<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
<item congress="116" measure-type="s" measure-number="1113" measure-id="id116s1113" originChamber="SENATE" orig-publish-date="2019-04-10" update-date="2020-02-28">
<title>Enhancing America's Core Diplomatic Capabilities Act of 2019</title>
<summary summary-id="id116s1113v00" currentChamber="SENATE" update-date="2020-02-28">
<action-date>2019-04-10</action-date>
<action-desc>Introduced in Senate</action-desc>
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>Enhancing America's Core Diplomatic Capabilities Act of 2019</b></p> <p>This bill revises various provisions related to Foreign Service staffing and training, including by setting minimum staffing requirements.</p> <p>The Department of State shall take all practicable measures to maintain within the service certain staffing levels at various experience levels, including at least 905 senior officers. The State Department shall (1) periodically report to Congress on service staffing levels, (2) explain reasons for any failure to meet minimum targets, and (3) provide a plan to address any deficiencies. </p> <p>The State Department shall appoint a Director of Human Resources. The bill revises the qualifications for certain director positions within the service. </p> <p>The State Department shall reestablish the Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy, which shall select participants based on past performance and future potential. The State Department may (1) suspend maximum in-class limits for a member of the service while the member is engaged in long-term training, and (2) establish an incentive program to encourage members of the service to maintain skills in critical foreign languages. </p> <p>The State Department's entry-level appointments for the service shall be based on (1) long-term projections designed to provide for the regular and predictable recruitment and promotion of staff, and (2) career development patterns designed to meet the service's needs.</p>]]></summary-text>
</summary>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
<dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
<dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
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