connection to a gas station robbery during which Walter Patterson, a decorated World War II veteran and Bronze Star recipient, was shot to death. 

I have had his family testify at a hearing because Portugal refuses to allow him to be extradited back to the United States to 

serve his sentence. He was killed in cold blood, convicted by a judicial process here in New Jersey, or in the United States, and then 

not only did he leave and enter Portugal illegally, he hijacked a 

plane from Detroit to Miami and went to Algeria. The fact that the 

Portuguese have refused to—I mean, this festering sore for this 

family in my district knows no bounds. When they testified, the 

daughters and the family, they were in tears that their father’s 

death, this man is living in Portugal, Wright, and we can’t get him 

back here to serve his sentence. 

Finally, the third amendment that I am offering, and I thank you 

for including it in en bloc, has to be do with autism. Mr. Chairman, 

as you know, I founded the Autism Caucus, I have written three 

laws on autism, including the most recent Autism CARES Act. Everywhere I go and travel, and other members get the same feedback, we know that many of our Foreign Service Officers, their dependents, their children especially, are disadvantaged when they 

are deployed to areas when there is no ABA therapy and other 

kinds of assistance, particularly early childhood intervention. 

This encourages the State Department to have their backs, to 

provide and to ensure that ABA therapy, which is probably the 

most effective means of early childhood intervention, to get children to a better way of living throughout their entire lifecycle. This 

amendment is backed by Autism Speaks, as well as Autism Society, and I thank you for including it. 

And I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. 

Lois Frankel of Florida. 

Ms. FRANKEL. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Mr. Engel. 

First of all, I want to start by saying thank you very much for 

the bipartisanship of this committee. I know we members, we dicker sometimes, we have our differences of opinion, but when it 

counts, we step up to the plate and really offer something that we 

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need. And I want to just echo some of the things that you highlighted already and just thank the other members for all their contributions to this very good bill. 

The last State Department authorization bill was signed into law 

in 2002, and I think we all know that the world has changed significantly since then, especially in regards to our security needs. 

As a member of this committee, we have the privilege of traveling all over the world and meeting our diplomatic corps, the people who work in our Embassies. And I will say that one of the highlights of all my trips has been to meet these folks who are so smart 

and educated and so patriotic and dedicated. 

And it is not just our Ambassadors, who are very, very impressive, but it is all the people who work in the Embassies. And I really feel that it is our responsibility to make sure that they are as 

safe as they can be. 

It used to be that most places in the world you consider will be 

safe, and think about just the past year or two, Paris, Brussels, Jakarta, cities where you would think, hey, we should be safe there. 

But horrible terrorist attacks. 

Under the Vienna Convention, security of foreign Embassies is 

the responsibility of the host country. When the host country cannot or will not provide security, the State Department hires the 

local guard force to secure Embassies, search and sweep entrance, 

patrol and secure the perimeter. U.S. Marines may also be present. 

Again, I want to thank Mr. Royce and Mr. Engel for allowing Mr. 

Weber and I to include in this bill a provision that provides that 

the State Department has the authority to use the best value contracting for security for all diplomatic posts. Without this authority, when awarding contracts to Embassy security firms, the State 

Department is required to choose the lowest priced option, regardless of qualifications. 

This is very upsetting when you consider that the State Department is allowed to use best value contracting for janitorial and 

landscaping needs. 

Best value allows them to consider past performance, risk aversion, reliability, and innovative pricing practices. A former Ambassador came to me and shared a story when she heard about this 

provision and explaining that the diplomatic corps was very supportive of this, that in one of her services they contracted with local 

guards, they had to get the lowest price. The guards, believe it or 

not, they were recently released from prison, they stole from them, 

they stole from their families, they ran away during unannounced 

safety drills, they harassed them, and actually one of the security 

guards killed the family’s pet cat. This is what they had guarding 

one of the Embassies. 

So this goes a long way in changing that. This authority has 

been requested by the State Department, and I feel very good that 

we are giving them that authority, I think this is the least of what 

we can do to protect the very, very brave, as I said before, the 

brave, educated, smart, patriotic people who we send across the 

world to not only protect our interests, but to help allies grow and 

protect their interests. 

