II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5581 

To strengthen and expand efforts to identify, include, and advance untapped 

potential in the United States’ international affairs workforce to strengthen national security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Mr. CARDIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To strengthen and expand efforts to identify, include, and 

advance untapped potential in the United States’ international affairs workforce to strengthen national security, 

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 TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLES.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘American Foreign Affairs Talent Expansion Act: Diver6 sity in Diplomacy and Development’’ or the ‘‘American 

7 FATE Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 103. Diversity and inclusion offices. 

Sec. 104. Recruitment and retention of the international affairs workforce. 

Sec. 105. Agency workforce transparency and accountability. 

Sec. 106. Collection, analysis, and dissemination of workforce data. 

Sec. 107. Employee satisfaction and exit surveys. 

Sec. 108. Comprehensive policy on vetting and transparency. 

Sec. 109. Streamlining discrimination and harassment reporting. 

Sec. 110. Addressing host country discriminatory treatment. 

Sec. 111. Accountability in assignment restrictions and reviews. 

Sec. 112. Mitigating bias in artificial intelligence use. 

TITLE II—PERSONNEL 

Sec. 201. Upholding merit system principles as key components in international 

affairs agencies. 

Sec. 202. Recruitment and retention of locally employed staff. 

Sec. 203. Personal service contractor compliance. 

Sec. 204. Patricia Roberts Harris and Valerie Dickson-Horton Mid-Career 

Mentorship Program. 

Sec. 205. Modification of lateral entry Foreign Service programs. 

Sec. 206. Foreign Service Reappointment Program. 

Sec. 207. Adjustment to promotion precepts. 

Sec. 208. Workplace flexibility and training. 

Sec. 209. Expanding fellowship programs. 

Sec. 210. Foreign Service Institute curriculum expansion. 

Sec. 211. Expansion of Department of State and USAID Diplomat-in-Residence programs. 

TITLE III—GLOBAL INITIATIVES 

Sec. 301. Statement of policy on equity principals, policies, and action plans. 

Sec. 302. Department of State equity plans and measurement. 

Sec. 303. Strengthening public diplomacy efforts with geographically remote 

and underserved communities overseas. 

Sec. 304. Support for young leaders initiatives. 

Sec. 305. Office of Race and Ethnic Relations and Affairs. 

Sec. 306. Senior Advisor for Race and Ethnic Affairs. 

Sec. 307. United States policy to foster empowerment and inclusion and prevent and respond to racial and ethnic discrimination and violence. 

Sec. 308. Combating international racially and ethnically motivated extremism. 

Sec. 309. Commemorating the International Decade for People of African Descent. 

Sec. 310. Transatlantic slave trade transitional justice initiatives. 


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Sec. 311. United States Institute of Peace Program for Global Race and Ethnic 

Relations and Peace. 

Sec. 312. Increasing the collaboration between the Department of State and the 

Smithsonian Institution with respect to education and cultural 

affairs. 

Sec. 313. Strengthening tolerance activities in the Organization for Security 

and Co-operation in Europe region. 

Sec. 314. Empowering Afro-descent and indigenous communities in international development and conservation. 

TITLE IV—CAREER PIPELINE INITIATIVES 

Sec. 401. Expanding Department of State and USAID Hispanic Association of 

Colleges and Universities initiatives. 

Sec. 402. International affairs institutions at minority-serving institutions. 

Sec. 403. Establishing Centers of Excellence in foreign affairs and assistance. 

Sec. 404. Foreign Affairs Bridge Program. 

Sec. 405. International affairs graduate fellowship program. 

Sec. 406. Increasing employment opportunities at international organizations. 

Sec. 407. Extending paths to service for paid student interns in international 

affairs careers. 

Sec. 408. Foreign Service fellowships for graduate students and faculty. 

TITLE V—MINORITY BUSINESS INITIATIVES 

Sec. 501. Expanding United States minority-owned business procurement at 

international affairs agencies. 

Sec. 502. Small business consulting services and technical assistance. 

Sec. 503. Minority business international exposition participation. 

Sec. 504. Expanding United States business opportunities overseas. 

Sec. 505. Nondiscrimination in foreign assistance. 

Sec. 506. Nondiscrimination in foreign acquisitions. 

Sec. 507. Inclusive economic policies and practices. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 

5 States Agency for International Development. 

6 (2) APPLICANT FLOW DATA.—The term ‘‘appli7 cant flow data’’ means data tracking the rate of ap8 plications for job positions among demographic cat9 egories. 


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1 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—Except as otherwise provided, the term ‘‘ap3 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; and 

6 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

7 the House of Representatives. 

8 (4) CDIO.—The term ‘‘CDIO’’ means the 

9 Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. 

10 (5) DEIA.—The term ‘‘DEIA’’ means diver11 sity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. 

12 (6) DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.—The term ‘‘demo13 graphic data’’ means facts or statistics relating to 

14 the demographic categories specified in the Office of 

15 Management and Budget statistical policy directive 

16 titled ‘‘Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and 

17 Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity’’ 

18 (81 Fed. Reg. 67398 ). 

19 (7) DIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘diversity’’ means 

20 diversity of persons based on gender, race, ethnicity, 

21 disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender 

22 identity, national origin, or other demographic cat23 egories. 

24 (8) EQUITY.—The term ‘‘equity’’ means the 

25 consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial 


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1 treatment of all individuals, including individuals 

2 who are members of underserved communities that 

3 have been denied such treatment. 

4 (9) HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

5 term ‘‘Hispanic-serving institution’’ has the meaning 

6 given such term in section 502(a)(5) of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(1)). 

8 (10) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI9 VERSITY; HBCU.—The terms ‘‘historically Black col10 lege or university’’ and ‘‘HBCU’’ have the meaning 

11 given the term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 

12 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 1061(2)). 

14 (11) INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AGENCY; AGEN15 CY.—Except as otherwise provided, the terms ‘‘inter16 national affairs agency’’ and ‘‘agency’’ mean— 

17 (A) the Department of State; 

18 (B) the United States Agency for Inter19 national Development; 

20 (C) the United States Agency for Global 

21 Media; 

22 (D) the Peace Corps; 

23 (E) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; 

24 (F) the United States International Devel25 opment Finance Corporation; 


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1 (G) the United States Trade and Develop2 ment Agency; 

3 (H) the Export-Import Bank of the United 

4 States; and 

5 (I) any other Federal agency that receives 

6 appropriations under function 150 (inter7 national affairs) to the extent such funding is 

8 being used by the agency to carry out activities. 

9 (12) MINORITY.—The term ‘‘minority’’ has the 

10 meaning given such term in section 365(2) of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 1067k(2)). 

13 (13) MINORITY BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘minor14 ity business’’ is a business that is not less than 51 

15 percent-owned by 1 or more members of, or where 

16 the management and daily business operations are 

17 controlled by— 

18 (A) Blacks or African Americans; 

19 (B) Hispanics or Latino Americans; 

20 (C) American Indians; 

21 (D) Alaska Natives; 

22 (E) Asian Americans; or 

23 (F) Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Is24 landers. 


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1 (14) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION; MSI.— 

2 The terms ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ and ‘‘MSI’’ 

3 mean an institution of higher education described in 

4 section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))— 

6 (A) that has an enrollment of at least 

7 1,000 undergraduate students; and 

8 (B) at which more than 50 percent of the 

9 student population is African American, His10 panic American, Native American, or Asian 

11 American students, as verified by the Office for 

12 Civil Rights of the Department of Education. 

13 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of State. 

15 (16) TRIBALLY CONTROLLED COLLEGE OR UNI16 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘tribally controlled college or 

17 university’’ has the meaning given such term in the 

18 first section of the Tribally Controlled Community 

19 College Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

20 1801(a)(4)). 

21 (17) UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP.—The term 

22 ‘‘underrepresented group’’ has the meaning given 

23 the term ‘‘minority’’ in section 365(2) of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k(2)). 


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1 (18) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.—The term 

2 ‘‘underserved communities’’ means overseas popu3 lations sharing a particular characteristic or geo4 graphic communities that have been systematically 

5 denied a full opportunity to participate in any aspect 

6 of economic, social, or civic life. 

7 (19) USAID.—The term ‘‘USAID’’ means the 

8 United States Agency for International Develop9 ment. 

10 (20) WORKFORCE.—The term ‘‘workforce’’ 

11 means direct hires in the civil or foreign service, con12 tractors, foreign service nationals, and others work13 ing under the authority of any Government agency. 

14 TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY AND 

15 ACCOUNTABILITY 

16 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) One of the United States’ greatest assets in 

19 protecting and advancing the interests of the United 

20 States abroad is the talent and diversity of the inter21 national affairs workforce. 

22 (2) The United States has made important 

23 progress towards utilizing the extraordinary range of 

24 backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, skills, and expe25 riences of the population of the United States as a 


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1 strategic asset for advancing United States national 

2 security, economic, and human rights interests 

3 abroad. 

4 (3) Despite such progress, international affairs 

5 agencies continue to face difficulties in recruiting, 

6 retaining, and promoting diverse talent, especially to 

7 mid- and senior-levels of leadership. 

8 (4) International affairs agencies would greatly 

9 benefit from continued efforts to strengthen and ex10 pand DEIA initiatives and principles in their 

11 workforces and domestic and overseas operations 

12 and programs. 

13 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 It is the policy of the United States that— 

15 (1) in order to protect and advance the inter16 ests of the United States abroad, international af17 fairs agencies must have a workforce that reflects 

18 the rich composition and talent of its citizenry; 

19 (2) the skills, knowledge, perspectives, ideas, 

20 and experiences of all members of the workforces of 

21 international affairs agencies contribute to the vital22 ity and success of international diplomacy and devel23 opment efforts; 


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1 (3) promoting DEIA within the international 

2 affairs workforce must be a joint effort that re3 quires— 

4 (A) engagement by senior leadership, man5 agers, and the entire workforce; and 

6 (B) effective collaboration among those re7 sponsible for human resources, equal employ8 ment opportunity, and diversity and inclusion 

9 issues; and 

10 (4) as the United States becomes more diverse 

11 and faces more complex challenges, the United 

12 States must continue to invest in policies to recruit, 

13 retain, and develop the best and brightest from all 

14 segments of the population of the United States. 

15 SEC. 103. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICES. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that diversity and inclusion offices are crucial in ad18 vancing transparency, accountability, and merit-based 

19 policies and practices that promote retention and effi20 ciency. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

22 OFFICES.—The headquarters of each international affairs 

23 agency may establish a Diversity and Inclusion Office (re24 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’). 


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1 (c) CHIEF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICERS.— 

2 Each Office shall be led by a Chief Diversity and Inclusion 

3 Officer, who shall— 

4 (1) hold the rank and status of ambassador, 

5 Senior Executive Service, or an equivalent position, 

6 if applicable; 

7 (2) report directly to the Secretary, the Admin8 istrator, or the head of any other international af9 fairs agency to which such position is assigned; 

10 (3) be supported by senior and other personnel 

11 with expertise in DEIA; 

12 (4) act as the principal advisor for such agency 

13 on matters related to DEIA; and 

14 (5) be responsible for— 

15 (A) leading the development and strategic 

16 planning of proactive DEIA initiatives, includ17 ing agency DEIA strategic plans or other agen18 cy strategic plans that support diverse 

19 workforces and advance fair and transparent 

20 human resources policies and practices; 

21 (B) advancing transparency, account22 ability, and meritocracy in the hiring, recruit23 ment, and retention of a diverse workforce, in24 cluding through collaboration with other offices, 

25 bureaus, units, and organizations within the 


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1 agency to provide support in assessing potential 

2 barriers and developing hiring, recruitment, re3 tention, and promotion strategies, including de4 veloping and utilizing entry-level and mid-career 

5 hiring authorities that facilitate linguistic, cul6 tural, regional, functional, and other diverse ex7 pertise needed to address 21st century diplo8 macy and development challenges; 

9 (C) recommending relevant professional de10 velopment and training initiatives for the agen11 cy workforce; 

12 (D) ensuring the agency complies with all 

13 relevant equal employment opportunity and 

14 other relevant laws and regulations, as applica15 ble; 

16 (E) serving as a permanent voting member 

17 of any subagency, committee, or panel respon18 sible for the selection of senior leadership posi19 tions within the agency, including Chiefs of 

20 Mission, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, Deputy 

21 Chiefs of Mission, Principal Officers, Deputy 

22 Administrators, Vice Presidents, Senior Execu23 tive Service positions (as defined in section 

24 3132(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code), and 

25 Senior Foreign Service positions; 


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1 (F) coordinating and engaging with the 

2 CDIOs at other agency and interagency offices, 

3 bureaus, and entities responsible for civil and 

4 human rights, employment discrimination, 

5 human resources, talent management, and 

6 other related issues, as necessary, including the 

7 Office of Personnel Management, to assess 

8 areas of improvement for hiring, recruitment, 

9 and retention within the agency; 

10 (G) working with relevant officials, includ11 ing officials from human resources offices, civil 

12 rights offices, and the Foreign Service Institute, 

13 to provide all employees and persons working 

14 overseas under chief of mission authority coun15 try-specific training regarding— 

16 (i) fair and equitable employment 

17 practices and nondiscrimination and har18 assment policies; and 

19 (ii) underserved, vulnerable, and 

20 marginalized communities, including how 

21 country languages, economies, environ22 ments, health, education, cultural and reli23 gious practices, histories, norms, and prac24 tices may impact diverse United States 

25 personnel and their families; 


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1 (H) coordinating and collaborating, as nec2 essary and appropriate, with other bureaus and 

3 offices responsible for DEIA initiatives, includ4 ing Ambassadors at-large, Special Representa5 tives, Civil Rights Offices, Offices of Small and 

6 Disadvantaged Businesses, and entities with 

7 similar responsibilities at other agencies; 

8 (I) utilizing surveys, scorecards, dash9 boards, and other data collection tools and 

10 metrics to measure and review the implementa11 tion and effectiveness of agency efforts— 

12 (i) to promote workforce cohesion, 

13 transparency, efficiency, and merit-based 

14 policies and practices, including reviewing 

15 DEIA and other precepts and performance 

16 review processes and procedures; and 

17 (ii) implement accountability mecha18 nisms in eliminating discrimination and 

19 harassment; and 

20 (J) engaging in any other activities that 

21 will assist in fulfilling the mission of the Office. 

