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[House Report 110-537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-537

======================================================================

 
    RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION CIVILIAN MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2008

                                _______
                                

 March 4, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Berman, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1084]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 1084) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, and the 
Foreign Service Act of 1980 to build operational readiness in 
civilian agencies, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
The Amendment....................................................     2
Summary..........................................................     5
Background and Purpose for the Legislation.......................     5
Hearings.........................................................     8
Committee Consideration..........................................     8
Votes of the Committee...........................................     8
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     8
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     8
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     8
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................    13
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................    13
New Advisory Committees..........................................    13
Congressional Accountability Act.................................    13
Earmark Identification...........................................    13
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion.......................    14
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............    19
Exchange of Letters--Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee and 
  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform...................    22

                             The Amendment

  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Reconstruction and Stabilization 
Civilian Management Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

  (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
          (1) In June 2004, the Office of the Coordinator for 
        Reconstruction and Stabilization (referred to as the 
        ``Coordinator'') was established in the Department of State 
        with the mandate to lead, coordinate, and institutionalize 
        United States Government civilian capacity to prevent or 
        prepare for post-conflict situations and help reconstruct and 
        stabilize a country or region that is at risk of, in, or is in 
        transition from, conflict or civil strife.
          (2) In December 2005, the Coordinator's mandate was 
        reaffirmed by the National Security Presidential Directive 44, 
        which instructed the Secretary of State, and at the Secretary's 
        direction, the Coordinator, to coordinate and lead integrated 
        United States Government efforts, involving all United States 
        departments and agencies with relevant capabilities, to 
        prepare, plan for, and conduct reconstruction and stabilization 
        operations.
          (3) National Security Presidential Directive 44 assigns to 
        the Secretary, with the Coordinator's assistance, the lead role 
        to develop reconstruction and stabilization strategies, ensure 
        civilian interagency program and policy coordination, 
        coordinate interagency processes to identify countries at risk 
        of instability, provide decision-makers with detailed options 
        for an integrated United States Government response in 
        connection with reconstruction and stabilization operations, 
        and carry out a wide range of other actions, including the 
        development of a civilian surge capacity to meet reconstruction 
        and stabilization emergencies. The Secretary and the 
        Coordinator are also charged with coordinating with the 
        Department of Defense on reconstruction and stabilization 
        responses, and integrating planning and implementing 
        procedures.
          (4) The Department of Defense issued Directive 3000.05, which 
        establishes that stability operations are a core United States 
        military mission that the Department of Defense must be 
        prepared to conduct and support, provides guidance on stability 
        operations that will evolve over time, and assigns 
        responsibilities within the Department of Defense for planning, 
        training, and preparing to conduct and support stability 
        operations.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development.
          (2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means any entity included in 
        chapter 1 of title 5, United States Code.
          (3) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
          (4) Department.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, 
        the term ``Department'' means the Department of State.
          (5) Personnel.--The term ``personnel'' means individuals 
        serving in any service described in section 2101 of title 5, 
        United States Code, other than in the legislative or judicial 
        branch.
          (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        State.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND 
                    STABILIZATION CRISES.

  Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 617 the 
following new section:

``SEC. 618. ASSISTANCE FOR A RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION CRISIS.

  ``(a) Assistance.--
          ``(1) In general.--If the President determines that it is in 
        the national security interests of the United States for United 
        States civilian agencies or non-Federal employees to assist in 
        reconstructing and stabilizing a country or region that is at 
        risk of, in, or is in transition from, conflict or civil 
        strife, the President may, in accordance with the provisions 
        set forth in section 614(a)(3), subject to paragraph (2) of 
        this subsection but notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
        and on such terms and conditions as the President may 
        determine, furnish assistance to such country or region for 
        reconstruction or stabilization using funds under paragraph 
        (3).
          ``(2) Pre-notification requirement.--The President may not 
        furnish assistance pursuant paragraph (1) until five days 
        (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after 
        the requirements under section 614(a)(3) of this Act are 
        carried out.
          ``(3) Funds.--The funds referred to in paragraph (1) are 
        funds made available under any other provision of law and under 
        other provisions of this Act, and transferred or reprogrammed 
        for purposes of this section, and such transfer or 
        reprogramming shall be subject to the procedures applicable to 
        a notification under section 634A of this Act.
  ``(b) Limitation.--The authority contained in this section may be 
exercised only during fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, except that 
the authority may not be exercised to furnish more than $100,000,000 in 
any such fiscal year.''.

SEC. 5. RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION.

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

``SEC. 62. RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION.

