[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1387 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1387

 To enable the Director of National Intelligence to transfer full-time 
   equivalent positions to elements of the intelligence community to 
replace employees who are temporarily absent to participate in foreign 
               language training, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 25, 2009

  Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Chambliss) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Select Committee on 
                              Intelligence

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enable the Director of National Intelligence to transfer full-time 
   equivalent positions to elements of the intelligence community to 
replace employees who are temporarily absent to participate in foreign 
               language training, 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 ``Intelligence Critical Language 
Training Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 2009, eight years after the terrorist attacks of 
        September 11, 2001, the intelligence community continues to 
        lack an adequate supply of personnel trained in critical 
        foreign languages.
            (2) A number of elements of the intelligence community are 
        attempting to address that lack of supply by recruiting 
        applicants who can speak, read, and understand critical foreign 
        languages.
            (3) Leaders in the intelligence community have recognized 
        that improved recruiting practices are only a partial solution 
        and that improved language training for current intelligence 
        community employees is also necessary.
            (4) While language education and instruction provides long-
        term benefits for both intelligence agencies and individual 
        employees, it has short-term costs for supervisors whose staff 
        are absent due to language training and could provide 
        supervisors with an incentive to resist allowing individual 
        employees to pursue language training.
            (5) If the head of an element of the intelligence community 
        was able to increase the number of personnel at that element 
        during the period that an employee is participating in language 
        training, that element would not have to sacrifice short-term 
        priorities to address language training needs.
            (6) The Director of National Intelligence is uniquely 
        situated to evaluate language training needs across the 
        intelligence community and assess whether that training would 
        be enhanced if elements of the intelligence community were 
        given temporary additional personnel authorizations.
            (7) The intelligence community has a difficult time 
        finding, training, and providing security clearances to native 
        foreign language speakers who are able to serve as translators 
        and it would be beneficial if all elements of the intelligence 
        community were able to harness the capabilities of these 
        individuals.
            (8) The Director of National Intelligence is uniquely 
        situated to identify translators within the intelligence 
        community and provide for their temporary transfer from one 
        element of the intelligence community to another element.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY PERSONNEL AUTHORIZATIONS.

    (a) Authorized Additional FTEs.--In addition to the number of full-
time equivalent positions authorized for the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence for a fiscal year, there is authorized for such 
Office for each fiscal year an additional 50 full-time equivalent 
positions that may be utilized only for the purposes described in 
subsection (b).
    (b) Purposes.--The Director of National Intelligence may use a 
full-time equivalent position authorized under subsection (a) only for 
the purposes of providing a temporary transfer of personnel made 
pursuant to the authority in section 102A(e)(2) of the National 
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403-1(e)(2)) to an element of the 
intelligence community to enable such element to increase its total 
authorized number of personnel, on a temporary basis--
            (1) during a period in which a permanent employee of such 
        element is absent to participate in foreign language training; 
        or
            (2) to accept a permanent employee of another element of 
        the intelligence community to provide translation services a 
        temporary basis.
    (c) Inapplicability of Other Law.--Subparagraph (B) of section 
102A(e)(2) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403-1(e)(2)) 
shall not apply to a transfer of personnel authorizations made under 
this section.
                                 <all>