[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5542 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5542

 To provide for the review and appeal of determinations that personnel 
   of the Department of State should be restricted or precluded from 
        serving in certain assignments, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2023

Mr. Lieu (for himself, Mr. Castro of Texas, and Mr. Kim of New Jersey) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the review and appeal of determinations that personnel 
   of the Department of State should be restricted or precluded from 
        serving in certain assignments, 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 ``Accountability in Assignment 
Restrictions and Reviews Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY IN ASSIGNMENT RESTRICTIONS AND REVIEW.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the use of policies to restrict personnel from serving 
        in certain assignments may undermine the ability of the 
        Department of State to deploy relevant cultural and linguistic 
        skills at diplomatic posts abroad if not applied judiciously; 
        and
            (2) the Department should continuously evaluate all 
        processes relating to assignment restrictions, assignment 
        reviews, and preclusions at the Department.
    (b) Notification of Status.--Beginning not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
            (1) provide a status update for all Department personnel 
        who, prior to such date of enactment, were subject to a prior 
        assignment restriction, assignment review, or preclusion for 
        whom a review or decision related to assignment is pending; and
            (2) on an ongoing basis, provide a status update for any 
        Department personnel who has been the subject of a pending 
        assignment restriction or pending assignment review for more 
        than 30 days.
    (c) Notification Content.--The notification required under 
subsection (b) shall inform relevant personnel, as of the date of the 
notification--
            (1) whether any prior assignment restriction has been 
        lifted;
            (2) if their assignment status is subject to ongoing 
        review, and an estimated date for completion; and
            (3) if they are subject to any other restrictions on their 
        ability to serve at posts abroad.
    (d) Adjudication of Ongoing Assignment Reviews.--
            (1) Time limit.--The Department shall establish a 
        reasonable time limit for the Department to complete an 
        assignment review and establish a deadline by which it must 
        inform personnel of a decision related to such a review.
            (2) Appeals.--For any personnel the Department determines 
        are ineligible to serve in an assignment due to an assignment 
        restriction or assignment review, a Security Appeal Panel shall 
        convene not later than 120 days of an appeal being filed.
            (3) Entry-level bidding process.--The Department shall 
        include a description of the assignment review process and 
        critical human intelligence threat posts in a briefing to new 
        officers as part of their entry-level bidding process.
            (4) Point of contact.--The Department shall designate point 
        of contacts in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Bureau of 
        Global Talent Management to answer employee and Career 
        Development Officer questions about assignment restrictions, 
        assignment reviews, and preclusions.
    (e) Security Appeal Panel.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Security Appeal Panel shall be 
comprised of--
            (1) the head of an office responsible for human resources 
        or discrimination who reports directly to the Secretary;
            (2) the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau 
        of Global Talent Management;
            (3) the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau 
        of Intelligence and Research;
            (4) an Assistant Secretary or Deputy, or equivalent, from a 
        third bureau as designated by the Under Secretary for 
        Management;
            (5) a representative from the geographic bureau to which 
        the restriction applies; and
            (6) a representative from the Office of the Legal Adviser 
        and a representative from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, 
        who shall serve as non-voting advisors.
    (f) Appeal Rights.--Section 414(a) of the Department of State 
Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2734c(a)) is amended by 
striking the first two sentences and inserting ``The Secretary shall 
establish and maintain a right and process for employees to appeal a 
decision related to an assignment, based on a restriction, review, or 
preclusion. Such right and process shall ensure that any such employee 
shall have the same appeal rights as provided by the Department 
regarding denial or revocation of a security clearance.''.
    (g) Fam Update.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall amend all relevant 
provisions of the Foreign Service Manual, and any associated or related 
policies of the Department, to comply with this section.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of State.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State.
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