Foreign Service Families Act of 2021
Bill: S.1550 | Sponsor: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris (D-MD)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Foreign Service Families Act of 2021
This bill increases access to career and educational opportunities for eligible family members of foreign service employees.
Specifically, the Department of State must use additional hiring preferences and apply appropriate hiring standards to eligible family members seeking employment in certain civil service positions overseas. Additionally, the State Department may take other steps to improve job portability and otherwise support employment of eligible family members who work in the federal civil service or private sector jobs. The State Department must also report on the implementation of the Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps, a program that expedites hiring and onboarding processes for family members who are eligible for appointment to positions overseas.
Furthermore, each federal agency must include in its telework policy the circumstances under which an employee may temporarily work from an approved location overseas.
The bill also makes foreign service employees (or their spouses and dependent children) who are domiciled or assigned to a duty station in a given state eligible for in-state tuition at public institutions of higher education in that state. Such individuals retain their eligibility for in-state tuition provided they maintain continuous enrollment even if their domicile or duty station changes. Additionally, the bill entitles members of the Foreign Service who are posted abroad to terminate residential and motor vehicle leases and telephone service contracts without being subject to early termination fees.

To support Foreign Service families, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Service Families Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of State.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State.

SEC. 3. TELECOMMUTING OPPORTUNITIES.

    (a) DETO Policy.--
            (1) In general.--Each Federal department and agency shall 
        establish a policy enumerating the circumstances under which 
        employees may be permitted to temporarily perform work 
        requirements and duties from approved overseas locations 
        pursuant to an approved Domestically Employed Teleworking 
        Overseas (DETO) agreement.
            (2) Participation.--The policy described under paragraph 
        (1) shall--
                    (A) ensure that telework does not diminish employee 
                performance or agency operations;
                    (B) require a written agreement that--
                            (i) is entered into between an agency 
                        manager and an employee authorized to telework, 
                        that outlines the specific work arrangement 
                        that is agreed to; and
                            (ii) is mandatory in order for any employee 
                        to participate in telework;
                    (C) provide that an employee may not be authorized 
                to telework if the performance of that employee does 
                not comply with the terms of the written agreement 
                between the agency manager and that employee;
                    (D) except in emergency situations as determined by 
                the head of an agency, not apply to any employee of the 
                agency whose official duties require on a daily basis 
                (every work day)--
                            (i) direct handling of secure materials 
                        determined to be inappropriate for telework by 
                        the agency head; or
                            (ii) on-site activity that cannot be 
                        handled remotely or at an alternate worksite;
                    (E) be incorporated as part of the continuity of 
                operations plans of the agency in the event of an 
                emergency; and
                    (F) enumerate the circumstances under which 
                employees may be permitted to temporarily perform work 
                requirements and duties from approved overseas 
                locations.
    (b) Access to ICASS System.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall revise 
chapter 900 of volume 6 of the Foreign Affairs Manual, the 
International Cooperative Administrative Support Services Handbook, the 
Personnel Operations Handbook, and any other relevant regulations to 
allow each Federal agency that has enacted a policy under subsection 
(a) to have access to the International Cooperative Administrative 
Support Services (ICASS) system.

SEC. 4. EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS 
              OF MEMBERS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

    Section 706(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 
4026(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Secretary may'' and inserting 
                ``The Secretary shall''; and
                    (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(C) establishing a program for assisting eligible 
                family members in accessing employment and education 
                opportunities, which shall be modeled after the 
                programs authorized under sections 1784 and 1784a of 
                title 10, United States Code, and based on regulations 
                modeled after those prescribed pursuant to subsection 
                (b) of such section 1784.'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (9);
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
        paragraphs:
            ``(2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations--
                    ``(A) to implement such measures as the President 
                orders pursuant to paragraph (1)(C);
                    ``(B) to provide preference to eligible family 
                members in hiring for any civilian position in the 
                Department of State if--
                            ``(i) the eligible family member is among 
                        persons determined to be best qualified for the 
                        position; and
                            ``(ii) the position is located in the 
                        country of assignment of their sponsoring 
                        employee;
                    ``(C) to ensure that notice of any vacant position 
                in the Department is provided in a manner reasonably 
                designed to reach eligible family members of sponsoring 
                employees whose permanent duty stations are in the same 
                country as that in which the position is located; and
                    ``(D) to ensure that an eligible family member who 
                applies for a vacant position in the Department shall, 
                to the extent practicable, be considered for any such 
                position located in the same country as the permanent 
                duty station of their sponsoring employee.
            ``(3) Nothing in this section may be construed to provide 
        an eligible family member with preference in hiring over an 
        individual who is preference eligible.
            ``(4) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, a 
        chief of mission may, consistent with all applicable laws and 
        regulations pertaining to the ICASS system, make available to a 
        non-Department entity space in an embassy or consulate for the 
        purpose of the non-Department entity providing employment-
        related training for eligible family members.
            ``(5) The Secretary may work with the Director of the 
        Office of Personnel Management and the heads of other Federal 
        departments and agencies to expand and facilitate the use of 
        existing Federal programs and resources in support of eligible 
        family member employment.
            ``(6) The Secretary may--
                    ``(A) develop partnerships with firms in the 
                private sector to enhance employment opportunities for 
                eligible family members and to provide for improved job 
                portability for such spouses, especially in the case of 
                an eligible family member accompanying a sponsoring 
                employee to a new geographical area because of a change 
                of permanent duty station of the sponsoring employee; 
                and
                    ``(B) work with the United States Chamber of 
                Commerce and other appropriate private-sector entities 
                to facilitate the formation of such partnerships.
            ``(7) The Secretary may prescribe regulations to 
        incorporate hiring preferences for eligible family members of 
        sponsoring employees into contracts between the Department and 
        private sector entities.
            ``(8)(A) The Secretary of State shall seek to enter into a 
        cooperative agreement with the Council of State Governments to 
        assist with funding of the development of interstate compacts 
        on licensed occupations in order to alleviate the burden 
        associated with relicensing in such an occupation by an 
        eligible family member in connection with a permanent change of 
        duty station of their sponsoring employee.
            ``(B) The total amount of assistance provided under 
        subparagraph (A) for all interstate compacts in any fiscal year 
        may not exceed $4,000,000.
            ``(C) The amount provided under subparagraph (A) as 
        assistance for the development of any particular interstate 
        compact may not exceed $1,000,000.
            ``(D) Not later than February 28 each year, the Secretary 
        shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives a report on interstate compacts described in 
        subparagraph (A) developed through assistance provided under 
        that subparagraph. Each report shall set forth the following:
                    ``(i) Any interstate compact developed during the 
                preceding calendar year, including the occupational 
                licenses covered by such compact and the States 
                agreeing to enter into such compact.
                    ``(ii) Any interstate compact developed during a 
                prior calendar year into which one or more additional 
                States agreed to enter during the preceding calendar 
                year.
            ``(E) The authority to enter into a cooperative agreement 
        under subparagraph (A), and to provide assistance described in 
        that subparagraph pursuant to such cooperative agreement, 
        expire on September 30, 2024.''; and
            (4) by adding after paragraph (9), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (2) of this subsection, the following new paragraph:
    ``(10) In this subsection, the term `eligible family member' has 
the meaning given the term in section 7121 of volume 3 of the Foreign 
Affairs Manual (3 FAM 7121).''.

