I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3989 
To retain language proficiency and readiness to support national security 
goals of the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2025 
Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, and Mrs. KIGGANS 
of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To retain language proficiency and readiness to support 
national security goals of the United States. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fluent Forces Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Since 1941, the United States has recog-
nized the need for military intelligence units to have 
a competitive edge through language proficiency. Al-
though investments in linguists were made since 
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World War Two to support American military and 
foreign policy, the terrorist attacks on September 
11, 2001, exposed a shortage of members of the 
Armed Forces who speak highly valuable languages. 
The terrorist attacks highlighted the persistent and 
continuous need for the Department of Defense to 
maintain a designated cohort of qualified linguists to 
respond to crises or contingencies anywhere in the 
world. In response, the Defense Language Institute 
Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) was created. 
Today, DLIFLC remains the premier school of the 
Department of Defense for culturally based foreign 
language education and training. 
(2) Fluency in foreign languages and cultures 
underpins successful foreign policy and national se-
curity, as evidenced across an array of conflicts, in-
cluding counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and 
great power competition. 
(3) Despite growing developments in technology 
and artificial intelligence, person-to-person engage-
ment remains an intimate component of America’s 
military strategy, including in multinational conflicts 
throughout the Middle East and Europe. 
(4) The skillset provided by language and cul-
tural training supports effective communication and 
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interoperability between members of the Armed 
Forces of the United States and partner forces, al-
lows for connections with local populations in politi-
cally sensitive environments, and offers more effi-
cient diplomatic engagement with state representa-
tives or negotiation teams. 
(5) With foreign language skills, members of 
the Armed Forces, including members of both active 
and reserve components, can make informed and po-
tentially lifesaving judgements regarding strategy 
and operations that can be culturally-sensitive both 
at home and abroad. As information plays a more 
considerable role in military and foreign policy, lin-
guistic skills provide increased support for intel-
ligence gathering and subsequent interpretation. 
(6) The Foreign Area Officer program, with 
language instruction completed at the DLIFLC, 
serves as another indispensable component of Amer-
ica’s foreign policy strategy. Through their foreign 
language and cultural expertise, Foreign Area Offi-
cers are members of the Armed Forces grounded in 
the profession of arms who— 
(A) provide leadership and expertise in di-
verse organizations in joint, interagency, inter-
governmental, and multinational environments; 
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(B) advise senior leaders as regional ex-
perts; and 
(C) offer unique war fighting competencies, 
including 
cross-cultural 
capabilities, 
inter-
personal communications, and foreign language 
skills, that are critical to mission readiness of 
the Department of Defense in a dynamic na-
tional security environment. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT ON RECRUITING PRACTICES 
TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE AT THE DEFENSE 
LANGUAGE INSTITUTE FOREIGN LANGUAGE 
CENTER. 
(a) ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than December 31, 
2025, and annually thereafter until December 31, 2030, 
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees 
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Rep-
resentatives an assessment of recruiting methods of the 
Department of Defense to increase attendance at the De-
fense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. 
(b) ELEMENTS OF ASSESSMENT.—Each assessment 
submitted under subsection (a) shall include, with respect 
to the 12-month period ending the month before the date 
of the submission of the assessment, the following: 
(1) An identification of the public and private 
secondary schools engaged by military recruiters for 
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the purpose of increasing attendance at the Defense 
Language Institute Foreign Language Center. 
(2) An identification of the number of persons 
recruited from such schools who completed enlist-
ment or accession into the Armed Forces and subse-
quently enrolled at the Defense Language Institute 
Foreign Language Center. 
(3) An identification of challenges to recruiting 
qualified individuals from such schools that limit 
progress toward increasing the number of personnel 
attending the Defense Language Institute Foreign 
Language Center, including challenges with respect 
to— 
(A) procedures for recruiters to gain access 
to such schools; 
(B) the conduct of relationship-building ac-
tivities between military recruiters and high 
schools; 
(C) the ability of military recruiters to fol-
low-up with interested students; and 
(D) any other issues the Secretary con-
siders appropriate. 
(4) Recommendations for new recruitment 
methods to increase attendance at the Defense Lan-
guage Institute Foreign Language Center through 
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increased awareness of linguist professions in the 
United States Armed Forces and similar professions 
within the United States Government that might re-
quire proficiency in a foreign language. 
(5) Recommendations for how the Department 
of Defense can develop procedures to systematically 
document effective engagement and activities with 
high schools. 
(6) The plan of each Secretary of a military de-
partment to implement the recommendations de-
scribed in paragraphs (4) and (5). 
(7) Measurable benchmarks of progress of cur-
rent initiatives by the Department of Defense to re-
cruit qualified individuals to attend the Defense 
Language Institute Foreign Language Center. 
(c) DISAGGREGATION REQUIREMENT.—Each assess-
ment submitted under subsection (a) shall, with respect 
to the information required by paragraphs (1), (2), and 
(3) of subsection (b) that relates to public secondary 
schools, include such information in a form that is 
disaggregated by local educational agency. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the mean-
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ing given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
Æ 
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