  ``(a) Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and 
Stabilization.--
          ``(1) Establishment.--There is established within the 
        Department of State the Office of the Coordinator for 
        Reconstruction and Stabilization.
          ``(2) Coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization.--The 
        head of the Office shall be the Coordinator for Reconstruction 
        and Stabilization, who shall be appointed by the President, by 
        and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Coordinator 
        shall report directly to the Secretary.
          ``(3) Functions.--The functions of the Office of the 
        Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization shall include 
        the following:
                  ``(A) Monitoring, in coordination with relevant 
                bureaus and offices of the Department of State and the 
                United States Agency for International Development 
                (USAID), political and economic instability worldwide 
                to anticipate the need for mobilizing United States and 
                international assistance for the reconstruction and 
                stabilization of a country or region that is at risk 
                of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil 
                strife.
                  ``(B) Assessing the various types of reconstruction 
                and stabilization crises that could occur and 
                cataloging and monitoring the non-military resources 
                and capabilities of agencies (as such term is defined 
                in section 3 of the Reconstruction and Stabilization 
                Civilian Management Act of 2008) that are available to 
                address such crises.
                  ``(C) Planning, in conjunction with USAID, to address 
                requirements, such as demobilization, disarmament, 
                rebuilding of civil society, policing, human rights 
                monitoring, and public information, that commonly arise 
                in reconstruction and stabilization crises.
                  ``(D) Coordinating with relevant agencies to develop 
                interagency contingency plans and procedures to 
                mobilize and deploy civilian personnel and conduct 
                reconstruction and stabilization operations to address 
                the various types of such crises.
                  ``(E) Entering into appropriate arrangements with 
                agencies to carry out activities under this section and 
                the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian 
                Management Act of 2008.
                  ``(F) Identifying personnel in State and local 
                governments and in the private sector who are available 
                to participate in the Civilian Reserve Corps 
                established under subsection (b) or to otherwise 
                participate in or contribute to reconstruction and 
                stabilization activities.
                  ``(G) Taking steps to ensure that training and 
                education of civilian personnel to perform such 
                reconstruction and stabilization activities is adequate 
                and is carried out, as appropriate, with other agencies 
                involved with stabilization operations.
                  ``(H) Taking steps to ensure that plans for United 
                States reconstruction and stabilization operations are 
                coordinated with and complementary to reconstruction 
                and stabilization activities of other governments and 
                international and nongovernmental organizations, to 
                improve effectiveness and avoid duplication.
                  ``(I) Maintaining the capacity to field on short 
                notice an evaluation team consisting of personnel from 
                all relevant agencies to undertake on-site needs 
                assessment.
  ``(b) Response Readiness Corps.--
          ``(1) Response readiness corps.--The Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development and the heads of other 
        appropriate agencies of the United States Government, may 
        establish and maintain a Response Readiness Corps (referred to 
        in this section as the `Corps') to provide assistance in 
        support of reconstruction and stabilization operations in 
        countries or regions that are at risk of, in, or are in 
        transition from, conflict or civil strife. The Corps shall be 
        composed of active and standby components consisting of United 
        States Government personnel, including employees of the 
        Department of State, the United States Agency for International 
        Development, and other agencies who are recruited and trained 
        (and employed in the case of the active component) to provide 
        such assistance when deployed to do so by the Secretary to 
        support the purposes of this Act.
          ``(2) Civilian reserve corps.--The Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development, may establish a Civilian Reserve 
        Corps for which purpose the Secretary is authorized to employ 
        and train individuals who have the skills necessary for 
        carrying out reconstruction and stabilization activities, and 
        who have volunteered for that purpose. The Secretary may deploy 
        members of the Civilian Reserve Corps pursuant to a 
        determination by the President under section 618 of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961.
          ``(3) Mitigation of domestic impact.--The establishment and 
        deployment of any Civilian Reserve Corps shall be undertaken in 
        a manner that will avoid substantively impairing the capacity 
        and readiness of any State and local governments from which 
        Civilian Reserve Corps personnel may be drawn.
  ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of State such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal years 2007 through 2010 for the Office and to support, 
educate, train, maintain, and deploy a Response Readiness Corps and a 
Civilian Reserve Corps.
  ``(d) Existing Training and Education Programs.--The Secretary shall 
ensure that personnel of the Department, and, in coordination with the 
Administrator of USAID, that personnel of USAID, make use of the 
relevant existing training and education programs offered within the 
Government, such as those at the Center for Stabilization and 
Reconstruction Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and the 
Interagency Training, Education, and After Action Review Program at the 
National Defense University.''.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITIES RELATED TO PERSONNEL.

  (a) Extension of Certain Foreign Service Benefits.--The Secretary, or 
the head of any agency with respect to personnel of that agency, may 
extend to any individuals assigned, detailed, or deployed to carry out 
reconstruction and stabilization activities pursuant to section 62 of 
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by section 
5 of this Act), the benefits or privileges set forth in sections 413, 
704, and 901 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973, 22 
U.S.C. 4024, and 22 U.S.C. 4081) to the same extent and manner that 
such benefits and privileges are extended to members of the Foreign 
Service.
  (b) Authority Regarding Details.--The Secretary is authorized to 
accept details or assignments of any personnel, and any employee of a 
State or local government, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis 
for the purpose of carrying out this Act, and the head of any agency is 
authorized to detail or assign personnel of such agency on a 
reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis to the Department of State for 
purposes of section 62 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 
1956, as added by section 5 of this Act.

SEC. 7. RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION STRATEGY.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, shall develop an interagency strategy to respond to 
reconstruction and stabilization operations.
  (b) Contents.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
          (1) Identification of and efforts to improve the skills sets 
        needed to respond to and support reconstruction and 
        stabilization operations in countries or regions that are at 
        risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil 
        strife.
          (2) Identification of specific agencies that can adequately 
        satisfy the skills sets referred to in paragraph (1).
          (3) Efforts to increase training of Federal civilian 
        personnel to carry out reconstruction and stabilization 
        activities.
          (4) Efforts to develop a database of proven and best 
        practices based on previous reconstruction and stabilization 
        operations.
          (5) A plan to coordinate the activities of agencies involved 
        in reconstruction and stabilization operations.

SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

  Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and annually for each of the five years thereafter, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
on the implementation of this Act. The report shall include detailed 
information on the following:
          (1) Any steps taken to establish a Response Readiness Corps 
        and a Civilian Reserve Corps, pursuant to section 62 of the 
        State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by 
        section 5 of this Act).
          (2) The structure, operations, and cost of the Response 
        Readiness Corps and the Civilian Reserve Corps, if established.
          (3) How the Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian Reserve 
        Corps coordinate, interact, and work with other United States 
        foreign assistance programs.
          (4) An assessment of the impact that deployment of the 
        Civilian Reserve Corps, if any, has had on the capacity and 
        readiness of any domestic agencies or State and local 
        governments from which Civilian Reserve Corps personnel are 
        drawn.
          (5) The reconstruction and stabilization strategy required by 
        section 7 and any annual updates to that strategy.
          (6) Recommendations to improve implementation of subsection 
        (b) of section 62 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act 
        of 1956, including measures to enhance the recruitment and 
        retention of an effective Civilian Reserve Corps.
          (7) A description of anticipated costs associated with the 
        development, annual sustainment, and deployment of the Civilian 
        Reserve Corps.

                                Summary

    H.R. 1084, the ``Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian 
Management Act of 2008,'' amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance to 
stabilize and reconstruct a country or region that is at risk 
of, in, or is in transition from, conflict or civil strife. The 
bill provides the President with the authority to transfer or 
reprogram not more than $100 million in any given fiscal year 
under any other provision of law or under the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 for the purposes of furnishing 
stabilization or reconstruction assistance to a country or 
region that is at risk of, in, or is in transition from, 
conflict or civil strife.
    H.R. 1084 also amends the State Department Basic 
Authorities Act of 1956 by: 1) authorizing the establishment of 
an Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and 
Stabilization within the Department of State to provide 
civilian management of stabilization and reconstruction 
efforts; 2) authorizing the Secretary of State to establish and 
maintain a Response Readiness Corps to provide assistance in 
support of stabilization and reconstruction operations, which 
includes active, standby, and reserve components with various 
functions and responsibilities; and 3) authorizing funds to 
support, educate, train, maintain, and use the Response 
Readiness Corps.
    Finally, the bill provides the Secretary of State with 
various personnel authorities to carry out the Act; requires 
the Secretary of State to develop an interagency strategy to 
respond to stabilization and reconstruction operations; and 
requires the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report 
on implementation of the Act.

