I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8912 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish 

in the Department of State a Chief Diversity Officer and the Foreign 

Service Act of 1980 to promote increased diversity in the Foreign Service, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 9, 2020 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. TITUS, and Ms. BASS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 

1956 to establish in the Department of State a Chief 

Diversity Officer and the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

to promote increased diversity in the Foreign Service, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of State Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER 

Sec. 101. Chief Diversity Officer. 

TITLE II—DIVERSITY IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE AND AT THE 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Sec. 201. Representation on Board of Examiners for the purposes of recruitment into the Foreign Service. 

Sec. 202. Promotion in the Foreign Service. 

Sec. 203. Diversity and inclusion training. 

Sec. 204. Mentorship program. 

Sec. 205. Senior Executive Service candidate development program. 

Sec. 206. Diversity defined in the Foreign Service Act of 1980. 

TITLE III—PROMOTION ACCESSIBILITY 

Sec. 301. Implementation of gap memorandum in selection board process. 

1 TITLE I—CHIEF DIVERSITY 

2 OFFICER 

3 SEC. 101. CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 1 of the State De5 partment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 

6 2651a) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 subsection: 

8 ‘‘(h) CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

10 Department of State, in the office of the Deputy 

11 Secretary of State, a Chief Diversity Officer, who 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the President; 

14 ‘‘(B) be a current or former career mem15 ber of the Foreign Service or Civil Service; and 

16 ‘‘(C) report directly to the Deputy Sec17 retary of State. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPUTY SEC2 RETARY OF STATE.—The Deputy Secretary of State 

3 shall be responsible for ensuring policies and prac4 tices of the Department of State relating to recruit5 ment, retention, and promotion to advance diversity, 

6 equity, and inclusion. 

7 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Chief Diversity Officer 

8 shall be responsible for the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Providing advice to the Deputy Sec10 retary of State regarding carrying out para11 graph (2). 

12 ‘‘(B) Collecting and sharing information on 

13 diversity in assignments and promotions within 

14 the Department of State, including 

15 disaggregated information by office and bureau. 

16 ‘‘(C) Establishing benchmarks and goals 

17 for individual offices and bureaus regarding as18 signments of personnel, in coordination with the 

19 Director General of the Foreign Service, to pro20 mote diversity and inclusion at the Department 

21 of State, and conducting annual reviews of indi22 vidual bureaus on their actions taken to satisfy 

23 such benchmarks and goals. 

24 ‘‘(D) Providing advice to the Deputy Sec25 retary of State and other senior individuals of 


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1 the Department of State in the selection of 

2 chiefs of mission and deputy chiefs of mission. 

3 ‘‘(4) RANK AND STATUS.—The Chief Diversity 

4 Officer shall have the rank and status of Assistant 

5 Secretary of State. 

6 ‘‘(5) BUREAU LIAISONS.—The Secretary of 

7 State shall appoint in each bureau of the Depart8 ment of State a liaison to coordinate with the Chief 

9 Diversity Officer the activities of each such bureau. 

10 ‘‘(6) REPORTING.—Not later than January 30 

11 of every year, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Re14 lations of the Senate a report— 

15 ‘‘(A) detailing the benchmarks and goals 

16 for individual offices and bureaus of the De17 partment of State; 

18 ‘‘(B) assessments by the Chief Diversity 

19 Officer on the performance over the previous 

20 year of each such office and bureau to satisfy 

21 such benchmarks and goals; and 

22 ‘‘(C) containing any other relevant infor23 mation. 

24 ‘‘(7) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 

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1 tion 102 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1980 (22 

2 U.S.C. 3902).’’. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Chief Diversity Officer of the Department 

5 of State established pursuant to subsection (h) of the 

6 State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as added 

7 by subsection (a), should be provided sufficient office 

8 space and support staff to ensure successful operation. 

9 TITLE II—DIVERSITY IN THE 

10 FOREIGN SERVICE AND AT 

11 THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

12 SEC. 201. REPRESENTATION ON BOARD OF EXAMINERS 

13 FOR THE PURPOSES OF RECRUITMENT INTO 

14 THE FOREIGN SERVICE. 

15 Section 211 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

16 U.S.C. 3931) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub18 section (e); and 

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol20 lowing new subsections: 

21 ‘‘(c) Members of the Foreign Service and members 

22 of the Senior Foreign Service shall accrue one additional 

23 year of time in class for every two years spent as a mem24 ber of a Board of Examiners. 


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1 ‘‘(d) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a sub2 stantial number of women and members of minority 

3 groups are appointed to the Board of Examiners.’’. 

4 SEC. 202. PROMOTION IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE. 

5 The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended— 

6 (1) in section 602 (22 U.S.C. 4002), by adding 

7 at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(d) Not later than January 31 of each year, the Sec9 retary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 

10 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that 

12 details the demographic composition of selection boards 

13 under this section and the Board of Examiners for the 

14 Foreign Service under section 211 convened in the pre15 vious year, including information on the diversity of the 

16 members of such boards, in addition to any other informa17 tion the Secretary determines relevant.’’; and 

18 (2) in section 603 (22 U.S.C. 4003)— 

19 (A) in subsection (a), in the second sen20 tence, by inserting ‘‘testimony from peers and 

21 subordinates,’’ after ‘‘supervisors,’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (b)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘, or’’ 

24 and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

2 paragraph (4); and 

3 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

4 the following new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(2) a record of supporting the recruitment and 

6 career development goals of members of the Foreign 

7 Service, such as serving as a mentor in mentorship 

8 program under section 616, participation in recruit9 ment activities, or serving on the Board of Exam10 iners or on selection boards; 

11 ‘‘(3) a demonstrated commitment to promoting 

12 diversity and inclusion at the Department of State, 

13 including in management practices;’’. 

