II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3492 

To address the importance of foreign affairs training to national security, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12 (legislative day, JANUARY 10), 2022 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. HAGERTY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To address the importance of foreign affairs training to 

national security, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) the Department of State is a crucial na6 tional security agency, whose employees, both For7 eign Service and Civil Service, require the best pos8 sible training at every stage of their careers to pre9 pare them to promote and defend United States naVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Jan 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3492.IS S3492

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1 tional interests and the health and safety of United 

2 States citizens abroad; 

3 (2) the investment of time and resources by the 

4 Department with respect to the training and edu5 cation of its personnel is considerably below the level 

6 of other Federal departments and agencies in the 

7 national security field, and falls well below the in8 vestments many allied and adversarial countries 

9 make in the development of their diplomats; 

10 (3) the Department faces increasingly complex 

11 and rapidly evolving challenges, many of which are 

12 science and technology-driven, and which demand 

13 continual, high-quality training and education of its 

14 personnel; 

15 (4) the Department must move beyond reliance 

16 on ‘‘on-the-job training’’ and other informal 

17 mentorship practices, which lead to an inequality in 

18 skillset development and career advancement oppor19 tunities, often particularly for minority personnel, 

20 and toward a robust professional tradecraft training 

21 continuum that will provide for greater equality in 

22 career advancement; 

23 (5) the Department must clearly link training 

24 to promotional opportunities, requiring officers to 

25 take certain classes at institutions of the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Jan 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3492.IS S3492

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1 ment (or equivalent courses at other institutions) at 

2 specific phases throughout their careers and to par3 ticipate in fellowship programs that expose dip4 lomats to other agencies, organizations, and cul5 tures; 

6 (6) the Foreign Service Institute and other 

7 training facilities of the Department should seek to 

8 increase substantially educational and training offer9 ings to Department personnel, including by devel10 oping new and innovative education and training 

11 courses, methods, programs, and opportunities; and 

12 (7) consistent with gift acceptance authority of 

13 the Department and other applicable laws in effect 

14 as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the De15 partment and the Foreign Service Institute should 

16 accept funds and other resources from foundations, 

17 not-for-profit corporations, and other appropriate 

18 sources to help the Department and the Institute en19 hance the quantity and quality of training offerings, 

20 especially in the introduction of new, innovative, and 

21 pilot model courses. 

22 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL 

23 COMMITTEES. 

24 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com25 mittees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

3 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

4 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep5 resentatives. 

6 SEC. 3. TRAINING FLOAT STRATEGY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

9 shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees a strategy to establish a ‘‘training float’’ to 

11 allow for a minimum of 10 percent and up to 15 percent 

12 of officers of the Civil Service of the Department of State 

13 and the Foreign Service to participate in long-term train14 ing at any given time. 

15 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF STEPS.—The strategy re16 quired by subsection (a) shall identify steps necessary to 

17 ensure— 

18 (1) implementation of the training priorities de19 scribed in section 4; 

20 (2) sufficient training capacity and opportuni21 ties are available to Civil Service and Foreign Serv22 ice officers; 

23 (3) the use of mechanisms to ensure equitable 

24 distribution of long-term training opportunities to 

25 Civil Service and Foreign Service officers; and 


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1 (4) the availability of resources and any addi2 tional authorities necessary to facilitate the training 

3 float described in subsection (a), including through 

4 programs at the Foreign Service Institute, the For5 eign Affairs Security Training Center, and other fa6 cilities or programs operated by the Department. 

7 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF TRAINING.—The strategy re8 quired by subsection (a) shall identify— 

9 (1) which types of training would be prioritized 

10 under the training float; 

11 (2) the extent to which such training is already 

12 being provided to Civil Service and Foreign Service 

13 officers by the Department; 

14 (3) any factors in existence as of the date on 

15 which the strategy is submitted that incentivize or 

16 disincentive such training; and 

17 (4) why such training cannot be achieved with18 out Foreign Service officers leaving the workforce. 

19 (d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the strategy 

20 required by subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall 

21 consider, in addition to training opportunities provided by 

22 the Department, training that could be provided by other 

23 United States Government training institutions and non24 governmental educational institutions. 


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1 SEC. 4. TRAINING PRIORITIZATION. 

