[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9499 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9499

  To require the United States Agency for Global Media to verify the 
 authenticity of foreign academic credentials purported to be held by 
    prospective and existing employees of the Agency, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 9, 2024

  Mr. Burchett (for himself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the United States Agency for Global Media to verify the 
 authenticity of foreign academic credentials purported to be held by 
    prospective and existing employees of the Agency, 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 ``Securing the Integrity of Ethics in 
Government Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advisory board.--The term ``Advisory Board'' means the 
        International Broadcasting Advisory Board as described in 
        section 306 of the United States International Broadcasting Act 
        of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6205).
            (2) Agency.--The term ``Agency'' means the United States 
        Agency for Global Media.
            (3) Credential evaluation service.--The term ``credential 
        evaluation service'' means an organization that is--
                    (A) a member organization of--
                            (i) the National Association of Credential 
                        Evaluation Services; or
                            (ii) the Association of International 
                        Credentials Evaluators; and
                    (B) has as its primary purpose the evaluation and 
                validation of academic credentials.
            (4) Foreign academic credential.--The term ``foreign 
        academic credential'' means a credential awarded for the 
        completion of an undergraduate or a graduate-level course of 
        study at a postsecondary educational institution located 
        outside the United States.

SEC. 3. DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Beginning on the effective date of this Act, the 
Agency may not appoint an individual who purports to have a foreign 
academic credential (as described in subsection (c)) to a position in 
the Agency higher than GS-11 (or the equivalent), including a position 
for which such credential is not required, unless, prior to such 
appointment, the Agency obtains--
            (1)(A) a written evaluation from a credential evaluation 
        service that includes--
                            (i) verification that the foreign academic 
                        credential was earned by the individual at a 
                        postsecondary educational institution outside 
                        the United States;
                            (ii) the name of the institution that 
                        awarded the credential;
                            (iii) the type of credential earned by the 
                        individual;
                            (iv) the academic subject matter to which 
                        the credential pertains;
                            (v) an analysis indicating whether the 
                        foreign academic credential is comparable to a 
                        type of academic credential awarded by 
                        postsecondary educational institutions in the 
                        United States and, if so, which type of 
                        domestically awarded credential is most 
                        comparable to the foreign academic credential;
                            (vi) an explanation of the processes and 
                        standards used by the credential evaluation 
                        service to determine the validity and 
                        comparability of the foreign academic 
                        credential under clauses (i) and (v), 
                        respectively;
                            (vii) a statement confirming that the 
                        standards and processes used to evaluate the 
                        comparability of the foreign academic 
                        credential under clause (v) followed the 
                        relevant guidelines of the International 
                        Education Standards Council; and
                            (viii) an assurance confirming that the 
                        credential evaluation service--
                                    (I) inspected all documentation 
                                submitted to the service in connection 
                                with the service's evaluation of the 
                                foreign academic credential; and
                                    (II) did not find any evidence of 
                                fraud, forgery, or other material 
                                irregularities in such documentation; 
                                and
            (B) documentation, such as an academic transcript or 
        diploma, demonstrating that the individual completed all 
        requirements necessary to obtain the foreign academic 
        credential, which shall--
                    (i) be provided directly to the Agency by the 
                postsecondary educational institution that issued the 
                credential; and
                    (ii) be certified as authentic by an official of 
                the institution authorized to issue such documentation; 
                or
            (2) alternative documentation, obtained directly from the 
        Government of the foreign country with jurisdiction over the 
        institution that awarded the credential, demonstrating the 
        validity of the credential.
    (b) Verification of Foreign Academic Credentials for Existing 
Employees.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        effective date of this Act, the Agency shall obtain the 
        documentation described in subsection (a)(1) or the alternative 
        documentation described in subsection (a)(2) with respect to 
        each foreign academic credential purported to be held (as 
        described in subsection (c)) by an individual in a position in 
        the Agency that is higher than GS-11.
            (2) Penalty.--The Agency shall take appropriate 
        disciplinary action with respect to an individual described in 
        paragraph (1) in the event the Agency is unable to obtain the 
        documentation required under such paragraph for a foreign 
        academic credential purported to be held by such individual.
    (c) Rule of Applicability.--The requirements under subsections (a) 
and (b) shall apply with respect to foreign academic credentials that 
are--
            (1) disclosed in the application or other materials 
        received by the Agency in connection with the hiring of an 
        individual; or
            (2) otherwise noted in the employment record of an 
        individual.
    (d) Alternative Documentation Procedures.--The Agency shall seek to 
establish procedures, in consultation with appropriate officials of 
foreign Governments, through which the Agency may obtain the 
alternative documentation described in subsection (a)(2)(A).

SEC. 4. OVERTIME PAYMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Agency shall--
            (1) record all overtime pay paid to--
                    (A) employees of the Agency; and
                    (B) contractors of the Agency; and
            (2) establish a system to track such overtime pay as a 
        result of expiring compensatory time off.
    (b) Notice and Approval.--The supervisor of an employee claiming 
overtime work in excess of the guidelines of the Agency or overtime pay 
with respect to expiring compensatory time off may not approve such 
overtime work or overtime pay unless such supervisor submits a request 
for approval to, and such request is approved by, the Chief Management 
Officer of the Agency or such other officer designated by the Agency.

SEC. 5. REVIEW OF UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING.

    Section 306(d) of the United States International Broadcasting Act 
of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6205(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) convene biannually to conduct a review of United 
        States Agency for Global Media affiliate and grantee 
        broadcasting activities and, when not less than three Advisory 
        Board members find a violation of the broadcasting standards 
        and principles listed under section 303 pursuant to such a 
        review, submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
        of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
        the Senate a report describing each such violation.''.

SEC. 6. SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR FOR CERTAIN MATTERS RELATING TO THE 
              AGENCY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the effective date of 
this Act, the Chair of the Advisory Board shall appoint a Special 
Investigator to submit the report required by subsection (a). The 
individual appointed as Special Investigator shall have expertise in 
human resources, labor management, credentials screening, and oversight 
and accountability.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this 
Act, the Special Investigator shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate a report on--
            (1) the adequacy of the Agency's hiring and employee 
        vetting processes;
            (2) the efficacy and feasibility of establishing an Office 
        of Inspector General at the Agency;
            (3) its recommendations with respect to the findings under 
        paragraphs (1) and (2);
            (4) a fiscal and administrative cost-benefit analysis of 
        establishing an independent Office of Inspector General within 
        the Agency;
            (5) an evaluation of the adequacy of the Department of 
        State's Office of Inspector General for oversight and 
        accountability purposes at the Agency, with particular 
        attention to investigation of matters potentially criminal in 
        nature;
            (6) a review of all incidents pertaining to, inter alia, 
        fraud, misconduct, malfeasance, misstatements, 
        misrepresentations, and security breaches at the Agency since 
        January 1, 2019, and any disciplinary actions taken with 
        respect to them;
            (7) an overview of the Department of State and the Agency's 
        responsibilities regarding personnel and whistleblower 
        complaints, with particular focus on areas for improvement;
            (8) a determination as to whether the Agency has adequately 
        coordinated with the Department of State regarding personnel 
        misconduct and whistleblower complaints;
            (9) the circumstances under which the Department of State 
        refers whistleblower complaints to the Agency;
            (10) any circumstances under which the Department of State 
        is involved in Agency hiring decisions, including the 
        Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security verifying Agency job 
        applicants' foreign education credentials; and
            (11) an assessment of the Department of State and the 
        Agency's security clearance process, including outsourcing to 
        the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

     This Act takes effect on January 1, 2025.
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