                         Background and Purpose

    Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been 
involved in stabilization and reconstruction missions 
throughout the world, without a clearly developed strategy to 
guide U.S. activities and policies. The experiences of the last 
two decades have revealed that the United States Government 
lacks the capacity to train and rapidly deploy civilian 
personnel with relevant expertise to participate in sustained 
stabilization and reconstruction activities. As a result, the 
armed forces have shouldered much of the burden in stability 
operations where civilian expertise should have been brought to 
bear.
    In the 1990s, the Department of State froze hiring of new 
Foreign Service officers for a period of time. USAID dropped 
from a high of 15,000 permanent staff in the 1960s and 1970s to 
about 3,000 officers in the 1990s. Today, the Foreign Service 
component of the USAID footprint has been reduced to 
approximately 1,400 personnel. Throughout this time, experts 
identified the need to improve and increase civilian 
participation in peacekeeping operations, especially for those 
activities related to planning and conducting operations and to 
establishing a secure environment. The May 1997 Presidential 
Decision Directive (PDD) 56, entitled, The Clinton 
Administration's Policy on Managing Complex Contingency 
Operations, constituted an important step forward with respect 
to this problem. PDD 56 sought to address interagency planning 
and coordination problems, but the provisions of this directive 
were never formally implemented. In December 2005, President 
Bush issued National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) 44, 
which replaced PDD 56 and instructed the Secretary of State to 
coordinate and lead integrated United States Government efforts 
to prepare, plan for, and conduct stabilization and 
reconstruction operations.
    Simultaneously, as a result of its experiences in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, the Defense Department issued Directive 3000.05, 
which established that stability operations are a core United 
States military mission that the Department of Defense must be 
prepared to conduct and support. The Committee notes that 
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been a vocal advocate for 
enhancing the capacity of U.S. civilian agencies, specifically 
the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International 
Development. On February 6, 2008, in a House Armed Services 
Committee hearing on the FY2009 budget, Secretary Gates 
expressed his strong support for the Secretary of State's 
request for international affairs funding. He stated that ``we 
need civilian expertise and robust engagement around the world 
to build goodwill, represent United States values and 
commitment to our partners, complement the contributions of our 
military, and set the long-term conditions for peace, 
prosperity, and an environment inhospitable to extremism.''
    Various studies since 2003 have also endorsed the creation 
of cohesive, rapidly-deployable units of civilian experts for 
stabilization and reconstruction operations. In November 2003, 
the National Defense University released a report recommending 
the concurrent deployment of civilian ``stabilization and 
reconstruction'' personnel with combat forces, in order to 
expedite the transfer of responsibilities to civilians. The 
report called for the creation of a standing interagency 
stabilization and reconstruction team within the government, 
along with the development of an ``on-call'' civilian crisis 
management corps of medical, legal, interpretation, and law 
enforcement personnel from state and local governments and the 
private sector. In April 2004, the United States Institute of 
Peace urged the establishment of a reserve corps, as well as a 
separate office in the Office of the Secretary of State that 
would have authority to recruit, deploy, and manage 
constabulary police units, judges, attorneys, and other legal 
professionals. The Defense Science Board recommended in 2004 
that the Department of State ``develop and maintain a portfolio 
of detailed and adaptable plans and capabilities for the 
civilian roles in reconstruction operations'' and that it 
``prepare, deploy, and lead the civilian components of the 
reconstruction missions.'' In a September 2007 report, the 
Government Accountability Office concluded that the Department 
of State lacks staff with appropriate skills to carry out its 
foreign assistance management and responsibilities. Finally, in 
February 2008, the RAND Corporation's report on ``War by Other 
Means: Building Complete and Balanced Capabilities for 
Counterinsurgency,'' recommended a strategy for civil 
counterinsurgency and an assessment of the skills and numbers 
of people as well as the funding needed to implement that 
strategy. The report also noted that the United States is 
``grossly short of civil capabilities for counter-insurgency.'' 
The Committee supports the need to rebuild the civilian 
capacity within the Executive Branch. This legislation is the 
first step toward achieving this goal which is important to the 
promotion of United States' national security priorities.
    The ``Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management 
Act of 2008'' (``the Act'') is designed to improve the capacity 
of the United States civilian agencies to respond to 
stabilization and reconstruction crises. It provides additional 
authority to the President to furnish assistance to countries 
and regions that are at risk of, in, or are in transition from, 
conflicts or civil strife, ensures that the Department of State 
is the lead U.S. agency to plan, prepare for, and coordinate 
United States assistance to respond to stabilization and 
reconstruction crises, and improves the capacity of the United 
States civilian agencies to respond to such crises. Among other 
things, the Act:

         LAuthorizes the President to furnish 
        assistance to countries or regions that are at risk of, 
        in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil strife 
        for stabilization and reconstruction if the President 
        determines that it is in the national security 
        interests of the United States to provide such 
        assistance;

         LAuthorizes the establishment of the Office of 
        the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization 
        within the Department of State and authorizes the head 
        of such office to plan, prepare for, and coordinate the 
        United States response to countries or regions that are 
        at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or 
        civil strife;

         LCreates the Response Readiness Corps 
        consisting of an active and standby component to 
        provide assistance in support of stabilization and 
        reconstruction operations in countries or regions that 
        are at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict 
        or civil strife and a Civilian Reserve Corps composed 
        of individuals who have the skills necessary for 
        carrying out stabilization and reconstruction 
        activities, and who have volunteered to be deployed to 
        carry out such activities in countries or regions that 
        are at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict 
        or civil strife;

         LAuthorizes funding to support, educate, 
        train, maintain, and deploy the Response Readiness 
        Corps and the Civilian Reserve Corps;

         LRequires the Secretary of State to develop an 
        interagency strategy to respond to stabilization and 
        reconstruction operations; and

         LRequires the Secretary of State to submit 
        annual reports on the implementation of the Act.

                                Hearings

    On February 12, 2008, the Committee held a hearing 
entitled, ``International Relations Budget for Fiscal Year 
2009.'' Testimony was given by Secretary of State Condoleezza 
Rice, and she discussed the President's request for funding a 
Civilian Response Corps and the need for increasing the 
capacity of the United States civilian agencies. On February 7, 
2007, the Committee held a hearing entitled, ``International 
Relations Budget for Fiscal Year 2008,'' in which the Committee 
heard testimony from Secretary Rice on the need to establish a 
Civilian Response Corps and to increase funding for a U.S. 
civilian response to stabilization and reconstruction crises.

                        Committee Consideration

    On February 27, 2008, the Committee held a markup and 
considered H.R. 1084. H.R. 1084 was ordered favorably reported, 
as amended, by unanimous consent, a quorum being present.

