[Senate Hearing 117-418]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                        S. Hrg. 117-418
 
                    STATE DEPARTMENT AUTHORIZATION:
                      STRENGTHENING U.S. DIPLOMACY
                          FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

=======================================================================

                                HEARING



                               BEFORE THE



                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE



                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS



                             SECOND SESSION



                               __________

                              MAY 3, 2022

                               __________



       Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations
       
       
       

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                  Available via http://www.govinfo.gov
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
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              U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 48-969 PDF          WASHINGTON : 2022 
                  



                 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS        

             ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman        
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        MARCO RUBIO, Florida
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut      MITT ROMNEY, Utah
TIM KAINE, Virginia                  ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 TODD YOUNG, Indiana
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey           JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 TED CRUZ, Texas
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland           MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
                                     BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
                 Damian Murphy, Staff Director        
        Christopher M. Socha, Republican Staff Director        
                    John Dutton, Chief Clerk        



                              (ii)        

  


                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Menendez, Hon. Robert, U.S. Senator From New Jersey..............     1

Risch, Hon. James E., U.S. Senator From Idaho....................     3

McKeon, Hon. Brian, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and 
  Resources, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC............     5
    Prepared Statement...........................................     7

              Additional Material Submitted for the Record

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator Robert Menendez........................................    31

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator James E. Risch.........................................    44

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator 
  Benjamin L. Cardin.............................................    52

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator Jeanne Shaheen.........................................    52

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator Todd Young.............................................    54

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator Brian Schatz...........................................    55

Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions Submitted by 
  Senator Chris Van Hollen.......................................    57

                                 (iii)

  


                    STATE DEPARTMENT AUTHORIZATION:

                      STRENGTHENING U.S. DIPLOMACY

                          FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

                              ----------                              


                          TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2022

                                       U.S. Senate,
                            Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in 
room SD-419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert 
Menendez presiding.
    Present: Senators Menendez [presiding], Coons, Murphy, 
Kaine, Schatz, Van Hollen, Risch, Portman, Young, and Cruz.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY

    The Chairman. The Foreign Relations Committee will come to 
order.
    Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us today. Before we 
get to the regular work of the committee, I want to take a 
moment to recognize an important day in history. It is a day 
that we are blessed to have Senator Risch in our lives. It is 
his birthday.
    [Singing.]
    The Chairman. Happy birthday, Mr. Ranking Member.
    Senator Risch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am honored you 
would take time to do this. When you get to this many, it is 
kind of like every other day, but I am blessed.
    My successor governor has the same birthday I do and he--
however, he is much older than I am. He was born in 1942, and 
he says ``Happy Birthday, my friend. Eighty really doesn't feel 
that bad.'' I said, ``I will keep that in mind when and if I 
get there. Seriously, looking back, neither one of us can 
complain about the hand we were dealt,'' and he says, ``God's 
got a crush on both of us. We are blessed.'' I said, ``Amen,'' 
and that is exactly where I am. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank 
you.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much. Happy birthday. Many 
more healthy and happy ones.
    It is refreshing to have the Department's engagement on 
partnership as we look forward towards putting together this 
year's State Department authorization bill.
    As you know, last December, Congress passed the first State 
authorization bill in nearly two decades. It was not an easy 
task, and I want to commend the ranking member and his staff 
for partnering in that process.
    It was a truly bipartisan accomplishment supported by 
nearly every member on the committee and I look forward to 
replicating that this year.
    The American people and our nation's foreign policy benefit 
when we can work together. As we have discussed before, when 
Secretary Blinken, you, and other senior officials took your 
positions last year, you inherited a damaged, neglected, and 
underfunded department.
    Morale was low. The expertise needed for successful 
effective diplomacy was leaving. The pipeline of new Foreign 
Service officers was languishing. Critical bureaus had been 
gutted. Our ability to promote and protect our interests and 
our values had been decimated.
    As recent world events have reminded us, we need our 
diplomats and development professionals on the ground to 
advance our national interests, to counter Russia and China, to 
support threatened democracies, and to strengthen alliances.
    These are not abstract priorities. They matter. When we 
have a strong presence in place, the United States and the 
world is better for it.
    So I very much appreciate the efforts now underway to 
address years of underinvestment, restoring and rebuilding 
critical bureaus, creating new offices like the Cyber Bureau.
    I want to commend the incredible public servants at 
bringing the Department up-to-date to face the challenges of 
the 21st century, even during the trying times of the global 
pandemic.
    In particular, I want to applaud the Department's push to 
modernize and increase diversity, something I have long 
advocated for.
    From the shores of Alaska and New Jersey to the ranches of 
Idaho and the border towns of Detroit, we must draw on 
America's extraordinary range of backgrounds and perspectives 
to advance our nation's interests abroad.
    Naming the first ever Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer 
was a good start. All Americans should have the opportunity to 
serve and represent our country on the global stage. A 
disability should not be an obstacle in accessing or working at 
our embassies.
    Adding as many as 200 paid internships beginning this fall 
semester is another positive step that will remove barriers for 
students who might not be able to afford working in an unpaid 
position.
    I also support the Department's forward-looking equity 
plans including the announcement of a special representative 
focused on racial equity. I support consular affairs officers 
offering passports with inclusive gender markers and I support 
diplomats engaging with underrepresented communities worldwide.
    It is also vital that the Department modernize its 
recruitment process to attract a talented top-notch workforce. 
It is heartening that after years in which applications were 
declining, now, under your leadership, the Department is now on 
pace for the largest annual hiring of Foreign Service officers 
in a decade.
    It is not enough to simply recruit an incredible workforce. 
We must also retain it with professional training, expanded 
incentives, and modernizing the promotion process.
    Today, I hope to hear from you on what additional 
authorities or resources you think the Department needs to 
continue these rebuilding and modernization efforts. I cannot 
promise we will deliver on all your asks. There may be some for 
which we have different views.
    I know that the ranking member and I and all members of 
this committee are committed to working with you in a 
constructive manner as we put together and pass into law this 
year's State Department authorization bill.
    Let me close by saying the Department of State has come a 
long way from its humble beginnings when Thomas Jefferson had a 
staff of six and only two diplomatic posts.
    When the Department of State lives up to its aspirations 
and the aspirations of the American people, it sets the 
standard other U.S. Government agencies and departments must 
strive to meet as well.
    This is a time for action to make sure that the Department 
of State is aiming for excellence. The Administration has been 
in office for over a year now. The clock is ticking. We cannot 
wait any longer.
    Congress and this committee are standing by to work with 
you as a constructive partner. We want to see results, the 
American people want results, and I believe the future of the 
United States foreign policy depends on it.
    As Russia's unprovoked war rages in Ukraine and the 
Administration is requesting billions of dollars more in 
assistance, which I support, but I also look forward to hearing 
some of the details about our plan, going forward, including 
plans to reopen our diplomatic posts there.
    With that, let me turn to our distinguished ranking member, 
Senator Risch, for his opening statement.

               STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES E. RISCH, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

    Senator Risch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Deputy 
Secretary McKeon, for being here today.
    Like the chairman, I am proud of this committee's work to 
see the first successful reauthorization of the State 
Department in nearly two decades passed last December after 
years of work. I think everyone is to be congratulated who 
worked on this and pushed it forward.
    I think it would be unfair not to recognize, clearly, the 
leadership of the chairman of this committee in making this 
happen. So congratulations, especially to you, Mr. Chairman.
    While the reauthorization was a success, the bill 
demonstrated the enormous amount of work to be done at the 
State Department in terms of management and operations. That is 
probably one of the most significant accomplishments of the 
bill is to underscore these matters.
    The Department and this committee must examine the needs of 
21st century diplomacy and move the State Department forward to 
advance our national interest while being effective stewards of 
taxpayer dollars.
    Before I get into that, I want to note that it is 
imperative for the State Department to reopen our embassy in 
Kyiv to better support Ukraine and send a strong message that 
the U.S. Government stands with the Ukrainian people.
    I am equally concerned with the status of the U.S. Embassy 
in Moscow. As the Russian Government squeezes out U.S. 
diplomats, those who remain have gone above and beyond to keep 
the embassy up and running. They need our help.
    I look forward to hearing what you are doing to better 
support U.S. personnel in Moscow, realizing that this is an 
open setting and we cannot talk about all the details of that.
    When it comes to 21st century diplomacy, we must start with 
the basics--getting our diplomats outside of embassy walls and 
meeting with local populations, just like diplomats used to do.
    We need a State Department that is firing on all cylinders 
in order to compete with Chinese, Russian, and Iranian 
adversaries who do not have the restrictions our diplomats do.
    To begin addressing this issue, I have a bill recently 
passed out of committee that updates how State investigates 
security incidents abroad in order to rebalance the State 
Department's risk calculus. I would appreciate your thoughts on 
that legislation.
    I am also currently working on an update of security 
requirements for our embassies that make it easier for our 
diplomats to access local populations while also saving U.S. 
taxpayers millions of dollars.
    When we make it easier for our diplomats to get out and 
about, we must make sure we are doing our best to protect them. 
Anomalous health incidents, or Havana syndrome, as it is known, 
still needs to be addressed and quickly.
    Who is attacking our personnel? How do we keep them safe? 
How is the Department ensuring those officers who have 
sustained long-term injuries are provided for and how are we 
harmonizing care and access to treatment with interagency 
partners?
    Other departments are taking this issue very seriously. I 
would appreciate you addressing these questions. The State 
Department needs to do this.
    Also, U.S. diplomats in China are spending time in fever 
prisons. The treatment of our personnel is deeply disturbing 
and I want to know what State is doing about that.
    While the State Department has generally focused outward on 
foreign audiences, the Department also provides services 
directly to the American public. At the top of this list is 
passports.
    The huge backlog that have accumulated because of COVID has 
made getting a passport take longer than it has in decades. 
This is an essential government service and one that needs to 
function efficiently.
    Without passports, U.S. citizens cannot travel the world to 
promote American business. Without visa services foreigners 
cannot come to America and spend money.
    The Idaho economy and, indeed, the economy of all states 
benefits enormously from tourism and foreign seasonal workers, 
and we need passport and visa systems functioning in order to 
continue benefiting. I hope you can provide us with an update 
on the Department's efforts to achieve that.
    The enacted State Department authorization requires that 
starting in January most special envoys will have to come 
before this committee. I look forward to this new process of 
greater congressional scrutiny of senior officials who are 
handling substantive and sensitive portfolios.
    After 18 years without an authorizing bill, the Department 
has a lot of catching up to do. Last year's bill was a good 
start and I look forward to continuing our work to get the 
Department into shape to address 21st century threats.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Mr. Secretary, the floor is yours. Your full statement will 
be included in the record. We would ask you to try to summarize 
it in 5 minutes or so so we can have a discussion with you.
    Please go ahead.

 STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE BRIAN MCKEON, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF 
 STATE FOR MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 
                         WASHINGTON, DC

    Mr. McKeon. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator 
Risch, Senator Coons. Nice to see you all. Thanks for having me 
here today.
    Mr. Chairman, I think you have a future in singing. Your 
voice is actually quite good.
    I welcome the opportunity to be here to talk about the 
issues that you have set forth, including engaging on State 
Department authorization, and we very much appreciate the 
committee's work on legislation in the last year.
    Let me begin by expressing our appreciation for your 
continued support for equipping us to lead globally on behalf 
of the American people.
    We are especially grateful for the supplemental resources 
and flexible authorities you have provided in response to 
Moscow's brutal war against Ukraine and for the supplemental 
funds for Afghanistan last year.
    This partnership between the Administration and Congress 
has been essential to a strong united American leadership.
    When I came before this committee last October, it was the 
day the Secretary announced his vision for modernizing American 
diplomacy, an agenda that will shape the Department to meet the 
challenges of the 21st century by delivering an even stronger, 
more effective, more diverse, and more agile institution to 
lead America's engagement in the world.
    While the modernization agenda includes a range of cross-
cutting actions aimed at ensuring the Department can 
effectively execute American foreign policy for the next 
generation, the Secretary has identified three key priority 
initiatives.
    First, we will build the Department's capacity and 
expertise to address 21st century missions. We want to ensure 
that the Department is organized, resourced, and equipped with 
the skills and abilities to effectively develop and execute 
foreign policy in areas of China, climate, health security, 
cyberspace, and emerging technologies, multilateral diplomacy 
and economic tradecraft.
    Launching the new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy 
last month was an important step in advancing this goal. We are 
also in the final stages of reviewing how we are organized for 
global health security in consultation with this committee and 
other stakeholders.
    Our modernization approach includes using new tools such as 
AI and integrating data analytics to inform policy decisions. 
Data scientists want to come work at the State Department, 
believe it or not. We just had a job announcement for 50 
positions and we closed it after a few days because we got 400 
applications.
    Second, we are working to modernize training and 
professional development. We look to embrace a culture of 
learning where employees are offered and expected to engage in 
a wide range of opportunities to acquire new skills, expand 
their experiences, and grow throughout their careers.
    This entails expanding courses in emerging fields such as 
cyber, tech, STEM, health, climate expertise, and increasing 
accessibility, incentives, and accountability for employees to 
train and develop.
    With your help, we will expand our Foreign Service training 
and development float and establish a civil service equivalent. 
This was an objective first set out by Secretary Powell two 
decades ago and we are making every effort to try to realize it 
with your help.
    The third initiative is to institutionalize a hybrid 
workforce. We will ensure that the Department's workforce 
transitions to a mission-first hybrid work environment that is 
resilient, agile, secure, and inclusive.
    As I noted, the launch of the Cyberspace Bureau is one 
example how we are establishing new capabilities to address 
emerging challenges. There are many others.
    Thanks to your support, as the chairman mentioned, we will 
expand our paid internships starting with a group of 200 this 
fall and plan to make all internships paid in 2023. About 1,200 
people will be paid when interning with us. This should be a 
game changer to diversify our recruitment pool.
    We have updated the performance management process used for 
both the Foreign and Civil Service which includes manager 
accountability and integration of DEIA principles. We have 
established an employee retention unit to develop the first 
Department-wide retention strategy to understand why people are 
leaving but also to understand why people are staying.
    We established a 500-person volunteer recruiter corps with 
representation from all of our Departments' affinity groups. We 
have offered Foreign Service specialists oral assessments 
virtually.
    We also conducted a review of the Foreign Service exam and, 
as you may have seen, we recently announced it will expand the 
focus on a candidate's education and experience and will end 
the practice whereby the written exam is the sole gateway to 
the rest of the process.
    With regard to assignment restrictions, we have lifted now 
nearly 70 percent of those and we will soon finalize the 
revised appeals process for officers who have restrictions 
sustained against them.
    Many of these achievements were only possible with your 
support and the support of the Appropriations Committee. So we 
thank Senator Coons, who chairs the subcommittee.
    We will continue to rely on your advice and partnership to 
make further progress and this includes ensuring that we have 
the resources and authorities to take care of our people and 
fulfill our mission.
    Lastly, I want to thank the committee for their work on 
confirming our nominees. I know we have a lot of them. We have 
moved about a hundred through the process in the last year, 
many by bipartisan votes, but we still have a number of 
nominees pending and it is critical to have our team on the 
field, particularly as we respond to Russia's invasion of 
Ukraine.
    So we appreciate, Mr. Chairman, your prompt action to 
schedule a hearing for Ambassador Brink, which I understand is 
next week.
    We ask for your continued support for the many nominations 
that we have pending and I suspect we will be sending you more 
over the coming weeks.
    So with that, I will stop and look forward to your 
questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. McKeon follows:]