And I yield back, Mr. Chair. 

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Chairman ROYCE. We go now to Mr. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. MARINO. Thank you, Chairman. I am pleased that today our 

committee is taking up a bill authorizing parts of the State Department. 

One area that I was disappointed to see that this bill did not address was export control reform. In 2009, this administration began 

work on export control reform, and so far it has been very successful in most areas. 

Unfortunately, due to this administration’s ongoing aversion to 

firearms, they have not completed export control reforms in regards 

to firearms and ammunition. Out of the 18 categories the administration included in their initiative, 12 had final rules written that 

are now in effect. Only three categories—firearms, guns, and armament and ammunition—have not even had a rule proposed. 

And their agency work on these categories has been completed 

for more than 4 years, but this administration refuses to publish 

them in the Federal Register. These categories were scheduled to 

be included in this initiative by the administration but have been 

left behind. 

It is time that we make all our exports competitive. This administration should finish the work that they started and complete export control reform. 

Here in the near future, my colleague, Collin Peterson, will be 

introducing a resolution that expresses Congress’ support for completing export control reform. This is an important sign from Congress of the importance of these reforms. I will be a cosponsor of 

this legislation and hope my colleagues will join me in supporting 

this resolution. I look forward to working with the committee, the 

administration, and other members to ensure that export control 

reform is completed fully. 

And I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. 

I want to thank Mr. Marino for his consideration and interest in 

issues that, although outside the scope of this bill, are serious 

issues that the committee will continue to study. 

We go now to Grace Meng of New York. 

To Mr. William Keating of Massachusetts. 

Mr. KEATING. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Keating yields back. 

And we go to Mr. Lowenthal. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I too would like 

to thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing up 

this very important legislation. 

In a time of rapid change, frequent unrest in the world, it is crucial for the United States to demonstrate our continued commitment to diplomacy. Our taking up of this bill renews that commitment by investing in our diplomats and in their safety. 

I am especially pleased to see the provisions strengthening diversity and recruitment, employment, retention, and promotion, and 

expanding the Rangel, Pickering, and the Payne Fellowships. Our 

Foreign Service Officers are America’s face to the world in countries everywhere. They should reflect and represent the rich diversity that has made our Nation truly great. 

291

In this spirit, I have a very simple amendment in the en bloc directing the Secretary to conduct and submit a study on workforce 

issues and challenges to career opportunities for tandem couples in 

the Foreign Service, as well as couples with only one spouse in the 

Foreign Service. This language is taken directly from the Senate 

version of this bill. 

Foreign Service Officers bravely serve their country for years, for 

many decades in many cases. The report requested in this amendment will be a valuable tool in illuminating the challenges facing 

Foreign Service Officers with spouses that are both in and out of 

the service. 

I just want to thank the chairman and the ranking member and 

their staffs for working to include this simple amendment in the 

en bloc. 

And I thank you again, and I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. David Trott from Michigan. 

Mr. TROTT. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member 

Engel, for bringing this bill up for consideration today. 

While our committee has jurisdiction over many items relating to 

our national security and diplomatic relations with foreign governments, one of our most important tasks is oversight of the State 

Department and making sure our diplomats and Embassies are as 

secure as possible. 

This bill includes many crucial provisions regarding oversight, 

whistleblower protections, and also programs to ensure that we recruit the best and brightest candidates to serve as our diplomats 

overseas. We also send a clear message in this bill to countries that 

commit gross human rights violations that they will be held accountable and aid could be withheld. 

Taxpayers will be happy to see a more transparent State Department because this bill requires the Office of Management and 

Budget to report on all U.S. assessments and contributions to the 

United Nations. 

I am proud of the bipartisan efforts in this committee and look 

forward to full passage of the bill by the House of Representatives. 

I yield back my time. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Trott. 

Mr. David Cicilline of Rhode Island. 

Mr. CICILLINE. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel, for holding this markup today. I am pleased that this 

committee has once again come together in a spirit of bipartisanship to mark up the State Department authorization for the first 

time since 2013. I commend my colleagues and the committee staff 

for the hard work that went into getting us to this point. 

