ceived design or capital construction contracts as of the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) NOTIFICATION.—Before executing a contract for 
a delivery method other than design-build in accordance 
with subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall notify the 
appropriate congressional committees in writing of the de-
cision, including the reasons therefor. The notification re-
quired by this subsection may be included in any other 
report regarding a new United States diplomatic post that 
is required to be submitted to the appropriate congres-
sional committees. 
(c) PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of State shall report to the appropriate congres-
sional committees regarding performance evaluation meas-
ures in accordance with GAO’s ‘‘Standards for Internal 
Control in the Federal Government’’ that will be applica-
ble to design and construction, lifecycle cost, and building 
maintenance programs of the Bureau of Overseas Build-
ing Operations of the Department. 
SEC. 1212. COMPETITION IN EMBASSY CONSTRUCTION. 
Not later than 45 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committee a report detailing 
steps the Department of State is taking to expand the em-
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bassy construction contractor base in order to increase 
competition and maximize value. 
SEC. 1213. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States that the Bureau 
of Overseas Building Operations of the Department or its 
successor office shall continue to balance functionality and 
security with accessibility, as defined by guidelines estab-
lished by the United States Access Board in constructing 
embassies and consulates, and shall ensure compliance 
with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4151 et seq.) to the fullest extent possible. 
SEC. 1214. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) DESIGN-BUILD.—The term ‘‘design-build’’ 
means a method of project delivery in which one en-
tity works under a single contract with the Depart-
ment to provide design and construction services. 
(2) NON-STANDARD DESIGN.—The term ‘‘non- 
standard design’’ means a design for a new embassy 
compound project or new consulate compound 
project that does not utilize a standardized design 
for the structural, spatial, or security requirements 
of such embassy compound or consulate compound, 
as the case may be. 
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TITLE III—PERSONNEL ISSUES 
SEC. 1301. DEFENSE BASE ACT INSURANCE WAIVERS. 
(a) APPLICATION FOR WAIVERS.—Not later than 30 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall apply to the Department of Labor 
for a waiver from insurance requirements under the De-
fense Base Act (42 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.) for all countries 
with respect to which the requirement was waived prior 
to January 2017, and for which there is not currently a 
waiver. 
(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 
45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of State shall certify to the appropriate congres-
sional committees that the requirement in subsection (a) 
has been met. 
SEC. 1302. STUDY ON FOREIGN SERVICE ALLOWANCES. 
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report detailing an empirical 
analysis on the effect of overseas allowances on the 
foreign assignment of Foreign Service officers 
(FSOs), to be conducted by a federally funded re-
search and development center with appropriate ex-
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pertise in labor economics and military compensa-
tion. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The analysis required under 
paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) identify all allowances paid to FSOs 
assigned permanently or on temporary duty to 
foreign areas; 
(B) examine the efficiency of the Foreign 
Service bidding system in determining foreign 
assignments; 
(C) examine the factors that incentivize 
FSOs to bid on particular assignments, includ-
ing danger levels and hardship conditions; 
(D) examine the Department’s strategy 
and process for incentivizing FSOs to bid on 
assignments that are historically in lower de-
mand, including with monetary compensation, 
and whether monetary compensation is nec-
essary for assignments in higher demand; 
(E) make any relevant comparisons to 
military compensation and allowances, noting 
which allowances are shared or based on the 
same regulations; 
(F) recommend options for restructuring 
allowances to improve the efficiency of the as-
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signments system and better align FSO incen-
tives with the needs of the Foreign Service, in-
cluding any cost savings associated with such 
restructuring; 
(G) recommend any statutory changes nec-
essary to implement subparagraph (F), such as 
consolidating existing legal authorities for the 
provision of hardship and danger pay; and 
(H) detail any effects of recommendations 
made pursuant to subparagraphs (F) and (G) 
on other United States Government depart-
ments and agencies with civilian employees per-
manently assigned or on temporary duty in for-
eign areas, following consultation with such de-
partments and agencies. 
(b) BRIEFING REQUIREMENT.—Before initiating the 
analysis required under subsection (a)(1), and not later 
than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall provide to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives a briefing 
on the implementation of this section that includes the fol-
lowing: 
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(1) The name of the federally funded research 
and development center that will conduct such anal-
ysis. 
(2) The scope of such analysis and terms of ref-
erence for such analysis as specified between the De-
partment of State and such federally funded re-
search and development center. 
(c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 
make available to the federally funded research and 
development center carrying out the analysis re-
quired under subsection (a)(1) all necessary and rel-
evant information to allow such center to conduct 
such analysis in a quantitative and analytical man-
ner, including historical data on the number of bids 
for each foreign assignment and any survey data col-
lected by the Department of State from eligible bid-
ders on their bid decision making. 
