[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 599 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 599
To establish the Department of State Student Internship Program as a
paid internship program to provide students with the opportunity to
learn about a career in diplomacy and foreign affairs, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 4, 2021
Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Scott of South Carolina) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Department of State Student Internship Program as a
paid internship program to provide students with the opportunity to
learn about a career in diplomacy and foreign affairs, 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 ``Department of State Student
Internship Program Act''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF STATE STUDENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall establish the
Department of State Student Internship Program (in this section
referred to as the ``Program'') to offer internship opportunities at
the Department of State to eligible students to raise awareness of the
essential role of diplomacy in the conduct of United States foreign
policy and the realization of United States foreign policy objectives.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the Program, an
applicant shall--
(1) be enrolled, not less than half-time, at--
(A) an institution of higher education (as such
term is defined section 102 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)); or
(B) an institution of higher education based
outside the United States, as determined by the
Secretary of State;
(2) be able to receive and hold an appropriate security
clearance; and
(3) satisfy such other criteria as established by the
Secretary.
(c) Selection.--The Secretary of State shall establish selection
criteria for students to be admitted into the Program that includes the
following:
(1) Demonstrable interest in a career in foreign affairs.
(2) Academic performance.
(3) Such other criteria as determined by the Secretary.
(d) Outreach.--The Secretary of State shall advertise the Program
widely, including on the internet, through the Department of State's
Diplomats in Residence program, and through other outreach and
recruiting initiatives targeting undergraduate and graduate students.
The Secretary shall actively recruit people belonging to traditionally
under represented groups, including by conducting targeted outreach at
minority serving institutions (as such term is described in section
371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)), to
promote diversity, as defined in subsection (e).
(e) Diversity.--The term ``diversity'' means those classes of
persons protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a
et seq.) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12101 et seq.).
(f) Compensation.--
(1) In general.--Students participating in the Program
shall be paid at least--
(A) the amount specified in section 6(a)(1) of the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1));
or
(B) the minimum wage of the jurisdiction in which
the internship is located, whichever is greatest.
(2) Housing assistance.--
(A) Abroad.--The Secretary of State shall provide
housing to a student participating in the Program whose
permanent address is within the United States if the
location of the internship in which such student is
participating is outside the United States.
(B) Domestic.--The Secretary of State is authorized
to provide housing to a student participating in the
Program whose permanent address is within the United
States if the location of the internship in which such
student is participating is more than 50 miles away
from such student's permanent address.
(3) Travel assistance.--The Secretary of State shall
provide a student participating in the Program whose permanent
address is within the United States financial assistance to
cover the costs of travel once to and once from the location of
the internship in which such student is participating,
including travel by air, train, bus, or other transit as
appropriate, if the location of such internship is--
(A) more than 50 miles from such student's
permanent address; or
(B) outside the United States.
(g) Working With Institutions of Higher Education.--The Secretary
of State is authorized to enter into agreements with institutions of
higher education to structure internships to ensure such internships
satisfy criteria for academic programs in which participants in such
internships are enrolled.
(h) Transition Period.--
(1) In general.--Not later than three years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
transition all unpaid internship programs of the Department of
State, to the maximum extent practicable and excluding
internships not administered by the Department, to internship
programs that offer compensation, such as the Program and the
Foreign Service Internship Program.
(2) Waiver authority.--The Secretary of State may waive the
transition requirement under paragraph (1) for a period of not
more than one year if the Secretary of State--
(A) determines that such a waiver is necessary; and
(B) submits to the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives a report providing a
justification for such a waiver.
(i) Reports.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that includes
the following:
(1) Information regarding the number of students,
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, institution of higher
learning, home State, State where each student graduated from
high school, and disability status, who applied to the Program,
were offered a position, and participated.
(2) Information on the number of security clearance
investigations started and the timeline for such
investigations, including whether such investigations were
completed or if, and when, an interim security clearance was
granted.
(3) Information on expenditures on the Program.
(4) Information regarding the Department of State's
compliance with subsection (g).
(j) Voluntary Participation.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to compel any student to participate in the collection of data
or divulge any personal information described in subsection
(h). Students shall be informed that their participation in the
data collection contemplated by this title is voluntary.
(2) Privacy protection.--Any data collected under this
section shall be subject to the relevant privacy protection
statutes and regulations applicable to Federal employees.
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