               Prepared Statement of Mr. Brian P. McKeon

    Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Risch, members of the Committee--
thank you for having me here today.
    I welcome this opportunity to continue our discussion from last 
fall, and to build on Secretary Blinken's testimony from last week.
    I would like to express the Department's appreciation for your 
continued support and for helping to equip us to lead globally on 
behalf of the American people. We are especially grateful for the 
supplemental resources and flexible authorities you have provided in 
response to Moscow's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, as well 
as for the supplemental funds for Afghanistan last year. This 
partnership between the Administration and Congress has been essential 
to a strong, united American leadership.
    When I testified before this committee last October, it was the day 
that the Secretary announced his vision for Modernizing American 
Diplomacy--an agenda that will shape the Department to be ready to meet 
the challenges of the 21st Century by delivering an institution that is 
even stronger, more effective, more diverse and more agile to lead 
America's engagement in the world.
    In a world defined by new threats, new competitors, and 
extraordinary opportunities to advance the needs and aspirations of the 
American people, the renewal of American diplomacy is vital and urgent.
    The modernization agenda will strengthen the Department for the 
challenges of this century, and is designed to align our work, our 
resources, and our expertise with the issues that most directly and 
consequentially affect Americans' lives, livelihoods and security.
    While the modernization agenda includes a range of cross-cutting 
actions aimed at ensuring the Department can effectively execute U.S. 
foreign policy over the next generation, the Secretary has identified 
three priority initiatives:
    First, we want to build the Department's capacity and expertise to 
address 21st century missions. We want to ensure the Department is 
organized, resourced, and its workforce is equipped with the skills and 
abilities to develop and execute U.S. foreign policy in the areas of 
China, climate, health, cyberspace and emerging technologies, 
multilateral diplomacy, and economic tradecraft.
    The launch last month of the new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital 
Policy is an important step in advancing this goal. We are currently in 
the final stages of a review on how we are organized for global health 
security, and are consulting with this committee and other stakeholders 
in Congress.
    This reorientation to address these 21st century challenges 
includes using new tools, such as Artificial Intelligence, and better 
integrating data analytics to inform our policy decisions. We have an 
eager community of data professionals ready to join us. Last month, we 
advertised 50 new positions for data scientists, and closed the 
announcement after a few days, when we received 400 applications.
    Second, we are working to modernize training and professional 
development. We will revitalize the Department's approach to training 
and professional development to embrace a culture of learning where 
employees are offered, and expected to engage in, a wide range of 
opportunities to acquire new skills, expand their experiences, and grow 
personally and professionally throughout their careers.
    This entails expanding content offerings in emerging fields such as 
cyber/tech, STEM, health, and climate expertise; and facilitating 
increased accessibility, incentives, and accountability for employees 
to train and develop.
    And with your help, we will expand our foreign service training and 
development float--and establish a civil service equivalent--to provide 
the capacity for our workforce to take the time necessary to learn and 
grow. This was an objective first set out by Secretary Powell two 
decades ago; we are making every effort to realize it. We appreciate 
congressional support for our FY22 staffing request, which enables us 
to allocate an increase of 80 positions for professional development 
and training this year. Our FY 2023 budget request seeks to expand on 
that by adding 250 positions for this purpose.
    The third initiative is to institutionalize a hybrid workforce. We 
will ensure the Department of State workforce transitions to a mission-
first hybrid work environment that is resilient, agile, secure, and 
inclusive. Enabled by modern technology, workplace functionality, and 
updated workforce policies, Department employees will be equipped to 
meet mission needs in the 21st century.
    Underpinning these initiatives are foundational actions we will 
undertake as part of the modernization agenda to build and retain a 
diverse, dynamic, and entrepreneurial workforce; leverage new tools and 
technologies to work more effectively and solve policy challenges; 
shift our culture to lead, and become risk aware, not risk averse; and 
foster initiative and innovation.
    As I noted, the launch of the Cyberspace and Digital Policy Bureau 
is one example of how we have started making progress on new 
capabilities to address the challenges over the next several decades. 
There are many other examples:

   We established new Foreign Service climate diplomacy 
        positions in all geographic regions and key overseas posts.

   We have developed a first of its kind ``Demographic 
        Baseline'' report and dashboard with detailed views of who we 
        are as an organization. We can now analyze the gender, race, 
        ethnicity, and disability status of our direct hire cohort--
        approximately 24,500 employees--broken down by bureau, rank, 
        and employment type. We are making this dashboard available to 
        State's entire workforce.

   We have updated the performance management process for both 
        foreign service and civil service, which include manager 
        accountability and integration of DEIA principles.

   We are moving toward realizing the goal of paid internships 
        for all our interns. Thanks to the support of Congress, we will 
        start with a group of 200 interns this fall, and we plan to 
        expand the program to all State Department internships in 
        2023--that is, about 1200 people will get paid when interning 
        with us. This is a gamechanger for so many young Americans of 
        diverse backgrounds hoping to start a career in foreign 
        affairs.

   We have established an employee Retention Unit, which will 
        review data and talk with the workforce to understand why 
        people stay and why they leave. This team will develop the 
        first Department-wide retention strategy.

   We established a 500-person Volunteer Recruiter Corps with 
        representation from all our State Department affinity groups.

   For the first time, we offered Foreign Service specialist 
        oral assessments virtually and requested FY22 funds to provide 
        a needs-based stipend for some in-person oral assessments. We 
        are also revising the Foreign Service exam process so that we 
        undertake a holistic review that expands the focus on a 
        candidate's education and experience, and ending the practice 
        whereby the written exam is the sole gateway to the rest of the 
        process.

   We have lifted over 70 percent of the assignment 
        restrictions and will soon finalize a revised appeals process 
        for officers who still have such a restriction.

    Many of these achievements were made possible only with your 
support, and we will continue to rely on your advice and partnership to 
make further progress on this agenda. That includes ensuring we have 
the resources and authorities to take care of our people and carry out 
our mission domestically and abroad.
    The Department hopes to return to a regular process of 
authorizations for the Department of State and we are currently 
developing legislative proposals for consideration by the Congress. 
Once finalized, we look forward to working with you to ensure the 
Department has the authorities it needs to improve our operational 
effectiveness and strengthen efforts to build capacity and foster 
greater ties with our partners and allies.
    Finally, I want to thank the Committee for its work to confirm 
State Department nominees. Over the course of last year, you moved 
nearly 100 nominees through the process, most of them by bipartisan 
voice vote. It is critical to have our team on the field, particularly 
as we respond to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Unfortunately, we are 
still not operating at full strength, and I want to ask for your 
support in confirming the many nominees who are currently pending 
consideration in the Committee.
    Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

    The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We are fully 
engaged in trying to pursue hearings and markups for all of the 
nominees.
    We will start a round of questions. Let me start off with 
Secretary Blinken has noted that the State Department is 
returning diplomats to Ukraine and beginning the process of 
resuming operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, and we all 
looking forward to the nominees' hearing.
    How does the State Department intend to weigh the 
imperatives of establishing a physical diplomatic presence in 
Kyiv and mitigating risks to the safety and security of U.S. 
personnel assigned there?
    Mr. McKeon. Mr. Chairman, as you know, our diplomats 
assigned at Embassy Kyiv have been working out of Poland for 
the last couple of months. We have started day trips back into 
western Poland into Lviv--Kristina Kvien, the charge 
d'affaires, was there yesterday for several hours--and we are 
planning to try to get back into Kyiv in the near future. Our 
security professionals will have to go in and do an assessment 
of our facilities and make a judgment about how we can mitigate 
risk.
    Obviously, the Russians can--even though they are not on 
the ground threatening Kyiv they can still range the whole 
country with missiles and aircraft as we saw last week. We will 
have to take that into account, but the Secretary is determined 
to get us back into Kyiv in the near future, and I understand 
Undersecretary Bass is coming up to do a closed briefing for 
Senator Cardin's subcommittee this afternoon.
    The Chairman. Let me turn to the question of diversity. I 
have long championed since my days in the House a diverse 
workforce at the Department, which is why I commended last 
year's appointment of the Department's first Chief Diversity 
and Inclusion Officer, Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley.
    I understand that the Department's diversity and inclusion 
strategic plan as required by Executive Order 14035 was 
completed in March. It still hasn't been released.
    Given that the plan is critical for executing the Chief 
Diversity Officer's work, including communicating new policies 
and procedures to State's global workforce, when will the plan 
be released and what steps are being taken to ensure that 
everyone in the Department will be held accountable for the 
goals of the plan?
    Mr. McKeon. Mr. Chairman, we released internally a 
preliminary draft of the plan back in the fall and invited 
comments from across the workforce, and around that same time 
the OMB or OPM--I forget which agency--issued executive branch 
wide guidance on what they wanted to see in these plans.
    So we had to take a look at that and update the draft plan 
to conform with that and all the agency plans are sitting over 
at the White House being reviewed. So we are waiting on their 
action to release it.
    The Chairman. So do we have any projected timeframe?
    Mr. McKeon. I do not know the latest. I will check on it 
when I get back to the Department.
    The Chairman. I appreciate knowing that.
    Mr. McKeon. I can get back to you.

[Editor's note.--The requested information referred to above 
follows:]

    We are pleased to announce that the Department's Diversity, Equity, 
Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan will be released to 
the public before the end of September and will be posted on our 
website at state.gov/deia-strategy.
    To ensure accountable implementation of the Plan, the Secretary's 
Office of Diversity and Inclusion (S/ODI) is chairing an Implementation 
Team comprised of the Department bureaus and offices that have a role 
in implementing the goals and objectives laid out in the Plan. This 
Implementation Team, which held its inaugural meeting in June, will 
meet quarterly to ensure goals are being met.
    We consider the Plan a living document, as it will be adjusted to 
reflect new evidence, knowledge, and best practices to enhance DEIA 
across the Agency.