(2) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of State 
shall work with the heads of other relevant United 
States Government departments and agencies to en-
sure such departments and agencies provide all nec-
essary and relevant information to the federally 
funded research and development center carrying 
out the analysis required under subsection (a)(1). 
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(d) INTERIM REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
of State shall require that the chief executive officer of 
the federally funded research and development center that 
carries out the analysis required under subsection (a)(1) 
submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives an interim report on such analysis not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
SEC. 1303. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIPS. 
Section 504 of the Foreign Relations Authorization 
Act, Fiscal Year 1979 (22 U.S.C. 2656d) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS RE-
LATED
TO SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP 
PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is 
authorized to make grants or enter into cooperative 
agreements related to Department of State science 
and technology fellowship programs, including for 
assistance in recruiting fellows and the payment of 
stipends, travel, and other appropriate expenses to 
fellows. 
‘‘(2) EXCLUSION
FROM
CONSIDERATION
AS 
COMPENSATION.—Stipends under paragraph (1) 
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shall not be considered compensation for purposes of 
section 209 of title 18, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) MAXIMUM
ANNUAL
AMOUNT.—The total 
amount of grants made pursuant to this subsection 
may not exceed $500,000 in any fiscal year.’’. 
SEC. 1304. TRAVEL FOR SEPARATED FAMILIES. 
Section 901(15) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 
(22 U.S.C. 4081(15)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘1 round-trip per year for each child 
below age 21 of a member of the Service assigned 
abroad’’ and inserting ‘‘in the case of one or more 
children below age 21 of a member of the Service as-
signed abroad, one round-trip per year’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘for each child’’ before 
‘‘to visit the member abroad’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a 
comma; 
(3) in subparagraph (B)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘for each child’’ before 
‘‘to visit the other parent’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘resides,’’; 
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
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‘‘(C) for one of the child’s parents to visit 
the child or children abroad if the child or chil-
dren do not regularly reside with that parent 
and that parent is not receiving an education 
allowance or educational travel allowance for 
the child or children under section 5924(4) of 
title 5, United States Code,’’; and 
(5) in the matter following subparagraph (C), 
as added by paragraph (4) of this section, by strik-
ing ‘‘a payment’’ and inserting ‘‘the cost of round- 
trip travel’’. 
SEC. 1305. HOME LEAVE TRAVEL FOR SEPARATED FAMI-
LIES. 
Section 903(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 
(22 U.S.C. 4083(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new sentence: ‘‘In cases in which a member of 
the Service has official orders to an unaccompanied post 
and in which the family members of the member reside 
apart from the member at authorized locations outside the 
United States, the member may take the leave ordered 
under this section where that member’s family members 
reside, notwithstanding section 6305 of title 5, United 
States Code.’’. 
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SEC. 1306. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CERTAIN FEL-
LOWSHIP PROGRAMS. 
It is the sense of Congress that Department fellow-
ships that promote the employment of candidates belong-
ing to underrepresented groups, including the Charles B. 
Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship Pro-
gram, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow-
ship Program, and the Donald M. Payne International De-
velopment Fellowship Program, represent smart invest-
ments vital for building a strong, capable, and representa-
tive national security workforce. 
SEC. 1307. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 
Subparagraph (A) of section 601(c)(6) of the Foreign 
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4001(c)(6)) is amended, 
in the matter preceding clause (i), by— 
(1) striking ‘‘promotion’’ and inserting ‘‘pro-
motion, on or after January 1, 2017,’’; and 
(2) striking ‘‘individual joining the Service on 
or after January 1, 2017,’’ and inserting ‘‘Foreign 
Service officer, appointed under section 302(a)(1), 
who has general responsibility for carrying out the 
functions of the Service’’. 
SEC. 1308. FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 614 of the Foreign Serv-
ice Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is amended— 
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(1) by amending the section heading to read as 
follows: ‘‘DEPARTMENT AWARDS’’; and 
(2) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or Civil 
Service’’ after ‘‘the Service’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 
to section 614 in the table of contents of the Foreign Serv-
ice Act of 1980 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 614. Department awards.’’. 
SEC. 1309. DIPLOMATIC PROGRAMS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON WORKFORCE RECRUIT-
MENT.—It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of 
State should continue to hold entry-level classes for For-
eign Service officers and specialists and continue to recruit 
civil servants through programs such as the Presidential 
Management Fellows Program and Pathways Internship 
Programs in a manner and at a frequency consistent with 
prior years and consistent with the need to maintain a 
pool of experienced personnel effectively distributed across 
skill codes and ranks. It is further the sense of Congress 
that absent continuous recruitment and training of For-
eign Service officers and civil servants, the Department 
of State will lack experienced, qualified personnel in the 
short, medium, and long terms. 
(b) LIMITATION.—The Secretary of State should not 
implement any reduction-in-force action under section 
3502 or 3595 of title 5, United States Code, or for any 
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