Accountability in Assignment Restrictions Act
Bill: H.R.5275 | Sponsor: Rep. Lieu, Ted (D-CA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Accountability in Assignment Restrictions Act
This bill sets out a process through which Department of State employees may appeal assignment restrictions. These are restrictions on an employee's security clearance that preclude the employee from serving in certain diplomatic posts or working on certain issues in the United States to (1) prevent potential targeting and harassment by foreign intelligence services, and (2) lessen foreign influence or foreign preference security concerns.
Specifically, the bill establishes the Assignment Restriction Appeals Panel to hear assignment restriction appeals from Foreign Service and civil service employees. Additionally, the State Department must annually report to Congress on its use of assignment restrictions, including the rationale for the restrictions, data about employees subject to restrictions in the previous year, and information about the appeals process.

To establish an independent appeals process relating to assignment 
    restrictions at the Department of State, 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 ``Accountability in Assignment 
Restrictions Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Foreign Service Act of 1980 prohibits the 
        Department of State from discrimination on the basis of race, 
        color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicapping 
        condition, marital status, geographic or educational 
        affiliation within the United States, or political affiliation 
        in all personnel actions, including assignments.
            (2) According to a Government Accountability Office report 
        published in 2020, the Senior Foreign Service was 69 percent 
        male and 90 percent White. Meanwhile numerous testimonials have 
        documented the barriers to advancement faced by non-White 
        Foreign Service officers (FSOs).
            (3) On April 12, 2021, Secretary Blinken appointed a new 
        Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, former Ambassador Gina 
        Abercrombie-Winstanley, reflecting his stated commitment to 
        increasing diversity and inclusion at the Department.
            (4) According to the Department of State, there are 
        approximately 1800 employees currently subject to a practice 
        called assignment restrictions, whereby they are precluded from 
        working in or on a particular country. The top four countries 
        to which the restrictions apply are China (196), Russia (184), 
        Taiwan (84), and Israel (70).
            (5) Department of State employees have repeatedly raised 
        concerns with Congress and the Department that the practice of 
        assignment restrictions lacks transparency and accountability, 
        and it may disproportionately and unfairly affect Asian-
        American employees.
            (6) The Department of State lacks an independent appeals 
        process for assignment restrictions, preventing affected 
        employees from having their case reviewed by individuals who 
        were not involved with the initial decision.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) it is in the foreign policy interest of the United 
        States to maintain a diplomatic corps that reflects the 
        diversity of the country and fully utilizes the cultural and 
        linguistic skills that stem from this diversity;
            (2) the practice of assignment restrictions risks 
        undermining the Department of State's stated goals of promoting 
        diversity and inclusion in its workforce, while potentially 
        restricting those individuals whose cultural and linguistic 
        skills can most benefit the work of United States diplomacy and 
        counterintelligence;
            (3) the practice of assignment restrictions limits the 
        opportunities for promotion and career advancement of talented 
        Department of State employees who possess valuable linguistic 
        skills and country-specific knowledge;
            (4) the establishment of an independent appeals process for 
        assignment restrictions, whereby the panel is not made up by a 
        majority of individuals from the same bureau that made the 
        initial determination, would help ensure fairness and 
        transparency while promoting the goals of inclusion and 
        diversity within the Department; and
            (5) tracking and reporting data on assignment restrictions, 
        including the race, ethnicity, and national origin of those 
        impacted individuals, will help ensure that assignment 
        restrictions are not disproportionately targeting a particular 
        group or minority at the Department.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT APPEALS PROCESS.

    The Secretary of State shall amend all relevant provisions of the 
Foreign Service Manual, and any associated or related policies of the 
Department of State, to reflect the following policies with respect to 
Foreign Service and civil service employees of the Department:
            (1) Any employee subjected to an assignment restriction or 
        preclusion shall have the same appeal rights as provided by the 
        Department regarding denial or revocation of a security 
        clearance.
            (2) Any such appeal shall be resolved not later than 60 
        days after such appeal is filed.
            (3) The Bureau of Diplomatic Security shall transmit to the 
        Assignment Restriction Appeals Panel all case files, without 
        redaction, relating to an employee subject to an assignment 
        restriction or preclusion.
            (4) The Assignment Restriction Appeals Panel shall be 
        comprised of the following officials of the Department:
                    (A) The Under Secretary for Management.
                    (B) The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
                the Bureau of Global Talent Management.
                    (C) The Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.
                    (D) An Assistant Secretary or Deputy, or 
                equivalent, from a third bureau designated by the Under 
                Secretary for Management.
                    (E) A representative from the geographic bureau to 
                which the restriction applies.
                    (F) A representative from the Office of the Legal 
                Adviser and a representative from the Bureau of 
                Diplomatic Security, who shall serve as non-voting 
                advisors.
            (5) All members of the Assignment Restriction Appeals Panel 
        shall possess appropriate security clearances.
            (6) If any member of the Assignment Restriction Appeals 
        Panel is unable to serve, the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or 
        the Under Secretary for Management may designate an alternate. 
        The most senior member of such a Panel shall serve as chair of 
        the Panel.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report that contains the 
following:
            (1) A rationale for the use of assignment restrictions by 
        the Department of State, including specific case studies 
        related to cleared American Foreign Service and civil service 
        employees of the Department that demonstrate country-specific 
        restrictions serve a counterintelligence role beyond that which 
        is already covered by the security clearance process.
            (2) The number of such Department employees subject to 
        assignment restrictions over the previous year, with data 
        disaggregated by:
                    (A) Identification as a Foreign Service officer, 
                civil service employee, eligible family member, or 
                other employment status.
                    (B) The ethnicity, national origin, and race of the 
                precluded employee.
                    (C) Gender.
                    (D) Identification of the country of restriction.
            (3) A description of the considerations and criteria used 
        by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security to determine whether an 
        assignment restriction is warranted.
            (4) The number of restrictions that were appealed and the 
        success rate of such appeals.
            (5) The impact of assignment restrictions in terms of 
        unused language skills as measured by Foreign Service Institute 
        language scores of such precluded employees.
            (6) Measures taken to ensure the diversity of adjudicators 
        and contracted investigators, with accompanying data on 
        results.
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