    The Chairman. Within this context, how are individuals 
within the Department, particularly those in leadership 
positions, going to be held accountable for the goals, which it 
is great. Starts off with the top.
    I tell this to the Business Roundtable and same for the 
government--when leadership at the top makes it a priority and 
people understand it is, then it--ultimately, the diversity 
officer is a great action forward, but then there has to be 
accountability, right, because otherwise it makes no 
consequence. People have to know that this is part of their 
evaluation, for example.
    So any sense about that that you can share with us?
    Mr. McKeon. I would say a couple of things. The Secretary 
has made it clear this is everyone's job. It is not merely the 
job of the senior leadership.
    When I meet with ambassadors who have been confirmed and 
are about to go out to post, which I try to meet with all of 
them, I tick through a list of issues that are a priority for 
the Secretary that they need to pay attention to, and this is 
one of them.
    As I mentioned, we have updated our promotion rules or 
standards. So in the Foreign Service it is called the promotion 
precepts, and we have issued updated precepts, which includes a 
specific precept on what they have done on DEIA.
    We have a Department-wide DEIA Council, which the Secretary 
attends those meetings when we are--when he is in town and when 
we have these meetings we usually have a couple of bureaus 
present on best practices that they have been undertaking to 
advance these objectives.
    So it is--this is a mission for everyone in the Department 
and we have got to make sure that everyone understands that. 
What we have heard anecdotally is that the workforce 
understands this is a priority from senior leadership. They are 
not always hearing it further down. So we have some work to do 
to make sure that middle managers understand this is part of 
their job description.
    The Chairman. I will look forward to that happening.
    Finally, on April 26 of his year, the State Department 
announced it would cease using the written Foreign Service 
Officer test as a pass/fail gateway test and instead consider 
each candidate's performance on the test among several factors 
in the application process. This is one of those things that I 
have always said has been an impediment to people. It is very 
subjective that you cannot orally communicate.
    What impact is this expected to have on tracking the 
broader American population to work with the Department and 
what has been the response to this news?
    Mr. McKeon. As you said, Mr. Chairman, we will continue to 
have the written test, but it will not be the gateway to the 
rest of the process. Someone will take the test and then they 
submit--they also submit a personal narrative statement, and 
then we have what we call a qualification evaluations panel 
that will look at the officer--the aspiring officer in toto, 
looking at all of their background and qualifications and what 
they--what their skill sets may be and then they would go on to 
the oral test if they made it that far through this process.
    We think, and some of the data show, that this may increase 
the diversity of our entry classes. Some people do not take 
tests well. Some people have the resources to take courses to 
help them pass the written test.
    We want to make sure that we are not screening out 
qualified officers by just the written test. For my part, I 
failed the Foreign Service exam in the 1980s. I came out okay. 
So not everybody can pass the test.
    The Chairman. All right. That is an interesting tidbit 
that----
    Senator Risch. Make a note of that.
    [Laughter.]
    The Chairman. --you can become the--one of the chief 
secretaries of the Department in that way.
    All right. Senator Risch.
    Senator Risch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I missed it if you did--did you give us any timetable for 
when you might be looking at trying to get back into Kyiv or, 
particularly, starting the process?
    Mr. McKeon. We are starting the process to look at it now, 
Senator. The Secretary would like us to get in there this 
month.
    Senator Risch. That is a good goal, at least.
    I spoke briefly about the issue in Beijing with our people 
there and being in what they call the fever prisons there. What 
can you tell us about that?
    Mr. McKeon. Mr. Chairman, I am pretty sure we have not 
allowed any officers to go into the so-called fever hospitals. 
When officers come in from outside the United States they have 
to quarantine and there are quarantine hotels, I believe, but 
let me double check that fact.
    We have objected to the possibility that people who are 
already stationed in China, if they test positive, going into a 
fever hospital.
    There was a threat at one point a few months ago where an 
officer might be separated from their child because the child 
tested positive. So we have made that clear to the Government 
of the People's Republic that that is not acceptable to us.
    We are now on ordered departure status in Shanghai because 
of the lockdown. A number of officers were having challenges 
with that. So we have skinnied down substantially because of 
that and it is something Ambassador Burns is watching very 
closely.
    I know Under Secretary Bass just talked to him about it 
last night because you can see the reports of Beijing where 
they are imposing more testing requirements right now.
    Senator Risch. I have been informed that there have been 
U.S. personnel that had been forced in the fever hospitals. You 
might want to check on that, and if that is the case probably 
ought to be revisited what is happening. So that is the 
information I have. If yours----
    Mr. McKeon. That was not my information, Senator, but I 
will double check----
    Senator Risch. I hope you will check on that for me. I 
would appreciate that.
    One of the issues that has been reoccurring with me for 
some time is getting--I understand there is a level of risk 
always in everything that is done. Obviously, you want to 
reduce the risk as much as possible, but reducing it has really 
impeded our people from getting out more than what, I think, 
that they should and I have been complaining about this for 
some time.
    Is there any thought at all about revisiting the policies 
in that regard?
    Mr. McKeon. Thank you, Senator. Thank you for your work on 
the accountability review forward process. It is definitely 
something we are working on and Under Secretary Bass, before he 
was confirmed, entered a temporary assignment where he looked 
at this very issue with a retired diplomatic security officer.
    I would say a couple things about it. One, we have, in 
statute, some security standards that were put in place--I 
confess, I worked on them in the late nineties after the East 
Africa bombing--that imposed pretty rigid standards for our 
facilities in terms of what we need from--setback from the 
street and the size of the walls around the complex, et cetera. 
We think we can relook at some of that because of the 
advancements in technology where it can--maybe do not need as 
much setback.
    We have tried to encourage people and we have put out risk 
principles that had been looked at last fall and we--in the 
fall of 2020 by the last team and we revalidated them, and I 
sent out a workforce message calling everyone's attention to 
it.
    What we are trying to do is make people risk aware and not 
risk averse because this is a risky business that we are in. 
That is not to say people should be gambling with people's 
lives, but they should take smart risks. That is a cultural 
change that we are going to have to keep working on, but we are 
with you. We completely agree with what you said previously.
    Senator Risch. Thanks. I appreciate that. Just to be clear, 
I am not complaining at all about the review of the thickness 
of the wall setbacks and that sort of thing. I think that is a 
job for somebody who has clear expertise in that area.
    What I am talking about more is the restrictions on 
movement of personnel, and I can tell you that out there 
amongst the community the belief is that we are under the most 
restrictive regulations and constraints that there are for 
diplomats in various countries, and I know there is a lot of 
people that feel they could do better if they could have less 
restriction in that regard.
    Obviously, risk adversity is something that we are all 
concerned with. On the other hand, there is also a job that has 
got to be done. So I appreciate your thoughts in that----
    Mr. McKeon. Yes, I completely agree, Senator Risch. 
Obviously, the Accountability Review Board process was one of 
the things hanging over people's heads as they calculate risk, 
and other investigations that have occurred in the past tend to 
make people a little more risk averse. So I appreciate your 
encouraging us in this respect.
    Senator Risch. Thank you. Thank you for your service.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    The Chairman. Senator Coons.
    Senator Coons. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Happy birthday to 
Ranking Member Risch, and thank you, Mr. Chairman, for once 
again gracing us with your musical talents. You, literally, 
have the nicest voice in the entire Senate, and that you used 
it today to celebrate the ranking member was one of those rare 
moments of----
    The Chairman. Senator Coons, I like to eat so I am not 
giving up my day job.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Coons. It bears repeating that your strong 
bipartisan work to achieve the first time in, I think, two 
decades reauthorization of the State Department is well worth 
celebrating and I want you to hear my appreciation for how hard 
you and your staff have worked.
    I hope to contribute to it in a few small ways that I would 
like to review, if I could, with you, briefly, Mr. Deputy 
Secretary.
    First, I introduced a bill with Senator Graham back in 
December called the Democracy in the 21st Century Act. It 
recognizes that in the digital age we may need to modernize 
some of the tools that we fund for defending democracy.
    It would establish funds with flexible terms and resources 
for confronting emerging challenges to democracy through the 
State Department, USAID, and the National Endowment for 
Democracy with a particular focus on election integrity, 
emerging technologies, and combating kleptocracy.
    Do you think it would be helpful for this committee to take 
up and pass that legislation in advance of the President's 
Summit for Democracy at the end of this year?
    Mr. McKeon. Without having read it, Senator Coons, I 
hesitate to give you a full-throated endorsement, but we 
welcome the conversation and we, certainly, welcome flexible 
funds.
    It has been 40 years since the National Endowment for 
Democracy and Institutes were established. They have done a lot 
of good, but it is certainly worth the conversation to see what 
other tools we could use.
    Senator Coons. This is a piece of legislation I reviewed 
with both Secretary Albright, a blessed memory, and Senator 
Sullivan, who has had a leadership role in the IRI. I hope you 
will consider it and give us some prompt feedback. I think it 
is well worth taking up and passing.
    In 1948, Congress passed the Smith-Mundt Act and it is my 
understanding that this outdated Cold War era law, along with 
some of its subsequent amendments, has, at times, had a 
chilling effect on the extent to which our career diplomats 
feel comfortable or feel empowered to share domestically 
information about the importance of foreign policy.
    Foreign policy certainly impacts the American people from 
public health in a global pandemic to trade issues to national 
security issues.
    Is State exploring any efforts to help ensure that our 
diplomats are fully engaging with both foreign and domestic 
audiences and do you think making some modernization revisions 
to this Cold War era statute that restrains some domestic 
public diplomacy efforts is worth undertaking?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, the complexity of this--of the Smith-
Mundt reforms became enhanced when USAID was merged into the 
State Department in the late 1990s. We have the Under Secretary 
of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and the Public Affairs 
Bureau certainly has a mandate to talk to the American people 
and explain what we are doing.
    We have always been guided by the Smith-Mundt restriction 
in not using public diplomacy program dollars, which are aimed 
at influencing foreign audiences, to communicate with American 
people.
    In the age of the internet, it is more challenging, 
obviously, than it was when Smith-Mundt was written or even in 
the late 1990s when the internet was not so common.
    So we, certainly, encourage engagement with domestic 
audiences, not just by the public affairs professionals, but by 
senior leaders, but I am happy to take a look at what you are 
proposing.
    Senator Coons. I am, frankly, just trying to clear out what 
I think is some outdated underbrush, that at least from 
encounters with mid-level Foreign Service officers they have 
understood to restrain them.
    As the chairman mentioned, diversity is a critical and 
important goal. I have had some folks recently connecting with 
our HBCU about internship opportunities now that there are paid 
internship opportunities at the State Department, and I just--I 
think we can and should do more to actively encourage effective 
outreach domestically.
    Last, if I could, I worked hard to try and remove the 
barrier to our rejoining UNESCO to get a UNESCO waiver in the 
SFOPS bill this past year. My view is that we are ceding 
leadership at the United Nations through a number of different 
bodies to China.
    The Israeli Government supports our returning to UNESCO 
under certain conditions. Is this something that you think 
would be an important part of our reengaging effectively with 
the U.N. community?
    Mr. McKeon. We do, Senator, and we support rejoining UNESCO 
for the reasons you have stated. UNESCO is doing some work on 
standard setting not just in education, but on things like AI, 
and if we are not there the Chinese are going to be filling the 
vacuum. So that is why we support rejoining.
    If I could, on the diversity issue and recruiting, as you 
may know, we have what we call diplomats in residence--
regionally focused recruiters around the country--and I believe 
seven of them are either at HBCUs or Hispanic-serving 
institutions.
    I was just down at Florida International in late March, 
which is the largest Hispanic-serving institution in the 
country, to do an event and the Secretary recently did an event 
at Howard University.
    So we want to do more of these, but we are, certainly, 
trying to get out there.
    Mr. Chairman, if I could clean up my answer to Senator 
Risch on the fever hospital. I had a misunderstanding.
    The Chairman. Sure.
    Mr. McKeon. As I said, nobody who is currently stationed in 