                         Votes of the Committee

    There were no recorded votes ordered on H.R. 1084.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    This legislation authorizes the President to transfer or 
reprogram up to $100 million in any given fiscal year under any 
other provision of law or under the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 for the purposes of furnishing stabilization or 
reconstruction assistance to a country or region that is at 
risk of, in, or is in transition from, conflict or civil 
strife. This legislation also authorizes funding to support, 
educate, train, maintain, and deploy the Response Readiness 
Corps and the Civilian Reserve Corps.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 1084, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under Section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, March 4, 2008.
Hon. Howard L. Berman, Acting Chairman,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1084, the 
Stabilization and Reconstruction Civilian Management Act of 
2008.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita 
D'Monte, who can be reached at 226-2840.
            Sincerely,
                                           Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
        Ranking Member
H.R. 1084--Stabilization and Reconstruction Civilian Management Act of 
        2008

                                SUMMARY

    H.R. 1084 would establish an Office of the Coordinator for 
Reconstruction and Stabilization within the Department of State 
to conduct reconstruction and stabilization operations. The 
bill would authorize the Secretary of State to establish and 
maintain a response readiness corps and a civilian reserve 
corps and would authorize the appropriation of such sums as may 
be necessary over the 2007-2010 period for personnel, education 
and training, equipment, travel, and deployment costs. The bill 
also would authorize the President to provide assistance of up 
to $100 million a year over the 2008-2010 period to stabilize 
and rebuild a country or region that is in, or emerging from, 
conflict or civil strife.
    CBO estimates that H.R. 1084 would increase discretionary 
spending by $620 million over the 2009-2013 period, assuming 
appropriation of the estimated amounts. Implementing the bill 
would have an insignificant effect on direct spending and no 
effect on revenues.
    H.R. 1084 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.

                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 1084 is shown in the 
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within 
budget function 150 (international affairs).

                                     By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       2009     2010     2011     2012     2013
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION\1\
Reconstruction and Stabilization                                         250      202        0        0        0
  Estimated Authorization Level
  Estimated Outlays                                                      213      199       25        3        1

Foreign Assistance                                                       100      100        0        0        0
  Estimated Authorization Level
  Estimated Outlays                                                       23       57       50       30       20

Total Changes                                                            350      302        0        0        0
  Estimated Authorization Level
  Estimated Outlays                                                      236      256       75       33       21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Enacting H.R. 1084 also would affect direct spending, but CBO estimates that those effects would be less than
  $500,000 a year.

                           BASIS OF ESTIMATE

    CBO estimates that under H.R. 1084 the Department of State 
would require additional appropriations of $350 million in 2009 
and $302 million in 2010. For this estimate, CBO assumes that 
this legislation will be enacted before the end of fiscal year 
2008, that the estimated authorization amounts will be 
appropriated near the start of each fiscal year, and that 
outlays will follow historical spending patterns for similar 
programs.
Spending Subject to Appropriation
    H.R. 1084 would establish a new program of stabilization 
and reconstruction efforts at the Department of State, for 
which we estimate funding requirements of about $450 million 
over the next two years, and would authorize up to $100 million 
a year over the 2008-2010 period in foreign assistance. In 
total, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $620 
million over the 2009-2013 period, assuming appropriation of 
the necessary amounts.
    Reconstruction and Stabilization. Section 5 would formalize 
a new initiative within the State Department to provide 
civilian management of stabilization and reconstruction efforts 
and authorize the Secretary of State to establish and maintain 
a response readiness corps and a civilian reserve corps to 
carry out those efforts. CBO expects that this authority would 
be employed in a manner consistent with the Civilian 
Stabilization Initiative proposed in the President's recent 
budget submission to the Congress. Under that proposal, the 
response readiness corps would be composed of an active 
component of 250 federal employees assigned to the program full 
time and a standby component with 2,000 employees from various 
civilian federal agencies who could be called upon as needed, 
and the civilian reserve corps would include 2,000 volunteers 
drawn from the private sector and state and local governments.
    The bill would authorize the appropriation of such sums as 
may be necessary through 2010 for personnel, education and 
training, equipment, travel, and deployment costs related to 
those corps. In addition, Public Law 110-28 (the U.S. Troop 
Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq 
Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007) provided up to $50 
million for the civilian reserve corps, contingent on future 
authorization by the Congress. Under current law, the 
department plans to use those funds for existing programs and 
activities. Under H.R. 1084, the department would use about $26 
million to develop training programs and to start a recruiting 
program for the civilian reserve. However, CBO estimates that 
those funds would be spent at about the same rate under H.R. 
1084 as under current law.
    The costs of this program would include:

         LOperating expenses for the Office of the 
        Coordinator,

         LPay and benefits for 250 new full-time 
        employees,

         LAmounts for training and equipping 4,250 
        active, standby, and civilian reserve members, and

         LContingency funds to initiate mobilization 
        and deployment of the corps.

