Short title

This Act may be cited as the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008.

Findings

(a)

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)In June 2004, the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (referred to as the Coordinator) was established in the Department of State with the mandate to lead, coordinate, and institutionalize United States Government civilian capacity to prevent or prepare for post-conflict situations and help reconstruct and stabilize a country or region that is at risk of, in, or is in transition from, conflict or civil strife. (2)In December 2005, the Coordinator’s mandate was reaffirmed by the National Security Presidential Directive 44, which instructed the Secretary of State, and at the Secretary’s direction, the Coordinator, to coordinate and lead integrated United States Government efforts, involving all United States departments and agencies with relevant capabilities, to prepare, plan for, and conduct reconstruction and stabilization operations. (3)National Security Presidential Directive 44 assigns to the Secretary, with the Coordinator’s assistance, the lead role to develop reconstruction and stabilization strategies, ensure civilian interagency program and policy coordination, coordinate interagency processes to identify countries at risk of instability, provide decision-makers with detailed options for an integrated United States Government response in connection with reconstruction and stabilization operations, and carry out a wide range of other actions, including the development of a civilian surge capacity to meet reconstruction and stabilization emergencies. The Secretary and the Coordinator are also charged with coordinating with the Department of Defense on reconstruction and stabilization responses, and integrating planning and implementing procedures. (4)The Department of Defense issued Directive 3000.05, which establishes that stability operations are a core United States military mission that the Department of Defense must be prepared to conduct and support, provides guidance on stability operations that will evolve over time, and assigns responsibilities within the Department of Defense for planning, training, and preparing to conduct and support stability operations.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. (2)

Agency

The term agency means any entity included in chapter 1 of title 5, United States Code. (3)

Appropriate congressional committees

The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. (4)

Department

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the term Department means the Department of State. (5)

Personnel

The term personnel means individuals serving in any service described in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code, other than in the legislative or judicial branch. (6)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of State.

Authority to provide assistance for reconstruction and stabilization crises

Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 617 the following new section:

618.

Assistance for a reconstruction and stabilization crisis

(a)

Assistance

(1)

In general

If the President determines that it is in the national security interests of the United States for United States civilian agencies or non-Federal employees to assist in reconstructing and stabilizing a country or region that is at risk of, in, or is in transition from, conflict or civil strife, the President may, in accordance with the provisions set forth in section 614(a)(3), subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection but notwithstanding any other provision of law, and on such terms and conditions as the President may determine, furnish assistance to such country or region for reconstruction or stabilization using funds under paragraph (3). (2)

Pre-notification requirement

The President may not furnish assistance pursuant to paragraph (1) until five days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the requirements under section 614(a)(3) of this Act are carried out. (3)

Funds

The funds referred to in paragraph (1) are funds made available under any other provision of law and under other provisions of this Act, and transferred or reprogrammed for purposes of this section, and such transfer or reprogramming shall be subject to the procedures applicable to a notification under section 634A of this Act. (b)

Limitation

The authority contained in this section may be exercised only during fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, except that the authority may not be exercised to furnish more than $100,000,000 in any such fiscal year.

Reconstruction and stabilization

Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

62.

Reconstruction and stabilization

(a)

Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization

(1)

Establishment

There is established within the Department of State the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. (2)

Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization

The head of the Office shall be the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Coordinator shall report directly to the Secretary. (3)

Functions

The functions of the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization shall include the following: (A)Monitoring, in coordination with relevant bureaus and offices of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), political and economic instability worldwide to anticipate the need for mobilizing United States and international assistance for the reconstruction and stabilization of a country or region that is at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil strife. (B)Assessing the various types of reconstruction and stabilization crises that could occur and cataloging and monitoring the non-military resources and capabilities of agencies (as such term is defined in section 3 of the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008) that are available to address such crises. (C)Planning, in conjunction with USAID, to address requirements, such as demobilization, disarmament, rebuilding of civil society, policing, human rights monitoring, and public information, that commonly arise in reconstruction and stabilization crises. (D)Coordinating with relevant agencies to develop interagency contingency plans and procedures to mobilize and deploy civilian personnel and conduct reconstruction and stabilization operations to address the various types of such crises. (E)Entering into appropriate arrangements with agencies to carry out activities under this section and the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008. (F)Identifying personnel in State and local governments and in the private sector who are available to participate in the Civilian Reserve Corps established under subsection (b) or to otherwise participate in or contribute to reconstruction and stabilization activities. (G)Taking steps to ensure that training and education of civilian personnel to perform such reconstruction and stabilization activities is adequate and is carried out, as appropriate, with other agencies involved with stabilization operations. (H)Taking steps to ensure that plans for United States reconstruction and stabilization operations are coordinated with and complementary to reconstruction and stabilization activities of other governments and international and nongovernmental organizations, to improve effectiveness and avoid duplication. (I)Maintaining the capacity to field on short notice an evaluation team consisting of personnel from all relevant agencies to undertake on-site needs assessment. (b)