China has gone into a fever hospital if they have tested 
positive, but they have gone into them if they tested positive 
when they had come from overseas. So my mistake, Senator.
    Senator Coons. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. I 
look forward to working with you on this bill.
    The Chairman. Thank you, and let me thank Senator Coons, 
who, as the chair of the Foreign Ops Subcommittee on 
Appropriations, has worked with us on issues to maximize the 
Department's--to the Department's benefit.
    I also appreciate that things that are within the 
authorization element we have worked together to try to 
preserve the authorization versus the appropriating part. So I 
just want to recognize that and I appreciate it.
    I understand Senator Portman is with us virtually.
    Senator Portman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your 
having this hearing.
    I understand, Mr. Deputy Secretary, that the State 
Department is returning diplomats to Ukraine. Can you tell us 
when that is going to happen and, specifically, when are they 
going back to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv?
    As you know, 17 other countries have already announced 
returns and most have personnel in place already, including the 
EU, including France, and I wonder what our timing is.
    Mr. McKeon. Yes, Senator. We have already returned to 
western Ukraine with our diplomats assigned to Embassy Kyiv, 
have gone into Lviv a couple of times on day trips, including 
most recently yesterday.
    We are doing the security assessment about returning to 
Kyiv and we are hoping to get back there in the very near 
future.
    Senator Portman. Are you concerned that we are moving too 
slow and losing a leadership position amongst other countries? 
Again, 17 countries have already announced returns. Many are 
already in Kyiv.
    I know it is a dangerous environment, but what is your view 
on our relatively slow return to Kyiv and the impact it is 
having on the impression of the United States' leadership?
    Mr. McKeon. I do not think it is having a negative effect 
on our engagement with the government in Kyiv. Even when the 
war started and for the last 2 months, our diplomats based in 
Poland were in regular communications with Ukrainian Government 
officials and, as you know, of course, the two--the Secretary 
of State and Defense were there last weekend and the Speaker 
was just there.
    So I think the Ukrainian Government well understands our 
commitment to their cause and we are committed to getting back 
into Kyiv as soon as we can.
    Senator Portman. Okay. I appreciate that. Having been in 
Poland and met with Embassy Kyiv and also, of course, met with 
them in Kyiv several times, I know they are eager to get back, 
to say the least.
    On this issue of the Global Engagement Center, as you know, 
in last year's testimony, Secretary Blinken, with regard to the 
budget, gave his commitment that he would follow through on 
President Zelensky's request to set up a center for combating 
disinformation in Ukraine in partnership with GEC.
    He also stated that the appointment of a special 
coordinator, which is the leader of the Global Engagement 
Center, would happen quickly and was being reviewed.
    I am concerned about two things. One is the fact that we 
still do not have a leader of the Global Engagement Center at a 
time when there is more disinformation than ever, particularly 
related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and second, that 
the funding request this year only asked for a $5 million 
increase. Given the disinformation climate that we face today, 
that seems to me to be inadequate.
    Can you give us an update, first, on the efforts of the 
Global Engagement Center in Ukraine? Are we coordinating with 
them as they had requested, and then second, why have we still 
not appointed a special coordinator for the Global Engagement 
Center 2 years into the Administration?
    Mr. McKeon. It hasn't been quite 2 years, but it feels like 
it some days. I believe we have somebody identified and is in 
vetting at the minute. The Acting Coordinator, Leah Bray, is 
very capable, a retired military officer who I worked with in 
my last government job at the Department of Defense.
    We are engaged across the board in exposing disinformation 
by the Kremlin and coordinating with not just Ukraine, but 
other partner governments in the region.
    Senator Portman. So you are not going to answer my question 
as to why we do not have a lead for the office yet and what the 
timing is on getting someone?
    This is not a position that has to go through our 
confirmation process. This is a matter of you all identifying 
somebody and putting someone in place as the leader. I like 
Leah Bray also, but she is not the lead. She is in an acting 
role. So what is your answer to that?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, the personnel process even for those 
that do not go through the Senate takes a long time sometimes. 
I am not trying to dodge the question. I believe we have 
someone identified for the position and that person is in 
vetting. I do not know the timing, but I will check on it when 
I get back and let your office know.
    Senator Portman. Great. I would love to get a commitment 
from you today that you will move on that. Again, it seems to 
me that is the least we should be doing in terms of pushing 
back on this disinformation that is, as you indicate, an 
increasing problem.
    How about the budget? Do you believe that the $5 million 
dollar increase is adequate, given the disinformation 
environment we face today?
    Mr. McKeon. I do. The GEC is undertaking one aspect of 
their work, which they are trying to normalize their workforce, 
they have a lot of contractors and we are trying to convert a 
number of them to full time equivalents and that the resources 
they have now, I think, meet the moment, but we will take 
another look at it as we begin the work on the 2024 budget, 
which we have already started conversations on.
    Senator Portman. Yes. I would just say the obvious, Mr. 
Deputy Secretary, which is that the other countries are 
spending billions. We are spending tens of millions, and it 
seems to me this ought to be a huge priority.
    I noticed that the Department of Homeland Security is now 
setting up their own disinformation board of sorts. I think a 
lot of what they are talking about doing the GEC should be 
doing at the Global Engagement Center, and if the State 
Department is not doing it, apparently, other agencies are 
willing to step up and be more engaged.
    I think it is in everybody's interest, including the State 
Department, to really focus on this effort because it is the--
unfortunately, it is the 21st century way that Russia and other 
countries, including China, Iran, North Korea, are partly 
waging their conflicts.
    With regard to Uniting for Ukraine, last week you announced 
a new program that I am happy to see us move forward on. The 
notion is to streamline this process for Ukrainian citizens who 
have been displaced.
    I have heard personally from so many Ohioans who told me, 
hey, I am willing to help--I want to open my home. More than 
500 people have called or emailed our office, by the way. A 
number of businesses have expressed interest in offering jobs. 
So there is a big demand out there. I think Ohio alone could 
take a substantial number of these humanitarian parolees.
    How long do you envision this application process taking? 
Is this a matter of weeks or a matter of months? Could you tell 
us a little more about how this is going to work?
    The Chairman. So this will be the final question for 
Senator Portman. It is a minute 40 over so----
    Senator Portman. I am sorry. I apologize. I do not have a 
clock in front of me.
    The Chairman. It is quite all right. You can answer the 
question, Mr. Secretary.
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, I think it will be weeks. The 
Department of Homeland Security is in the lead on this, though 
the State Department is helping to facilitate. I was on an 
interagency call this morning where the Deputy Secretary of 
Homeland Security said we have had about 10,000 people apply 
already. A lot of this--the application process--can be done 
electronically. So I do think it will be a matter of weeks.
    Senator Portman. Great. Thank you. Thank you for your 
indulgence, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Deputy Secretary, for 
your service.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Senator Kaine.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Deputy Secretary, good to see you again. I mentioned this 
at Secretary Blinken's hearing last week. This is really for my 
colleagues. If you haven't had a chance to see this Foreign 
Affairs Security Training Center facility at Fort Pickett in 
Virginia, I would really encourage you to go.
    I took a visit during the recess. State Department 
colleagues were with me. This came through this committee back 
in 2014-15 and it is truly impressive. I took some staff there 
on a Friday. Forty-one weeks a year, they run week-long 
programs for FSOs and their family members to get security 
training, and Friday is the day of the exercise where they have 
to put all the security training to good purpose.
    It is in a mockup of a town square with an embassy compound 
that involves an attack on an embassy that is frightening. Even 
though I was told what was going to happen and knew what was 
going to happen, it was very, very intense.
    Looking at the care that has been devoted to developing 
this security program, in addition to the fact that--that is 
the 1-week-long program for all FSOs. There is also, if you 
want to be in the security side of State, you do 11 weeks there 
in your first year, 17 weeks there in your second year, and 
another 11 weeks in your third year before you do an overseas 
deployment.
    I just want to applaud the State Department for this really 
comprehensive security training. Sadly, we need it in ways we 
didn't in the past.
    Mr. McKeon. Yes.
    Senator Kaine. What I saw firsthand would be hard to 
describe. I just hope some of my colleagues might have a chance 
to see it.
    Mr. McKeon. Yes. Thank you for going, Senator. I was there 
on a Friday as well last fall and it is quite realistic--the 
training. Just to amplify that point, I have heard two 
anecdotes in the last few months of officers who have been in a 
circumstance overseas where they said my training at FASTC made 
a difference.
    One was in Oman where a contractor assigned to the embassy 
was stabbed in the lungs and the officer jumped in--he was a 
neighbor--and did whatever medical procedure--emergency medical 
procedure that he learned at FASTC and he said it came back 
from that training and probably--and the medical units said it 
probably saved that person's life.
    So it is--we appreciate the support that you have, but also 
the Congress for this facility. It is really state of the art, 
and I understand we took you out on the fast driving track and 
glad you survived.
    Senator Kaine. Yes. I had a very calm driver, and as long 
as he wasn't sweating I wasn't sweating.
    Let me ask you this. In the security space, update us on 
the Administration's effort to determine the cause of Havana 
syndrome.
    Mr. McKeon. This is a continuing effort on the part of the 
intelligence community and across the interagency. Earlier, or 
last fall and earlier this year, we had two panels, one that 
the Director of National Intelligence commissioned and one that 
our Diplomatic Security Bureau commissioned of the JASON, which 
is academic experts.
    Some of the JASON report is unclassified so that is out 
there for you to read, but there is a classified portion and 
the DNI issued an unclassified summary, and what both of them 
found, roughly, is a number of these cases can be explained by 
environmental and health factors.
    There is still a percentage of them for which we do not 
have an explanation and we are still--we have not identified or 
attributed this to a particular actor. It is still a 
frustrating head scratcher that we haven't been able to figure 
that out.
    Senator Kaine. Then frustrating is a good word because a 
number of State Department personnel have expressed frustration 
about what they maintain are actions by the Department 
leadership to either deny them or family members affected by 
this access to proper medical care.
    Talk a little bit about what you are trying to do within 
State to make sure that our State Department members and their 
families get access to medical care for this condition.
    Mr. McKeon. At post, if somebody reports an incident they 
are supposed to both report it to the Diplomatic Security 
Bureau official at post and to the medical unit, and in both 
cases they go through a questionnaire to try to get a common 
set of data.
    If their symptoms are sufficient that warrant medevac back 
to Washington, that will be authorized, and then people who 
need care quickly at a higher level, we have set up a contract 
with Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore to get 
holistic care, if you will, for officers and we are also 
getting some officers into the program at Walter Reed if that 
is warranted.
    Senator Kaine. One last quick question. In February 21, the 
Department rolled out a new payroll system. There were a number 
of glitches with that that has delayed people getting paid.
    I understand Secretary Blinken has indicated that in 
instances where pay was long delayed, the State Department will 
commit to paying interest on those. Just give us an update on 
how--is the system now fixed and are you taking steps to remedy 
situations that were caused by people not getting paid on time?
    Mr. McKeon. Unfortunately, the system is not fixed yet. The 
software was implemented. Its implementation was planned by the 
last team, but it was put in place in March of last year and, 
in shorthand, I think we were a little too ambitious with this 
software, doing everything at once, and it is had a lot of 
errors.
    The Secretary just sent out a workforce message apologizing 
to the workforce and committing to where we owe people to pay 
interest, and we have engaged some professionals, including a 
former CIO of the Department, to help us figure this out--it is 
at our center down in Charleston--and try to work through the 
glitches.
    We have also set up an online-based portal for people to 
report their challenges because we had a not very efficient 
system for that to try to improve the response time to help 
people get the compensation they are owed.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Senator Schatz.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for 
being here, Secretary.
    Freedom House says that global internet freedom has 
declined for the 11th consecutive year. I was pleased to see 
the State Department announce its Declaration for the Future of 
the Internet this past week.
    U.S. Government efforts on internet access and protecting 