Holding this markup is indeed noteworthy, especially when we 

consider how much the world has changed since the last State Department authorization bill was signed into law back in 2002. I 

welcome this opportunity of the Foreign Affairs Committee to carry 

out our responsibility in authorizing the State Department. 

American leadership in the world is critically important today, 

given the many challenges facing the United States, our allies, and 

our partners around the globe. This bill provides the State Department with the tools it needs to confront these challenges by addressing issues such as Embassy security and personnel protection, 

292

diversity in hiring and assignments, and addressing concerns related to the United Nations. 

I am the co-chair of the Congressional Peacekeeping Caucus, 

which I formed with my Republican colleague Adam Kinzinger of 

Illinois, so that Members of Congress can discuss the importance 

of regional peacekeeping operations and their impact on U.S. foreign policy and national security. That is why I am particularly 

pleased that this bill addresses oversight of and accountability for 

peacekeeper abuses by requiring the Secretary to submit a strategy 

and implementation plan for combating sexual exploitation in U.N. 

peacekeeping operations to help reduce occurrences of such abuse 

and to improve the capacity of the U.N. to prevent and identify sexual exploitation. 

I am pleased that the bill makes clear that it is the policy of the 

United States Government to withhold assistance to any security 

force unit of a foreign country that has committed a gross violation 

of human rights, including sexual exploitation or abuse. 

And I welcome the whistleblower protections that are included in 

the bill which call for the U.S. Permanent Representative to advocate for the removal of any official whom the Secretary determines 

has failed to meet ethical standards, to ensure that whistleblower 

protections are extended to U.N. peacekeeping personnel, and to 

encourage the U.N. to provide redress to any whistleblower who 

has suffered retribution. 

The Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and Middle East and North Africa subcommittees have heard testimony this year from brave U.N. employees who spoke out against abuses within the U.N. system 

which highlighted not only gross misconduct of U.N. teams in 

places such as Sudan, but also in subsequent so-called investigations. The United States should be a leader in the effort to overhaul the U.N.’s whistleblower systems and protections. 

I also want to applaud the provisions in the bill to increase diversity at the State Department, augment fellowship and training opportunities, and enhance benefits and career opportunities for Department personnel. These efforts will help attract the best people 

to represent the Nation and conduct the important work of the Department. 

The evolution and growth of the demands on the State Department since 2002, when the Department’s authorization was last 

signed into law, are significant. This bill offers the first opportunity 

we have had in a long time to ensure the State Department is well 

positioned to confront 21st century challenges. 

And I again want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and our ranking 

member, and your staffs, for the work in bringing us to this day. 

And with that, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. 

We are going to go to Mr. Jeff Duncan. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for this important bill. I have two amendments on the en bloc, and I appreciate them being included in the en bloc. 

I do think it is important to authorize programs and agencies. I 

think we have been operating for way too long without doing auVerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:19 Aug 15, 2016 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00296 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_FULL\052616M\20259 SHIRL
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thorization bills, not in this committee but in the Congress as a 

whole. So that is just where I stand on that. 

Two amendments that I have, one just says it is time for the 

State Department really to follow the IG and the GAO recommendations and start implementing that. It is going to be huge 

cost savings for the United States and for our taxpayers. The hardworking American taxpayers expect agencies to operate within 

their means and to try to implement cost savings at every turn, 

good best management practices, things I do in the private sector, 

because it is the taxpayers’ money, and I think the amendment I 

have addresses that. 

The second amendment, we see often—too often—in the United 

Nations where countries that are the beneficiaries of our tremendous benevolence of foreign assistance and other programs not go 

with us in the U.N. on at least half the time. We see percentages 

like Haiti, 18 percent of the time they vote with the U.S., and they 

receive a tremendous amount of taxpayer dollars. They are recipients of programs that the U.S. implements in their countries, but 

yet they can’t stand with us in the United Nations. I just think 

that is important. And it is more than just the foreign assistance 

money. It is about doing what is right for the United States and 

what we stand for and the fact that we are their benefactor. 