Response Readiness Corps

(1)

Response Readiness Corps

The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the heads of other appropriate agencies of the United States Government, may establish and maintain a Response Readiness Corps (referred to in this section as the Corps) to provide assistance in support of reconstruction and stabilization operations in countries or regions that are at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil strife. The Corps shall be composed of active and standby components consisting of United States Government personnel, including employees of the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, and other agencies who are recruited and trained (and employed in the case of the active component) to provide such assistance when deployed to do so by the Secretary to support the purposes of this Act. (2)

Civilian Reserve Corps

The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, may establish a Civilian Reserve Corps for which purpose the Secretary is authorized to employ and train individuals who have the skills necessary for carrying out reconstruction and stabilization activities, and who have volunteered for that purpose. The Secretary may deploy members of the Civilian Reserve Corps pursuant to a determination by the President under section 618 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. (3)

Mitigation of domestic impact

The establishment and deployment of any Civilian Reserve Corps shall be undertaken in a manner that will avoid substantively impairing the capacity and readiness of any State and local governments from which Civilian Reserve Corps personnel may be drawn. (c)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2007 through 2010 for the Office and to support, educate, train, maintain, and deploy a Response Readiness Corps and a Civilian Reserve Corps. (d)

Existing training and education programs

The Secretary shall ensure that personnel of the Department, and, in coordination with the Administrator of USAID, that personnel of USAID, make use of the relevant existing training and education programs offered within the Government, such as those at the Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Interagency Training, Education, and After Action Review Program at the National Defense University.

Authorities related to personnel

(a)

Extension of certain foreign service benefits

The Secretary, or the head of any agency with respect to personnel of that agency, may extend to any individuals assigned, detailed, or deployed to carry out reconstruction and stabilization activities pursuant to section 62 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by section 5 of this Act), the benefits or privileges set forth in sections 413, 704, and 901 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973, 22 U.S.C. 4024, and 22 U.S.C. 4081) to the same extent and manner that such benefits and privileges are extended to members of the Foreign Service. (b)

Authority regarding details

The Secretary is authorized to accept details or assignments of any personnel, and any employee of a State or local government, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis for the purpose of carrying out this Act, and the head of any agency is authorized to detail or assign personnel of such agency on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis to the Department of State for purposes of section 62 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as added by section 5 of this Act.

Reconstruction and stabilization strategy

(a)

In general

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall develop an interagency strategy to respond to reconstruction and stabilization operations. (b)

Contents

The strategy required under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1)Identification of and efforts to improve the skills sets needed to respond to and support reconstruction and stabilization operations in countries or regions that are at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil strife. (2)Identification of specific agencies that can adequately satisfy the skills sets referred to in paragraph (1). (3)Efforts to increase training of Federal civilian personnel to carry out reconstruction and stabilization activities. (4)Efforts to develop a database of proven and best practices based on previous reconstruction and stabilization operations. (5)A plan to coordinate the activities of agencies involved in reconstruction and stabilization operations.

Annual reports to Congress

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually for each of the five years thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of this Act. The report shall include detailed information on the following: (1)Any steps taken to establish a Response Readiness Corps and a Civilian Reserve Corps, pursuant to section 62 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by section 5 of this Act). (2)The structure, operations, and cost of the Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian Reserve Corps, if established. (3)How the Response Readiness Corps and the Civilian Reserve Corps coordinate, interact, and work with other United States foreign assistance programs. (4)An assessment of the impact that deployment of the Civilian Reserve Corps, if any, has had on the capacity and readiness of any domestic agencies or State and local governments from which Civilian Reserve Corps personnel are drawn. (5)The reconstruction and stabilization strategy required by section 7 and any annual updates to that strategy. (6)Recommendations to improve implementation of subsection (b) of section 62 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, including measures to enhance the recruitment and retention of an effective Civilian Reserve Corps. (7)A description of anticipated costs associated with the development, annual sustainment, and deployment of the Civilian Reserve Corps.