journalists and civil society from undemocratic restrictions 
exist in several places with overlapping functions and 
resources.
    Russia's war in Ukraine puts further pressure on our 
resources. The Chairman has introduced the INFO Act, which 
would authorize funding for State, AID, and the U.S. Agency for 
Global Media to further advance the important work that we are 
already doing.
    Beyond funding, are there organizational or operational 
changes that you are planning across the Department to kind of 
consolidate all of these efforts and make sure that one part of 
the Department, one part of the government, knows what the 
other side is doing?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, within the Department we recently 
established the new Bureau on Cyberspace and Digital Policy. So 
part of their mandate is focused on digital freedom. The 
Democracy and Human Rights Bureau also works on this issue and 
we have given them some additional resources to work in this 
space.
    Senator Schatz. So what I worry about is scale. I have been 
in this space for a couple of years now and lots of very 
important individual efforts are ongoing, but this problem is 
global, and so I want you to pay particular attention to when 
we find a model that works when we are working with a country 
and reversing this trend that it is sort of--not in the literal 
sense, but it is sort of hand-to-hand combat, right. It is our 
country working with our counterparts and trying to increase 
global internet freedom with that country.
    My question is scale. Is there someone in charge of 
figuring out what works and scaling it across the planet, which 
is sort of, in my view, the State Department's job?
    Mr. McKeon. In the bureau I mentioned and also the USAGM 
and some of its grantees they have a fund. I forget what the 
name of it is, but open technology that helps with people 
overcoming restrictions on the internet in a particular 
country. I mean, this is part and parcel of the broader 
democratic recession, if you will, where autocrats are using 
the internet for not good outcomes.
    So it is not a standalone policy. It is a part of our 
broader work on democracy and human rights.
    Senator Schatz. So today is Global World Press Freedom Day. 
What do you think about adding press freedom training to 
Foreign Service Officers?
    Mr. McKeon. I will have to take that back and think about 
it, to be honest. I do not know if it is part of our training 
for human rights officers. It probably is. I confess I do not 
know for certain about that.
    The Secretary is marking this day today by going to the 
Foreign Press Center, which has not had an in-person briefing 
for 2 years. So we are, certainly, as a department giving lift 
to the brave work of journalists around the world.
    Senator Schatz. Yes. I just want it to be part of the 
curriculum. I want it to be part of where the rubber hits the 
road, which is, as you know, in the Foreign Service.
    Finally, in response to my questioning last week, Secretary 
Blinken said that additional resources may be needed for 
negotiations for the Compact of Free Association. How are you 
ensuring that the Department is organized to prioritize and 
successfully conclude the negotiations, given that Ambassador 
Yun will need resources and political will not just throughout 
your Department, but through Interior and Defense?
    Mr. McKeon. Broadly, we are focused on this issue, not just 
what Ambassador Yun is doing on the compacts, but on the 
challenge in the Pacific Islands because the Chinese are, 
obviously, making a big play there.
    When Secretary Kerry and Assistant Secretary Medina were 
out in Palau recently for the Our Oceans Conference they heard 
this in stereo sound that we needed to up our game on 
resources.
    So we are taking a hard look at both how we can adequately 
fund the compacts, but also the Tuna Treaty that we have with 
several countries in the South Pacific and, more broadly, our 
resources for diplomacy in the region. We are going to be 
planning to open a new post in the Solomon Islands.
    Senator Schatz. So two questions that I hope will be a 
quick yes. First, I assume you will get back to this committee 
on resources required. That is number one.
    Mr. McKeon. Yes.
    Senator Schatz. Secondly, one of the things that I have 
heard is that although the Department of Defense looms large 
and in a positive way as it relates to the Compact of Free 
Association, they are, understandably, not the tip of the spear 
as it relates to the sort of negotiations themselves.
    I would like to see a DoD representative in all the 
meetings. It doesn't necessarily have to be at the secretary 
level, but someone to convey that this is a whole-of-government 
effort with State, Interior, and Defense, and I am wondering if 
you can talk to your counterparts to make sure we have DoD in 
the room.
    I have heard a little bit of chatter that they are not 
quite in the room, that they are waiting to see how this 
resolves and support it at the end. I think we need them to 
convey that the entire U.S. Government is behind the 
renegotiation.
    Mr. McKeon. I will check on that. I was not aware they were 
not in the room, and we will get back to you.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Senator Cruz.
    Senator Cruz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. McKeon, welcome.
    Mr. McKeon. Good morning.
    Senator Cruz. I want to ask you about the State 
Department's ongoing efforts to finalize a nuclear deal with 
Iran.
    Last week in this committee I discussed the IRGC terrorism 
sanctions with Secretary Blinken and he said that dismantling 
some sanctions would be worth it because the deal has benefits 
that will meaningfully roll back Iran's nuclear program.
    I want to ask you about those benefits because I do not 
think that is true and I do not think you do either. Since 
President Biden was elected, Iran has made enormous 
unprecedented progress on its nuclear program, including 
enriching uranium to 60 percent, deploying advanced 
centrifuges, and acquiring significant knowledge.
    The Biden administration has a secret assessment that says 
there is a point after which the nuclear progress would make 
the deal meaningless. Secretary Blinken has referenced that 
point in public numerous times since last year, but you have 
never revealed to this committee what that point is publicly. 
Administration officials have told this committee in classified 
briefings what your assessment is but, again, it has been kept 
from the public.
    This weekend, Chairman Menendez said, ``We are told by the 
Administration that if the negotiations didn't conclude by the 
end of February that, in fact, the time that would be lost and 
what we would gain would be of very little importance or value 
to us.''
    Now it is the end of April. So if the end of February 
wasn't going to buy us what we need, certainly, the end of 
April is not there. That is entirely consistent with everything 
I have heard and seen.
    So my question is does the State Department intend to make 
your internal assessment public?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator Cruz, I think that is probably an 
assessment of the Intelligence Committee that is classified. So 
my answer to you right now without knowing more would be not in 
the near term, but this is not a topic I work on so I will have 
to take that question back.
    Senator Cruz. So if the State Department has an assessment 
that says the deal's benefits became meaningless months ago, 
why is the State Department still negotiating?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, as I said, I do not work on this issue 
literally. I am not in any briefings. I am not up to speed on 
what is happening. I do not have a different answer than the 
Secretary would have given you last week.
    Senator Cruz. I think the State Department needs to come 
clean with the American people about an assessment that impacts 
the safety and security of every American and the safety and 
security of our allies.
    Let us turn to a different topic. I want to ask you about 
the new so-called Disinformation Governance Board that the 
Biden administration recently announced. The board is an 
interagency team assembled under the Department of Homeland 
Security allegedly to combat disinformation, and it shows every 
sign of potentially becoming an Orwellian tool to target 
Americans whom Democrats consider to be their political 
opponents.
    In defense of the board, Biden administrations have rushed 
out to say no, no, no. You do not understand. The board is not 
going to target Americans. It is about targeting foreign 
disinformation.
    I got to say, I was surprised to hear that and I expect 
many members of this committee were equally surprised and that 
is because the U.S. Government already has an interagency 
organization built to counter foreign disinformation. It is the 
Global Engagement Center at the Department of State.
    Its mission is, ``To direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, 
and coordinate efforts of the Federal Government to recognize, 
understand, expose, and counter foreign state and nonstate 
propaganda and disinformation.''
    The GEC was created and has been consistently supported by 
bipartisan legislation that has come out of this committee. 
Last year, Senators Portman and Murphy filed a new 
authorization for $150 million for the GEC, again, to ``counter 
foreign state and nonstate sponsored propaganda and 
disinformation.''
    It would seem that either the Biden administration has 
created a completely redundant organization to target foreign 
disinformation, duplicating and undermining this committee's 
work over years, or they are not being honest about what the 
new board is designed to do and that it is actually designed to 
target Americans.
    So I want to ask you, how do you understand the GEC's 
mission to differ from the new disinformation board and what 
activities currently being conducted by the GEC would State 
contemplate ceding to this newly created board?
    Mr. McKeon. The GEC, Senator, is outward facing, engaged in 
exposing to foreign publics the disinformation that we see our 
adversaries putting out there, whether it is the Russian or 
Chinese or some other entity.
    I am not familiar with this new DHS entity. I just saw the 
headline in the paper this morning. I had not heard of it so I 
do not know how it would differ.
    Senator Cruz. So State was not consulted even though, 
ostensibly, what this new agency does is something already 
assigned to State and there is already an effort stood up to do 
this?
    Mr. McKeon. I do not know if the folks at the GEC or in our 
public diplomacy--public affairs office were consulted. I will 
have to find out and get back to you.
    Senator Cruz. You were not consulted?
    Mr. McKeon. I was not. No.
    Senator Cruz. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Deputy Secretary, great to see you, and I want to 
associate myself with the comments the chairman made in his 
opening remarks about your efforts to make sure that the State 
Department reflects the great diversity of talent in the 
country, and appreciate the efforts you are making in that 
regard and associate myself with the remarks of the ranking 
member and the comment that you made distinguishing risk 
awareness, which we want to be very focused on, but contrasting 
that with risk adversity because I do think it is important 
that our State Department officers get out and about to the 
extent that they can do so without putting themselves at great 
risk.
    The issues we cover in this hearing are not the ones that 
make headlines, but they are fundamental to the success and 
implementation of our foreign policy, and I want to start by 
asking you about implementation of the Foreign Service Families 
Act.
    I asked Secretary Blinken about this when he was here and, 
again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for 
working with Senator Sullivan and I to pass this, which we 
think is essential to continuing to attract and retain top-
notch talent.
    Passing the bill was just the beginning. There are lots of 
pieces to implementation. I just want your commitment to work 
with us to try to expedite a lot of the details we need to put 
in place to make it real.
    Mr. McKeon. You have that commitment, Senator. Thank you 
for your work on it. I remember we discussed it in my 
confirmation hearing back in March of last year.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. If there is somebody in 
addition to yourself--and I appreciate your being available on 
your team--who we should be in contact with who would that be?
    Mr. McKeon. I think most of the provisions, if I remember 
from reading it, fall on the workforce so it would be the 
Director General of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Perez.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you.
    So I have a couple questions regarding the Priority 2 
system that we established for Afghan refugees back in August 
2021. There seems to be an awful lot of confusion about the 
current status of this program, and we are contacted daily by 
NGOs who have staff members who they believe and we believe, 
looking at the facts, would be eligible for the P-2 
applications.
    Can you give me a sense of how many P-2 applicants have 
arrived in the United States?
    Mr. McKeon. I do not know that number, but it is not a 
large number because in order to be processed as refugees they 
have to get out of Afghanistan in the first instance.
    Senator Van Hollen. I understand that and we have been 
working hard to communicate that fact, but there are also a 
number of people who have gotten out of Afghanistan and did so 
with the expectation that they would then qualify, and so they 
are sitting now in third countries.
    Let me just read to you a reply that we received from the 
Department of State's Afghanistan Task Force when we inquired 
about some of these P-2 applicants. ``We are unable to provide 
status updates for individuals referred to for P-1 or P-2 
access to the United States Refugee Admission Program at this 
time. Eligible referrals will be processed and individuals who 
have been referred will receive notification by email once 
updated information or instructions are available,'' and it has 
been radio silence.
    Mr. McKeon. How recently was that response?
    Senator Van Hollen. This was sent some--I will get you the 
exact date, but I would just ask, again, for your----
    Mr. McKeon. I think we can do better than that.
    Senator Van Hollen. Yes. I appreciate----
    Mr. McKeon. We can follow up with your staff on the cases.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. I appreciate that. At the 
very least what I want to do is let these individuals know 
whether they have a chance, right? Because right now you have 
got a lot of expectations and where people are just not getting 
information. So I appreciate that. We will follow up with you.

