Title: Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of State Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of State Act
This bill establishes the role of Chief Diversity Officer in the Department of State, modifies promotion, training, and mentorship at the State Department, and authorizes the submission of gap memos prior to a performance evaluation. A gap memo is a written record indicating and explaining an employment gap that is due to personal circumstances.


[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8912 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8912

    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
establish in the Department of State a Chief Diversity Officer and the 
   Foreign Service Act of 1980 to promote increased diversity in the 
                Foreign Service, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 9, 2020

    Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself, Ms. Haaland, Ms. Judy Chu of 
  California, Ms. Titus, and Ms. Bass) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
establish in the Department of State a Chief Diversity Officer and the 
   Foreign Service Act of 1980 to promote increased diversity in the 
                Foreign Service, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Diversity and 
Inclusion at the Department of State Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                    TITLE I--CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER

Sec. 101. Chief Diversity Officer.
  TITLE II--DIVERSITY IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE AND AT THE DEPARTMENT OF 
                                 STATE

Sec. 201. Representation on Board of Examiners for the purposes of 
                            recruitment into the Foreign Service.
Sec. 202. Promotion in the Foreign Service.
Sec. 203. Diversity and inclusion training.
Sec. 204. Mentorship program.
Sec. 205. Senior Executive Service candidate development program.
Sec. 206. Diversity defined in the Foreign Service Act of 1980.
                   TITLE III--PROMOTION ACCESSIBILITY

Sec. 301. Implementation of gap memorandum in selection board process.

                    TITLE I--CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER

SEC. 101. CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 1 of the State Department Basic 
Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Chief Diversity Officer.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established in the Department 
        of State, in the office of the Deputy Secretary of State, a 
        Chief Diversity Officer, who shall--
                    ``(A) be appointed by the President;
                    ``(B) be a current or former career member of the 
                Foreign Service or Civil Service; and
                    ``(C) report directly to the Deputy Secretary of 
                State.
            ``(2) Responsibilities of the deputy secretary of state.--
        The Deputy Secretary of State shall be responsible for ensuring 
        policies and practices of the Department of State relating to 
        recruitment, retention, and promotion to advance diversity, 
        equity, and inclusion.
            ``(3) Duties.--The Chief Diversity Officer shall be 
        responsible for the following:
                    ``(A) Providing advice to the Deputy Secretary of 
                State regarding carrying out paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Collecting and sharing information on 
                diversity in assignments and promotions within the 
                Department of State, including disaggregated 
                information by office and bureau.
                    ``(C) Establishing benchmarks and goals for 
                individual offices and bureaus regarding assignments of 
                personnel, in coordination with the Director General of 
                the Foreign Service, to promote diversity and inclusion 
                at the Department of State, and conducting annual 
                reviews of individual bureaus on their actions taken to 
                satisfy such benchmarks and goals.
                    ``(D) Providing advice to the Deputy Secretary of 
                State and other senior individuals of the Department of 
                State in the selection of chiefs of mission and deputy 
                chiefs of mission.
            ``(4) Rank and status.--The Chief Diversity Officer shall 
        have the rank and status of Assistant Secretary of State.
            ``(5) Bureau liaisons.--The Secretary of State shall 
        appoint in each bureau of the Department of State a liaison to 
        coordinate with the Chief Diversity Officer the activities of 
        each such bureau.
            ``(6) Reporting.--Not later than January 30 of every year, 
        the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate a report--
                    ``(A) detailing the benchmarks and goals for 
                individual offices and bureaus of the Department of 
                State;
                    ``(B) assessments by the Chief Diversity Officer on 
                the performance over the previous year of each such 
                office and bureau to satisfy such benchmarks and goals; 
                and
                    ``(C) containing any other relevant information.
            ``(7) Definition.--In this section, the term `diversity' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3902).''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the Chief 
Diversity Officer of the Department of State established pursuant to 
subsection (h) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, 
as added by subsection (a), should be provided sufficient office space 
and support staff to ensure successful operation.

  TITLE II--DIVERSITY IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE AND AT THE DEPARTMENT OF 
                                 STATE

SEC. 201. REPRESENTATION ON BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR THE PURPOSES OF 
              RECRUITMENT INTO THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

    Section 211 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3931) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(c) Members of the Foreign Service and members of the Senior 
Foreign Service shall accrue one additional year of time in class for 
every two years spent as a member of a Board of Examiners.
    ``(d) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a substantial number 
of women and members of minority groups are appointed to the Board of 
Examiners.''.