22 SEC. 104. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF THE INTER23 NATIONAL AFFAIRS WORKFORCE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5403(c)(1)(A) of the De25 partment of State Authorization Act of 2021 (22 U.S.C. 


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1 2736a(c)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Diversity and In2 clusion Strategic Plan for 2016–2020’’ and inserting ‘‘Di3 versity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan 

4 for 2022–2026’’. 

5 (b) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER INTERNATIONAL AF6 FAIRS AGENCIES.—The President shall ensure that the re7 cruitment, retention, and training policies that the De8 partment of State is required to carry out under section 

9 5403 of the Department of State Authorization Act of 

10 2021 (22 U.S.C. 2736a) are similarly carried out by the 

11 heads of the other international affairs agencies. 

12 SEC. 105. AGENCY WORKFORCE TRANSPARENCY AND AC13 COUNTABILITY. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that international affairs agencies should operate 

16 with comprehensive strategic plans that ensure coherent, 

17 effective, and measurable outcomes to advance fair and 

18 transparent processes in recruiting, training, promoting, 

19 and retaining a representative international affairs work20 force. 

21 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 4 years there23 after, the CDIO of each international affairs agency, or 

24 senior official designated by the head of the agency, shall 


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1 develop or update and publish on the agency’s website an 

2 agency-wide strategic plan that— 

3 (1) highlights comprehensive, data-driven strat4 egies to systematically and regularly examine em5 ployment policies and practices and identify and re6 move barriers to equal employment; 

7 (2) identifies appropriate practices to improve 

8 the transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of 

9 the efforts of the agency to formulate employment 

10 practices that are consistent with merit-based sys11 tem principles; and 

12 (3) establishes metrics and a system for regular 

13 reporting on the progress in implementing the stra14 tegic plan, such as demographic baseline data, focus 

15 groups, surveys, scorecards, dashboards, and other 

16 data collection and reporting tools. 

17 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there19 after, the Secretary, the Administrator, or the head of the 

20 relevant agency shall publish or update the public website 

21 of the respective agency to describe the agency’s efforts 

22 to implement the agency’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and 

23 accessibility strategic plan or any other comprehensive 

24 strategic plan that advances fair and transparent human 


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1 resources policies and practices, including efforts involv2 ing— 

3 (1) workforce pay and compensation; 

4 (2) recruitment, hiring, promotions, and reten5 tion; 

6 (3) reasonable accommodations for disabilities; 

7 (4) reasonable accommodations for religious 

8 practices; 

9 (5) safe workplaces, including addressing bul10 lying, harassment, and discrimination; and 

11 (6) working with employee resource groups. 

12 SEC. 106. COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND DISSEMINATION OF 

13 WORKFORCE DATA. 

14 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there16 after for the following 5 years, the head of each inter17 national affairs agency shall submit a report to the appro18 priate congressional committees that includes 

19 disaggregated demographic data and other information re20 garding the diversity of the workforce of the agency. 

21 (b) DATA.—The report required under subsection (a) 

22 shall include, to the maximum extent the collection and 

23 dissemination of such data can be handled in a manner 

24 that protects the confidentiality of individuals and is oth25 erwise permissible by law— 


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1 (1) for the 3-year period ending on the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act, demographic data on each 

3 element of the workforce of the agency, 

4 disaggregated by rank and grade or grade-equiva5 lent, with respect to— 

6 (A) individuals hired to join the workforce; 

7 (B) individuals promoted, including pro8 motions to and within the Senior Executive 

9 Service or the Senior Foreign Service; 

10 (C) individuals serving as special assistants 

11 or senior advisors in any of the front offices of 

12 the head of agency; 

13 (D) individuals serving as detailees to the 

14 National Security Council; 

15 (E) individuals serving on selection boards; 

16 (F) members of any external advisory com17 mittee or board who are subject to appointment 

18 by individuals at senior positions in the agency; 

19 (G) individuals participating in profes20 sional development programs of the agency and 

21 the extent to which such participants have been 

22 placed into senior positions within the agency 

23 after such participation; 

24 (H) individuals participating in mentorship 

25 or retention programs; and 


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1 (I) individuals who separated from the 

2 agency, including individuals in the Senior Ex3 ecutive Service or the Senior Foreign Service; 

4 and 

5 (2) data on the overall number of individuals 

6 who are part of the workforce, the percentages of 

7 such workforce corresponding to each element speci8 fied in paragraph (1), and the percentages cor9 responding to each rank, grade, or grade equivalent. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVENESS OF AGENCY EFFORTS.—The re11 port required under subsection (a) shall describe and as12 sess the effectiveness of the agency’s efforts— 

13 (1) to propagate fairness, impartiality, and in14 clusion in the work environment, both domestically 

15 and at overseas posts; 

16 (2) to enforce anti-harassment and anti-dis17 crimination policies, both domestically and at over18 seas posts; 

19 (3) to refrain from engaging in unlawful dis20 crimination in any phase of the employment process, 

21 including recruitment, hiring, evaluation, assign22 ments, promotion, retention, and training; 

23 (4) to prevent retaliation against employees for 

24 participating in a protected equal employment opVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Jan 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5581.IS S5581

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1 portunity activity or for reporting sexual harassment 

2 or sexual assault; 

3 (5) to provide reasonable accommodation for 

4 qualified employees and applicants with disabilities; 

5 and 

6 (6) to recruit a representative workforce by— 

7 (A) recruiting women, persons with disabil8 ities, and minorities; 

9 (B) recruiting at women’s colleges, histori10 cally Black colleges and universities, minority11 serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institu12 tions, Tribal colleges and universities, and other 

13 institutions serving a significant percentage of 

14 minority students; 

15 (C) placing job advertisements in news16 papers, magazines, and job sites oriented to17 ward women and minorities; 

18 (D) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs 

19 in urban and rural communities and at land20 grant colleges or universities; 

21 (E) providing paid internship and other 

22 opportunities; 

23 (F) recruiting mid-level and senior-level 

24 professionals through programs designed to in25 crease representation in international affairs of 


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1 people belonging to traditionally underrep2 resented groups; and 

3 (G) offering the Foreign Service written 

4 and oral assessment examinations in several lo5 cations throughout the unit. 

6 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the publication of the report required under sub9 section (a), and annually thereafter for the following 

10 5 years, the head of each agency shall submit a re11 port to the appropriate congressional committees, 

12 and make such report available on the agency’s 

13 website, that includes, without compromising the 

14 confidentiality of individuals and to the extent other15 wise consistent with law— 

16 (A) disaggregated demographic data, to 

17 the maximum extent that collection of such 

18 data is permissible by law, relating to the work19 force and information on the status of diversity 

20 and inclusion efforts of the agency; 

21 (B) an analysis of applicant flow data, to 

22 the maximum extent that collection of such 

23 data is permissible by law; and 

24 (C) disaggregated demographic data relat25 ing to participants in professional development 


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1 programs of the agency and the rate of place2 ment into senior positions for participants in 

3 such programs. 

4 (2) COMBINATION WITH OTHER ANNUAL RE5 PORT.—The report required under paragraph (1) 

6 may be combined with another annual report re7 quired by law, to the extent practicable. 

8 SEC. 107. EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND EXIT SURVEYS. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that employee surveys are useful tools to gather 

11 feedback on employee satisfaction, engagement, morale, 

12 perceptions of management and leadership, and other as13 pects of the workforce critical to retention and efficiency. 

14 (b) REQUIRED ANNUAL SURVEYS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an17 nually thereafter, the head of each international af18 fairs agency shall conduct an annual employee satis19 faction survey for domestic and overseas employees, 

20 including locally employed staff, as applicable, to as21 sess the level of job satisfaction, work environment, 

22 and overall employee experience within the agency. 

23 (2) OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES.—The survey re24 quired under paragraph (1) shall include options for 

25 open-ended responses. 


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1 (3) SURVEY QUESTIONS.—The survey required 

2 under paragraph (1) shall include questions regard3 ing— 

4 (A) work-life balance and workplace flexi5 bility, such as telework and flex schedules; 

6 (B) compensation and benefits; 

7 (C) career development opportunities; 

8 (D) the performance evaluation and pro9 motion process, including fairness and trans10 parency; 

11 (E) communication channels and effective12 ness; 

13 (F) leadership and management; 

14 (G) organizational culture; 

15 (H) awareness and effectiveness of com16 plaint measures; 

17 (I) accessibility and accommodations; 

18 (J) availability of transportation to and 

19 from a work station; 

20 (K) information technology infrastructure 

21 functionality and accessibility; 

22 (L) the employee’s understanding of the 

23 agency’s structure, mission, and goals; 

24 (M) alignment and relevance of work to 

25 the agency’s mission; 


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1 (N) sense of empowerment to affect posi2 tive change; and 

3 (O) experiences with harassment, discrimi4 nation, retaliation, and other events that con5 tribute to attrition and negatively impact work 

6 culture and productivity. 

7 (c) REQUIRED EXIT SURVEYS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 

10 international affairs agency shall develop and imple11 ment a standardized, confidential exit survey process 

12 that includes anonymous feedback and exit inter13 views with employees who voluntarily separate from 

14 the agency, whether through resignation, retirement, 

15 or other means. 

16 (2) SCOPE.—The exit surveys conducted pursu17 ant to paragraph (1) shall— 

18 (A) be designed to gather insights and 

19 feedback from departing employees regarding— 

20 (i) their reasons for leaving, including 

21 caretaking responsibilities, career limita22 tions for partner or spouse, and discrimi23 nation, harassment, or retaliation; 

24 (ii) their overall experience with the 

25 agency; and 


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1 (iii) any suggestions for improvement; 

2 and 

3 (B) include questions related to— 

4 (i) the employee’s reasons for leaving; 

5 (ii) job satisfaction; 

6 (iii) work environment; 

7 (iv) professional growth opportunities; 

8 (v) leadership effectiveness; 

9 (vi) suggestions for enhancing the 

10 agency’s performance; and 

11 (vii) if applicable, the name and in12 dustry of the employee’s future employer. 

13 (3) COMPILATION OF RESULTS.—The head of 

14 each agency shall compile and analyze the 

15 anonymized exit survey data collected pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1) to identify trends, common themes, 

17 and areas needing improvement within the agency. 

18 (4) COMBINATION WITH OTHER ANNUAL RE19 PORT.—The report required under paragraph (1) 

20 may be combined with another annual report re21 quired by law, to the extent practicable. 

22 SEC. 108. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON VETTING AND 

23 TRANSPARENCY. 

24 (a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON VETTING AND

25 TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 


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1 the enactment of this Act, the head of each international 

2 affairs agency shall develop a consistent and enhanced vet3 ting process that takes into account individuals with sub4 stantiated claims of discrimination or harassment are not 

5 considered for promotions or assignments to senior posi6 tions at grade GS–14 equivalent and higher. 

7 (b) ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE VETTING POL8 ICY.—After any investigation into an allegation of dis9 crimination, harassment, or bullying, the Office of Civil 

10 Rights, human resources offices, a Chief Diversity and In11 clusion Officer, or another office with responsibilities re12 lated to such investigation reporting directly to the agency 

13 head shall jointly or individually submit a written sum14 mary of any findings of any substantiated allegations to 

15 the panel or individuals responsible for assignments to 

16 senior positions before rendering a recommendation for 

17 promotion. 

18 (c) RESPONSE.—The agency head shall develop a 

19 process for candidates to respond to any allegations that 

20 are substantiated and presented to the panel responsible 

21 for vetting such candidates. 

22 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there24 after for the following 5 years, the agency head shall sub25 mit a report to the agency workforce and the appropriate 


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1 congressional committees that identifies the number of 

2 candidates confirmed for senior posts against whom there 

3 were allegations of discrimination, harassment, or bul4 lying. 

5 SEC. 109. STREAMLINING DISCRIMINATION AND HARASS6 MENT REPORTING. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) efficient and transparent complaint proc10 esses contribute to safe and professional workplaces 

11 and are critical to retaining talented and productive 

12 workforces; 

13 (2) processes to report allegations of discrimi14 nation, bullying, and harassment should be clearly 

15 explained and easily accessible to agency workforces; 

16 and 

17 (3) a single point of initial reporting stream18 lines the complaint process and ensures complaints 

19 will be addressed in a consistent and timely manner. 

20 (b) STREAMLINED REPORTING.—Not later than 1 

21 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head 

22 of each international affairs agency, in consultation with 

23 the CDIO, the Office of Civil Rights, and other relevant 

24 officials, as appropriate, shall establish a single point of 


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1 initial reporting for allegations of discrimination, bullying, 

2 and harassment that provides— 

3 (1) an initial review of the allegations; and 

4 (2) the ability to file multiple claims based upon 

5 a single complaint, if necessary. 

6 (c) AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially there8 after for the following 5 years, the head of each inter9 national affairs agency shall submit a report that identi10 fies the staffing, budget, and any other necessary re11 sources to increase efficiency in addressing allegations of 

12 discrimination, bullying, and harassment within such 

13 agency. 

14 SEC. 110. ADDRESSING HOST COUNTRY DISCRIMINATORY 

15 TREATMENT. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that, while serving overseas, Chiefs of Mission and 

18 embassy and consulate leadership are responsible for as19 sisting employees and their families in addressing dis20 criminatory treatment due to race, ethnicity, gender, age, 

21 sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, dis22 ability, national origin, or other protected characteristics 

23 or factors even when— 

24 (1) such treatment is external to the embassy 

25 or mission; and 


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1 (2) local country norms and laws do not provide 

2 the legal options available in the United States to 

3 address unjust treatment. 