SEC. 5. REPORTING ON FOREIGN SERVICE FAMILY RESERVE CORPS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall brief the appropriate 
congressional committees on the status of implementation of the Foreign 
Service Family Reserve Corps.
    (b) Elements.--The briefing required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following elements:
            (1) A description of the status of implementation of the 
        Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps (FSFRC).
            (2) An assessment of the extent to which implementation was 
        impacted by the Department's hiring freeze and a detailed 
        explanation of the effect of any such impacts.
            (3) A description of the status of implementation of a 
        hiring preference for the FSFRC.
            (4) A detailed accounting of any individuals eligible for 
        membership in the FSFRC who were unable to begin working at a 
        new location as a result of being unable to transfer their 
        security clearance, including an assessment of whether they 
        would have been able to port their clearance as a member of the 
        FSFRC if the program had been fully implemented.
            (5) An estimate of the number of individuals who are 
        eligible to join the FSFRC worldwide and the categories, as 
        detailed in the Under Secretary for Management's guidance dated 
        May 3, 2016, under which those individuals would enroll.
            (6) An estimate of the number of individuals who are 
        enrolled in the FSFRC worldwide and the categories, as detailed 
        in the Under Secretary for Management's guidance dated May 3, 
        2016, under which those individuals enrolled.
            (7) An estimate of the number of individuals who were 
        enrolled in each phase of the implementation of the FSFRC as 
        detailed in guidance issued by the Under Secretary for 
        Management.
            (8) An estimate of the number of individuals enrolled in 
        the FSFRC who have successfully transferred a security 
        clearance to a new post since implementation of the program 
        began.
            (9) An estimate of the number of individuals enrolled in 
        the FSFRC who have been unable to successfully transfer a 
        security clearance to a new post since implementation of the 
        program began.
            (10) An estimate of the number of individuals who have 
        declined in writing to apply to the FSFRC.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS SEEKING 
              POSITIONS CUSTOMARILY FILLED BY FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS 
              OR FOREIGN NATIONAL EMPLOYEES.

    Section 311 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3951) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) The Secretary shall hold a family member of a government 
employee described in subsection (a) seeking employment in a position 
described in that subsection to the same employment standards as those 
applicable to Foreign Service officers, Foreign Service personnel, or 
foreign national employees seeking the same or a substantially similar 
position.''.

SEC. 7. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR MEMBERS OF QUALIFYING FEDERAL 
              SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Section 135 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1015d) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``the armed forces 
        on active duty, spouses, and dependent children'' and inserting 
        ``qualifying federal service'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``member of the armed 
        forces who is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days 
        and'' and inserting ``member of a qualifying Federal service'';
            (3) in subsection (b), by striking ``member of the armed 
        forces'' and inserting ``member of a qualifying Federal 
        service''; and
            (4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section, the term `member of a 
qualifying Federal service' means--
            ``(1) a member of the armed forces (as defined in section 
        101 of title 10, United States Code) who is on active duty for 
        a period of more than 30 days (as defined in section 101 of 
        title 10, United States Code); or
            ``(2) a member of the Foreign Service (as defined in 
        section 103 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 
        3903)) who is on active duty for a period of more than 30 
        days.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made under subsection (a) shall 
take effect at each public institution of higher education in a State 
that receives assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) for the first period of enrollment at such 
institution that begins after July 1, 2021.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF RESIDENTIAL OR MOTOR VEHICLE LEASES AND 
              TELEPHONE SERVICE CONTRACTS FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE 
              FOREIGN SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 9 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 
1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 907. TERMINATION OF RESIDENTIAL OR MOTOR VEHICLE LEASES AND 
              TELEPHONE SERVICE CONTRACTS.

    ``The terms governing the termination of residential or motor 
vehicle leases and telephone service contracts described in sections 
305 and 305A, respectively of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 
U.S.C. 3955 and 3956) with respect to servicemembers who receive 
military orders described in such Act shall apply in the same manner 
and to the same extent to members of the Service who are posted abroad 
at a Foreign Service post in accordance with this Act.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 906 the following new item:

``Sec. 907. Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases and 
                            telephone service contracts.''.
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