SEC. 202. PROMOTION IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

    The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended--
            (1) in section 602 (22 U.S.C. 4002), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Not later than January 31 of each year, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a 
report that details the demographic composition of selection boards 
under this section and the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service 
under section 211 convened in the previous year, including information 
on the diversity of the members of such boards, in addition to any 
other information the Secretary determines relevant.''; and
            (2) in section 603 (22 U.S.C. 4003)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), in the second sentence, by 
                inserting ``testimony from peers and subordinates,'' 
                after ``supervisors,''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1) by striking ``, or'' 
                        and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
                        paragraph (4); and
                            (iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
                        following new paragraphs:
            ``(2) a record of supporting the recruitment and career 
        development goals of members of the Foreign Service, such as 
        serving as a mentor in mentorship program under section 616, 
        participation in recruitment activities, or serving on the 
        Board of Examiners or on selection boards;
            ``(3) a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity and 
        inclusion at the Department of State, including in management 
        practices;''.

SEC. 203. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TRAINING.

    Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by 
inserting after section 614 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Diversity and Inclusion Training.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, with the 
        assistance of other relevant officials, such as the Director 
        General of the Foreign Service and the Director of Human 
        Resources, the Director of the Office of Civil Rights, the 
        Chief Diversity Officer, and the director of the George P. 
        Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall 
        establish as part of the standard training provided after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, for officers of the 
        Service, including chiefs of mission, instruction on promoting 
        diversity. Such training shall be informed by the latest 
        available research and methods, and may include unconscious 
        bias training and other such instruction.
            ``(2) Implementation.--In carrying out the training 
        required under paragraph (1), the Director of the George P. 
        Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center shall, not 
        later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
        section, conduct training on diversity and inclusion for all 
        Foreign Service officers, including all entry level officers 
        and all officers prior to service on a selection board or the 
        Board of Examiners. Such training shall be included in--
                    ``(A) the A-100 course attended by all Foreign 
                Service officers; and
                    ``(B) the courses required of all officers prior to 
                service on a selection board or the Board of 
                Examiners.''.

SEC. 204. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by 
inserting after section 708 (22 U.S.C. 4028) the following new 
sections:

``SEC. 709. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.

    ``(a) The Secretary of State shall establish in the Department of 
State a mentorship program to match--
            ``(1) entry-level members of the Foreign Service and newly 
        hired members of the civil service at the GS-9 level and below; 
        and
            ``(2) mid-level members of the Foreign Service and mid-
        level members of the civil service at the GS-12 level and 
        above.
    ``(b) Individuals participating in the mentorship program under 
this section shall participate for a minimum of two tours of duty.
    ``(c) The mentorship program established under this section shall 
include Employee Affinity Groups in the selection of mentors, in 
addition to other individuals selected by the Secretary of State.
    ``(d) Service as mentor in the mentorship program shall be 
considered as satisfying criteria under section 603(b)(2).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Foreign Service Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 707 the following new items:

``Sec. 708. Training for Foreign Service officers.
``Sec. 709. Mentorship program.''.

SEC. 205. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE CANDIDATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall annually offer the 
Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program to members of 
the civil service at the Department of State at the GS-14 and GS-15 
levels.
    (b) Report.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate, at the same time as each report 
required under section 313 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added 
by section 2(a)(2), a report detailing the demographic information of 
candidates referred by each bureau of the Department of State to 
interview for the Senior Executive Service, including demographic 
information disaggregated by bureau relating to the diversity (as such 
term is defined in the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended by 
section 206) of such candidates.

SEC. 206. DIVERSITY DEFINED IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF 1980.

    Section 102 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3902) is 
amended by--
            (1) redesignating paragraphs (5) through (12) as paragraphs 
        (6) through (13), respectively; and
            (2) inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) `diversity' includes characteristics such as national 
        origin, language, race, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, 
        age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
        socioeconomic status, and family structure.''.

                   TITLE III--PROMOTION ACCESSIBILITY

SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION OF GAP MEMORANDUM IN SELECTION BOARD PROCESS.

    (a) In General.--Section 603 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
U.S.C. 4003) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(c)(1) A member of the Service or member of the Senior Foreign 
Service whose performance will be evaluated by a selection board may 
submit to such selection board a gap memo in advance of such 
evaluation.
            ``(2) Members of a selection board may not consider as 
        negative the submission of a gap memo by a member described in 
        paragraph (1) when evaluating the performance of such member.
            ``(3) In this subsection, the term `gap memo' means a 
        written record, submitted to a selection board in a standard 
        format established by the Director General of the Foreign 
        Service, which indicates and explains a gap in the record of a 
        member of the Service or member of the Senior Foreign Service 
        whose performance will be evaluated by such selection board, 
        which gap is due to personal circumstances, including for 
        health, family, or other reason as determined by the Director 
        General in consultation with the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate.''.
    (b) Consultation and Guidance.--
            (1) Consultation.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Director General of the Foreign 
        Service shall consult with the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate regarding the development of the gap 
        memo under subsection (c) of section 603 of the Foreign Service 
        Act of 1980, as added by subsection (a).
            (2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``gap memo'' 
        has the meaning given such term in subsection (c) of section 
        603 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980.
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