2 In order to provide the Civil Service of the Depart3 ment of State and the Foreign Service with the level of 

4 education and training needed to effectively advance 

5 United States interests across the world, the Secretary of 

6 State shall— 

7 (1) increase offerings provided by the Depart8 ment— 

9 (A) of interactive virtual instruction to 

10 make training more accessible and useful to 

11 personnel deployed throughout the world; or 

12 (B) at partner organizations, including 

13 universities, industry entities, and nongovern14 mental organizations, throughout the United 

15 States to provide useful outside perspectives to 

16 Department personnel to provide such per17 sonnel— 

18 (i) a more comprehensive outlook on 

19 different sectors of United States society; 

20 and 

21 (ii) practical experience dealing with 

22 commercial corporations, universities, labor 

23 unions, and other institutions critical to 

24 United States diplomatic success; 

25 (2) offer courses using computer-based or com26 puter-assisted simulations, allowing civilian officers 


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1 to lead decision making in a crisis environment, and 

2 encourage officers of the Department of State and 

3 reciprocally officers of other Departments to partici4 pate in similar exercises held by the Department of 

5 State or other government organizations and the pri6 vate sector; and 

7 (3) increase the duration and expand the focus 

8 of certain training courses, including by— 

9 (A) extending the A–100 entry-level course 

10 to not less than 12 weeks, better matching the 

11 length of entry-level training provided to the of12 ficers in other national security departments 

13 and agencies; and 

14 (B) extending the chief of mission course 

15 to not less than 6 weeks for first time chiefs of 

16 mission and creating a comparable 6-week 

17 course for new Assistant Secretaries and Dep18 uty Assistant Secretaries to more accurately re19 flect the significant responsibilities accom20 panying such roles. 

21 SEC. 5. FELLOWSHIPS. 

22 The Director General of the Foreign Service shall— 

23 (1) establish new fellowship programs for For24 eign Service and Civil Service officers that include 


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1 short- and long-term opportunities at organizations 

2 including— 

3 (A) think tanks and nongovernmental or4 ganizations; 

5 (B) the Department of Defense, the ele6 ments of the intelligence community (as defined 

7 in section 3 of the National Security Act of 

8 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), and other relevant 

9 Federal agencies; 

10 (C) industry entities, especially such enti11 ties related to technology, global operations, fi12 nance, and other fields directly relevant to 

13 international affairs; and 

14 (D) schools of international relations and 

15 other relevant programs at universities through16 out the United States; and 

17 (2) expand the Pearson Fellows Program for 

18 Foreign Service Officers and the Brookings Fellow 

19 Program for Civil Servants at the Department of 

20 State to allow fellows in those programs the oppor21 tunity to undertake a follow-on assignment within 

22 the Department in an office that will benefit from 

23 practical knowledge of the people and processes of 

24 Congress. 


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1 SEC. 6. CENTER FOR INNOVATION IN TRAINING AT THE 

2 FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 

4 establish a center to be known as the ‘‘Center for Innova5 tion in Training’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Cen6 ter’’). 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center shall be 

8 to allow the Foreign Service Institute to cyclically evaluate 

9 all courses and curriculum of the Institute in order to 

10 identify updates to such courses and curriculum necessary 

11 to meet the frequent changes in skillsets needed by officers 

12 to aptly prepare them to address ever-changing global dy13 namics. 

14 (c) SUPERVISION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall be led by 

16 an official equivalent to the level of a Deputy Assist17 ant Secretary of State, who shall be appointed by 

18 the Secretary of State. 

19 (2) TERMS.—The official described in para20 graph (1) shall serve for a term of at least 2 years 

21 and may be reappointed for 1 or more additional 2- 

22 year terms. 

23 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The official described in 

24 paragraph (1) shall be appointed from among indi25 viduals with experience in technology, innovation, 


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1 human capital, metrics, and evaluation of adult 

2 learning. 

3 (4) HIRING AUTHORITIES.—The official de4 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be— 

5 (A) a highly qualified expert appointed by 

6 the Secretary; 

7 (B) an individual detailed to the Depart8 ment under the Intergovernmental Personnel 

9 Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.); or 

10 (C) an individual hired under a specialized 

11 hiring authority equivalent to the authorities 

12 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), as de13 termined by the Secretary. 

14 SEC. 7. BOARD OF VISITORS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE IN15 STITUTE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

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

18 State shall establish a Board of Visitors of the Foreign 

19 Service Institute. 

20 (b) DUTIES.—The Board of Visitors established 

21 under subsection (a) shall provide the Secretary of State 

22 with independent advice and recommendations on organi23 zational management, strategic planning, resource man24 agement, curriculum development, and other matters of 

25 interest to the Foreign Service Institute. 


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1 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be— 

3 (A) nonpartisan; and 

4 (B) composed of 12 members of whom— 

5 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the Chair6 person of the Committee on Foreign Rela7 tions of the Senate; 

8 (ii) 2 shall be appointed by the Rank9 ing Member of the Committee on Foreign 

10 Relations of the Senate; 

11 (iii) 2 shall be appointed by the Chair12 person of the Committee on Foreign Af13 fairs of the House of Representatives; 

14 (iv) 2 shall be appointed by the Rank15 ing Member of the Committee on Foreign 

16 Affairs of the House of Representatives; 

17 and 

18 (v) 4 shall be appointed by the Sec19 retary of State. 

