[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4306 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4306
To expand employment opportunities for spouses of Foreign Service
officers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 1, 2021
Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Beyer, Mr.
Carson, Ms. Wexton, Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Ms. Norton, Mr. Connolly,
Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Jacobs of California, Ms. Titus, Ms.
Jackson Lee, and Ms. Bass) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the
Committees on Oversight and Reform, and Education and Labor, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expand employment opportunities for spouses of Foreign Service
officers, 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. TELECOMMUTING OPPORTUNITIES.
(a) Amendment.--Subsection (b) of section 6502 of title 5, United
States Code (relating to the executive agencies telework requirement),
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph 5, by striking the period at the end; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) 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 pursuant to
paragraph (6) of section 6502(b) of title 5, United States Code, as
added by subsection (a), to have access to the International
Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) system.
SEC. 3. 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 (as such term is defined in 3 FAM 7120)
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; and'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (9); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraphs:
``(2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations--
``(A) to carry out 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 the employee to whom
they are related;
``(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 such
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 the employee to whom he or she is
related.
``(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 such 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 entities in the
private sector to enhance employment opportunities for
eligible family members and to provide for improved job
portability, especially in the case of an eligible
family member accompanying an employee to whom he or
she is related to a new geographical area because of a
change of permanent duty station of such 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
employees to whom they are related into contracts between the
Department and private sector entities.
``(8)(A) The Secretary may 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 the
employee to whom he or she is related.
``(B) The amount provided under subparagraph (A) as
assistance for the development of any particular
interstate compact may not exceed $1,000,000.
``(C) The total amount of assistance provided under
subparagraph (A) in any fiscal year may not exceed
$4,000,000.
``(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 such
subparagraph. Each report shall set forth information
relating to the following:
``(i) An 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) An 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 such subparagraph pursuant to
such cooperative agreement, expires on September 30,
2024.''.
SEC. 4. 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 of State 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 of State'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 such guidance 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 such guidance.
(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. 5. 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 new subsection:
``(e) The Secretary shall hold a family member of a government
employee described in subsection (a) seeking employment in a position
described in such 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. 6. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR MEMBERS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE,
SPOUSES, AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN.
(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
``a 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 amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
``(d) Definitions.--In this section, the term `member of a
qualifying Federal service' means--
``(1) a member of the Armed Forces (as such term is defined
in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) who is on
active duty for a period of more than 30 days (as such term is
defined in such section 101); or
``(2) a member of the Foreign Service (as such term is
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 by subsection (a) shall
take effect at each public institution of higher education (as such
term is defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et
seq.)) in a State that receives assistance under such Act for the first
period of enrollment at such institution that begins after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
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