    Based on information provided by the Department of State, 
CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost 
$440 million over the 2009-2013 period, assuming appropriation 
of the necessary amounts in 2009 and 2010.
    Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and 
Stabilization. The Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction 
and Stabilization was created in the State Department in 2004. 
Section 5 would codify the establishment of that office and 
specify its responsibility to monitor and assess international 
crises, to prepare contingency plans for various types of 
crises, to coordinate plans with other agencies, to identify 
and train personnel with the necessary skills for stabilization 
and reconstruction operations, and should the President decide 
it is in the national interest, to coordinate the U.S. 
assistance in stabilizing and reconstructing the affected 
country or region. CBO estimates that the office would require 
appropriations of $23 million a year in each of 2009 and 2010.
    Response Readiness Corps. Section 5(b) would authorize the 
establishment of a response readiness corps with active and 
standby components composed of federal employees. CBO estimates 
that implementing that provision would require appropriations 
of $76 million in 2009 and $67 million in 2010.
    CBO estimates that the 250-member active component would 
deploy frequently, but in small numbers and to relatively safe 
environments, and that it would require annual appropriations 
of about $37 million in 2009 and $36 million in 2010. Those 
amounts include annual per capita costs of about $110,000 for 
salary and benefits, $5,000 for office support, and $10,000 for 
travel. In 2009, average costs for equipment and training would 
be about $20,000, but those costs would decline in 2010 to 
about $16,000.
    The standby and reserve corps would be available should the 
President determine that national security interests required a 
larger, more-sustained presence. Since the standby component of 
the response readiness corps would be drawn from among existing 
federal employees, costs for those members when not deployed 
would be limited to the costs of training and equipment. As 
with the active-component members, CBO estimates that average 
costs for training and equipment would be about $20,000 in 2009 
and $16,000 in 2010. CBO estimates the standby component would 
require appropriations of $39 million in 2009 and $31 million 
in 2010.
    Civilian Reserve Corps. In its first full year, CBO 
estimates the 2,000-member civilian reserve corps would have 
average per capita costs of $8,500 for recruitment, screening, 
and enrollment; $18,000 for training and equipment; $10,400 for 
salary during training; and $6,500 for administrative expenses. 
In 2010, costs for recruitment, screening, and enrollment would 
fall by two-thirds and costs for training and equipment would 
fall by one-half. Training pay also would decline in 2010 to an 
average of $6,200 and administrative costs would average 
$5,600. In total, CBO estimates the corps would require 
appropriations of $87 million in 2009 and $47 million in 2010.
    Contingency Costs. Should the President determine that a 
larger presence was required, the standby and civilian reserve 
corps members could be activated, generally deploying alongside 
military forces. Over a two-month period, CBO estimates that 
mobilizing a small force of about 130 members--three field 
teams of 25 members each and a headquarters unit of 55 
members--would require annual appropriations of about $65 
million. That amount would include about $30 million for pay 
and allowances, equipment, travel, predeployment training, and 
supplies. Based on the costs of security for similar teams in 
Afghanistan, CBO estimates that security costs would be about 
$22 million and contracts for experts in various fields would 
amount to $13 million.
    Any contingency could expand beyond the initial 130 members 
and would likely continue well beyond two months. The 
President's initiative envisions the program having sufficient 
funds to initiate a deployment, and then either transferring 
the necessary amounts from other accounts or requesting 
additional funds from the Congress for an extended deployment. 
CBO cannot predict the extent or cost of such contingencies.
    Foreign Assistance. Section 4 would authorize the President 
to provide assistance of up to $100 million a year over the 
2008-2010 period to stabilize and rebuild a country or region 
that is in, or emerging from, conflict or civil strife. 
Considering the number of regions in the world in conflict or 
recovering from conflict and the magnitude of the 
appropriations for the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan 
(more than $30 billion over the 2003-2008 period), 
reconstruction efforts could require much higher funding. 
Accordingly, CBO expects that those funds would be used for an 
initial response to an international crisis and not for major 
reconstruction efforts and would be expended for a mix of 
activities with an aggregate spending pattern similar to that 
of the Economic Support Fund (a program that provides 
assistance to promote economic growth, free markets, and 
sustainable democracy). CBO estimates that implementing this 
provision would cost $180 million over the 2009-2013 period, 
assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
Direct Spending
    Enacting H.R. 1084 would have an insignificant effect on 
direct spending for retirement benefits. Depending on the 
circumstances, designating volunteers for the civilian reserve 
corps as temporary federal employees could result in either 
small costs or small savings to the federal retirement 
programs. CBO estimates that any effects would be insignificant 
for each year.

              INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

    H.R. 1084 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, 
local, or tribal governments.

                         PREVIOUS CBO ESTIMATE

    On April 2, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
613, the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management 
Act of 2007, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Foreign Relations on March 28, 2007. The bills and their five-
year costs are similar, but S. 613 would provide specific 
authorizations of appropriations for the 2008-2012 period while 
H.R. 1084 would authorize the appropriation of such sums as may 
be necessary over the 2008-2010 period.

                         ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:

Federal Costs: Sunita D'Monte (226-2840)
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Neil Hood (225-
        3220)
Impact on the Private Sector: Jacob Kuipers (226-2940)

                         ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:

Peter H. Fontaine
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause (3)(c) of House rule XIII, upon 
enactment of this legislation, the Department of State and 
USAID would begin to rebuild the civilian capacity to respond 
to stabilization and reconstruction crises.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d) (1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority 
for this legislation in article I, section 8 of the 
Constitution.

                        New Advisory Committees

    H.R. 1084 does not establish or authorize any new advisory 
committees.

                    Congressional Accountability Act

    H.R. 1084 does not apply to the Legislative Branch.

                         Earmark Identification

    H.R. 1084 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.

               Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion

Section 1. Short Title
    This section states that the act may be referred to as the 
``Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 
2008.''
Section 2. Findings
    This section contains congressional findings describing 
efforts to improve the United States' capacity to respond to 
stabilization and reconstruction operations, including the 
establishment of the Office of the Coordinator for 
Stabilization and Reconstruction in June 2004, the issuance of 
the National Security Presidential Directive 44 which 
instructed the Secretary of State to coordinate and lead 
integrated United States Government efforts to prepare, plan 
for, and conduct stabilization and reconstruction operations, 
and release of Department of Defense Directive 3000.05 which 
established that stability operations are a core United States 
military mission that the Department of Defense must be 
prepared to conduct and support.
Section 3. Definitions
    This section provides definitions for use in the act.
Section 4. Authority to Provide Assistance for Stabilization and 
        Reconstruction Crises
    Section 4 amends Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 196.1 by adding section 618--Assistance for a 
Reconstruction and Stabilization Crisis--which provides that 
the President may, in accordance with section 614(a)(3) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act, and subject to pre-notification 
requirements and notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
furnish assistance to a country or region that is at risk of, 
in, or is in transition from, conflict or civil strife for 
stabilization or reconstruction if the President determines 
that it is in the national security interests of the United 
States for United States civilian agencies or non-Federal 
employees to assist in stabilizing or reconstructing such 
country or region. Section 618 prohibits the President from 
providing stabilization and reconstruction assistance unless 
Congress is notified five working days before such assistance 
is provided. This section also allows funds to be made 
available (subject to the same pre-notification requirements) 
for stabilization and reconstruction assistance under any other 
provision of law and under provisions of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 that are transferred or reprogrammed for the 
purpose of carrying out stabilization and reconstruction 
assistance.
    The Committee recognizes that the authority to provide 
stabilization and reconstruction assistance is in addition to 
other authorities to provide similar assistance, and thus, the 
fact that not more than $100,000,000 may be used annually under 
this authority does not preclude additional funds being used 
under separate authorities. The Committee understands that the 
authority of this section can be exercised with respect to 
funds transferred under section 1207 of the FY 2006 National 
Defense Authorization Act, as amended by Section 1210 of the FY 
2008 National Defense Authorization Act, subject to the 
requirement for notification in accordance with the procedures 
that apply to section 634 of the Foreign Assistance Act and the 
$100,000,000 limitation described above.
    The use of the phrase ``country or region'' in this section 
and elsewhere in the bill is not meant to allow for the 
designation of a multi-country region in a way that subverts 
the need for country-specific determinations under section 618. 
Instead, the term ``region'' is included to accommodate cases 
in which it may not be practicable to recognize a certain 
territory as being a ``country,'' for example, in cases where 
sovereignty over an area is in dispute.
Section 5. Reconstruction and Stabilization
    This section amends Title I of the State Department Basic 
Authorities Act of 1956 by adding Section 62, which establishes 
the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and 
Stabilization within the Department of State and creates the 
Response Readiness Corps.
    The new section 62(a) codifies the Office of the 
Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization at the State 
Department, which was established in June, 2004. This section 
requires that the Coordinator be appointed by the President 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Coordinator will 
report directly to the Secretary.
    Section 62(a) outlines the functions of the Office of the 
Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. The Committee 
expects the Office to coordinate with relevant bureaus and 
offices within the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for 
International Development in monitoring political and economic 
stability worldwide. The Committee expects the Office to 
provide fulsome briefings to the Committee on its efforts to 
monitor such instability and efforts taken to address such 
instability through the provision of U.S. assistance. In 
monitoring for potential crises, the Office should utilize the 
current intelligence, data collection and monitoring efforts of 
other agencies as well as available information gathered by 
international organizations and other countries.
    Subsection (a) of the new section also directs the Office 
to plan and prepare for stabilization and reconstruction crises 
to address law enforcement, security, human rights, 
humanitarian, and economic issues that may arise in such 
crises. The Committee strongly urges the Office to work with 
the U.S. Agency for International Development in planning, 
preparing, and deploying personnel for stabilization and 
reconstruction crises as it relates to humanitarian, human 
rights, and economic issues. In particular, the Committee 
expects the Office to draw upon the experience and expertise of 
the Disaster Assistance Response Teams under the Office of 
Disaster Assistance and the Office of Transition Initiatives 
within the U.S. Agency for International Development. These two 
entities have long histories in responding to humanitarian 
crises and post-conflict situations and are experienced in 
conducting assessments and programs in areas such as Iraq, 
Afghanistan, Haiti, the Balkans, Pakistan, and Democratic 
Republic of Congo, among others. The Committee believes that 
the Office should learn from such experiences when it utilizes 
its own personnel who are deployed on short notice to undertake 
on-site needs assessments. Moreover, this new provision of law 
does not preclude the President from designating an official 
from outside the Department of State, particularly an official 
of USAID, to act as coordinator for reconstruction and 
stabilization assistance.
    The Office should also enter into appropriate arrangements 
with other agencies, such as the Department of Defense, the 
Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and 
Human Services, to ensure effective and efficient interagency 
planning, preparation, and implementation of activities in 
response to countries or regions that are at risk of, in, or 
are in transition from, conflict or civil strife. Given that 
State and local governments, and the private sector have 
extensive expertise in areas impacted by stabilization and 
reconstruction crises, such as law enforcement, engineering and 
infrastructure management, and rule of law, the Committee 
expects that the Office will work to identify volunteers from 
such entities who are available to participate in the Civilian 
Reserve Corps established by this Act. The Committee believes 
that personnel in the Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian 
Reserve Corps should have the necessary training and education 
in relevant stabilization and reconstruction activities, such 
as language training, conflict mediation, rule of law, law 
enforcement, human rights, and disaster assistance, and that 
such training and education is carried out with other United 
States agencies involved with stabilization operations.
    Stabilization and reconstruction crises can have a 
significant impact on peace and global security. As a result, 
other countries and international organizations, such as the 
United Nations, are heavily engaged in providing assistance to 
countries and regions impacted by conflict or civil strife. As 
a result, the Committee finds it extremely important that the 
Office coordinate the activities of the United States with 
other governments and international organizations in order to 
improve effectiveness and avoid duplication.
    Section 62(b), as amended by Section 5 of the 
``Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 
2008,'' authorizes the Secretary of State, in consultation with 
the Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International 
Development and heads of other appropriate agencies of the 
United States Government, to establish a Response Readiness 
Corps which contains an active and standby component consisting 
of United States Government personnel, including employees of 
the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International 
Development, and other agencies who are recruited and trained 
to provide assistance when deployed to respond to stabilization 
and reconstruction crises. The Committee believes that 
personnel from other agencies, including, as appropriate, 
members of the uniformed services of the Department of Defense, 
may participate in the active and standby components of the 
Response Readiness Corps. Although the Corps may include 
personnel from USAID and other agencies, its activities should 
be complementary to, but distinct from, the activities of those 
other agencies, particularly in light of the higher threshold 
that limits its deployment to genuine crises and conflicts.
    Subsection (b) of Section 62 also authorizes the Secretary 
of State, in consultation with the Administrator for the U.S. 
Agency for International Development, to establish a Civilian 
Reserve Corps. The Civilian Reserve Corps may include employees 
from State and local governments, the private sector (including 
employees of nongovernmental organizations), and retired 
Federal employees or retired military. The bill also authorizes 
the Secretary of State to employ and train such individuals 
with the skills necessary for carrying out stabilization and 
reconstruction activities. In both the Response Readiness Corps 
and the Civilian Reserve Corps, the Committee expects that the 
areas of expertise of the individuals making up both entities 
might include, but not be limited to, public information and 
communications, rule of law, governance and civil 
administration, security and public order, health and 
education, and construction and engineering. The Committee also 
expects that such individuals will have the requisite regional 
or country expertise and the necessary language skills. The 
Committee commends the Department of State for taking initial 
steps to establish the active, standby, and reserve components 
of the Response Readiness Corps and expects that the authority 
provided in this legislation will bolster such efforts. The 
Committee believes that the Civilian Reserve Corps should only 
be deployed in cases where the President determines that it is 
in the national security interests of the United States to 
furnish assistance to countries or regions that are at risk of, 
in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil strife. As 
directed by subparagraph (3) of subsection 62(b), the Committee 
expects that the Civilian Reserve Corps will be established and 
deployed in a manner that does not substantively impair the 
capacity and readiness of any State and local government from 
which personnel of the Corps may be drawn.
    The Committee fully expects that the Secretary will take 
all steps necessary to ensure the voluntariness of service by 
individual members of the Civilian Reserve Corps. For example, 
any agreements or memoranda of understanding with State or 
local governments should include provisions to ensure that any 
State or local employee who might be detailed to or deployed by 
the Civilian Reserve Corps has personally consented to such 
service.
    Subsection(c) of Section 62 authorizes funding to the 
Secretary of State for fiscal years 2007 through 2010 for the 
Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization 
and to support, educate, train, maintain, and deploy a Response 
Readiness Corps and a Civilian Reserve Corps. The Committee 
intends with this provision to allow the Department of State to 
use up to $50 million for the Civilian Reserve Corps that was 
appropriated in the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, 
Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 
2007. The Committee understands that approximately $25 million 
remains from this appropriation and authorizes the Secretary of 
State to utilize such funding for the establishment and 
deployment of the Civilian Reserve Corps. Although by its terms 
funds are authorized to the Secretary of State, the Committee 
believes that it would not be inconsistent with section 62(c) 
to have some of the funds for the active component of the 
Response Readiness Corps be made available to other agencies 
where members of the Corps will be employed on a day-to-day 
basis. Such an approach would be consistent, for example, with 
efforts in the President's request to increase the capacity of 
USAID.
    Subsection (d) of Section 62 requires the Secretary of 
State to ensure that personnel of the Department of State 
utilize the relevant existing training and education programs 
offered within the U.S. Government. The Committee believes that 
training of civilian government personnel to assist in post-
conflict stabilization and reconstruction operations has been 
lacking. The Committee notes that there are notable training 
and education programs offered at the Center for Stabilization 
and Reconstruction Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and 
the Interagency Training, Education, and After Action Review 
Program at the National Defense University. The Committee 
strongly encourages the Secretary of State to ensure that 
members of the Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian 
Reserve Corps participate in such programs before deployment. 
Such programs should ensure that members who are deployed have 
had extensive training on stabilization and reconstruction with 
their counterparts in other U.S. agencies, including the 
Department of Defense.
Section 6. Authorities Related to Personnel
    This section authorizes the Secretary of State, or the head 
of any U.S. agency with respect to personnel of that agency, to 
extend to any individual assigned, detailed, or deployed under 
this Act certain death gratuity, training, and travel expense 
benefits or privileges that are provided to members of the 
Foreign Service under the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The 
Committee also authorizes the Secretary of State to accept 
detailees or assignments from other executive agencies, members 
of the uniformed services, and employees of State or local 
governments on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis. The 
Committee understands that concerns have been raised by certain 
agencies that they do not have authority to provide their 
personnel on a non-reimbursable basis for the purposes 
described in this Act. Therefore, the Committee specifically 
authorizes the head of any U.S. agency to detail or assign its 
personnel on a reimbursable and a non-reimbursable basis in 
order to participate in the Response Readiness Corps.
Section 7. Reconstruction and Stabilization Strategy
    The Committee notes that, despite the National Security 
President Directive 44 and the Department of Defense Directive 
3000.05, the United States Government lacks a comprehensive and 
coherent interagency strategy to respond to stabilization and 
reconstruction operations. This section requires the Secretary 
of State to develop such a strategy which would include, but 
not be limited to: the identification of, and efforts to 
improve, the skills set needed to respond to and support 
stabilization and reconstruction operations; the identification 
of specific agencies that can adequately satisfy such skills 
sets; efforts to increase training of Federal civilian 
personnel to carry out stabilization and reconstruction 
activities; efforts to develop a database of proven and best 
practices based on previous stabilization and reconstruction 
operations; and a plan to coordinate the activities of agencies 
involved in stabilization and reconstruction operations. The 
Committee expects that in developing a strategy with regard to 
specific stabilization and reconstruction operations and the 
furnishing of assistance for such purposes, the Secretary of 
State shall coordinate with relevant ambassadors in the field, 
along with the Administrator of USAID and relevant USAID 
bureaus and missions. As our nation's primary international 
development agency, USAID plays a leading role in shaping and 
implementing development policy. Given USAID's expertise and 
experience in humanitarian and reconstruction activities, and 
the inevitable use of certain funds administered by USAID for 
reconstruction and stabilization operations, the Committee 
expects a significant role for USAID in these activities. 
However, the Committee notes that the descent of a country or 
region into conflict or civil strife may require the Department 
of State and USAID to reevaluate the long-term goals for such 
country or region.
Section 8. Annual Reports to Congress
    This section requires the Secretary of State to submit a 
report on the implementation of this Act to the House Committee 
on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign 
Relations 180 days after enactment and annually thereafter. The 
Committee expects the Secretary of State to provide information 
on efforts to establish the Response Readiness Corps and the 
Civilian Reserve Corps, including any obstacles perceived in 
establishing such entities. The Committee also encourages the 
Secretary of State to provide recommendations to improve 
implementation of the Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian 
Reserve Corps, including legislation that may be necessary to 
enhance the recruitment and retention of an effective Civilian 
Reserve Corps. The Committee remains concerned about the 
anticipated costs in setting up, maintaining, and deploying the 
Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian Reserve Corps, and 
expects the Secretary of State to include a description of such 
costs in the annual reports. As underscored by subsection (3), 
the Committee also remains concerned that Corps activities 
should be coordinated with other United States foreign 
assistance activities in order to improve efficiency and avoid 
duplication. As indicated by the reporting requirements of 
subsection (4), the Committee intends to monitor compliance 
with the new section 62(b)(3) of Title I of the State 
Department Basic Authorities Act (added by section 5 of the 
bill), which directs that the establishment and deployment of a 
Civilian Reserve Corps shall avoid substantively impairing the 
domestic capacity of State and local governments whose 
personnel may volunteer for service.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