20 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Board 

21 shall be appointed from among individuals who are 

22 not officers or employees of the Federal Government 

23 and are eminent authorities in the fields of diplo24 macy, management, leadership, technology, and ad25 vanced international relations education. 


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(3) OUTSIDE EXPERTISE.—Not fewer than 1 1 ⁄2

2 of the members of the Board shall have a minimum 

3 of 10 years of expertise outside the field of diplo4 macy. 

5 (d) TERMS.—A member of the Board shall be ap6 pointed for a term of 3 years, except that of the members 

7 first appointed— 

(1) 1 8 ⁄3 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years; 

(2) 1 9 ⁄3 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; 

10 and 

(3) 1 11 ⁄3 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year. 

12 (e) REAPPOINTMENT; REPLACEMENT.—A member of 

13 the Board may be reappointed or replaced at the discre14 tion of the official who made the original appointment. 

15 (f) CHAIRPERSON; CO-CHAIRPERSON.— 

16 (1) APPROVAL.—The Chairperson and Co17 Chairperson of the Board shall be approved by the 

18 Secretary of State based upon a recommendation 

19 from the members of the Board. 

20 (2) SERVICE.—The Chairperson and Co-Chair21 person shall serve at the discretion of the Secretary. 

22 (g) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet— 

23 (1) at the call of the Chief Learning Officer ap24 pointed under section 11 in consultation with the 


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1 Director of the Foreign Service Institute and the 

2 Chairperson; and 

3 (2) not fewer than 2 times per year. 

4 (h) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board shall 

5 serve without compensation, except a member of the 

6 Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

7 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees 

8 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

9 United States Code, while away from their homes or reg10 ular places of business in the performance of services for 

11 the Board. Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, 

12 United States Code, the Secretary of State may accept 

13 the voluntary and uncompensated services of members of 

14 the Board. 

15 (i) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM16 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

17 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Board established under 

18 this section. 

19 SEC. 8. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROVOST OF THE FOREIGN 

20 SERVICE INSTITUTE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

22 Foreign Service Institute the position of Provost. 

23 (b) APPOINTMENT; REPORTING.—The Provost 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) be appointed by the Board of Visitors of the 

2 Foreign Service Institute of the Department of State 

3 established under section 7; and 

4 (2) report to the Director of the Foreign Serv5 ice Institute. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The Provost shall— 

7 (1) oversee, review, evaluate, and coordinate the 

8 academic curriculum for all courses taught and ad9 ministered by the Foreign Service Institute; 

10 (2) coordinate the implementation of a letter or 

11 numerical grading system for the performance of 

12 Foreign Service officers in courses of the Foreign 

13 Service Institute; and 

14 (3) report not less frequently than quarterly to 

15 the Board of Visitors on curriculum developments 

16 and the performance of Foreign Service officers. 

17 (d) TERM.—The Provost shall serve for a term of not 

18 fewer than 5 years and may be reappointed for 1 addi19 tional term. 

20 (e) COMPENSATION.—The Provost shall receive a sal21 ary commensurate with the rank and experience of a mem22 ber of the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive 

23 Service, as determined by the Board of Visitors. 


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1 SEC. 9. OTHER AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES AND OPPORTU2 NITIES FOR CONGRESSIONAL STAFF. 

3 (a) OTHER AGENCIES.—National security agencies 

4 other than the Department of State should increase the 

5 enrollment of their personnel in courses at the Foreign 

6 Service Institute and other training facilities of the De7 partment to promote a whole-of-government approach to 

8 mitigating national security challenges. 

9 (b) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.—The Secretary of State 

10 shall budget for and offer opportunities for congressional 

11 staff to participate in education and training through the 

12 Foreign Service Institute. 

13 SEC. 10. STRATEGY FOR RESIDENTIAL TRAINING. 

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

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

16 shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional 

17 committees a strategy for establishing residential training 

18 for the A–100 orientation course administered by the For19 eign Service Institute. 

20 (b) STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the 

21 strategy, the Secretary of State shall— 

22 (1) work with other national security depart23 ments and agencies that employ residential training 

24 for their orientation course; and 


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1 (2) consider using the Foreign Affairs Security 

2 Training Center in Blackstone, Virginia, a facility of 

3 the Department of State. 

4 SEC. 11. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER 

5 POSITION. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

7 Department of State the position of Chief Learning Offi8 cer of the Department. 

9 (b) APPOINTMENT; REPORTING.—The Chief Learn10 ing Officer shall— 

11 (1) be appointed by the Secretary of State; and 

12 (2) report to the Secretary. 