4 (b) POLICY TO COUNTER DISCRIMINATORY TREAT5 MENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

7 each United States diplomatic mission to develop 

8 and convey to its employees a policy to counter dis9 criminatory treatment against employees and their 

10 family members while serving in their assigned coun11 try by host government officials, security personnel, 

12 customs and immigration officials, and others work13 ing for businesses with contractual or grant relation14 ships with the United States Government, including 

15 schools and educational institutions. 

16 (2) ELEMENTS.—The policy required under 

17 paragraph (1) shall— 

18 (A) include the complete range of available 

19 actions, such as calls to host government offi20 cials, letters of protest, and diplomatic notes 

21 emphasizing the importance of equitable treat22 ment of all United States Government per23 sonnel; 

24 (B) require post leadership to inform em25 ployees and family members, upon their arrival 


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1 at such post, of the leadership’s willingness to 

2 address any incidents of discriminatory treat3 ment, if necessary, especially in countries in 

4 which there is a historical precedent of host 

5 government or societal bias or discrimination 

6 towards persons based upon the characteristics 

7 referred to in subsection (a) or other factors; 

8 and 

9 (C) outline expectations regarding when 

10 employees will be provided updates or receive 

11 resolution following the report of an incident. 

12 SEC. 111. ACCOUNTABILITY IN ASSIGNMENT RESTRICTIONS 

13 AND REVIEWS. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that— 

16 (1) the use of policies to restrict personnel from 

17 serving in certain assignments based on race, eth18 nicity, national origin, or other demographic factors 

19 may undermine the United States Government’s 

20 ability to deploy relevant cultural, linguistic, and 

21 other important skills at diplomatic posts abroad if 

22 not applied judiciously; and 

23 (2) each agency should continuously track, 

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1 graphic data to assist in addressing any bias in as2 signment processes. 

3 (b) NOTIFICATION OF STATUS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, 

6 the Administrator, or the head of an international 

7 affairs agency, as appropriate, shall provide a status 

8 update for all personnel who, during the 2-year pe9 riod immediately preceding such date of enactment, 

10 were subject to a prior assignment restriction, as11 signment review, or preclusion for whom a review or 

12 decision related to assignment is pending. 

13 (2) STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.—The 

14 head of each agency shall design standard operating 

15 procedures and implement improved training for se16 curity personnel and adjudicators responsible for de17 termining eligibility assignments in order to prevent 

18 race, ethnicity, national origin, or other demographic 

19 factors from being utilized as proxies for adjudi20 cating risk. 

21 SEC. 112. MITIGATING BIAS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 

22 USE. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that, with the integration of artificial intelligence 

25 into agency work and operations, measures should be 


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1 taken to address bias in artificial intelligence models to 

2 reduce the likelihood of negative results or discriminatory 

3 outcomes. 

4 (b) EXPERTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS.—The head of 

5 each international affairs agency shall employ experts, in6 cluding technologists, social scientists, and legal experts, 

7 and fellows from established programs, to support the de8 velopment of a risk-mitigation framework that promotes 

9 trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including test10 ing and correcting for racial, ethnic, gender, age, national 

11 origin, geographic, and other bias in artificial intelligence 

12 training data and applications. 

13 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter 

15 for the following 8 years, the head of each agency shall 

16 submit a report to the appropriate congressional commit17 tees that— 

18 (1) describes the agency’s efforts to support the 

19 safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use 

20 of artificial intelligence; and 

21 (2) includes agency efforts to test and correct 

22 for any bias in artificial intelligence training data 

23 and applications, and any resources needed to im24 prove the effectiveness of such efforts. 


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1 TITLE II—PERSONNEL 

2 SEC. 201. UPHOLDING MERIT SYSTEM PRINCIPLES AS KEY 

3 COMPONENTS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 

4 AGENCIES. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the merit system 

6 principles for the Civil Service set forth in section 2301(b) 

7 of title 5, United States Code, should continue to be 

8 upheld as key components of international affairs agency 

9 recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, and leadership 

10 human resources practices in accordance with the fol11 lowing standards: 

12 (1) Recruitment should be from qualified indi13 viduals from appropriate sources in an endeavor to 

14 achieve a workforce from all segments of society, 

15 and selection and advancement should be determined 

16 on the basis of relative ability, knowledge and skills, 

17 after fair and open competition which assures that 

18 all receive equal opportunity. 

19 (2) All employees and applicants for employ20 ment should receive fair and equitable treatment in 

21 all aspects of personnel management without regard 

22 to political affiliation, race, ethnicity, religion, na23 tional origin, sex, marital status, age, disability, sex24 ual orientation or gender identity, and other demoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Jan 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5581.IS S5581

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1 graphic or social factors and with proper regard for 

2 their privacy and constitutional rights. 

3 (3) Equal pay should be provided for work of 

4 equal value, with appropriate consideration of both 

5 national and local rates paid by employers in the pri6 vate sector, and appropriate incentives and recogni7 tion should be provided for excellence in perform8 ance. 

9 (4) All employees should maintain high stand10 ards of integrity, conduct, and concern for the public 

11 interest. 

12 (5) The Federal workforce should be efficient 

13 and effective. 

14 (6) Employees should be retained on the basis 

15 of their performance, inadequate performance should 

16 be corrected, and employees should be separated who 

17 cannot or will not improve their performance to meet 

18 required standards. 

19 (7) Employees should be provided effective edu20 cation and training in cases in which such education 

21 and training would result in better organizational 

22 and individual performance. 

23 (8) Employees should be— 


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1 (A) protected against arbitrary action, per2 sonal favoritism, or coercion for partisan polit3 ical purposes, and 

4 (B) prohibited from using their official au5 thority or influence for the purpose of inter6 fering with or affecting the result of an election 

7 or a nomination for election. 

8 (9) Employees should be protected against re9 prisal for the lawful disclosure of information which 

10 the employees reasonably believe evidences— 

11 (A) a violation of any law, rule, or regula12 tion, or 

13 (B) mismanagement, a gross waste of 

14 funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 

15 and specific danger to public health or safety. 

16 SEC. 202. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF LOCALLY EM17 PLOYED STAFF. 

18 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that— 

20 (1) the effectiveness and stability of United 

21 States diplomatic missions are intrinsically linked to 

22 the dedication and expertise of locally employed 

23 staff; 

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1 ployed staff and offering competitive compensation 

2 packages that are benchmarked against the local 

3 market are essential practices that retain valuable 

4 talent and reflect the United States’ commitment to 

5 fair and equitable employment practices worldwide. 

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The head of each inter7 national affairs agency shall maintain the prevailing wage 

8 rate goal for positions in the local compensation plan at 

9 or above the 75th percentile, to the extent practicable. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

12 appropriated to the Secretary, for each of fiscal 

13 years 2025 through 2030, $500,000, which shall be 

14 used— 

15 (A) to assist with overseas recruitment and 

16 retention, including addressing continuing staff17 ing shortages at key posts; and 

18 (B) to conduct biannual regional work19 shops on human resource policies and processes, 

20 including logistics, finances, anti-discrimination, 

21 and DEIA, for United States citizens and lo22 cally employed staff at United States diplomatic 

23 missions. 

24 (2) WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS.—Each work25 shop conducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) shall 


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1 include at least 1 locally employed staff and 1 

2 United States citizen staff member from the partici3 pating missions. 

4 SEC. 203. PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Prime contractor and subcon6 tractor recruiting initiatives for personal services contrac7 tors shall— 

8 (1) comply with Executive Order 11246 (42 

9 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to equal employment op10 portunity) and any other applicable nondiscrimina11 tion award regulations; and 

12 (2) when sourcing for positions of employment, 

13 include outreach to— 

14 (A) minorities and minority-serving institu15 tions; 

16 (B) individuals with disabilities; 

17 (C) rural communities; and 

18 (D) other underrepresented groups. 

19 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there21 after for the following 5 years, the Secretary, the Adminis22 trator, and the head of each of the other international af23 fairs agencies, as appropriate, shall submit a report to the 

24 appropriate congressional committees that includes, with 

25 respect to all personal services contractors hired during 


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1 any of the 5 fiscal years immediately preceding the date 

2 on which the report is submitted, data on award alloca3 tions to prime contractors and any of their subcontractors, 

4 if applicable, disaggregated by demographic data, includ5 ing State of residence at the time the application was filed. 

6 SEC. 204. PATRICIA ROBERTS HARRIS AND VALERIE 

7 DICKSON-HORTON MID-CAREER 

8 MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that— 

11 (1) mid-career mentorship programs can assist 

12 in the retention of employees and decreased attrition 

13 of mid-career employees, including employees who 

14 have demonstrated potential for advancement and 

15 may be at risk of leaving the Department of State, 

16 such as African-American women and others identi17 fied by the Department; and 

18 (2) Patricia Roberts Harris, who was the first 

19 African American woman to serve as an Ambas20 sador, and Valerie Dickson-Horton, who was among 

21 the first African American women to serve as a Mis22 sion Director and Assistant Administrator of the 

23 United States Agency for International Develop24 ment, deserved to be recognized for their 


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1 groundbreaking service in the Department of State 

2 and USAID. 

3 (b) RENAMING THE PROGRAM.—Section 6205(a) of 

4 the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023 (divi5 sion F of Public Law 118–31) is amended by striking ‘‘es6 tablish a Mid-Career Mentoring Program’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘establish the Patricia Roberts Harris and Valerie 

8 Dickson-Horton Mid-Career Mentoring Program’’. 

9 SEC. 205. MODIFICATION OF LATERAL ENTRY FOREIGN 

10 SERVICE PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) the Foreign Service should permit mid-ca14 reer entry to qualified individuals who are willing to 

15 bring their talents and experience to the work of the 

16 Foreign Service; and 

17 (2) the lateral entry program authorized under 

18 this section should be used to address disparities in 

19 retention and promotion identified by data compiled 

20 by international affairs agencies and Government 

21 Accountability Office reports by identifying, attract22 ing, and welcoming into the Foreign Service highly 

23 qualified mid-career professionals, including minori24 ties. 


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1 (b) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘mid2 career professional’’ means an individual who has the 

3 skills and experience to serve as a mid-level Foreign Serv4 ice officer (class 3, 2, or 1) or in an equivalent position. 

5 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Each agency, as 

6 appropriate, is authorized to establish a program that fully 

7 complies with current Foreign Service intake procedures 

8 to encourage lateral entry into the Foreign Service by mid9 career professionals with critical specialized skills, includ10 ing individuals who belong to underrepresented groups. 

11 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—Each program established 

12 pursuant to subsection (c) shall be administered jointly by 

13 the respective agency’s personnel office head and the 

14 CDIO or another designated senior official with respon15 sibilities for transparency and accountability in employ16 ment practices. 

17 (e) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The head of each 

18 agency, in implementing the program established pursuant 

19 to subsection (c), shall— 

20 (1) establish and publish eligibility criteria for 

21 candidates to participate in the program; 

22 (2) carry out national recruitment efforts to at23 tract highly qualified, mid-career professionals from 

24 the civil service, private sector, academia, and other 

25 professions that would serve to enrich the Foreign 


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1 Service workforce and empower it to perform more 

2 effectively, including recruiting from underrep3 resented groups; and 

4 (3) include mentorship and other career devel5 opment opportunities as part of the program. 

6 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there8 after for the following 5 years, each agency shall submit 

9 a report to the appropriate congressional committees 

10 that— 

11 (1) describes the current status of the program 

12 established pursuant to subsection (c); and 

13 (2) includes disaggregated demographic data re14 garding program recruitment, acceptance, and place15 ment rates. 

16 SEC. 206. FOREIGN SERVICE REAPPOINTMENT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that— 

19 (1) the Department of State, USAID, and other 

20 international affairs agencies, as appropriate, can 

21 benefit from the experience and expertise of former 

22 Foreign Service Officers who left the service mid-ca23 reer and would be well served by options for Foreign 

24 Service Officers who have left the service to re-enter 

25 the service mid-career, subject to certain eligibility 


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1 criteria and a review of their qualifications and expe2 rience; and 

3 (2) findings by the Department of State and 

4 the Government Accountability Office of greater at5 trition levels among African Americans and other 

6 underrepresented groups suggest the need for tar7 geted programs to reappoint diverse talent at inter8 national affairs agencies. 

9 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 183(b) of the Foreign Re10 lations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 

11 (Public Law 100–204; 22 U.S.C. 3922a note) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) shall establish, not later than 60 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of the American 

20 FATE Act, a reappointment program for the De21 partment of State and USAID that specifically tar22 gets underrepresented groups with high rates of at23 trition from the Foreign Service, as determined by 

24 the Department of State, USAID, the Government 

25 Accountability Office, or other official government 


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1 data, including mid-career alumni of the Charles B. 

2 Rangel Graduate Fellowship Program and the 

3 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fel4 lowship Program.’’. 

5 SEC. 207. ADJUSTMENT TO PROMOTION PRECEPTS. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that integrating precept principles regarding DEIA 

8 into Department of State promotions criteria— 

9 (1) underscores the United States commitment 

10 to transparency and accountability in implementing 

11 merit-based recruitment, hiring, retention, and pro12 motion policies; 

13 (2) fosters a culture that values the richness of 

14 diverse perspectives and ensures equal opportunity; 

15 and 

16 (3) should continue to be included or referenced 

17 in the Foreign Affairs Manual, Foreign Service Pre18 cepts, and the Foreign Service Employee Evaluation 

19 Report. 

20 (b) BASIS FOR SELECTION BOARD REVIEW.—Section 

21 603(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

22 4003(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and 

24 (9) as paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; 

25 and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(7) a tangible commitment to the promotion of 

4 diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility with col5 leagues and external interlocutors;’’. 

6 SEC. 208. WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY AND TRAINING. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— It is the sense of Con8 gress that flexible operations policies, such as telework and 

9 job sharing— 

10 (1) help international affairs agencies to effi11 ciently— 

12 (A) accomplish their missions; 

13 (B) manage their operations; and 

14 (C) promote work-life balance for employ15 ees; and 

16 (2) can be a useful recruitment and retention 

17 tool, including for employees with specialized 

18 skillsets, or for those employees requiring accom19 modations, that improves organization health and 

20 performance when appropriately planned, monitored, 

21 and assessed. 