           SECTION 618 OF THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961

SEC. 618. ASSISTANCE FOR A RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION CRISIS.

  (a) Assistance.--
          (1) In general.--If the President determines that it 
        is in the national security interests of the United 
        States for United States civilian agencies or non-
        Federal employees to assist in reconstructing and 
        stabilizing a country or region that is at risk of, in, 
        or is in transition from, conflict or civil strife, the 
        President may, in accordance with the provisions set 
        forth in section 614(a)(3), subject to paragraph (2) of 
        this subsection but notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, and on such terms and conditions as the 
        President may determine, furnish assistance to such 
        country or region for reconstruction or stabilization 
        using funds under paragraph (3).
          (2) Pre-notification requirement.--The President may 
        not furnish assistance pursuant paragraph (1) until 
        five days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 
        public holidays) after the requirements under section 
        614(a)(3) of this Act are carried out.
          (3) Funds.--The funds referred to in paragraph (1) 
        are funds made available under any other provision of 
        law and under other provisions of this Act, and 
        transferred or reprogrammed for purposes of this 
        section, and such transfer or reprogramming shall be 
        subject to the procedures applicable to a notification 
        under section 634A of this Act.
  (b) Limitation.--The authority contained in this section may 
be exercised only during fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, 
except that the authority may not be exercised to furnish more 
than $100,000,000 in any such fiscal year.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                              ----------                              

STATE DEPARTMENT BASIC AUTHORITIES ACT OF 1956

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

TITLE I--BASIC AUTHORITIES GENERALLY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 62. RECONSTRUCTION AND STABILIZATION.