14 SEC. 203. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TRAINING. 

15 Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is 

16 amended by inserting after section 614 (22 U.S.C. 4028) 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(e) DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TRAINING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, 

21 with the assistance of other relevant officials, such 

22 as the Director General of the Foreign Service and 

23 the Director of Human Resources, the Director of 

24 the Office of Civil Rights, the Chief Diversity Offi25 cer, and the director of the George P. Shultz NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Dec 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8912.IH H8912

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1 tional Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall estab2 lish as part of the standard training provided after 

3 the date of the enactment of this section, for officers 

4 of the Service, including chiefs of mission, instruc5 tion on promoting diversity. Such training shall be 

6 informed by the latest available research and meth7 ods, and may include unconscious bias training and 

8 other such instruction. 

9 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out the 

10 training required under paragraph (1), the Director 

11 of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs 

12 Training Center shall, not later than one year after 

13 the date of the enactment of this section, conduct 

14 training on diversity and inclusion for all Foreign 

15 Service officers, including all entry level officers and 

16 all officers prior to service on a selection board or 

17 the Board of Examiners. Such training shall be in18 cluded in— 

19 ‘‘(A) the A–100 course attended by all 

20 Foreign Service officers; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the courses required of all officers 

22 prior to service on a selection board or the 

23 Board of Examiners.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Service Act of 1980 

3 is amended by inserting after section 708 (22 U.S.C. 

4 4028) the following new sections: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 709. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. 

6 ‘‘(a) The Secretary of State shall establish in the De7 partment of State a mentorship program to match— 

8 ‘‘(1) entry-level members of the Foreign Service 

9 and newly hired members of the civil service at the 

10 GS–9 level and below; and 

11 ‘‘(2) mid-level members of the Foreign Service 

12 and mid-level members of the civil service at the 

13 GS–12 level and above. 

14 ‘‘(b) Individuals participating in the mentorship pro15 gram under this section shall participate for a minimum 

16 of two tours of duty. 

17 ‘‘(c) The mentorship program established under this 

18 section shall include Employee Affinity Groups in the se19 lection of mentors, in addition to other individuals selected 

20 by the Secretary of State. 

21 ‘‘(d) Service as mentor in the mentorship program 

22 shall be considered as satisfying criteria under section 

23 603(b)(2).’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

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1 serting after the item relating to section 707 the following 

2 new items: 

‘‘Sec. 708. Training for Foreign Service officers. 

‘‘Sec. 709. Mentorship program.’’. 

3 SEC. 205. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE CANDIDATE DEVEL4 OPMENT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall an6 nually offer the Senior Executive Service Candidate Devel7 opment Program to members of the civil service at the 

8 Department of State at the GS–14 and GS–15 levels. 

9 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of State shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

12 the Senate, at the same time as each report required 

13 under section 313 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as 

14 added by section 2(a)(2), a report detailing the demo15 graphic information of candidates referred by each bureau 

16 of the Department of State to interview for the Senior Ex17 ecutive Service, including demographic information 

18 disaggregated by bureau relating to the diversity (as such 

19 term is defined in the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as 

20 amended by section 206) of such candidates. 

21 SEC. 206. DIVERSITY DEFINED IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE 

22 ACT OF 1980. 

23 Section 102 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

24 U.S.C. 3902) is amended by— 


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1 (1) redesignating paragraphs (5) through (12) 

2 as paragraphs (6) through (13), respectively; and 

3 (2) inserting after paragraph (4) the following 

4 new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(5) ‘diversity’ includes characteristics such as 

6 national origin, language, race, color, disability, eth7 nicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gen8 der identity, socioeconomic status, and family struc9 ture.’’. 

10 TITLE III—PROMOTION 

11 ACCESSIBILITY 

12 SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION OF GAP MEMORANDUM IN SE13 LECTION BOARD PROCESS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Foreign Serv15 ice Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4003) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(c)(1) A member of the Service or member of the 

18 Senior Foreign Service whose performance will be evalu19 ated by a selection board may submit to such selection 

20 board a gap memo in advance of such evaluation. 

21 ‘‘(2) Members of a selection board may not con22 sider as negative the submission of a gap memo by 

23 a member described in paragraph (1) when evalu24 ating the performance of such member. 


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1 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘gap memo’ 

2 means a written record, submitted to a selection 

3 board in a standard format established by the Direc4 tor General of the Foreign Service, which indicates 

5 and explains a gap in the record of a member of the 

6 Service or member of the Senior Foreign Service 

7 whose performance will be evaluated by such selec8 tion board, which gap is due to personal cir9 cumstances, including for health, family, or other 

10 reason as determined by the Director General in 

11 consultation with the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

12 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

13 on Foreign Relations of the Senate.’’. 

14 (b) CONSULTATION AND GUIDANCE.— 

15 (1) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di17 rector General of the Foreign Service shall consult 

18 with the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

20 Relations of the Senate regarding the development 

21 of the gap memo under subsection (c) of section 603 

22 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by sub23 section (a). 

24 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

25 ‘‘gap memo’’ has the meaning given such term in 


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1 subsection (c) of section 603 of the Foreign Service 

2 Act of 1980. 

Æ 


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