[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3989 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3989
To retain language proficiency and readiness to support national
security goals of the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2025
Mr. Panetta (for himself, Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas, and Mrs. Kiggans
of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To retain language proficiency and readiness to support national
security goals of the United States.
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 ``Fluent Forces Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Since 1941, the United States has recognized the need
for military intelligence units to have a competitive edge
through language proficiency. Although investments in linguists
were made since World War Two to support American military and
foreign policy, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001,
exposed a shortage of members of the Armed Forces who speak
highly valuable languages. The terrorist attacks highlighted
the persistent and continuous need for the Department of
Defense to maintain a designated cohort of qualified linguists
to respond to crises or contingencies anywhere in the world. In
response, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language
Center (DLIFLC) was created. Today, DLIFLC remains the premier
school of the Department of Defense for culturally based
foreign language education and training.
(2) Fluency in foreign languages and cultures underpins
successful foreign policy and national security, as evidenced
across an array of conflicts, including counterinsurgency,
counterterrorism, and great power competition.
(3) Despite growing developments in technology and
artificial intelligence, person-to-person engagement remains an
intimate component of America's military strategy, including in
multinational conflicts throughout the Middle East and Europe.
(4) The skillset provided by language and cultural training
supports effective communication and interoperability between
members of the Armed Forces of the United States and partner
forces, allows for connections with local populations in
politically sensitive environments, and offers more efficient
diplomatic engagement with state representatives or negotiation
teams.
(5) With foreign language skills, members of the Armed
Forces, including members of both active and reserve
components, can make informed and potentially lifesaving
judgements regarding strategy and operations that can be
culturally-sensitive both at home and abroad. As information
plays a more considerable role in military and foreign policy,
linguistic skills provide increased support for intelligence
gathering and subsequent interpretation.
(6) The Foreign Area Officer program, with language
instruction completed at the DLIFLC, serves as another
indispensable component of America's foreign policy strategy.
Through their foreign language and cultural expertise, Foreign
Area Officers are members of the Armed Forces grounded in the
profession of arms who--
(A) provide leadership and expertise in diverse
organizations in joint, interagency, intergovernmental,
and multinational environments;
(B) advise senior leaders as regional experts; and
(C) offer unique war fighting competencies,
including cross-cultural capabilities, interpersonal
communications, and foreign language skills, that are
critical to mission readiness of the Department of
Defense in a dynamic national security environment.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT ON RECRUITING PRACTICES TO INCREASE
ATTENDANCE AT THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE FOREIGN
LANGUAGE CENTER.
(a) Assessments.--Not later than December 31, 2025, and annually
thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House
of Representatives an assessment of recruiting methods of the
Department of Defense to increase attendance at the Defense Language
Institute Foreign Language Center.
(b) Elements of Assessment.--Each assessment submitted under
subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the 12-month period
ending the month before the date of the submission of the assessment,
the following:
(1) An identification of the public and private secondary
schools engaged by military recruiters for the purpose of
increasing attendance at the Defense Language Institute Foreign
Language Center.
(2) An identification of the number of persons recruited
from such schools who completed enlistment or accession into
the Armed Forces and subsequently enrolled at the Defense
Language Institute Foreign Language Center.
(3) An identification of challenges to recruiting qualified
individuals from such schools that limit progress toward
increasing the number of personnel attending the Defense
Language Institute Foreign Language Center, including
challenges with respect to--
(A) procedures for recruiters to gain access to
such schools;
(B) the conduct of relationship-building activities
between military recruiters and high schools;
(C) the ability of military recruiters to follow-up
with interested students; and
(D) any other issues the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(4) Recommendations for new recruitment methods to increase
attendance at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language
Center through increased awareness of linguist professions in
the United States Armed Forces and similar professions within
the United States Government that might require proficiency in
a foreign language.
(5) Recommendations for how the Department of Defense can
develop procedures to systematically document effective
engagement and activities with high schools.
(6) The plan of each Secretary of a military department to
implement the recommendations described in paragraphs (4) and
(5).
(7) Measurable benchmarks of progress of current
initiatives by the Department of Defense to recruit qualified
individuals to attend the Defense Language Institute Foreign
Language Center.
(c) Disaggregation Requirement.--Each assessment submitted under
subsection (a) shall, with respect to the information required by
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b) that relates to public
secondary schools, include such information in a form that is
disaggregated by local educational agency.
(d) Definitions.--In this Act, the terms ``local educational
agency'' and ``secondary school'' have the meaning given the terms in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801).
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