So the second amendment just addresses that, that before entering into agreements with the member states, that they vote with 

us more often. I think that is something that we need to talk about 

at a future date going forward, and it may be an authorization bill 

itself. 

But I do appreciate these amendments being in the en bloc, and 

I look forward to supporting the bill. And with that, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Duncan. 

We go to Robin Kelly of Illinois. 

Ms. KELLY. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I too want to thank you and 

Ranking Member Engel for your leadership and your staff, and 

thank you for including my amendment in this bill. 

I applaud the State Department’s commitment to innovation and 

its continued work to modernize its infrastructure. My amendment 

would help ensure that the State Department stays on track in 

these efforts. 

Last year, in its Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, the State Department included in its recommendations the 

establishment of a hub for analytics, strategy, and knowledge management. I know that many, if not all of my colleagues here support the creation of this hub as a way to improve efficiency at 

State. 

If implemented correctly, integrating data analytics into a shared 

hub will allow for deeper analysis, increased collaboration, and 

overall improved efficiency. 

Similarly, I serve as the ranking member of the Oversight Subcommittee on Information Technology. In this role, my top priority 

has been to update Federal agencies’ IT systems, which will save 

billions of dollars while improving the security of our cyber infrastructure. A large part of this modernization is transitioning to the 

cloud. 

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My amendment simply requires that State update this committee 

on these two vital efforts. Improving data sharing and 

cybersecurity at State is something that all of my colleagues can 

support. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to offer this 

amendment. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Congresswoman Kelly. 

We need to go to William Keating of Massachusetts. 

Mr. KEATING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too want to mention 

at the outset the work of this committee and the work of you, Mr. 

Chairman, and Ranking Member Engel. Earlier in this Congress 

we had the first of its kind hearing centering on the role of women 

in security. It was really a breakthrough moment for the committee, and I want to thank you for your work on this. 

This amendment that is included in the en bloc is part of that. 

And I just want to thank your staffs as well for working with us 

on this. And I want to make mention of Representative 

Schakowsky, who has been working on separate legislation not as 

a member of this committee, but outside, to work to advance legislation with women, peace, and security that really codifies the important policies and practice to promote the inclusion and participation of women in peace and security. 

This amendment is a sense of Congress that, first, Deputy Assistant Secretaries be tasked by the Secretary of State with overseeing 

the integration of policy priorities related to women’s participation 

in preventing and resolving conflicts; and second, that all Foreign 

Service Officers receive at least one training on the importance of 

women’s participation in these particular areas. 

It is an important issue, the role of women in security. When we 

talk about being more effective in eradicating security threats and 

promoting stability overseas, we need to seriously consider the role 

of women, as this committee has, and the role they play in terms 

of these policies. 

The research is overwhelming in demonstrating that the active 

participation of women in resolving conflict leads to longer-term 

peace, and importantly, better outcomes for communities. Just one 

example through my work, working with Chairman Poe as the 

ranking member on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, in this 

subcommittee, and as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, we found that engaging women in efforts to counter violent 

extremism has consistently led to law enforcement and security experts gaining greater access to communities and more effectively 

combating radicalization and the spread of violent extremism. 

So if we want to be as effective as we can be to increase stability 

throughout the world and be smart about our expenditures overseas, investing in women’s participation in security at the local, national, and international levels is key. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Keating. I appreciate the contribution here to this debate which this amendment of yours has 

made. And I will just add that the committee is working on additional legislation, which we will move on this issue. 

Are there any other members that seek recognition? 

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Hearing no further requests for recognition, the Chair moves 

that the committee adopt the amendments considered en bloc. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the amendments considered en bloc are agreed to. 

Are there any additional amendments to the base text? 

Hearing none, the Chair now moves that the committee adopt 

Senate bill 1635, as amended. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the bill, as 

amended, is agreed to. 

So without objection, this bill, as amended, is ordered favorably 

reported as a single amendment in the nature of a substitute, and 

staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes. 

And also, without objection, the Chair is authorized to seek House 

consideration of the bill under suspension of the rules. 

This concludes our business for today. And I want to thank 

Ranking Member Engel and all of our committee members for their 

contributions and assistance with today’s markup. 

The committee is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:16 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

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