22 (b) WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY TRAINING.—The head 

23 of each agency shall incorporate training on workplace 

24 flexibility options and operations policies into employee 

25 onboarding and every level of supervisory training. 


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1 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there3 after for the following 5 years, the head of each agency 

4 shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 

5 committees regarding workplace flexibility that includes a 

6 summary of flexibility options and agency performance. 

7 SEC. 209. EXPANDING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) RANGEL, PICKERING, AND PAYNE FELLOW9 SHIPS.—Section 5306 of the Department of State Author10 ization Act of 2021 (division E of Public Law 117–81) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘; AU13 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ after 

14 ‘‘PROGRAMS’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘It is the sense’’ and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 

21 State, for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2029, 

22 $20,000,000 for operations and administrative costs and 

23 stipends for program participants.’’. 

24 (b) DIPLOMATIC SECURITY AND OTHER FELLOW25 SHIPS PROGRAMS; USAID CIVIL SERVICE FELLOWSHIP


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1 EXPANSION.—Section 47 of the State Department Basic 

2 Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2719) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of State 

5 may make grants to postsecondary educational 

6 institutions or students’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

7 Secretary of State and the USAID Adminis8 trator shall make grants to minority-serving in9 stitutions, postsecondary education institutions, 

10 or minority and other students’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘the Secretary shall’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘the Secretary and the USAID Ad13 ministrator shall’’; and 

14 (C) by inserting ‘‘or by the USAID Admin15 istrator’’ after ‘‘by the Secretary of State’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘minori17 ties who are’’ before ‘‘United States nationals’’. 

18 SEC. 210. FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE CURRICULUM EX19 PANSION. 

20 (a) TRAINING OF UNITED STATES PERSONNEL.— 

21 The Secretary, in coordination with the heads of other rel22 evant Federal agencies, shall provide personnel serving in 

23 the United States or outside the United States under 

24 Chief of Mission authority with training regarding— 


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1 (1) United States history, including a focus on 

2 the United States Constitution; 

3 (2) United States Government, including a 

4 focus on the functions of the 3 branches of Govern5 ment and their respective roles in foreign policy; and 

6 (3) cultural norms, practices, and protocol for 

7 each service country, including country-specific 

8 training regarding— 

9 (A) past and present United States rela10 tions with such country; and 

11 (B) underserved, vulnerable, and 

12 marginalized communities, including historical 

13 and contemporary knowledge about race and 

14 ethnic relations, to complement existing train15 ing regarding religious communities. 

16 (b) TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS AND

17 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Section 708(a)(1) of the 

18 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

23 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers and 

2 Presidential appointees, including Chiefs of 

3 Mission, in missions abroad whose responsibil4 ities include political, economic, public diplo5 macy, security, or development issues, a dedi6 cated module of instruction on— 

7 ‘‘(i) United States history, including a 

8 focus on the United States Constitution; 

9 ‘‘(ii) United States Government, in10 cluding a focus on the functions of the 3 

11 branches of government and their respec12 tive roles in foreign policy; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) cultural norms, practices, and 

14 protocol for each service country, including 

15 country-specific training regarding— 

16 ‘‘(I) past and present United 

17 States relations with such country; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) underserved, vulnerable, 

20 and marginalized communities, includ21 ing historical and contemporary 

22 knowledge about race and ethnic rela23 tions, to complement existing 

24 trainings on religious communities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 211. EXPANSION OF DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND 

2 USAID DIPLOMAT-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Diplomats-in-Residence Program of the De5 partment of State and the Development Diplomats in Res6 idence Program of USAID increase awareness of inter7 national careers in the Foreign Service and the Civil Serv8 ice. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary and the Admin10 istrator are authorized to support up to 60 Diplomat in 

11 Residence or Development Diplomat in Residence posi12 tions throughout the United States, including at minority13 serving institutions and in urban and rural areas. 

14 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after receiving an assignment under the program, 

17 each Diplomat in Residence or Development Dip18 lomat in Residence shall submit a report to the offi19 cial who made such assignment that includes a plan 

20 for carrying out activities that are specifically tai21 lored for the region, educational institution, and sur22 rounding communities to which the diplomat was as23 signed. 

24 (2) FINAL REPORT.—After completing their as25 signment, the Diplomats in Residence and the De26 velopment Diplomats in Residence shall submit a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Jan 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5581.IS S5581

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1 port to the head of human resources that describes 

2 any accomplishments, including how the diplomat in3 creased awareness of international career opportuni4 ties to new and diverse populations. 

5 TITLE III—GLOBAL INITIATIVES 

6 SEC. 301. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON EQUITY PRINCIPALS, 

7 POLICIES, AND ACTION PLANS. 

8 It is the policy of the United States to continue— 

9 (1) pursuing a comprehensive global approach 

10 to advancing equity for all; 

11 (2) the important work of monitoring and ad12 dressing human rights issues related to vulnerable, 

13 marginalized, or underserved populations, including 

14 codifying in statute the critical functions of the De15 partment of State’s— 

16 (A) Under Secretary of State for Civilian 

17 Security, Democracy, and Human Rights; 

18 (B) Ambassador-at-Large for International 

19 Religious Freedom; 

20 (C) Ambassador-at-Large for Global Wom21 en’s Issues; 

22 (D) Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat 

23 Antisemitism; 


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1 (E) Special Envoy to Advance the Human 

2 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, 

3 Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Persons; 

4 (F) Special Advisor on International Dis5 ability Rights; and 

6 (G) Special Representative for Racial Eq7 uity and Justice; 

8 (3) advancing and strengthening policies related 

9 to vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved popu10 lations that are critical to United States human 

11 rights, economic, and national security interests and 

12 a key aspect of United States diplomacy and devel13 opment efforts, including by— 

14 (A) better harmonizing Department of 

15 State and USAID human rights and equity pol16 icy goals and objectives; 

17 (B) providing agencies with dedicated 

18 staffing and robust funding resources; and 

19 (C) explicitly including a focus on race and 

20 ethnicity in all work to complement existing re21 ligion, gender, and disability policies; and 

22 (4) supporting the goals and intent of Executive 

23 Order 13985 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to advanc24 ing racial equity and support for underserved com25 munities through the Federal Government), includVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Jan 27, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5581.IS S5581

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1 ing by establishing Agency Equity Teams, comprised 

2 of senior officials from the office of the head of each 

3 international affairs agency, the agency’s CDIO, and 

4 the agency’s program, policy, civil rights, regulatory, 

5 science, technology, service delivery, financial assist6 ance and grants, data, budget, procurement, public 

7 engagement, legal, and evaluation offices, as appro8 priate— 

9 (A) to support continued equity training 

10 and equity leadership development for staff 

11 across all levels of the agency’s workforce; 

12 (B) to develop and implement the agency’s 

13 Equity Action Plan, which shall include a com14 prehensive equity strategy that uses the agen15 cy’s policy, budgetary, programmatic, service16 delivery, procurement, data-collection processes, 

17 grantmaking, public engagement, research and 

18 evaluation, and regulatory functions to enable 

19 the agency’s mission domestically and overseas; 

20 (C) to annually publish an update regard21 ing— 

22 (i) the progress made by the agency 

23 on the actions, performance measures, and 

24 milestones highlighted in the preceding 

25 year’s Equity Action Plan; and 


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1 (ii) any potential barriers that under2 served communities may face in accessing 

3 and benefitting from the agency’s policies, 

4 programs, and activities, including pro5 curement, contracting, and grant opportu6 nities; and 

7 (D) to develop budgets and spending plans 

8 to ensure the Agency Equity Team has suffi9 cient resources, including staffing and data col10 lection capacity, to implement the agency’s Eq11 uity Action Plan and advance equity goals. 

12 SEC. 302. DEPARTMENT OF STATE EQUITY PLANS AND 

13 MEASUREMENT. 

14 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall appoint, 

15 within the immediate office of the Under Secretary of 

16 State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human 

17 Rights, a Deputy Assistant Secretary (referred to in this 

18 section as the ‘‘DAS’’), who shall advance United States 

19 national security through equity and support for under20 served communities in the development and conduct of 

21 policies and programs outside the United States. 

22 (b) DUTIES.—The DAS shall— 

23 (1) report directly to the Under Secretary of 

24 State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human 


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1 Rights and the Under Secretary of State for Man2 agement; 

3 (2) manage the Department of State’s equity 

4 infrastructure, such as assistance programs, diplo5 matic engagements, procurement and contracts, and 

6 public diplomacy programs and initiatives; 

7 (3) integrate equity and support for under8 served communities as a cross-cutting policy priority 

9 across strategic planning and documents, tools, and 

10 guidance, and stakeholder engagement at the De11 partment of State by— 

12 (A) leading the Department of State’s 

13 Agency Equity Team, which includes represent14 atives from— 

15 (i) the Office of Foreign Assistance; 

16 (ii) the Bureau of Educational and 

17 Cultural Affairs; 

18 (iii) the Bureau of Global Public Af19 fairs; 

20 (iv) the Under Secretary of State for 

21 Management; 

22 (v) the Bureau of Democracy, Human 

23 Rights, and Labor; 

24 (vi) the Bureau of International Orga25 nization Affairs; 


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1 (vii) the Office of Small and Dis2 advantaged Business Utilization; and 

3 (viii) the Office of the Procurement 

4 Executive; 

5 (B) developing, monitoring, and reporting 

6 on equity assessment tools and country-specific 

7 baselines, measurements, and reporting mecha8 nisms, including a social inclusion analysis tool, 

9 or other relevant metrics; 

10 (C) developing an annual budget to imple11 ment annual agency-wide equity action plans; 

12 (D) increasing transparency and account13 ability in the management of procurement, con14 tracts, and grants, including for small and dis15 advantaged businesses and minority-led organi16 zations; 

17 (E) expanding overseas outreach and en18 gagement with underserved communities, in19 cluding providing programs in languages used 

20 by minority and indigenous communities, and 

21 utilizing live captioning services for the deaf 

22 and hard of hearing; and 

23 (F) working with the Director of the For24 eign Service Institute to develop and provide for 

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1 sion authority country-specific trainings on 

2 issues related to underserved communities, such 

3 as language, economy, environment, health, 

4 education, and cultural and religious practices; 

5 (4)(A) support the activities of the Department 

6 of State’s Equity Principals, including Department 

7 of State officials responsible for leading Department8 wide policies and strategies for— 

9 (i) racial, ethnic, and Indigenous commu10 nities; 

11 (ii) women and girls; 

12 (iii) persons with disabilities; 

13 (iv) refugees and internally displaced per14 sons; 

15 (v) members of religious minority groups; 

16 and 

17 (vi) LGBTQI+ persons; 

18 (B) coordinate activities, policies, and programs 

19 between Equity Principals, as applicable; and 

20 (C) consult regarding the development and im21 plementation of annual budgets, equity action plans, 

22 and a uniform set of indicators and standards for 

23 monitoring and evaluating the efforts of their of24 fices; and 


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1 (5) review and implement recommendations 

2 from the July 2022 Government Accountability Of3 fice report to the Chairman of the Committee on 

4 Foreign Relations of the Senate, entitled, ‘‘FOR5 EIGN ASSISTANCE: State and USAID Are Tak6 ing Actions to Advance Equity Abroad and Mitigate 

7 Challenges’’ (GAO-22-105112). 

8 (c) PERSONNEL.—The DAS shall be classified at not 

9 lower than GS–15 of the General Schedule and shall be 

10 supported by senior staff with relevant expertise. 

11 SEC. 303. STRENGTHENING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EFFORTS 

12 WITH GEOGRAPHICALLY REMOTE AND UN13 DERSERVED COMMUNITIES OVERSEAS. 

14 (a) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 60 

15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

16 Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Af17 fairs shall develop a strategy for updating the annual Pub18 lic Diplomacy Implementation Plan that— 

19 (1) increases overseas outreach and engagement 

20 with geographically remote and underserved popu21 lations, with the goal of increasing participants from 

22 remote regions and underserved populations in 

23 United States programs; 

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1 pand travel to geographically remote and under2 served regions in foreign countries to support ex3 panded outreach; 

4 (3) provides additional support for program 

5 candidates and applicants from remote areas to at6 tend interviews and participate in application proc7 esses; 

8 (4) provides additional funding for translation, 

9 subtitling, and interpretation services to expand au10 dience participation in embassy program and out11 reach events, such as lectures, films, and cultural 

12 events; 

13 (5) improves physical accessibility and incor14 porates other accessibility tools at established and 

15 future American Spaces for individuals with disabil16 ities; 

17 (6) increases access to English language train18 ing for potential and current program applicants to 

19 increase opportunities for participation in United 

20 States-based educational or professional training 

21 programs; 

22 (7) develops and standardizes grant proposal 

23 development skills training programs for new imple24 menting partners in hard-to-reach and underserved 

25 communities; and 


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1 (8) increases diverse representation in mid-ca2 reer and senior public diplomacy officers and locally 

3 employed staff. 

4 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—The Under Secretary shall— 

5 (1) submit the strategy developed pursuant to 

6 subsection (a) to the appropriate congressional com7 mittees; and 

8 (2) make such strategy available to the public, 

9 to the extent practicable. 

10 SEC. 304. SUPPORT FOR YOUNG LEADERS INITIATIVES. 

11 (a) DEFINED TERM.—The term ‘‘eligible young lead12 er’’ means an individual who— 

13 (1) is between 18 and 35 years of age; 

14 (2) has demonstrated strong capabilities in en15 trepreneurship, innovation, public service, or leader16 ship; 

17 (3) has positively impacted a community, orga18 nization, or institution; and 

19 (4) may be a member of an underserved, 

20 marginalized, or underrepresented population in his 

21 or her home country. 

