“To encourage the practice of expeditionary diplomacy at the Department of State.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section directs the Secretary of State to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees within 90 days of enactment that defines the term “expeditionary diplomacy,” explains its relation to non-expeditionary diplomacy, and provides an overview of how the Department will apply the definition to enhance diplomacy in environments with elevated security risk, including under the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 as amended by section 9302 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. The section also requires the Secretary to consult relevant external stakeholders, such as the American Academy of Diplomacy and the American Foreign Service Association.
This section requires the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 18 months after submission of the report required by section 2, a report assessing challenges to expeditionary diplomacy at the Department of State and U.S. embassies and posts and providing recommendations to address them. The report must include (1) an assessment of regional security officers’ capacity to enable expeditionary diplomacy, (2) a description of other internal and external challenges facing Chiefs of Mission and Foreign Service members, (3) an evaluation of the effectiveness of existing Department initiatives and applicable laws, including the Diplomatic Security Act of 1986 as amended by section 9302 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, (4) an analysis of successful prior efforts in elevated-security environments and lessons learned, and (5) an assessment of how personnel policies affect Foreign Service members’ ability to conduct expeditionary diplomacy, complete tours longer than one year in high-risk assignments, and develop country-level expertise.
This section expresses the sense of Congress that the President should include in the President’s Letters of Instruction the promotion of appropriate and effective risk management practices to encourage diplomats to regularly and meaningfully engage in expeditionary diplomacy and with populations in the country, including in high-security and high-threat environments.
This section modifies the duties of chiefs of mission by requiring them to exercise appropriate and effective risk management practices to encourage all relevant Government executive branch employees in the country to regularly and meaningfully engage in expeditionary diplomacy and with local populations.
This section establishes an expeditionary diplomacy Tiger Team within the Department of State, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment. The Tiger Team produces recommendations to improve the ability and willingness of Chiefs of Mission and Regional Security Officers to approve expeditionary diplomacy and of Foreign Service members to practice it regularly. The Tiger Team is led by a senior-level Department official serving full-time in that role and includes at least one official reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, one with international development experience, and one each from the Bureaus of Diplomatic Security, Administration, Diplomatic Technology, Human Resources, Medical Services, and Overseas Building Operations. Not later than 1 year after enactment, the Secretary submits to Congress a report on the Tiger Team’s composition and identifies the Tiger Team Leader. The Tiger Team collaborates with external stakeholders, including the American Academy of Diplomacy, the American Foreign Service Association, and the Overseas Security Advisory Council. Not later than 18 months after enactment, the Secretary submits to Congress an initial report containing a plan to assess current expeditionary diplomacy practices and challenges, review prior efforts and reports, and develop policy, regulatory, and legislative recommendations, along with an implementation timeline and resource requirements. The Secretary implements the plan, and the Tiger Team provides updates to Congress at least every 90 days. Not later than 2 years after enactment, the Tiger Team submits a final report to the appropriate congressional committees detailing identified challenges, recommendations (including required resources, staffing, authorities, and legislative changes), an implementation timeline, designation of a monitoring office, and any proposed changes to the definition of expeditionary diplomacy. The Tiger Team monitors implementation for 90 days after the final report and terminates on the 91st day.