[Editor's note.--The requested information follows:]

    Since July 2021, the State Department's Bureau of Population, 
Refugees, and Migration (PRM) has received a total of 45,028 P1 and P2 
referrals to the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 
Afghan applicants. As of August 10, 2022, nearly 24,000 of those 
referrals have been deemed complete and accepted into our program. 
Because of the heavy volume received, acceptance and processing 
timelines were initially delayed. As of August 10, 2022, over 13,000 
additional applications have been flagged for further information or 
additional follow-up from the sponsoring individual or organization. 
Another approximately 7,500 applications have been closed or found 
ineligible for acceptance into the USRAP.
    A small number of applications are presently pending review, as a 
result of resubmission by sponsors providing additional information or 
other circumstances. We recognize and regret previous delays in 
processing, but are pleased to report that at this time we are not 
currently running a backlog. The Department of State provides 
applicants with information on the status of their application and 
instructions on next steps once their referral has been accepted. That 
communication informs them that as soon as they are outside of 
Afghanistan their cases will begin to undergo processing.

    Senator Van Hollen. Finally, security clearances. This is 
driving me crazy. I just had an example of somebody who had 
been on my staff who was accepted for a position dealing with 
arms control at the State Department.
    The security clearance process took 10 months at a time 
when the people who wanted him really needed his expertise and 
talents, given everything that is going on in the world right 
now.
    This is a longer conversation, but I would--this is a 
broken area. It is one of the areas that doesn't get a lot of 
attention. Can you speak to how long it takes, on average, for 
somebody at the State Department to get a security clearance?
    Mr. McKeon. I do not know the average number. I know the 
pain point you described of taking too long in the case of 
officers. We sometimes lose aspirants for the Foreign Service 
because it takes too long.
    We have had a working group underway for a couple of years 
trying to speed up the process and there is a broader 
governmental effort for the last several years to try to speed 
up the process.
    I can report some good news. We have started to use some 
automation tools--bots--to speed up some parts of the process. 
For example, it used to be the case if you were transferring 
from one civil service position to another for reasons nobody 
can explain it would take 6 weeks to transfer the clearance.
    We can now do that in one day because of this automation. 
So we are working to fix it. I hear--I do town halls virtually 
with posts around the world. The number-one question all the 
time is eligible family employment, which is part of your bill, 
and related to that is clearance for eligible family members 
seeking employment.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. I do look forward and we 
will be following up with you and your team on this.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Senator Murphy.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Good to see you. Thank you for being here today. First, let 
me just associate myself with some of the remarks I heard from 
the ranking member.
    I want to thank Senator Risch and Senator Menendez for 
working with this committee to reform the Accountability Review 
Board process and I just look forward to continuing to work 
with you to make sure that the Department can shift its 
approach to risk to make sure that we can get our diplomatic 
staff out into high-threat environments to expand our 
footprint. Absolutely essential.
    I know it is integral to our conversation about reopening 
in Kyiv, but it is also really important when it comes to a lot 
of other dangerous places where State Department personnel need 
to be out on the frontlines.
    Second, I do think Senator Cruz fundamentally 
misunderstands what the Global Engagement Center is and how the 
mission of it is fundamentally different than the mission of 
the Department of Homeland Security.
    The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to 
protect the homeland, to protect the United States from 
misinformation and propaganda attacks from foreign actors. The 
mission of the Global Engagement Center is to work with partner 
countries around the world to protect them and their citizens 
from those misinformation attacks.
    In fact, the Global Engagement Center makes no grants to 
U.S. nonprofits or institutions. The Global Engagement Center, 
which Senator Portman and I have championed, makes grants to 
foreign media sources, fact checkers, watchdogs, to try to 
combat Russian and Chinese misinformation outside of the United 
States.
    They are fundamentally different missions. I am not sure 
that there is any contention that one would steal from the 
other.
    Two questions for you, Mr. McKeon, if I can. One is just a 
follow-up on a question I asked you, perhaps at your 
confirmation hearing on the issue of subnational diplomacy and 
I just want to keep on hammering this home.
    Here is an example of how other countries approach 
empowering city and state local actors to engage in diplomacy. 
The city of Shanghai has 100 staff dedicated to building 
diplomatic relationships around the world simply for the city 
of Shanghai.
    The United States has no office at a federal level, at the 
State Department level, dedicated to the same mission. In 
China, there is a hundred-person office in one city dedicated 
to this.
    So I know that you said earlier that this was something of 
great interest to the Secretary. I would look forward to any 
update you have on efforts to establish--reestablish a office 
of subnational city and state diplomacy at the Department of 
State. We have got legislation that would do that pending 
before this committee.
    Any updates on efforts to raise the profile of our local 
and State actors in diplomatic efforts around the world?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, it is still our intention to set up an 
office within the Department to deal with this issue and I 
believe we have identified the person to lead it. I do not know 
the timing. It has been hanging for a little bit, but I know we 
have positions identified and where it would be lodged. So I 
will come back to you in a couple of weeks to give you an 
update.
    Senator Murphy. Yes. I just think we are leaving a lot of 
talent on the playing field when we do not sort of purposely 
organize our local elected officials, Republicans and 
Democrats, to represent the United States around the world.
    Then, lastly, to back up a little bit from Senator Van 
Hollen's question, this year's budget requests includes a 50 
percent increase for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. You 
set this very ambitious target for admissions from Ukraine.
    We haven't seen that flow really start and my understanding 
is because there is a lot of work to do to rebuild USRAP from a 
lot of the damage that was done by the last Administration.
    Can you just, in a minute, talk about why this budget 
request is so essential to be able to build back up the 
capacity so that we can specifically target that hundred 
thousand number for Ukrainian admissions?
    Mr. McKeon. So just on the Ukrainian target of a hundred 
thousand that the President has set, I think a lot of those 
will end up being people coming through the United for Ukraine 
program that DHS has announced. They will come in on temporary 
parole authority.
    There are some refugees through the Lautenberg program that 
we are trying to accelerate and some people will just come 
through normal visas--family reunification immigrant visas.
    On the broader Refugee Admissions Program, we have a lot of 
rebuilding to do because the program was decimated by the 
previous Administration. The backbone, the local resettlement 
agencies, a lot of them went out of business, and we have been 
hampered in the last year-plus with COVID.
    There is still a restriction overseas in processing 
refugees, and our partner, USCIS, also needs to rebuild its 
workforce. They do the interviews overseas for people coming 
through the refugee program.
    The President has given us a very ambitious target. We are 
not going to hit it this year, but we have got to make progress 
so that we can hit it in the next couple of years.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Mr. Deputy Secretary, just a couple of follow-ups. The 
Department's request for implementing diversity, equity, 
inclusion, and accessibility, as required by several Executive 
orders, is $65.6 million. Can you give us an insight as to what 
specifically that funding will be used for?
    Mr. McKeon. I think the number that I am tracking is 
actually a little bigger than that, Senator, with $73 million 
in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget. It would be a range of things, 
the Office of Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley, for one, 
getting resources to do some data analysis and surveys, some 
additional money for the Foreign Service Institute for 
training, additional resources for our Human Resources Bureau, 
and in the strategic plan that we discussed earlier there are a 
lot of specific projects and targets that the plan sets out and 
we will need some funding to implement those programs.
    The Chairman. Then given that racial equity became a 
priority of the Department as a result of the Executive order, 
this past year, following global racial justice efforts, we 
will be receiving a budget--will we be receiving a budget 
request for dedicated funding to address global racial equity?
    The 2023 budget request provides $2.6 billion to advance 
gender equity and equality. How at all will the racial and 
gender equity goals be coordinated?
    Mr. McKeon. So the Executive order you speak of the 
President issued on his first day in office and then all 
departments were asked to put together plans to implement it, 
which we just released ours, and an officer on my team led a 
cross-department effort to develop this plan, and it is really 
designed to embed in our programs in both public diplomacy, 
foreign assistance, our overall diplomatic engagement, more 
outreach to underserved and marginalized communities overseas.
    There is money integrated in the foreign assistance budget, 
about $40 million, to advance these principles. The gender 
equity piece that you reference, some of that is not new money, 
but it is attribution exercises, looking at existing programs 
and shifting some of the focus to make sure that it has a 
gender equity component, and I think over time we will be doing 
more of that on the racial equity side.
    The Chairman. I appreciate that. As I have said, this is of 
great importance to us and you know we believe in leading by 
example. I want you to know that as the Department hired a 
Chief Diversity Officer, as the chairman and I have hired a 
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the first time 
that committee has ever had one, Mischa Thompson, who is here 
with us today.
    So I look forward with her working with the Department, at 
the end of the day, to achieve some mutual goals that we can 
make real groundbreaking breakthroughs on some things that have 
been lasting for so long.
    As part of your March 3 confirmation process, you responded 
to questions that the Bureau of African Affairs is chronically 
understaffed both in terms of positions and vacancies, and you 
committed to me to work with the Bureau of African Affairs to 
ensure it has the resources, including personnel, necessary to 
meet the Bureau's objectives.
    It has been 14 months since that hearing. Can you give me a 
sense, have you undertaken a review of the Africa Bureau's 
resources, including personnel? What did your review reveal and 
what actions are we taking?
    Mr. McKeon. As part of both the 2022 and the 2023 budgets 
and, as you know, we have talked about this, we have asked for 
hundreds of additional positions, both in the Foreign and Civil 
Service, and I want to say the Africa Bureau is second in line 
for--behind the East Asia Bureau in getting new positions. Let 
me confirm that for you. Off the top of my head, that is my 
recollection.
    The challenge we have a lot of times in Africa posts, and I 
have heard this from both the current assistant secretary and 
the previous acting assistant secretary, is getting people to 
bid.
    Even though the positions may be there at a post--a 
hardship post--it is finding people to bid and to do a tour 
like that. The school may not be particularly good if they have 
kids in--school-aged children.
    So the Bureau of Global Talent Management is working with 
the Africa Bureau to look at additional incentives to try to 
encourage people to serve at Africa posts, and we can get you 
an update on that work.
    The Chairman. Yes. If you would do that I would appreciate 
it.
    Lastly, there was some discussion here on refugees. The 
Migration and Refugee Assistance Account funds assistance 
programs to protect vulnerable people around the world 
including refugees, conflict victims, internally-displaced 
people, stateless persons, vulnerable migrants.
    The Fiscal Year 2022 requests included $550 million for 
refugee admissions and resettlement efforts that would be used 
to rebuild the refugee resettlement infrastructure within the 
U.S. and admit up to 125,000 refugees in Fiscal Year 2022.
    I think you just said we are not on track to meet that 
goal, as I understand it. Where are we at in this regard? Do we 
have allocations on the number of refugees we plan to admit 
from different geographic areas? Where is the rebuilding 
process now?
    Mr. McKeon. On that geographic allocation, that would have 
been done last September before the start of the fiscal year, 
announced by the President or the Secretary. So we can get you 
those numbers. I do not have them at hand.
    As I was saying previously to Senator Murphy, the 
rebuilding has to happen in a few places, one internally in the 
Population and Refugees Migration Bureau. They have staffed up 
the admissions office but I think we are probably going to be 
looking for more officers to--or more positions to assign to 
them.
    Second, the local network of resettlement agencies around 
the country, a lot of them went out of business because of lack 
of funding in the last Administration. So we have got to 
rebuild that infrastructure.
    We have done some of that through the Afghan evacuees that 
we processed and resettled last year, but we have also 
undertaken to forward fund some money to the resettlement 
agencies to help them rebuild.
    Then overseas, we do the work, but also USCIS goes out and 
does so-called circuit rides to interview refugee applicants, 
and USCIS has a number of personnel shortfalls that they are 
trying to fill so that we can rebuild.
    The Chairman. Senator Young.
    Senator Young. Mr. Deputy Secretary, welcome to the 
committee. We have seen dramatic disruptions in consular 
services over the past several years.
    First, COVID upended the entire model of fee-based funding 
as global travel dramatically declined. Second, tens of 
thousands of Afghan translators and allies were left stranded 
after the Administration's bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, 
and now there are new pressures from the massive crisis in 
Ukraine.
    How does the Department plan to make consular services more 
resilient to global disruptions?
    Mr. McKeon. Senator, you are right that the fee-funded 
foundation that we have for our programs undermined our 
consular services during the pandemic, but--and Congress has 
helped us in the last couple of years with direct 
appropriations to fill some of the gaps.
    I think we are in a better place financially now because 
travel is picking up so the passport and visa fees--the income 
is coming in and Congress also in the 2022 appropriations bill 
allowed us to keep some more of the fees that were previously 
remitted to the Treasury.
    So I think in terms of our financial base, we are in a good 
position. We still need to rebuild at post and we have a new 
Assistant Secretary, Rena Bitter, who is focused intensely on 
this.
    I know we have had a conversation, I believe, with your 
office about visas for nurses. So she has gone around to some 
of our biggest visa-issuing posts to make sure they are well 
postured to deal with what you have described.
    Senator Young. Very good. I hope you will keep this 
committee and my own office updated if the projections are off. 
Incidentally, what are the contingency plans if the fees do not 
increase as much as the Department is projecting?
    Mr. McKeon. Right now, we have a good base and we see that 
travel is picking up around the world. The demand for passports 
is up as we head into summer travel season and, certainly, we 
have got a lot of visa applications that are backlogged.
    At the moment, I do not think we have a concern that the 
revenues are going to fall significantly again. We may have to 
come back to Congress to help for--ask for a little more help, 
but I do not anticipate that we will.
    Senator Young. As you and I have discussed previously, I 
remain gravely concerned by the delays we have seen in issuing 
visas for the nurses, which you were kind enough to mention, 
and other travelers providing lifesaving services here in the 
U.S.
    As embassies reopen following the pandemic, how is the 
Department prioritizing among the many competing demands for 
consular services?
    Mr. McKeon. One of the biggest--the posts that issue the 
most visas for nurses which, off the top my head, are Manila, 
Kingston, Jamaica, and I forget the third one--I think it is in 
Nigeria or Kenya--we have prioritized these visas for nurses 
coming to the United States, obviously, filling a critical gap, 
particularly in rural hospitals.
    We have given posts flexibility to make decisions about how 
to prioritize certain issues. During the pandemic, the priority 
was, really, just American citizen services and immigrant 
visas.
    We recognize, depending on the post, there are other 
priorities that we need to fill, whether it is student visas, 
visas for shipping crews. There is a range of priorities that 
we are hearing from industry about that we are trying to be 
very responsive to.
    Senator Young. Is there a list of prioritized categories?
    Mr. McKeon. Each post would have their own prioritization. 
I mean, we have given guidance from Washington, but we also 
want to allow them the flexibility to manage their workload.
    As I said, in a post, for example, that has a high demand 
for nurses visas those are one of the top priorities.
    Senator Young. The National Visa Center has almost a half 
million cases that are documentarily complete, yet only 32,000 
were scheduled for interviews this month. What resources does 
the Department need to reduce this massive backlog?
    Mr. McKeon. Are those immigrant visas, Senator, that you 
are referring to? I am not sure I am tracking this particular--
with respect to this.
    Senator Young. Yes. Yes, they are.
    Mr. McKeon. I will have to get back to you with a more 
thorough response. My instinct--the answer to that question is 
simply bandwidth within a visa post that are still--where COVID 
is still a challenge.
    There would be constraints in the waiting room how many 
people can be there under local conditions at any one time, and 
we have fewer consular positions because of the funding 
challenges we had in the last couple of years.
    We are trying to rebuild the workforce and get more 
positions assigned out, but let me get Consular Affairs to come 
back with a more thorough answer.
    Senator Young. Sure, but in light of the critical visa 
categories that we need to run through here and the ongoing 
pandemic, I think a number of us would be ready to offer some 
surge capacity if presented plans.
    Mr. McKeon. Some of the things--one of the things we have 
done, Senator, with some nonimmigrant visas is to get authority 
working with DHS to waive the interview requirement for certain 
categories of applicants. So that eases the burden on some 
posts.
    Senator Young. Thank you, sir.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Mr. Deputy Secretary, I have been around here long enough 
to know that gratitude and thank yous are few and far between. 
So let me just say I want to thank you and Assistant Secretary 
Bitter, in particular, for the hard work that you have helped 
in my office--I know others as well--in terms of some 
challenging Consular Affairs cases.
    I know you understand how important that work is and I 
appreciate the notable change in the Department's attitude and 
engagement in this regard. So thank you for that. Thank you for 
the----
    Mr. McKeon. Thank you for saying that, Senator. Assistant 
Secretary Bitter is one of our best. I make it a point when I 
travel domestically to go to our passport offices and I went to 
the National Visa Center national passport center, which is in 
New Hampshire, a couple of months ago and customer service is 
their mantra. This is what they do and they are very committed 
to it.
    The Chairman. Yes. Whenever I travel abroad, I always ask 
to see the chief consular officer because they do incredibly 
important work.
    So with the appreciation of the committee for your 
appearance and thoughtful answers and for the work we are doing 
together on State Department reauthorization, this record will 
remain open to the close of business tomorrow.
    With the thanks of the committee, this hearing is 
adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:30 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
                              ----------                              


              Additional Material Submitted for the Record


             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                  Submitted by Senator Robert Menendez

    Question. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: I have long championed 
a diverse workforce at the Department and equity in the implementation 
of U.S. foreign policy, which is why I commended last year's 
appointment of the Department's first Chief Diversity and Inclusion 
Officer--Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley. Given longstanding 
racism around the globe affecting numerous communities and our American 
troops, diplomats, students, and business professionals living and 
working overseas, I also welcomed the Department's announcement of a 
Special Envoy for Racial Equity and Equity Action Plan last week. Both 
efforts demonstrate our commitment to democratic values and are 
critical to the long-term success of our foreign policy interests 
overseas, which is why I would like to work closely with you to ensure 
their success. Given the Department cited equity as a ``strategic 
National Security imperative'' and included equity in the Joint 
Strategic Plan with USAID, will the Special Envoy on Racial Equity sit 
in the Secretary's front office and hold the status of Ambassador 
similar to others appointed to lead critical efforts of the Department?

    Answer. The Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice 
(SRREJ), a Senior Executive Service-level position, will be located in 
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor's (DRL) front office, 
given DRL's responsibility for a range of equity, social justice, and 
human rights issues. The SRREJ will work with the Secretary, Under 
Secretaries, U. S. Ambassadors, multilateral institutions, civil 
society, and host governments worldwide to combat systemic racism and 
advance the human rights of members of marginalized racial and ethnic 
communities. The SRREJ is responsible for successfully integrating 
Executive Order 13985 into all aspects of the Department's foreign 
affairs mission.

    Question. While the work of the Chief Diversity and Inclusion 
Officer was included in this year's budget request, I did not see a 
funding request for the Department's large-scale equity efforts, from 
increasing procurement opportunities for minority-owned businesses to 
establishing a new Special Envoy on Racial Equity's office and work. 
Will you be submitting a budget request for this important equity work 
to this Committee?

    Answer. The Department's FY 2023 Congressional Budget Justification 
Appendix 1 includes a table (page 10) outlining diversity, equity, 
inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) priorities. The Department also 
created a Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice based in 
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor to advance racial 
equity in State's policies and programs and support Executive Order 
13985. Similar equity-based efforts include initiatives in the 
Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues, Special Envoy to Monitor 
and Combat Anti-Semitism, Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ 
Persons, Special Advisor for Disability Rights, the Chief Diversity and 
Inclusion Officer, and the Office of Civil Rights. Work on procurement 
opportunities is the responsibility of two existing offices: the Office 
of the Procurement Executive and the Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization. The director of the latter office reports 
directly to me.

    Question. With an eye towards identifying opportunities for us to 
work together to achieve equity and workforce diversity goals in 
foreign affairs, can we schedule regular meetings on these efforts and 
consultations on significant developments and decisions between our 
staffs?

    Answer. Yes, we welcome the opportunity for regular meetings to 
discuss the Department's progress on equity in foreign affairs and 
workforce diversity.

    Question. Cyber Bureau: I was glad to see the official launch of 
the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy a few weeks ago--and to see 
that building capacity in cyberspace and emerging technologies is a 
priority for this year's budget . . . these steps will be essential in 
addressing some of the most critical challenges in the coming decades. 
What will be the key priorities for this new bureau in the next year?