22 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to es23 tablish regional young leaders initiatives to build the ca24 pacity of eligible young leaders in areas that may include 

25 business, social entrepreneurship, civic leadership, public 


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1 administration, energy and environment, science and tech2 nology, education, global health, peacebuilding and co-ex3 istence, good governance, anti-corruption, promotion of 

4 democracy, and other areas by— 

5 (1) offering professional development, training, 

6 and networking opportunities; 

7 (2) providing training to promote economic 

8 growth and improve capacity in strategic sectors; 

9 and 

10 (3) identifying additional ways to connect alum11 ni of these initiatives to United States public and 

12 private resources and institutions and strengthen 

13 ties with the United States. 

14 (c) FELLOWSHIPS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

16 to award fellowships to eligible young leaders under 

17 programs established pursuant to subsection (b). 

18 Not fewer than 25 percent of fellowships awarded 

19 under this subsection shall be allocated to members 

20 of an underserved, marginalized, or underrep21 resented population in the relevant country. 

22 (2) YOUNG LEADERS ACADEMIC FELLOWS PRO23 GRAM.— 

24 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab25 lished in the Department of State a Young 


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1 Leaders Academic Fellows Program, through 

2 which students from partner countries shall be 

3 brought to the United States to build practical 

4 expertise, leadership skills, and professional net5 works. 

6 (B) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—The Sec7 retary may award fellowships under the pro8 gram established under subparagraph (A) to el9 igible individuals based on— 

10 (i) citizenship and residency in a part11 ner country; 

12 (ii) status as a full-time under13 graduate student or a recent graduate of a 

14 college, university, or other institution of 

15 higher learning; and 

16 (iii) any other criteria that the Sec17 retary considers appropriate. 

18 (3) YOUNG LEADERS PROFESSIONAL FELLOWS

19 PROGRAM.— 

20 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab21 lished in the Department of State a Young 

22 Leaders Professional Fellows Program, through 

23 which professionals from partner countries shall 

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1 tical expertise, leadership skills, and profes2 sional networks. 

3 (B) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—The Sec4 retary may award fellowships under the pro5 gram established under subparagraph (A) to el6 igible individuals based on— 

7 (i) citizenship and residency in a part8 ner country; 

9 (ii) status as an emerging leader in 

10 government, civil society, or the private 

11 sector; 

12 (iii) current employment and 2 or 

13 more years of professional work experience; 

14 and 

15 (iv) any other criteria that the Sec16 retary considers appropriate. 

17 (d) REGIONAL LEADERSHIP CENTERS AND NET18 WORKS.—The Secretary or the Administrator shall estab19 lish regional leadership centers to offer training to eligible 

20 young leaders. Such centers shall be established in South 

21 Asia, the Middle East, and in any other region that the 

22 Secretary considers appropriate. 

23 (e) UNITED STATES-BASED ACTIVITIES.—The Sec24 retary or the Administrator shall oversee all United 


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1 States-based activities carried out under any of the pro2 grams established under this section. 

3 (f) SUPPORT FOR EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Sec4 retary shall continue supporting young leaders programs 

5 operating as of the date of the enactment of this Act, in6 cluding— 

7 (1) the Young African Leaders Initiative; 

8 (2) the Young Leaders of the Americas Initia9 tive; 

10 (3) the Young Pacific Leaders; 

11 (4) the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initia12 tive; and 

13 (5) the Young Transatlantic Innovation Lead14 ers Initiative. 

15 (g) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 or the Administrator shall submit a plan to the appro18 priate congressional committees for the implementation of 

19 each of the programs authorized under subsection (b) or 

20 (c), which shall include— 

21 (1) a description of clearly defined program 

22 goals, targets, and planned outcomes for each year 

23 and for the duration of the program; 


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1 (2) a strategy for monitoring and evaluating the 

2 program and progress made toward achieving such 

3 goals, targets, and planned outcomes; and 

4 (3) a strategy for ensuring the program— 

5 (A) is promoting United States foreign pol6 icy goals in each respective region; 

7 (B) is clearly branded; and 

8 (C) is paired with robust public diplomacy 

9 efforts. 

10 (h) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—The Sec11 retary and the Administrator, in coordination with the 

12 heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 

13 may carry out this section by partnering with the private 

14 sector— 

15 (1) to pursue public-private partnerships; 

16 (2) to leverage private sector expertise; 

17 (3) to expand networking opportunities; and 

18 (4) to identify funding opportunities and fellow19 ship and employment opportunities. 

20 (i) BURDEN SHARING.—Assistance agreements en21 tered into by the Secretary or the Administrator to carry 

22 out this section shall include provisions to promote domes23 tic resource mobilization and cost-sharing, as determined 

24 necessary and appropriate by the Secretary or the Admin25 istrator, as appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 305. OFFICE OF RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS AND 

2 AFFAIRS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

5 address continuing national security and humanitarian 

6 concerns emanating from racial and ethnic divisions and 

7 tensions by establishing, within the Office of the Sec8 retary, the Office of Race and Ethnic Relations and Af9 fairs (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’). 

10 (b) HEAD.—The head of the Office shall— 

11 (1) be an individual with recognized distinction 

12 on international issues of racial and ethnic equality 

13 and empowerment, including possessing expertise on 

14 African descent, indigenous, and Roma populations; 

15 (2) hold the rank and status of ambassador, or 

16 an equivalent position; 

17 (3) be appointed by, and report directly to, the 

18 Secretary; and 

19 (4) shall hold the title of ‘‘Special Representa20 tive for Race and Ethnic Relations and Affairs’’ (re21 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Special Representa22 tive’’). 

23 (c) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Office shall be staffed by 

24 not fewer than 12 full-time personnel, including senior 

25 Foreign Service Officers, Senior Civil Service Officers, and 

26 support staff with relevant expertise. 


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1 (d) FUNCTIONS.—The Office shall— 

2 (1) advise the Secretary and direct and coordi3 nate activities, policies, programs, action plans, pub4 lic diplomacy, and funding for all bureaus and of5 fices of the Department relating to the improvement 

6 of race and ethnic relations, human rights, protec7 tion, and empowerment of members of marginalized 

8 or underserved racial, ethnic, indigenous, Roma, and 

9 African descent populations; 

10 (2) represent the United States— 

11 (A) in diplomatic matters relevant to the 

12 human rights of marginalized or underserved 

13 racial, ethnic, indigenous, Roma, and African 

14 descent populations in contacts with foreign 

15 governments, intergovernmental organizations, 

16 and specialized agencies; and 

17 (B) at relevant multilateral conferences 

18 and meetings, including United Nations perma19 nent forums; 

20 (3) lead the coordination, monitoring, and eval21 uation of international policies and programs relat22 ing to the issues described in paragraph (1) for all 

23 other Federal agencies, including multilateral and 

24 bilateral initiatives and agreements; 


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1 (4) lead efforts to promote an international 

2 focus on racial equality, equity, inclusion, and em3 powerment for marginalized or underserved racial, 

4 ethnic, indigenous, Roma, and African descent popu5 lations, including through— 

6 (A) diplomatic initiatives with other coun7 tries; 

8 (B) partnerships and regular and enhanced 

9 coordination with international and nongovern10 mental organizations and the private sector; 

11 and 

12 (C) technical assistance to United States 

13 missions and foreign governments; 

14 (5) develop and manage a global fund for race 

15 and ethnic relations that will invest in efficient and 

16 innovative solutions for members of marginalized or 

17 underserved racial, ethnic, indigenous, Roma, and 

18 African descent populations— 

19 (A) to combat racial bias and discrimina20 tion; 

21 (B) to support inclusive economic growth 

22 and entrepreneurship; 

23 (C) to support physical and mental health, 

24 including support for victims of racially or eth25 nically motivated crimes; 


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1 (D) to protect and manage natural re2 sources, and combat activities causing environ3 mental harm in communities; and 

4 (E) to promote international research and 

5 scholarship; 

6 (6) develop a uniform set of indicators and 

7 standards for monitoring and evaluating United 

8 States and global foreign policy assistance for racial 

9 equity in Federal agencies; 

10 (7) direct, as appropriate, the use of United 

11 States Government resources to respond to needs for 

12 protection, integration, resettlement, and empower13 ment of members of marginalized or underserved ra14 cial, ethnic, indigenous, Roma, and African descent 

15 populations, in carrying out United States Govern16 ment policies and international programs, including 

17 programs designed to prevent and respond to dis18 crimination and violence internationally; 

19 (8) lead the development and coordination of 

20 United States Government international efforts re21 lated to the implementation of the International 

22 Decade for People of African Descent and follow on 

23 activities, including by submitting annual reports to 

24 Congress summarizing such efforts; 


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1 (9) lead the development and coordination of 

2 Department of State racial equity strategies, action 

3 plans, policies, public diplomacy, and other activities 

4 to fulfill the duties of the Office, including— 

5 (A) presenting deserving individuals 

6 awards for anti-racism work; and 

7 (B) establishing and supporting a global 

8 network of experts and youth leaders; 

9 (10) coordinate and collaborate, as appropriate 

10 and necessary, with other bureaus and offices re11 sponsible for diversity, discrimination, and equity 

12 initiatives, including Ambassadors at-large, Special 

13 Representatives, Civil Rights Offices, Offices of Di14 versity and Inclusion, Offices of Small and Dis15 advantaged Businesses, and entities with similar re16 sponsibilities at other agencies; 

17 (11) collaborate with the Director of the For18 eign Service Institute to develop and provide, for all 

19 employees and persons under Chief of Mission au20 thority, country-specific training regarding under21 served, vulnerable, or marginalized racial and ethnic 

22 communities, including in the areas of economics, 

23 environment, health, education, cultural and reli24 gious practices, and United States foreign policy and 

25 assistance objectives; and 


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1 (12) coordinate and measure global strategies 

2 and initiatives to educate and recruit professionals, 

3 including those who are members of underserved ra4 cial, ethnic, indigenous, Roma, or African descent 

5 populations, in international careers that focus on 

6 race and ethnic relations. 

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

9 appropriated to the Secretary, to carry out this sec10 tion in fiscal year 2025 and in each subsequent fis11 cal year, $10,000,000, of which— 

12 (A) $2,000,000 shall be allocated to sup13 port the implementation of racial equality 

14 agreements between the United States and 

15 other countries; and 

16 (B) the remaining amount shall be ex17 pended to support operations of the Office and 

18 the development and implementation of a strat19 egy with each regional bureau and any targeted 

20 regional initiatives or units involving race, eth21 nicity, or social inclusion. 

22 (2) PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

24 State is authorized to accept private contributions to 

25 carry out this section. 


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1 (f) FUND FOR GLOBAL RACIAL EQUITY AND EQUAL2 ITY.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary shall establish a fund, which shall be known 

6 as the ‘‘Fund for Global Racial Equity and Equal7 ity’’. Amounts deposited into the Fund shall be in8 vested in efficient and innovative solutions for mem9 bers of marginalized or underserved racial, ethnic, 

10 indigenous, Roma, and African descent popu11 lations— 

12 (A) to combat racial bias and discrimina13 tion; 

14 (B) to support inclusive economic growth 

15 and entrepreneurship; 

16 (C) to support physical and mental health, 

17 including support for victims of racially or eth18 nically motivated crimes; 

19 (D) to protect and manage natural re20 sources, and combat activities causing environ21 mental harm in communities; and 

22 (E) to promote international research and 

23 scholarship. 

24 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated, for fiscal 


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1 year 2025 and each subsequent fiscal year, 

2 $2,500,000 to carry out this paragraph (1). 

3 (3) PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

5 State is authorized to accept private contributions to 

6 carry out paragraph (1). 

7 SEC. 306. SENIOR ADVISOR FOR RACE AND ETHNIC AF8 FAIRS. 

9 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Administrator shall ap10 point, within the immediate office of the Administrator, 

11 a Senior Advisor for Race and Ethnic Affairs (referred 

12 to in this section as the ‘‘Senior Advisor’’), who shall— 

13 (1) be classified at not lower than GS–15 of the 

14 General Schedule; 

15 (2) report directly to the Administrator; and 

16 (3) be supported by not fewer than 5 staff who 

17 have expertise in racial and ethnic affairs. 

18 (b) DUTIES.—The Senior Advisor shall— 

19 (1) advise the Administrator and direct and co20 ordinate activities, policies, programs, and funding 

21 relating to international development issues impact22 ing members of marginalized or underserved racial, 

23 ethnic, Roma, and African descent populations inter24 nationally for all USAID bureaus and offices; 


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1 (2) develop, in consultation with civil society, a 

2 racial and ethnic equity, equality, and empowerment 

3 policy, strategy, and action plan for USAID that in4 cludes a focus on members of marginalized or under5 served racial, ethnic, Roma, and African descent 

6 populations; 

7 (3) serve as the USAID liaison to the Office of 

8 Race and Ethnic Relations and Affairs of the De9 partment of State and offices responsible for racial 

10 and ethnic communities at other international affairs 

11 agencies; 

12 (4) develop a uniform set of indicators and 

13 standards for monitoring and evaluating foreign as14 sistance for racial equity in Federal agencies; and 

15 (5) develop and manage the Action Fund for 

16 Global Racial Equity and Equality established pur17 suant to subsection (d), and seek opportunities to 

18 collaborate with the USAID Gender Equity and 

19 Equality Action Fund. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator, for 

22 fiscal year 2025 and each subsequent fiscal year, 

23 $10,000,000, which shall be used to carry out this section. 

24 (d) ACTION FUND FOR GLOBAL RACIAL EQUITY AND

25 EQUALITY.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad3 ministrator shall establish a fund, which shall be 

4 known as the ‘‘Action Fund for Global Racial Equity 

5 and Equality’’. 

6 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the fund 

8 established pursuant to paragraph (1), for fiscal 

9 year 2025 and each subsequent fiscal year, 

10 $15,000,000. 

11 (3) PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of law, the Adminis13 trator is authorized to accept private contributions 

14 to the fund established pursuant to paragraph (1). 