13 (c) DUTIES.— 

14 (1) PRINCIPAL ADVISOR.—The Chief Learning 

15 Officer shall be the principal advisor to the Sec16 retary of State and the Deputy Secretaries of State 

17 on the intellectual preparation and development of 

18 the entire workforce of the Department for 21st cen19 tury diplomacy, including all matters related to the 

20 educational and training strategies, policies, plans, 

21 activities, resources, personnel, and budget of the 

22 Department. 

23 (2) OVERSIGHT.—The Chief Learning Officer 

24 shall oversee— 

25 (A) the Foreign Service Institute; 


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1 (B) the executive fellowship programs of 

2 the Department; 

3 (C) all rotations and exchanges of per4 sonnel of the Department; and 

5 (D) any educational components estab6 lished by the Department. 

7 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Chief Learning 

8 Officer shall— 

9 (A) serve as the Executive for Education 

10 and Training of the Department; 

11 (B) be responsible for education manage12 ment, policy, facilities, and oversight on all edu13 cational matters of the Department; 

14 (C) advise the Secretary, the Deputy Sec15 retary of State, and all Under Secretaries of 

16 State and the staffs of such officials on all edu17 cational and training matters, and all matters 

18 pertaining to human capital, including recruit19 ment, retention, promotion, supervision, and as20 signments; 

21 (D) develop and execute a comprehensive 

22 education and training strategy for the Depart23 ment; 


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1 (E) represent the Secretary and the Dep2 uty Secretary during the budget formulation 

3 process for all education and related matters; 

4 (F) formulate regulations, policies, strate5 gies, and guidance of the Department for diplo6 matic education and training; 

7 (G) oversee the Foreign Service Institute 

8 and the personnel, resources, and facilities of 

9 the Institute, including by establishing an inde10 pendent Board of Overseers of the Foreign 

11 Service Institute, appointing the members of 

12 the Board, and serving as an ex officio member 

13 of the Board; 

14 (H) provide the Secretary and the Deputy 

15 Secretary with proposed language for use in 

16 promotion policies of the Department, including 

17 setting education, professional development, and 

18 leadership development attainment and per19 formance standards to be required or preferred 

20 for promotion; 

21 (I) establish and chair a Secretary’s Man22 agement Council to coordinate and enforce poli23 cies relating to education and training and pro24 motion, supervision, and assignments, the mem25 bers of which shall be selected by the Secretary 


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1 and include the Under Secretary of State for 

2 Administration and the Director General for 

3 Global Talent Management, among others; 

4 (J) serve as the liaison of the Department 

5 to academia, learning enterprises within the 

6 United States Government, and the education 

7 and learning sectors of the private sector, and 

8 establish partnerships and agreements for edu9 cational exchanges and experiential learning as10 signments; 

11 (K) modify academic curricula, academic 

12 research programs, and faculty-hiring policies, 

13 and make key personnel decisions, as required; 

14 (L) conduct or direct assessments of the 

15 education and training system of the Depart16 ment to determine the quality and relevance of 

17 academic programs; 

18 (M) establish the academic standards for 

19 selection and performance of faculty and stu20 dents within the Department; 

21 (N) exercise decision authority on all addi22 tional matters designated by the Secretary and 

23 Deputy Secretary; and 

24 (O) designate an individual to be respon25 sible for learning and training at every bureau 


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1 of the Department and United States embassy, 

2 and organize those individuals into a network to 

3 collaborate on training and education activities 

4 developing in the field. 

5 (d) TERM.—The Chief Learning Officer shall serve 

6 for a term of not fewer than 3 years, and may be re7 appointed for 2 additional terms. 

8 (e) COMPENSATION.—The rate of basic pay for the 

9 Chief Learning Officer shall be the greater of— 

10 (1) the highest rate of basic pay payable for a 

11 noncareer appointee (as defined in section 3132(a) 

12 of title 5, United States Code); or 

13 (2) the rate of basic pay payable for a highly 

14 qualified expert, as determined by the Secretary of 

15 State, in a position at level III of the Executive 

16 Schedule. 

17 SEC. 12. REPORT AND BRIEFING REQUIREMENTS. 

18 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

20 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re21 port that includes— 

22 (1) the strategy developed by the Chief Learn23 ing Officer under section 11(c)(3)(D); 

24 (2) the process used to implement the strategy 

25 throughout the Department; and 


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1 (3) the results and impact of the strategy on 

2 the workforce of the Department, particularly the 

3 relationship between training and promotions for 

4 Department personnel, and including the measure5 ment and evaluation methods used. 

6 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

7 on which the Secretary of State submits the report re8 quired by subsection (a), and annually thereafter for 2 

9 years, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate con10 gressional committees a briefing on the information re11 quired to be included in the report. 

Æ 


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