    Answer. I see building an integrated team while also advancing our 
diplomatic objectives as crucial to our success over the next year. 
That means hiring the right leadership and staff throughout the bureau, 
as well as coordinating and advancing the security, economic, and 
values-based elements of cyberspace policy and diplomacy. Through our 
diplomacy, we will ensure the United States remains the world's 
innovative leader and standard setter, keeping universal rights and 
democratic values at the center of innovation while working to ensure 
digital technologies deliver real benefits to people's lives. We will 
also support and work with partners and allies to develop and deploy 
digital technologies to tackle the most urgent challenges we face.

    Question. The next 5 years?

    Answer. Within the next 5 years, the Cyberspace and Digital Policy 
(CDP) bureau will be leading and coordinating, at State and throughout 
the interagency, work with foreign and domestic counterparts to shape 
an open digital future by preventing cyber attacks that target our 
businesses, working to ensure that digital technologies help advance 
human rights, and promoting a digital economy based on our democratic 
values. Our task will also be to put forth and carry out a compelling 
international vision for how to develop, deploy, and use digital 
technologies in a way that serves our people, protects our interests, 
and upholds our democratic values.

    Question. Will you commit to keeping this Committee appraised of 
the new bureau's work and to consult with this Committee on significant 
developments and decisions? Will you commit to the same with respect to 
the planned Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies?

    Answer. Yes, we are committed to maintaining open and regular 
communications with Congress and this Committee on issues related to 
the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy's mission, objectives, and 
progress. We are committed to doing the same with regards to the Office 
of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology. We are 
grateful for the bipartisan support as the Department reorganized to 
elevate and institutionalize these critical foreign policy issues.

    Question. Bureau of African Affairs: The Committee has received 
nominations for career foreign service officers to serve in key posts 
in Africa--Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali. All candidates seem to be 
imminently qualified to become Ambassadors, and I will move their 
nominations as quickly as possible. I would note that none of them has 
served as Ambassador before and none of them has served in Africa over 
the course of their careers. What message does it send to Foreign 
Service officers and civil servants who have spent considerable time 
working in Washington or at posts in Africa about prospects for career 
advancement?

    Answer. The Bureau of African Affairs (AF), alongside the other 
regional bureaus, seeks to fill Chief of Mission (COM) positions with 
individuals who have substantial senior leadership experience from 
varying backgrounds and who have substantial experience working in 
hardship conditions. AF firmly believes in ensuring embassies mirror 
the America they represent and recommends qualified COM candidates with 
proven track records. By including qualified candidates regardless of 
prior regional experience, AF can draw from a more substantial pool of 
diverse applicants. This message of inclusion is highly valued by our 
employees, who know they too may be considered as candidates for 
leadership assignments throughout the Department of State, regardless 
of prior regional experience.

    Question. Do you think it has had an impact on morale?

    Answer. Opening leadership opportunities to qualified staff, 
regardless of their previous regional expertise, is an important factor 
in maintaining morale among the senior ranks of the service, as it 
makes opportunities more inclusive. For officers with extensive 
experience in one bureau to be competitive for positions in others, 
bureaus must be open to fair competition from officers throughout the 
Department who have relevant skills.

    Question. What accounts for the fact that we are sending first time 
Ambassadors with no Africa experience to some of the most challenging 
posts on the continent?

    Answer. Successful Chief of Mission candidates have strong, broad 
leadership, management, and foreign policy experience, independent of 
regional expertise. The Bureau of African Affairs makes every effort to 
recruit candidates who have applicable regional and functional 
experience based on post specific qualifications. This includes a 
proven track record of leading a large, diverse workforce and working 
with interagency counterparts, particularly in hardship conditions. 
Those nominated for senior leadership positions quickly become 
knowledgeable of their future areas of responsibility through 
substantial consultations with experts of various fields and bring a 
comparative perspective and valued diversity of experience to the 
region.

    Question. Is this a legacy of the loss of senior staff during the 
last Administration?

    Answer. With robust interest from qualified candidates, the Bureau 
of African Affairs has found qualified candidates from various 
backgrounds, while not excluding applicants with experience on the 
African continent. With 46 Chiefs of Mission (COM) in Sub-Saharan 
Africa, there is frequent turnover. This is sometimes due to 
retirement, but other times due to regular transfers and onward 
assignments, either as COM elsewhere or to a leadership position back 
in Washington. The President has nominated superbly qualified 
candidates to fill these vacancies.

    Question. Embassy Baghdad Staffing: The Administration's move to 
end combat operations and transition the U.S.-Iraq relationship to a 
strategic one centered on bilateral diplomacy are positive steps, which 
I fully support. However, I remain concerned that the drawdowns of the 
previous Administration left Embassy Baghdad understaffed, relative to 
the size and scope of its mission. While the safety and security of 
U.S. personnel is always paramount, I believe that a robust diplomatic 
presence, including in southern Iraq, will be key to this new phase of 
the U.S.-Iraq relationship that is centered on bilateral diplomacy. 
What is your assessment of current staffing levels at Embassy Baghdad 
and what do you need to see on the ground before considering an 
increase to those levels?

    Answer. I and the team at Embassy Baghdad are committed to ensuring 
the embassy is not only secure, but also appropriately staffed to meet 
Department goals. While current in-country staffing levels in Iraq are 
temporary and reversible, they are consistent with the existing Ordered 
Departure status. As with all our posts, we continue to assess both the 
security and health environment in Iraq and hope to revert to higher 
in-country staffing levels as soon as circumstances permit.

    Question. Similarly, what would you need to see on the ground 
before reopening the U.S. consulate in Basrah?

    Answer. The Department suspended operations at U.S. Consulate 
General Basrah in 2018 as a result of heightened security threats. We 
continue to evaluate the security situation in Basrah and will, of 
course, continue to keep Congress apprised of any decisions.

    Question. What is the status of physical security repairs and 
facilities upgrades at Embassy Baghdad?

    Answer. The December 2019 attacks left the Baghdad embassy compound 
with significant damage, destroying three of the five Compound Access 
Control (CAC) facilities. The Department is currently executing an 
expedited design-build repair project to return the main CAC to its 
original, pre-attack condition and functionality, scheduled for 
completion in September. In addition, the Department has allocated 
funding for design of the remaining CAC replacements and wall 
enhancements. Once the design is complete, the Department intends to 
review available prior year funds to award a construction contract for 
the work, currently planned in FY 2023.

    Question. Yemen: As we currently do not have an embassy presence in 
Yemen, all U.S. diplomatic operations take place out of the Riyadh-
based Yemen Affairs Unit. Given the recent on the ground developments 
surrounding the UN-brokered truce between the Houthis and the Saudi-led 
coalition, do you imagine any changes to the current U.S. footprint and 
embassy operations?

    Answer. No. At this time, I do not foresee any changes to our 
current U.S. footprint and embassy operations in Yemen. We continue to 
monitor the situation in Sana'a and work with our allies and 
stakeholders to develop a long-term solution regarding our presence in 
Yemen. However, it is important to note the Houthis are still detaining 
a dozen of our current and former local staff and remain in breach of 
the U.S. embassy compound in Sana'a; we continue to press for the 
unconditional release of our staff. The Department also intends to 
comply with all applicable Congressional consultation and notification 
requirements should we decide to increase our footprint in Yemen. Our 
ultimate objective is to ensure our presence in Yemen furthers U.S. 
national security interests and enables our government to carry out the 
full range of diplomatic activities while maintaining the safety of 
diplomatic personnel.

    Question. The U.S. has hundreds of locally employed staff in Yemen, 
many of which have recently become targets. Over 30 Yemeni U.S. 
Government employees have been forcibly detained by the Houthis. How 
does the Department plan on ensuring the safety of the locally employed 
staff and what efforts are being taken to protect the U.S. compound in 
Sana'a?

    Answer. Ensuring the safety of our local staff in Sana'a remains a 
top priority and is extremely challenging for a variety of reasons, 
including the lack of host nation government presence in the city. The 
Yemen Affairs Unit in Riyadh and multiple other offices of the 
Department continue to collaborate in pursuit of options for our local 
staff that include potential immigration to the United States and 
employment at other posts, on both temporary and permanent bases.
    The Houthis remain in control of the U.S. compound in Sana'a. The 
Department is engaged in several diplomatic efforts to recover control 
of the compound which, if successful, will lead to a reassessment of 
its security infrastructure.

    Question. Libya: I understand that the Department is exploring the 
resumption of a diplomatic mission in Libya. In March, Ambassador John 
Bass visited Libya to further assess the prospects of resuming the U.S. 
embassy's operations in Tripoli. Where do these discussions stand and 
have the recent political developments in Libya impacted U.S. 
consultations?

    Answer. Following his trip, Ambassador Bass authorized the Bureau 
of Diplomatic Security and Overseas Building Operations to survey 
potential interim mission sites with the intention, security conditions 
permitting, of establishing a semi-permanent presence staffed by 
rotating officers. Our efforts to restore a full diplomatic mission 
continue, and we will brief Congress on the next steps. We, of course, 
monitor the political and security environment in Libya closely and 
will continue to do so.

    Question. Last I heard, the Tunis-based embassy staff is able to go 
in and out of Libya at least 1 day per month. Is there more flexibility 
in how often staff is able to travel in and out of Libya for diplomatic 
engagements?

    Answer. Because of the ongoing suspension of U.S. embassy 
operations in Libya, the Under Secretary for Management must approve 
all travel for personnel under Chief of Mission security responsibility 
into Libya. Consideration of whether to approve travel into Libya takes 
into account an assessment of threats, security resources, and the 
necessity for travel, and each trip requires significant logistical and 
security support. The frequency of our diplomatic engagement has 
steadily increased over the last few years, but increased engagement 
will depend on the availability of facilities and resources to ensure 
the security of our personnel.

    Question. What are the current security needs for ensuring the 
safety of these individuals?

    Answer. As in all locations, our security requirements are a 
mixture of fixed/static security, movement security, physical security, 
crisis response/quick reaction forces, and other considerations. We 
would be happy to detail our requirements in a classified setting.

    Question. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI): Since 2002, 
the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) has worked to address 
gaps in educational and economic opportunity and participatory 
governance across the Middle East, especially for young people, women 
and religious and ethnic minorities. However, funding has decreased 
over the years, as has the scope of MEPI's work, which now focuses on 
scholarships. What steps can MEPI take to expand its scope to include 
more of the types of programs that were envisioned at its outset, in 
addition to scholarships?

    Answer. Since 2020, more than 75 percent of funding for MEPI has 
supported the Tomorrow's Leaders (TL) scholarship program, consistent 
with Congressional directives. The FY 2023 budget request for MEPI 
seeks funding to continue support for TL. It will also maintain, at a 
reduced scope, leadership and alumni programs and continued work with 
governments and citizens on locally identified and led reforms to 
enhance government responsiveness, democratic decision-making, 
inclusive economic growth, and greater opportunities for youth, women, 
and marginalized communities. The Department will continue to leverage 
MEPI and explore opportunities to expand initiatives of impact to 
advance U.S. interests when possible.

    Question. Priority GAO Recommendations: For several years, the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) has sent the Secretary of State 
(along with other Department heads) a letter identifying the most 
important outstanding recommendations for your agency to address. In 
its 2021 letter, GAO highlighted issues including embassy construction 
planning, cyber diplomacy, and security assistance vetting. Will you 
commit that senior leadership will review the list of recommendations 
GAO highlights as the most important and taking steps to ensure they 
are addressed?

    Answer. Yes, I am fully committed to closing GAO recommendations, 
including the priority ones, in a timely manner. We value these 
recommendations to improve our programs and operations. In the recently 
released (May 2022) Priority Open Recommendations letter, GAO noted the 
Department's implementation rate was 94 percent. We will continue to 
work with GAO to assure that recommendations are closed as quickly as 
possible.

    Question. Embassy Construction: In 2018, GAO reported that State's 
Overseas Buildings Operations Bureau had built 77 embassies under its 
Capital Security Construction Program since 1999, at a total cost of 
about $24 billion. However, GAO found that the pace of the embassy 
construction program had slowed. Furthermore, State had not provided 
Congress with information on the potential effects of construction 
inflation on Program capacity or timeframes for building the nearly 50 
embassies identified for replacement beyond 2022. Have you assessed the 
effects of worldwide construction inflation on the Program? If so, how 
is it going to impact the pace of new embassy construction?

    Answer. The Department has assessed the effects of the worldwide 
construction inflation on the new embassy construction program and 
estimated the effects of lost purchasing power on the program's 
capacity. The average inflation rate of 3.55 percent between FY 2014 
and FY 2023 on a new embassy construction program that ranged between 
$2.2 and $2.6 billion dollars resulted in a $75 million loss in 
purchasing power in FY 2015 and will reach a cumulative total loss of 
$704 million in purchasing power in FY 2023. Without continued 
increases in funding to offset the impact of lost purchasing power due 
to worldwide construction inflation, as well as current price inflation 
surges, the pace of our construction program will slow proportionally.

    Question. Does your budget request take into account the effects of 
construction inflation?

    Answer. The FY 2023 budget request maintains funding for the 
construction of new, secure facilities at levels consistent with the 
recommendations of the Accountability Review Board. In accordance with 
a 2018 recommendation from the Government Accountability Office, the 
Department estimated the effects of cost inflation on planned embassy 
construction capacity using construction industry indices. The average 
inflation rate of 3.55 percent between FY 2014 and FY 2023 on a new 
construction program that ranged between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion 
resulted in a $75 million loss in purchasing power in FY 2015 and 
reached a cumulative total of $704 million lost in purchasing power for 
FY 2023.