  (a) Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and 
Stabilization.--
          (1) Establishment.--There is established within the 
        Department of State the Office of the Coordinator for 
        Reconstruction and Stabilization.
          (2) Coordinator for reconstruction and 
        stabilization.--The head of the Office shall be the 
        Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, who 
        shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
        advice and consent of the Senate. The Coordinator shall 
        report directly to the Secretary.
          (3) Functions.--The functions of the Office of the 
        Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization shall 
        include the following:
                  (A) Monitoring, in coordination with relevant 
                bureaus and offices of the Department of State 
                and the United States Agency for International 
                Development (USAID), political and economic 
                instability worldwide to anticipate the need 
                for mobilizing United States and international 
                assistance for the reconstruction and 
                stabilization of a country or region that is at 
                risk of, in, or are in transition from, 
                conflict or civil strife.
                  (B) Assessing the various types of 
                reconstruction and stabilization crises that 
                could occur and cataloging and monitoring the 
                non-military resources and capabilities of 
                agencies (as such term is defined in section 3 
                of the Reconstruction and Stabilization 
                Civilian Management Act of 2008) that are 
                available to address such crises.
                  (C) Planning, in conjunction with USAID, to 
                address requirements, such as demobilization, 
                disarmament, rebuilding of civil society, 
                policing, human rights monitoring, and public 
                information, that commonly arise in 
                reconstruction and stabilization crises.
                  (D) Coordinating with relevant agencies to 
                develop interagency contingency plans and 
                procedures to mobilize and deploy civilian 
                personnel and conduct reconstruction and 
                stabilization operations to address the various 
                types of such crises.
                  (E) Entering into appropriate arrangements 
                with agencies to carry out activities under 
                this section and the Reconstruction and 
                Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008.
                  (F) Identifying personnel in State and local 
                governments and in the private sector who are 
                available to participate in the Civilian 
                Reserve Corps established under subsection (b) 
                or to otherwise participate in or contribute to 
                reconstruction and stabilization activities.
                  (G) Taking steps to ensure that training and 
                education of civilian personnel to perform such 
                reconstruction and stabilization activities is 
                adequate and is carried out, as appropriate, 
                with other agencies involved with stabilization 
                operations.
                  (H) Taking steps to ensure that plans for 
                United States reconstruction and stabilization 
                operations are coordinated with and 
                complementary to reconstruction and 
                stabilization activities of other governments 
                and international and nongovernmental 
                organizations, to improve effectiveness and 
                avoid duplication.
                  (I) Maintaining the capacity to field on 
                short notice an evaluation team consisting of 
                personnel from all relevant agencies to 
                undertake on-site needs assessment.
  (b) Response Readiness Corps.--
          (1) Response readiness corps.--The Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development and the 
        heads of other appropriate agencies of the United 
        States Government, may establish and maintain a 
        Response Readiness Corps (referred to in this section 
        as the ``Corps'') to provide assistance in support of 
        reconstruction and stabilization operations in 
        countries or regions that are at risk of, in, or are in 
        transition from, conflict or civil strife. The Corps 
        shall be composed of active and standby components 
        consisting of United States Government personnel, 
        including employees of the Department of State, the 
        United States Agency for International Development, and 
        other agencies who are recruited and trained (and 
        employed in the case of the active component) to 
        provide such assistance when deployed to do so by the 
        Secretary to support the purposes of this Act.
          (2) Civilian reserve corps.--The Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development, may 
        establish a Civilian Reserve Corps for which purpose 
        the Secretary is authorized to employ and train 
        individuals who have the skills necessary for carrying 
        out reconstruction and stabilization activities, and 
        who have volunteered for that purpose. The Secretary 
        may deploy members of the Civilian Reserve Corps 
        pursuant to a determination by the President under 
        section 618 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
          (3) Mitigation of domestic impact.--The establishment 
        and deployment of any Civilian Reserve Corps shall be 
        undertaken in a manner that will avoid substantively 
        impairing the capacity and readiness of any State and 
        local governments from which Civilian Reserve Corps 
        personnel may be drawn.
  (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary of State such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 2007 through 2010 for the Office and 
to support, educate, train, maintain, and deploy a Response 
Readiness Corps and a Civilian Reserve Corps.
  (d) Existing Training and Education Programs.--The Secretary 
shall ensure that personnel of the Department, and, in 
coordination with the Administrator of USAID, that personnel of 
USAID, make use of the relevant existing training and education 
programs offered within the Government, such as those at the 
Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies at the 
Naval Postgraduate School and the Interagency Training, 
Education, and After Action Review Program at the National 
Defense University.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Exchange of Letters--Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee and 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

                                     U.S. Congress,
                              Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                                     Washington, DC, March 4, 2008.
Hon. Henry A. Waxman, Chairman,
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. 
1084, the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management 
Act of 2008, which authorizes the President to provide 
assistance to stabilize and reconstruct a country or region 
that is at risk of, in, or is in transition from, conflict or 
civil strife, and establishes a Response Readiness Corps and 
Civilian Reserve Corps to respond to such country or region.
    I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this 
legislation. I recognize that the bill contains provisions that 
fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform. I acknowledge that the Committee will not 
seek a sequential referral of the bill and agree that the 
inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill. does not 
prejudice the Oversight Committee's jurisdictional interests 
and prerogatives regarding this bill or similar legislation
    Further, as to any House-Senate conference on the bill, I 
understand that your committee reserves the right to seek the 
appointment of conferees for consideration of portions of the 
bill that are within the Committee's jurisdiction, and I agree 
to support a request by the Committee with respect to serving 
as conferees on the bill (or similar legislation).
    I will ensure that our of letters is included in my 
Committee's report on the bill and in the Congressional Record 
during consideration on the House floor of H.R. 1084, and I 
look forward to working with you on this important legislation
            Cordially,
                            Howard Berman, Acting Chairman.
                              ----------                              

                                     U.S. Congress,
                              Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                                     Washington, DC, March 4, 2008.
Hon. Howard Berman, Acting Chairman,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Chairman Berman: I am writing to confirm our mutual 
understanding with respect to the consideration of H.R. 1084, 
the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 
2008.
    As you know, on February 27, 2008, the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs ordered H.R. 1084 reported to the House. The Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform (Oversight Committee) 
appreciates your effort to consult regarding those provisions 
of H.R. 1084 that fall within the Oversight Committee's 
jurisdiction, including matters related to the federal 
workforce.
    In the interest of expediting consideration of H.R. 1084, 
the Oversight Committee will not separately consider this 
legislation. The Oversight Committee does so, however, with the 
understanding that this does not prejudice the Oversight 
Committee's jurisdictional interests and prerogatives regarding 
this bill or similar legislation.
    I respectfully request your support for the appointment of 
outside conferees from the Oversight Committee should H.R. 1084 
or a similar Senate bill be considered in conference with the 
Senate. I also request that you include our exchange of letters 
on this matter in the Report by the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs on H.R. 1084 and in the Congressional Record during 
consideration of this legislation on the House floor.
    Thank you for your attention to these matters.
            Sincerely,
                                 Henry A. Waxman, Chairman.

cc:
        Tom Davis
        Ranking Minority Member

                                  
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