15 SEC. 307. UNITED STATES POLICY TO FOSTER EMPOWER16 MENT AND INCLUSION AND PREVENT AND 

17 RESPOND TO RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISCRIMI18 NATION AND VIOLENCE. 

19 (a) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

20 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

21 and annually thereafter, the Special Representative for 

22 Race and Ethnic Relations and Affairs appointed pursu23 ant to section 305(b) or another Department of State offi24 cial designated by the Secretary, after consultation with 

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1 pointed pursuant to section 306(a) or another USAID of2 ficial designated by the Administrator, shall— 

3 (1) develop or update a United States global 

4 strategy— 

5 (A) to foster inclusion and empowerment; 

6 and 

7 (B) to prevent and respond to discrimina8 tion and violence against racial and ethnic pop9 ulations, including people of African descent; 

10 (2) submit the strategy referred to in para11 graph (1) to the appropriate congressional commit12 tees; and 

13 (3) make such strategy available to the public, 

14 to the extent practicable. 

15 (b) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel16 oping or updating the strategy referred to in subsection 

17 (a)(1), the Special Representative for Race and Ethnic Re18 lations and Affairs or another Department of State official 

19 designated by the Secretary shall consult with— 

20 (1) the Under Secretary of State for Public Di21 plomacy and Public Affairs; 

22 (2) the Under Secretary of State for Civilian 

23 Security, Democracy, and Human Rights; 

24 (3) the Under Secretary of State for Political 

25 Affairs; 


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1 (4) the National Security Council; 

2 (5) representatives of— 

3 (A) the Department of Education; 

4 (B) the Department of Justice; 

5 (C) the Department of Commerce; 

6 (D) the Department of Agriculture; 

7 (E) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

8 (F) the Department of Labor; and 

9 (G) other relevant Federal agencies; and 

10 (6) representatives of civil society, multilateral, 

11 and private sector organizations. 

12 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL STRATEGY.— 

13 The strategy referred to in subsection (a)(1) shall include 

14 guidance for providing foreign assistance— 

15 (1) to develop civil society leadership programs 

16 that will foster global collaboration and knowledge 

17 sharing; 

18 (2) to support capacity building for the develop19 ment and enforcement of laws that— 

20 (A) protect and empower racial and ethnic 

21 populations; and 

22 (B) prevent racial and ethnic discrimina23 tion; 

24 (3) to promote diplomatic initiatives with other 

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1 hanced coordination with international and non2 governmental organizations and the private sector; 

3 (4) to support inclusive economic growth, entre4 preneurship, and empowerment; 

5 (5) to support physical and mental health, in6 cluding support for victims of racially or ethnically 

7 motivated crimes; 

8 (6) to protect and manage natural resources 

9 and combat activities causing environmental harm in 

10 communities; and 

11 (7) to promote international research and schol12 arship. 

13 SEC. 308. COMBATING INTERNATIONAL RACIALLY AND 

14 ETHNICALLY MOTIVATED EXTREMISM. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

16 (1) There has been a rise in the number and 

17 lethality of racially and ethnically motivated terrorist 

18 incidents globally during the 10-year period imme19 diately preceding the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 (2) There is evidence that adherents of racially 

22 and ethnically motivated extremism communicate 

23 internationally and take part in cross border travel, 

24 including for overseas combat training in conflict 

25 zones. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such funds 

3 as may be necessary for the Bureau of Counterterrorism 

4 to address racially and ethnically motivated extremism 

5 by— 

6 (1) countering terrorist narratives and mes7 saging; 

8 (2) building the capacity of civil society, com9 munities, and governments to prevent and counter 

10 racially and ethnically motivated extremism and re11 spond to the needs of victims and vulnerable commu12 nities; 

13 (3) strengthening the capacity of governments 

14 and civil society to intervene during the 

15 radicalization process; 

16 (4) working with diverse communities to build 

17 unity and resilience and strengthen measures that 

18 protect communities and assist victims; 

19 (5) providing consultation to, and working in 

20 coordination with, the Bureau of Intelligence and 

21 Research, regional bureaus, the Bureau of Democ22 racy, Human Rights, and Labor, the Office of Inter23 national Religious Freedom, and special representa24 tives and other offices or other entities to strengthen 

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1 vated extremism against vulnerable or marginalized 

2 groups; and 

3 (6) increasing staff with expertise in identi4 fying, monitoring, or countering racial and ethnic 

5 extremism. 

6 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

8 the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, in coordination 

9 with Bureau of Intelligence and Research, shall— 

10 (1) provide a briefing to the appropriate con11 gressional committees that— 

12 (A) describes the status of programs and 

13 response strategies to address international ra14 cially and ethnically motivated extremism; and 

15 (B) includes an assessment of global ra16 cially and ethnically motivated extremism and 

17 geographic or country prioritization based on 

18 the assessed threat to the United States; 

19 (2) describe the coordination mechanisms be20 tween relevant bureaus and offices within the De21 partment of State, including United States diplo22 matic and consular posts, for developing and imple23 menting efforts to counter racially and ethnically 

24 motivated extremism; and 


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1 (3) provide an assessment of the human and fi2 nancial resources that are necessary to fulfill the 

3 purposes and duties under this title. 

4 SEC. 309. COMMEMORATING THE INTERNATIONAL DECADE 

5 FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

7 (1) support the establishment of a second 

8 United Nations International Decade for People of 

9 African Descent, which would cover the period from 

10 2025 to 2034; 

11 (2) proactively support and advance the United 

12 Nations declaration on the promotion and full re13 spect of the human rights of people of African de14 scent; 

15 (3) support the United Nations Expert Mecha16 nism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law 

17 Enforcement and funding to combat racial discrimi18 nation worldwide; 

19 (4) support the expansion of current efforts by 

20 the United Nations, the Organization for Security 

21 and Co-operation in Europe, the Organization of 

22 American States, and other international organiza23 tions to address the human rights situation of people 

24 of African descent by supporting efforts to uphold 


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1 their human dignity and equality and promoting so2 cietal reconciliation and healing; and 

3 (5) in cooperation with civil society, including 

4 African-descent communities, academics, activists, 

5 businesses, and philanthropic organizations, develop 

6 and implement domestic and global strategies to exe7 cute the goals and ideals of the second International 

8 Decade for People of African Descent and combat 

9 racism, including by expanding the transformative 

10 work of the Department of State’s Race, Ethnicity, 

11 and Social Inclusion Unit. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

14 appropriated to the Secretary, for each of the fiscal 

15 years 2025 through 2034, $1,500,000 for the devel16 opment of activities, including grants, to commemo17 rate the second International Decade for People of 

18 African Descent for the 10-year period beginning on 

19 January 1, 2025. 

20 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Not later than 90 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall establish— 

23 (A) the People of African Descent Fund, 

24 to which private donations may be accepted 

25 from sources approved by the Secretary for the 


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1 purposes of providing United States civil society 

2 grants for innovative empowerment initiatives 

3 for African descent populations focused on eco4 nomic growth, entrepreneurship, education, 

5 science and technology, health, human rights, 

6 and preservation and management of natural 

7 resources; and 

8 (B) an international scholars program to 

9 research, archive, and exhibit the contributions 

10 of African Americans in international affairs, 

11 including the contributions of Members of Con12 gress, utilizing the Ralph J. Bunche Library 

13 and other reputable archives and resources, in14 cluding the Smithsonian Institution, the Li15 brary of Congress, the Moorland-Spingarn Re16 search Center at Howard University, the 

17 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Cul18 ture at the New York Public Library, and li19 braries and archives at Historically Black Col20 leges and Universities. 

21 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—In selecting grant recipients pur22 suant to subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall give special 

23 emphasis, to the extent possible, to initiatives led by mem24 bers of African descent populations in the United States, 

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1 building measures to Historically Black Colleges and Uni2 versities to secure and implement grants under this sec3 tion. 

4 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there6 after for the following 11 years, the Secretary shall submit 

7 a report to the appropriate congressional committees that 

8 describes the activities undertaken to implement sub9 section (a). 

10 SEC. 310. TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE TRANSITIONAL 

11 JUSTICE INITIATIVES. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that the Department of State, through the Office 

14 of Global Criminal Justice, the Office of the Special Envoy 

15 for Holocaust Issues, and similar offices, has developed 

16 expertise in assisting countries in their transitional justice 

17 efforts, including measures that are judicial and non-judi18 cial, formal and informal, retributive and restorative, to 

19 redress atrocities with the goal of promoting long-term, 

20 sustainable peace and security. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums 

23 as may be necessary— 


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1 (1) to appoint a Special Envoy to assist African 

2 descendants of the transatlantic slave trade to seek 

3 restitution and support remembrance; 

4 (2) to establish an intergovernmental working 

5 group on transatlantic slave trade transitional jus6 tice strategies, including reparative justice strate7 gies; and 

8 (3) to create policy and research exchange pro9 grams for established and emerging United States 

10 and international leaders, scholars, and practitioners 

11 focused on transatlantic slave trade transitional jus12 tice strategies and advocacy, including reparative 

13 justice strategies. 

14 SEC. 311. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE PROGRAM 

15 FOR GLOBAL RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS 

16 AND PEACE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1705(b) of the United 

18 States Institute of Peace Act (title XVII of Public Law 

19 98–525; 22 U.S.C. 4604(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(11) establish the James S. Jackson and Rob2 ert L. Green Program for Global Race and Ethnic 

3 Relations and Peace, which shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) support scholars, research, and edu5 cation regarding the role of race and ethnicity 

6 in addressing national and regional conflicts, 

7 societal tensions, and peace building; 

8 ‘‘(B) include the appointment, for up to 2 

9 years, of scholars and leaders from the United 

10 States and abroad, including from Historically 

11 Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Col12 leges, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other 

13 Minority-Serving Institutions, to research race 

14 and ethnic relations and conflict resolution with 

15 the support of stipends, grants, fellowships, and 

16 other support; 

17 ‘‘(C) develop educational programs and 

18 materials for government and nongovernment 

19 actors, including practitioners and policy20 makers, regarding historical and contemporary 

21 knowledge about race and ethnic relations and 

22 conflict resolution; and 

23 ‘‘(D) provide scholarships and educational 

24 programs, with a focus on international careers, 

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1 dents, who shall be referred to as ‘James S. 

2 Jackson-Robert L. Green Race and Peace 

3 Scholars’.’’. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 

6 2025 through 2035, $2,000,000, which shall be expended 

7 to carry out section 1705(b)(11) of the United States In8 stitute of Peace Act, as added by subsection (a)(3). 

9 SEC. 312. INCREASING THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN 

10 THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND THE 

11 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WITH RESPECT 

12 TO EDUCATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS. 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec14 retary, for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2030, 

15 $1,000,000, which shall be used to expand collaboration 

16 between the Department of State and the Smithsonian In17 stitution by— 

18 (1) developing an international exchange pro19 gram for experts to develop and share best practices 

20 regarding ethical cultural heritage stewardship for 

21 museum professionals and community-based cultural 

22 heritage practitioners; and 

23 (2) establishing the Dorothy Raiford Honoring 

24 Heritage Program, which shall— 


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1 (A) celebrate the legacy of Dorothy 

2 Raiford, a public school kindergarten teacher 

3 who self-funded world travel and became the 

4 first African-American docent at the Detroit In5 stitute of Art; and 

6 (B) bring international museum profes7 sionals and community-based cultural heritage 

8 practitioners to the United States to conduct 

9 workshops with United States public schools 

10 with significant minority student populations. 

11 SEC. 313. STRENGTHENING TOLERANCE ACTIVITIES IN THE 

12 ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OP13 ERATION IN EUROPE REGION. 

14 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

15 out goals set forth in section 419 of the Department of 

16 State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114– 

17 323), including addressing antisemitism, racism, and 

18 other forms of intolerance, there are authorized to be ap19 propriated to the Secretary, for each of the fiscal years 

20 2025 through 2030— 

21 (1) $1,000,000, which shall be used by the Of22 fice of International Religious Freedom to combat 

23 anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe, includ24 ing in the European Union; 


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1 (2) $1,000,000, which shall be used by Assist2 ance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia programs 

3 to address racism and xenophobia in Europe, includ4 ing in the European Union; 

5 (3) $500,000 to support the activities of the 

6 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Eu7 rope (referred to in this section as ‘‘OSCE’’) to com8 bat hate crimes, support the 3 tolerance personal 

9 representatives, and assist the OSCE Parliamentary 

10 Assembly’s Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, 

11 Racism, and Intolerance; and 

12 (4) $100,000 to support annual regional 

13 trainings for human rights officers at posts in Eu14 rope, including in the European Union regarding— 

15 (A) Roma rights and empowerment; and 

16 (B) countering racial and ethnic discrimi17 nation and fostering empowerment in countries 

18 that are members of the OSCE or of the Euro19 pean Union through programs that include a 

20 focus on African descent populations. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

23 the following 5 years, the Secretary, in consultation with 

24 the Administrator, shall submit a report to the appro25 priate congressional committees and the Commission on 


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1 Security and Cooperation in Europe (the ‘‘Helsinki Com2 mission’’) that describes the activities and use of funds 

3 authorized under subsection (a). 

4 SEC. 314. EMPOWERING AFRO-DESCENT AND INDIGENOUS 

5 COMMUNITIES IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP6 MENT AND CONSERVATION. 

7 (a) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Secretary, in co8 ordination with the Administrator and the heads of other 

9 relevant Federal departments and agencies, as appro10 priate, shall develop and implement a strategy and related 

11 programs that— 

12 (1) supports the empowerment and inclusive 

13 economic development of Afro-descendant and indig14 enous communities around the world; 

15 (2) focuses on the Western Hemisphere and is16 land nations; 

17 (3) increases the participation of individuals 

18 from Afro-descendant and indigenous communities 

19 in existing bilateral initiatives and in educational 

20 and cultural exchange programs of the Department 

21 of State and USAID; 

22 (4) increases access to finance, credit, and 

23 grants for small- and medium-sized businesses 

24 owned by Afro-descendant and indigenous entre25 preneurs, organizations, and communities; 


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1 (5) provides technical assistance to local govern2 ments to formulate and enact local development 

3 plans that invest in indigenous and Afro-descendant 

4 communities; 

5 (6) connects rural agricultural, fishing, forestry, 

6 and other environmental networks, including indige7 nous and Afro-descendant networks, to consumers in 

8 urban centers and export markets, including through 

9 infrastructure construction and maintenance pro10 grams that are subject to audits and carefully de11 signed to minimize potential environmental harm; 

12 and 

13 (7) partners with local governments, the private 

14 sector, and local civil society organizations, including 

15 organizations representing marginalized commu16 nities, to provide skills training and investment in 

17 economically viable initiatives. 

18 (b) USAID.—The Administrator, in coordination 

19 with the Secretary and the heads of other relevant Federal 

20 departments and agencies, shall develop and implement 

21 programs and enhance existing programs, to the extent 

22 necessary and appropriate, that— 

23 (1) improve ecosystem conservation and en24 hance the effective stewardship of natural resources 

25 by Afro-descendant and indigenous communities; 


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1 (2) provide technical assistance to governments 

2 to safeguard national parks and protected forests 

3 and protected species, while promoting the participa4 tion of Afro-descendent and indigenous communities 

5 in such process, as applicable; 

6 (3) strengthen the capacity of Afro-descendent 

7 and indigenous communities to access the right to 

8 prior consultation encoded in laws, executive decrees, 

9 administrative acts, and ministerial regulations; 

10 (4) support indigenous and Afro-descendant 

11 communities as they raise awareness of threats to 

12 biodiverse ancestral lands, including through support 

13 for local media in such communities and technical 

14 assistance to monitor illicit activities; 

15 (5) partner with governments and Afro-de16 scendant and indigenous communities to support re17 forestation and improving river, lake, and coastal 

18 water quality; 

19 (6) provide assistance to communities affected 

20 by mining and deforestation; and 

21 (7) foster mechanisms for cooperation on emer22 gency preparedness and rapid recovery from natural 

23 disasters, that include Afro-descendant and indige24 nous communities in planning, establishing, and 

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1 gency management centers to facilitate rapid re2 sponse to survey and help maintain planning on re3 gional disaster anticipated needs and possible re4 sources. 

5 TITLE IV—CAREER PIPELINE 

6 INITIATIVES 

7 SEC. 401. EXPANDING DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND USAID 

8 HISPANIC ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND 

9 UNIVERSITIES INITIATIVES. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the Department of State Memorandum of Un12 derstanding with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and 

13 Universities (referred to in this section as ‘‘HACU’’) and 

14 the USAID Partnership Agreement with HACU continue 

15 a valued partnership initiated by former Secretary of State 

16 Colin Powell in 2001, which has assisted a range of diverse 

17 recruitment, retention, and partnership efforts, including 

18 international student exchanges, short-term faculty fellow19 ships, and research partnerships. 

20 (b) REPORT AND PLAN OF ACTION.—Not later than 

21 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

22 Secretary and the Administrator shall submit to the ap23 propriate congressional committees— 


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1 (1) a report on the activities of, and funds ex2 pended to implement, the Memorandum of Under3 standing and Partnership Agreement with HACU; 

4 and 

5 (2) an annual plan of action and spending plan 

6 to carry out such activities during fiscal years 2025 

7 through 2030, including any resources needed to 

8 execute such plans. 

9 SEC. 402. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS INSTITUTIONS AT MI10 NORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find12 ings: 

13 (1) Representative Alcee L. Hastings of Florida 

14 served his State and country with distinction as a 

15 public servant for more than 4 decades, including 

16 nearly 3 decades of service in the House of Rep17 resentatives, and a decade as the first African-Amer18 ican appointed judge on the United States District 

19 Court for the Southern District of Florida. 

20 (2) Representative Hastings’ distinguished 

21 record as a congressman includes— 

22 (A) service as the first African-American 

23 Chairman of the Commission on Security and 

24 Cooperation in Europe (commonly known as the 

25 ‘‘Helsinki Commission’’); and 


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1 (B) membership on— 

2 (i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

3 of the House of Representatives; 

4 (ii) the Permanent Select Committee 

5 on Intelligence of the House of Represent6 atives; and 

7 (iii) the Committee on Rules of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (3) Representative Hastings has long main10 tained a special interest in international affairs, 

11 global security, and democracy and human rights, as 

12 demonstrated by— 

13 (A) his service as the only United States 

14 citizen American to serve as the President of 

15 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organiza16 tion for Security and Co-operation in Europe 

17 (OSCEPA); and 

18 (B) leading OSCEPA election observation 

19 efforts across 57 countries, including securing 

20 the first OSCE international election observa21 tion mission in 2002 to the United States. 

22 (4) Representative Hastings has— 

23 (A) pioneered domestic and global initia24 tives, beginning with his desegregation efforts 

25 as a civil rights lawyer; 


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1 (B) championed numerous bills in Con2 gress in support of Native American rights; 

3 (C) led legislative efforts to increase rep4 resentation in the United States diplomatic and 

5 intelligence corps; and 

6 (D) founded international political partici7 pation initiatives, such as the Black European 

8 Summit, the Transatlantic Minority Political 

9 Leadership Conference, and Transatlantic In10 clusion Leaders Network, in cooperation with 

11 European officials and organizations, people of 

12 African descent, Roma, and other stakeholders. 

13 (5) Representative Hastings attended Fisk Uni14 versity, Howard University, and Florida A&M Uni15 versity, which are all Historically Black Colleges and 

16 Universities, and has avidly supported the excellence 

17 of minority-serving institutions and their roles in 

18 preparing outstanding scholars to pursue inter19 national public service careers. 

20 (6) It is a fitting tribute to Representative Has21 tings’ years of devoted public service to establish, in 

22 his name, international affairs institutes, extension 

23 campuses, and other programs at minority-serving 

24 institutions in the United States and overseas that 


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1 support excellence in international public service ca2 reers and the development of diverse global leaders. 

3 (b) ALCEE L. HASTINGS INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

4 INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish 

5 the ‘‘Alcee L. Hastings International Affairs Institutions 

6 Program’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’). 

7 Under the Program, the Secretary shall award grants to 

8 not fewer than 5 Historically Black Colleges and Univer9 sities and other minority-serving institutions that the Sec10 retary determines are able to prepare the next generation 

11 of diverse international affairs professionals with the core 

12 skills necessary to meet the United States’ global diplo13 matic and development imperatives. 

14 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A grant under this section 

15 may be used for— 

16 (1) the purchase, rent, lease, or construction of 

17 institutional facilities; 

18 (2) administrative management, and the acqui19 sition of equipment, including computers, office sup20 plies, software licensing and agreements, and other 

21 materials; 

22 (3) scholarships, fellowships, and other financial 

23 assistance for students and scholars; 

24 (4) the development of curricula and other in25 structional materials; and 


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1 (5) other related activities proposed in the 

2 grant application and approved by the Secretary. 

3 (d) APPLICATION.—Any eligible institution seeking a 

4 grant under this section, including the institutions listed 

5 under subsection (e), may submit an application to the 

6 Secretary that demonstrates how grant funds awarded 

7 pursuant to this section will be used— 

8 (1) to improve graduate educational opportuni9 ties for low-income African Americans, Latinos, His10 panics, or Native Americans students and lead such 

11 students to greater financial independence; 

12 (2) to provide at least 3 weeks of immersive for13 eign language instruction; 

14 (3) to support at least 1 summer or semester 

15 study abroad opportunity; and 

16 (4) to provide instruction on the history and 

17 work of international organizations, including the 

18 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Eu19 rope, the Organization for American States, the Af20 rican Union, the Council of Europe, the European 

21 Union, and the United Nations. 

22 (e) ELIGIBILITY.—Institutions and programs eligible 

23 for grants under this subsection shall include— 

24 (1) the International Affairs Program of the 

25 Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and the 


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1 Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at 

2 Howard University; 

3 (2) Delaware State University; 

4 (3) Fisk University; 

5 (4) Morgan State University; and 

6 (5) South Carolina State University. 

7 (f) INSTITUTIONAL CHOICE.—The president or chan8 cellor of the institution applying for a grant under this 

9 section may select which graduate or professional school 

10 will receive funds received under such grant in any fiscal 

11 year, if the allocation of grant funds among the schools 

12 or programs is delineated in the application submitted to 

13 the Secretary. 

14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 

16 2025 through 2034, $100,000,000, which shall be ex17 pended to carry out the Program. 

18 (h) FUNDING RULE.—Any of the institutions listed 

19 under subsection (e) that receives a grant in a fiscal year 

20 and is eligible to receive another grant in a subsequent 

21 fiscal year shall receive, in the subsequent fiscal year, an 

22 amount in grant funds that is not less than the amount 

23 in grant funds received in any previous fiscal year unless 

24 the amount appropriated for the Program by Congress is 


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1 insufficient to provide such level of grant funding to all 

2 eligible institutions in such fiscal year. 

3 (i) ALCEE L. HASTINGS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

4 FOR TRANSATLANTIC ENGAGEMENT.—Section 6709 of 

5 the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023 (22 

6 U.S.C. 8201 note) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘Alcee L. 

8 Hastings Leadership’’ before ‘‘Institute for Trans9 atlantic Engagement’’; 

10 (2) by striking subsections (f) and (i); and 

11 (3) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

12 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

13 (4) in subsection (g), as redesignated, by strik14 ing ‘‘for fiscal years 2024 and 2025’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘for each fiscal year’’. 

16 (j) ALCEE L. HASTINGS OSCE INTERNSHIP PRO17 GRAM.—Section 9201(a) of Public Law 117–263 (22 

18 U.S.C. 2737) is amended— 

19 (1) in the subsection header, by striking ‘‘IN

20 GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) STUDENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.—The 

24 Secretary’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ALCEE L. HASTINGS OSCE INTERNSHIP

2 PROGRAM.— There is established within the Pro3 gram, the Alcee L. Hastings OSCE Internship Pro4 gram (referred to in this section as the ‘Hastings In5 ternship’), which shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) support not fewer than 57 paid in7 ternships overseas in participating states of the 

8 Organization for Security and Co-operation in 

9 Europe (referred to in this section as ‘OSCE’, 

10 and OSCE partners for co-operation, including 

11 the United States OSCE mission in Vienna, 

12 Austria, and the OSCE Parliamentary Assem13 bly in Copenhagen, Denmark, for under14 graduate students from Historically Black Col15 leges and Universities and other minority-serv16 ing institutions; and 

17 ‘‘(B) convene all Hastings Internship par18 ticipants for a 1-day program in Vienna on the 

19 history and work of the OSCE, including inter20 national election observations.’’. 

21 SEC. 403. ESTABLISHING CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN 

22 FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator, in coordination 

24 with the Secretary, is authorized to designate up to 6 Cen25 ters of Excellence in foreign affairs and assistance at 


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1 HBCUs and other MSIs (referred to in this section as the 

2 ‘‘Centers of Excellence’’) to receive grants and enter into 

3 public-private partnerships to develop professional devel4 opment, certification, research, and consulting programs 

5 that strengthen United States diplomacy and international 

6 development efforts. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

8 shall provide technical assistance to institutions selected 

9 to be Centers of Excellence to assist in fulfilling the goals 

10 of this section, including in developing contracts, operating 

11 agreements, legal documents, and related infrastructure. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the 

14 fiscal years 2025 through 2030 to carry out this section. 

15 SEC. 404. FOREIGN AFFAIRS BRIDGE PROGRAM. 

16 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligi17 ble recipient’’ means an institution— 

18 (1) that is— 

19 (A) a Historically Black College or Univer20 sity; 

21 (B) a Hispanic-serving institution; 

22 (C) a tribally controlled college or univer23 sity; 

24 (D) an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian25 serving institution; or 


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1 (E) an institution of higher education, in2 cluding community colleges and trade schools, 

3 that serves populations that are underrep4 resented in the Department of State or USAID; 

5 and 

6 (2) where the majority of its student population 

7 are members of a population that is underrep8 resented in the Department of State or USAID. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary and the Admin10 istrator are authorized to award up to 6 grants, on a com11 petitive basis, to eligible recipients to establish a Foreign 

12 Affairs Bridge Program (referred to in this section as the 

13 ‘‘Program’’) to enhance the international competitiveness 

14 of the United States by expanding international affairs’ 

15 talent pipelines and recruitment cohorts for individuals be16 tween 18 and 26 years of age from throughout the United 

17 States. 

18 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program shall 

19 be— 

20 (1) to recruit and select a cohort of not fewer 

21 than 50 post-secondary school students at eligible in22 stitutions to interact with and learn from experi23 enced United States foreign affairs practitioners; 

24 (2) to inform Program participants of various 

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1 national exchange, and employment opportunities at 

2 the Department of State, USAID, and other inter3 national affairs agencies; 

4 (3) to deepen Program participants’ knowledge 

5 of foreign affairs and United States foreign policy 

6 and relevant educational and language training, in7 cluding for specific languages and skillsets; and 

8 (4) to include plans for comprehensive 3- to 5- 

9 year programs that include support for— 

10 (A) scholars to study abroad for a semes11 ter or a year; 

12 (B) paid internships during the summer or 

13 during an academic semester; 

14 (C) intensive academic or language train15 ing programs, such as summer institutes or 

16 other programs that support entry into an 

17 international affairs career; and 

18 (D) paid fellowships or stipends for grad19 uate study, including law school and doctoral 

20 degree programs, upon completion of post-sec21 ondary education or certification. 

22 (d) APPLICATION.—Each eligible recipient desiring a 

23 grant under this section shall submit an application at 

24 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in25 formation as the Secretary may reasonably require. 


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1 (e) STIPENDS AUTHORIZED.— 

2 (1) LARRY PALMER STIPENDS.—Eligible recipi3 ents receiving a grant under this section may pro4 vide stipends of up to $5,000 to low-income students 

5 enrolled in the institution to defray the cost of their 

6 participation in the Program, including travel, living, 

7 and educational expenses necessary for such partici8 pation. 

9 (2) ALCEE L. HASTINGS STIPENDS.—Eligible 

10 recipients receiving a grant under this section may 

11 provide stipends of up to $5,000 to low-income stu12 dents attending law school at the institution, includ13 ing students enrolled in dual degree programs, to de14 fray the cost of participation in the Program, includ15 ing travel, living, and educational expenses necessary 

16 for such participation. 

17 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

19 thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary shall 

20 submit a report to the appropriate congressional commit21 tees that describes the activities of the Program during 

22 the most recent academic year, including— 

23 (1) disaggregated demographic data of the indi24 viduals participating in the Program, including— 


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1 (A) the State in which the participant 

2 graduated from high school; and 

3 (B) the institution of higher education in 

4 which the individual is enrolled at the time of 

5 such participation; and 

6 (2) the number of individuals who are consid7 ering careers in the Department of State, USAID, 

8 the Peace Corps, or other international affairs agen9 cies after participation in the Program. 

10 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 

12 2025 through 2035, $2,000,000 for grants authorized 

13 under this section. 

14 SEC. 405. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS GRADUATE FELLOW15 SHIP PROGRAM. 

16 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ex17 cepted service’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

18 2103 of title 5, United States Code. 

19 (b) PROGRAM.—Building upon the success of the 

20 Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship Program, the 

21 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellow22 ship Program, and the USAID Donald M. Payne Inter23 national Development Graduate Fellowship Program in 

24 strengthening career pipelines at the Department of State 

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1 retary and the Administrator) shall establish an Inter2 national Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program (referred 

3 to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’) under which an eligi4 ble individual may— 

5 (1) participate in seminars on international ca6 reer opportunities and a paid fellowship at the re7 spective agency in the United States or at an over8 seas mission, including the United States mission to 

9 the United Nations or other international organiza10 tions; 

11 (2) receive tuition assistance from the agency 

12 for graduate studies, including law school and doc13 torate degrees; 

14 (3) receive an allowance that is equal to the 

15 amount needed for— 

16 (A) the fellow’s reasonable costs during the 

17 period of the Program; and 

18 (B) domestic and international travel and 

19 lodging expenses related to attending all aspects 

20 of the Program, including interviews and ori21 entation; and 

22 (4) upon completion of graduate studies from 

23 an institution of higher education and successful 

24 completion of the Program, as determined by the 


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1 head of the agency, receive an offer of employment 

2 to work in the agency that is in the excepted service. 

3 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual is eligible to partici4 pate in the Program if the individual is— 

5 (1) classified as a junior or senior at a minor6 ity-serving institution; 

7 (2) a member of an underrepresented racial or 

8 ethnic group; or 

9 (3) a resident of a United States territory. 

10 (d) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.—If an individual ac11 cepts an offer of employment under subsection (b)(4), the 

12 head of the agency shall appoint, without regard to provi13 sions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, (except for section 3328 of such title) such 

15 individual to the position specified in such offer. 

16 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there18 after for the following 5 years, the head of the agency shall 

19 submit a report to the appropriate congressional commit20 tees that includes— 

21 (1) the number of individuals participating in 

22 the Program, disaggregated by— 

23 (A) demographic data; 


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1 (B) the institution of higher education in 

2 which the individual is enrolled at the time of 

3 such participation; and 

4 (C) the State in which the individual grad5 uated from high school; and 

6 (2) the number of individuals who accepted an 

7 offer of employment under the Program, the posi8 tions to which each individual was appointed, and 

9 the number of individuals who applied for security 

10 clearances and successfully received security clear11 ances. 

12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to each international affairs 

14 agency such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 

15 Program. 

16 SEC. 406. INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT 

17 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

18 (a) MINORITY EMPLOYMENT.—Section 9701(b) of 

19 the Department of State Authorization Act of 2022 (divi20 sion I of Public Law 117–263; 22 U.S.C. 276c-6) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

23 inserting ‘‘and secure’’ after ‘‘promote’’; 

24 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

25 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 


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1 (3) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes2 ignated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) developing junior professional and other 

4 programs that target underrepresented groups;’’; 

5 and 

6 (4) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, by insert7 ing ‘‘, including to Historically Black Colleges and 

8 Universities and other minority-serving institutions’’ 

9 before the period at the end. 

10 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 6701 of the Department 

11 of State Authorization Act of 2023 (division F of Public 

12 Law 118–31; 22 U.S.C. 276c-7), is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, including 

14 by increasing the number of minorities,’’ after ‘‘citi15 zens’’; and 

16 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 is authorized to be appropriated to the Department such 

20 sums as may be necessary to carry out the grant program 

21 authorized under subsection (a).’’. 


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1 SEC. 407. EXTENDING PATHS TO SERVICE FOR PAID STU2 DENT INTERNS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 

3 CAREERS. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) paid internships offer a strategic avenue for 

7 expanding agency recruitment; and 

8 (2) socioeconomic factors, such as financial 

9 need, have prevented participation in internships 

10 from geographically diverse areas of the United 

11 States, including overseas territories and racially 

12 and ethnically diverse communities, resulting in un13 tapped talent pools for international affairs careers. 

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 9201(c) of the Depart15 ment of State Authorization Act of 2022 (22 U.S.C. 

16 2737(c)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘that includes’’ and inserting 

18 the following: ‘‘that— 

19 ‘‘(1) includes’’; and 

20 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert21 ing the following:’’; and 

22 ‘‘(2) ensures that at least 40 percent of paid in23 terns belong to a racial or ethnic group that has ex24 perienced the effects of past government regulations 

25 or socioeconomic factors, such as financial need, 


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1 which have made it difficult to secure internships or 

2 other employment at a foreign affairs agency; and 

3 ‘‘(3) ensures that at least 5 percent of paid in4 terns are from United States territories.’’. 

5 SEC. 408. FOREIGN SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS FOR GRADUATE 

6 STUDENTS AND FACULTY. 

7 The heads of each international affairs agency shall 

8 establish a Foreign Service fellowship program at their re9 spective agency to provide a fellowship, for a period of not 

10 shorter than 4 months, for minority students enrolled in 

11 an accredited graduate studies program and faculty mem12 bers at institutions of higher education that serve signifi13 cant numbers of students who are from a racial or ethnic 

14 group that is underrepresented in the Foreign Service. 

15 TITLE V—MINORITY BUSINESS 

16 INITIATIVES 

17 SEC. 501. EXPANDING UNITED STATES MINORITY-OWNED 

18 BUSINESS PROCUREMENT AT INTER19 NATIONAL AFFAIRS AGENCIES. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that the involvement of minority-owned businesses 

22 in procurement mutually benefits international affairs 

23 agencies and the United States economy by— 


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1 (1) providing such agencies with needed services 

2 and commodities that advance United States inter3 ests abroad; and 

4 (2) increasing economic opportunities for 

5 United States businesses, organizations, and com6 munities. 

7 (b) DEFINITION.—In this title, the terms ‘‘minority8 owned business’’ and ‘‘section 8(a) business’’ mean a small 

9 business concern owned by African Americans, Hispanic 

10 or Latino Americans, Native Americans, Asian Pacific 

11 Americans, other United States minorities, or any other 

12 individuals found to be socially and economically disadvan13 taged pursuant to section 8(a)(4) of the Small Business 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(4)). 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to each international affairs 

17 agency such sums as may be necessary to develop pro18 grams that expand the total number and dollar amount 

19 of contracts and subcontracts awarded to minority-owned 

20 businesses, including small, minority-owned businesses, by 

21 utilizing set asides, technical assistance, support services, 

22 and other methods. 

23 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

24 the last day of the first fiscal year beginning after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 


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1 for the following 5 years, the head of each international 

2 affairs agency shall submit a report to the appropriate 

3 congressional committees that describes the activities car4 ried out pursuant to subsection (c), including— 

5 (1) with respect to contracts awarded by the 

6 agency to minority-owned businesses— 

7 (A) the total number of minority-owned 

8 business receiving such contracts during the re9 porting period; 

10 (B) the percentage of all contracts entered 

11 into by such agency that involve minority-owned 

12 businesses; and 

13 (C) the aggregate dollar amount of such 

14 contracts; and 

15 (2) with respect to subcontracts awarded by 

16 contractors to minority-owned businesses— 

17 (A) the total number of minority-owned 

18 business receiving such subcontracts during the 

19 reporting period; 

20 (B) the percentage of all subcontracts en21 tered into by such contractors that involve mi22 nority-owned businesses; and 

23 (C) the aggregate dollar amount of such 

24 subcontracts. 


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1 (e) SPENDING PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each 

3 agency shall submit a plan to the appropriate congres4 sional committees that describes how amounts made avail5 able to carry out this section will be used to achieve the 

6 purposes of this section. 

7 SEC. 502. SMALL BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES AND 

8 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 

11 2025 through 2030, $1,000,000 to provide legal and fi12 nancial consulting services, technical assistance, training, 

13 and other support at Small Business Development Centers 

14 and Women’s Business Centers located at HBCUs and 

15 other MSIs, and in rural communities for the purposes 

16 of assisting businesses and new audiences seeking to con17 tract with the Department of State or USAID. 

18 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount appropriated pur19 suant to subsection (a) for each fiscal year— 

20 (1) $500,000 shall be allocated to the Sec21 retary; and 

22 (2) $500,000 shall be allocated to the Adminis23 trator. 


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1 SEC. 503. MINORITY BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL EXPO2 SITION PARTICIPATION. 

3 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec4 retary such sums as may be necessary to support the trav5 el and participation of at least 50 United States minority6 owned businesses in international expositions, including 

7 Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, with a focus on section 8(a) 

8 businesses and HUBZone small business concerns (as de9 fined in section 31(b) of the Small Business Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 657a(b)), which may be planned in coordination 

11 with— 

12 (1) the Global Diversity Export Initiative of the 

13 International Trade Administration; 

14 (2) the Small Business Division of the Export15 Import Bank of the United States; or 

16 (3) any other program for small- and minority17 owned businesses carried out by an international af18 fairs agency. 

19 SEC. 504. EXPANDING UNITED STATES BUSINESS OPPORTU20 NITIES OVERSEAS. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary and 

22 the Administrator should continue to support the Global 

23 Diversity Export Initiative of the United States Commer24 cial Service, which works to bolster exports from United 

25 States businesses founded, owned, or led by African Amer26 icans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native 


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1 Americans, veteran and service-disabled veterans, women, 

2 and LGBTQI+ individuals. 

3 SEC. 505. NONDISCRIMINATION IN FOREIGN ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that terms for the acceptance of Federal awards that 

6 are subsidized, in whole or in part, by foreign assistance 

7 funds administered by USAID or other international af8 fairs agencies prohibits recipients and subrecipients 

9 from— 

10 (1) discriminating against beneficiaries or po11 tential beneficiaries of foreign assistance; or 

12 (2) discriminating in relation to employment de13 cisions to support performance of the award. 

14 (b) CONTRACT TERMS.—The Administrator shall in15 clude, in each contract through which Federal funding is 

16 provided to a non-Federal entity or a foreign public entity, 

17 a provision that authorizes USAID to reduce or terminate 

18 such funding, without penalty, if the recipient or a sub19 recipient of such funding discriminates (and fails to rem20 edy such discrimination) against— 

21 (1) any beneficiary or potential beneficiary of 

22 such funding provided in performance of such con23 tract, including by withholding, adversely impacting, 

24 or denying equitable access to the benefits of such 

25 funding; or 


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1 (2) any employee, agent, or candidate for a po2 sition who is or will be engaged directly in the per3 formance of such contract and whose work will be 

4 subsidized, in whole or in part, by such funding, un5 less such discrimination is expressly permitted by 

6 applicable Federal law. 

7 SEC. 506. NONDISCRIMINATION IN FOREIGN ACQUISITIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unless expressly authorized in the 

9 applicable contract with USAID, a contractor or subcon10 tractor receiving Federal funding from USAID may not 

11 discriminate against— 

12 (1) any end user, prospective end user, or bene13 ficiary of the supplies or services provided as a re14 sult of such contract, including discrimination by 

15 withholding, denying, or adversely impacting equi16 table access to such supplies or services; or 

17 (2) any employee, agent, or candidate for a po18 sition who is or will be directly engaged in the per19 formance of such contract and whose work will be 

20 funded, in whole or in part, with funding provided 

21 through such contract, unless such discrimination is 

22 expressly permitted by applicable United States law. 

23 (b) REQUIRED ACTIONS.—Each contractor and sub24 contractor described in subsection (a) shall take appro25 priate action, up to and including termination, against any 


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1 employee, agent, or subcontractor that violates the prohi2 bition set forth in subsection (a). 

3 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each contractor 

4 and subcontractor described in subsection (a) shall inform 

5 the appropriate contracting officer and the USAID Office 

6 of Inspector General— 

7 (1) immediately after the receipt of any credible 

8 information from any source (including host country 

9 law enforcement) that alleges conduct that violates 

10 subsection (a) by any employee or agent of the con11 tractor or subcontractor; and 

12 (2) of any actions taken by such contractor or 

13 subcontractor against such employee or agent. 

14 SEC. 507. INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC POLICIES AND PRACTICES. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) inclusive trade and economic practices aim 

17 to expand meaningful access to, and improved par18 ticipation in the economy for all segments of society, 

19 including women and other gender marginalized 

20 groups, youth, persons with disabilities, the African 

21 Diaspora, indigenous peoples, local communities, 

22 rural and remote communities, and other tradition23 ally underserved or marginalized communities; 

24 (2) inclusive trade and economic practices in25 clude making strategic, policy, programmatic, and 


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1 budgetary decisions with insight from local and var2 ied stakeholders and providing technical assistance 

3 to communities; 

4 (3) promoting an inclusive approach to trade 

5 and investment is essential to promoting sustainable 

6 economic growth and development in bilateral rela7 tions; and 

8 (4) international affairs agencies should work to 

9 support and implement inclusive trade, investment, 

10 and other economic practices, such as those outlined 

11 in the Office of the United States Trade Representa12 tive’s Kenya chapter on inclusivity. 

Æ 


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