    Question. Leahy Vetting: In 2016, GAO recommended that State 
develop time frames to establish policies and procedures to implement a 
vetting process that would enable the U.S. Government to provide a more 
reasonable level of assurance that equipment is not transferred to 
foreign security forces where there is credible evidence of human 
rights violations. In July 2021, State issued new guidance to address 
this recommendation. What steps has State taken to ensure that overseas 
posts are implementing this new guidance?

    Answer. In 2022, the Department of State undertook a global survey 
regarding implementation of the Leahy law. The survey showed that most 
countries are expected to receive assistance for which vetting of 
recipient units can be done in advance. For the other countries, the 
U.S. Government is seeking to enter into agreements with recipient 
governments in which the governments agree not to provide covered 
assistance to units we identify to the governments as credibly 
implicated in a gross violation of human rights. We have completed 15 
agreements with such governments thus far.

    Question. What challenges have posts faced in implementing the 
guidance?

    Answer. Some U.S. embassies face challenges in implementing the 
2021 guidance in cases where the assistance is not easily tracked to a 
specific recipient unit. In those cases, the Department of State is 
seeking to enter into agreements with recipient governments in which 
the governments agree not to provide covered assistance to units that 
we identify as credibly implicated in a gross violation of human 
rights. To date, we have completed 15 agreements. The Department has 
also developed and is implementing a process to identify such 
ineligible units in connection with the agreements.

    Question. Democracy Assistance: In 2018, GAO reported that of 10 
State bureaus providing democracy assistance, 3 were unable to provide 
reliable data on democracy activities they funded. In particular, GAO 
found that the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement 
Affairs (INL) did not correctly code its data to identify democracy 
assistance provided to countries such as Colombia, Egypt and Kenya. 
While State has made improvements to data tracked in its financial 
systems, INL has not yet demonstrated how it addressed GAO's 
recommendation to improve the reliability of its democracy assistance 
data. What actions has INL taken to improve the completeness and 
accuracy of its funding data for democracy assistance, such as 
correctly identifying beneficiary countries?

    Answer. On May 18, INL met with GAO to discuss the status and 
criteria needed to close out the recommendation. INL provided GAO 
documentation containing the updated INL Bilateral Desk Guide and 
Foreign Assistance Data Review (FADR) guidance used when entering an 
obligation into the financial system. Combining the FADR guidance and 
the desk guide establishes a process that will ensure project codes are 
a requirement in the Department's financial system and therefore must 
be inputted to create an obligation. INL is also producing an updated 
report with FY 2021 democracy assistance data to prove to GAO that the 
process changes reflect more reliable data.

    Question. Anomalous Health Incidents: The Department is requesting 
new funding for the Bureaus of Medical Services and Diplomatic Security 
to research Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI). While these incidents 
have also been referred to as Havana Syndrome and were previously 
unseen, U.S. Government personnel have reported potential incidents 
around the world. What steps is the Department taking now to ensure it 
is prepared to respond to future emerging health-related incidents?

    Answer. There is nothing more important than protecting the health, 
safety, and security of our people. First and foremost, while 
communicating with our entire workforce and investigating incident 
reports, we are focused on delivering the best possible care and 
treatment for our affected colleagues and their families. Our provision 
of medical care at posts is supplemented, when needed, by care here in 
the United States at centers of excellence, including Johns Hopkins and 
Walter Reed.
    We are applying what we have learned from our experience with AHIs, 
as well as our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to prepare for future 
health events we can predict and those we cannot. Our commitment to 
global health security is not only diplomatic, but applies to our 
workforce, too.

    Question. Suspension and Reprogramming of Assistance to Central 
America: According to a recent GAO report, the 2019 suspension and 
reprogramming of assistance to the Northern Triangle adversely affected 
implementation of many State projects. Specifically, 65 of State's 168 
projects were adversely affected. State reported that commonly 
experienced adverse effects on project implementation were delays from 
planned timeframes and decreased frequency, quality, or types of 
services provided to beneficiaries. What is State doing to overcome the 
effects of the suspension and reprogramming of assistance on the 
implementation of projects?

    Answer. The Department used existing prior year funding and FY 2019 
and FY 2020 funds to continue implementing programs consistent with 
U.S. Government priorities in Central America and to expand programs 
delayed and reduced due to the reprogramming.

    Question. Will you provide an update on the level of assistance 
State is currently providing compared to prior to the suspension?

    Answer. The Department and USAID allocated nearly $804 million in 
FY 2021 bilateral, regional, and humanitarian assistance for Central 
America, and the President's FY 2022 request included nearly $861 
million to support the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of 
Migration in Central America. Prior to the reprogramming of assistance, 
the Department and USAID allocated approximately $807.5 million in FY 
2016 and $769.3 million in FY 2017 bilateral, regional, and 
humanitarian assistance to Central America.

    Question. Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Training: A December 
2021 GAO report recommended that State's training related to economic 
and commercial diplomacy would benefit from periodic, comprehensive 
assessments to identify whether its training is covering needed topics. 
GAO also recommended that State should consult with stakeholders 
outside of State regarding whether its economic and commercial 
diplomacy training is adequately equipping personnel to perform their 
jobs. State concurred with both of these recommendations and stated 
that it would establish a Trade and Expansion Advisory Committee as set 
forth in the Championing American Business through Diplomacy Act to 
obtain some of this external feedback. Has State conducted a 
comprehensive assessment of its training needs to support its economic 
and commercial diplomacy efforts? If so, what has State found through 
this assessment?

    Answer. On January 11, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) re-
established its annual, comprehensive assessment across the economic 
and commercial diplomacy issue areas. The review included discussion 
and analysis of current policy priorities, FSI's Economic and 
Commercial Training Division's current training and course offerings, 
course attendance records, and course evaluation results for FY 2021. 
This assessment resulted in recommendations including elimination or 
reduction of less relevant training, continued and ongoing needs 
assessments, increasing resources to meet needs, and reinitiating 
annual meetings with all economic and commercial diplomacy subject 
matter expert course coordinators.

    Question. Is State's training providing its people with the tools 
they need to support U.S. businesses abroad?

    Answer. The Department of State offers a range of economic and 
commercial diplomacy courses and activities that equip foreign affairs 
professionals with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to advance U.S. 
economic and commercial objectives. The Department appreciates the 
recognition that it has taken important steps in its planning, design, 
implementation, and evaluation of its economic and commercial diplomacy 
training. The Department will continue to strengthen its training 
efforts, including through continued assessments of training needs, 
additional career guidance for State personnel, and further 
consultations with external stakeholders.

    Question. What is the status of the Trade and Expansion Advisory 
Committee?

    Answer. The Trade and Expansion Advisory Committee (TEAC), as 
established by the Championing American Business through Diplomacy Act 
(CABDA), will provide comments and advice on priorities for trade 
expansion initiatives to U.S. Government agencies and policymakers. We 
are working with our interagency partners, in particular the 
Department's Economic Diplomacy Action Group (EDAG) co-vice-chairs--the 
Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative--to formally 
establish the EDAG, which is a prerequisite to standing up the TEAC.

    Question. Who is included in this advisory committee and what are 
their roles?

    Answer. The Department is working with our interagency partners to 
establish the Economic Diplomacy Action Group (EDAG), which is a 
prerequisite to the establishment of the Trade and Expansion Advisory 
Committee (TEAC). We envision the TEAC providing comments and advice to 
agencies and policymakers on potential priorities for initiatives to 
expand trade. The Championing American Business through Diplomacy Act 
includes a diverse TEAC membership comprising representatives of the 
U.S. private sector and other organizations, including labor, who have 
direct and operational experience in importing and exporting, 
particularly to and from developing countries. The TEAC will advise the 
EDAG on ways agencies and posts can better support U.S. companies 
abroad. It also is expected to assist the EDAG in soliciting private 
sector advice for strategic planning purposes and in advancing the 
overall mission and goals of U.S. national security.

    Question. What feedback has State received from external parties 
related to its economic and commercial diplomacy training?

    Answer. The Department of State meets with the Department of 
Commerce to discuss training initiatives and collaborative efforts for 
outreach to private sector and industry groups on a quarterly basis. 
The Trade and Expansion Advisory Committee (TEAC), set forth in the 
Championing American Business through Diplomacy Act, will be utilized 
as a vehicle to facilitate direct engagement with private sector and 
industry groups on training. We are working with our interagency 
partners to establish the Economic Diplomacy Action Group (EDAG), 
including laying the groundwork for the requisite Presidential Action, 
prior to the EDAG establishing the TEAC.

    Question. State Department Staffing: A March 2019 GAO report found 
that, according to staff at overseas posts, State's Consular Fellows 
Program was helpful in hiring applicants from outside the Foreign 
Service to perform duties and to fulfill responsibilities similar to 
those of entry-level career Foreign Service consular officers. GAO's 
review found that consular fellows filled over 200 Foreign Service 
consular positions that otherwise would be vacant. Do you consider the 
program to be a success? If so, would it be possible to create a 
similar program to help reduce the high vacancy rates for other 
positions at overseas posts, such as information management?

    Answer. The State Department continues to utilize the Consular 
Fellows program to meet the needs of the service. As needed, the 
Department uses limited noncareer appointment Consular Fellows (CFPs) 
to fill entry-level consular positions, where they are primarily 
responsible for adjudicating visas. The Department considers this 
program very successful because it allows staffing to expand and 
contract based on visa demand. For example, during the past year and a 
half during the pandemic, the Department did not hire any Consular 
Fellows. The Department regularly reviews current and future staffing 
demands and necessary resources to ensure the optimal intake and 
staffing for all skill codes.

    Question. Employing Eligible Family Members: A March 2019 GAO 
report found that, according to staff at overseas posts, posts have 
widely employed eligible family members (EFMs) to supplement Foreign 
Service employees and, in certain cases, to take on the duties of 
Foreign Service positions that are vacant. However, staff at overseas 
posts noted the challenges of relying too heavily on EFMs to help 
address Foreign Service vacancies. In particular, staff noted that some 
EFMs may lack the skills, qualifications, training, or interest needed 
to fill vacant staffing needs at post. Has the number of EFM positions 
at overseas posts increased, decreased, or stayed the same over time?

    Answer. Eligible Family Member (EFM) positions at post may 
supplement overseas staffing needs. For more specialized EFM positions, 
such as Expanded Professional Associates Program (EPAP) positions, EFMs 
often provide substantial support to their sections, but do not replace 
the need for trained Foreign Service Officers, who are ultimately 
responsible for direction and management of a section. The number of 
centrally funded EPAP positions has remained at 400 worldwide since 
2018, while the number of other EFM positions has either remained 
static or decreased over time.

    Question. Has State assessed the extent to which the EFM program is 
addressing the needs of overseas posts?

    Answer. All of our Eligible Family Member (EFM) programs fill 
staffing needs overseas, but the Expanded Professional Associates 
Program remains one of the most popular EFM programs. Each year, posts 
request more positions than are available through the State 
Department's central funding. Other administrative positions may be 
filled by EFMs at post as needed.

    Question. What steps has State taken to ensure that EFMs are 
qualified for their assigned positions?

    Answer. When Eligible Family Members (EFMs) are accompanying their 
employee spouses on an overseas assignment, they may apply to available 
positions. EFMs must meet the qualifications required for the position, 
regardless of the nature of the position. However, many jobs available 
to EFMs inside an embassy or consulate are administrative in nature and 
do not require specialized training or skills to qualify. The State 
Department offers functional training to EFMs on a space-available 
basis as funding permits.

    Question. State also hires eligible family members to certain 
specialized positions, such as facility managers, through its Expanded 
Professional Associates Program. Has State assessed the extent to which 
this Program has addressed specialized position vacancies at overseas 
posts?

    Answer. The Expanded Professional Associates Program (EPAP) helps 
address the staffing needs of overseas posts, including the need for 
specialized positions. Each year, posts request more positions than are 
available through the State Department's central funding. These 
positions are professional level full-time positions in Economics, 
Management, Political, Public Diplomacy, Financial Management, General 
Services, Human Resources, Office Management and Medical (Registered 
Nurse) areas.

    Question. Democracy Assistance. Multiple State bureaus are involved 
in providing democracy assistance around the world. In 2020, GAO 
reported that State officials in its case study countries said they 
generally lacked information about the Bureau of Democracy, Human 
Rights and Labor's (DRL) democracy assistance projects, including 
project descriptions and funding amounts. State's existing information-
sharing mechanisms, including data systems and strategies, do not 
consistently address these gaps. What actions has State taken to 
improve information sharing on democracy assistance projects between 
the HQ-based DRL bureau and embassies abroad?

    Answer. DRL coordinates closely at all stages of the procurement 
cycle with relevant stakeholders, including regional offices, 
embassies, and USAID. As part of the Office of Foreign Assistance-led 
planning process, all Department offices and bureaus, including 
regional offices and embassies, are able to review and request changes 
to DRL's intended programming. Per DRL policy, all program 
solicitations require regional office and embassy clearance and, in 
consultation with the relevant embassy, regional desks serve as voting 
members on all application review panels. DRL strives to improve 
information flows with embassies by sharing information biannually 
regarding ongoing programming to address knowledge gaps due to turnover 
at posts.

    Question. Funding for Consular Services: Recent changes in the fee 
structure for Consular Affairs should generate additional revenue to 
fund the Bureau's operation. Specifically, the Passport Security 
Surcharge was increased by $20 per passport. In addition, the FY 2022 
Consolidated Appropriations Act allows State to retain the passport 
application fee, which State historically transferred to the General 
Fund. Nevertheless, State has requested additional, expanded fee 
setting and expenditure authority for several consular fees. Please 
explain why these recent changes are insufficient to address the 
imbalance that State has identified in the structure of Consular 
Affairs fees.

    Answer. Recent Congressional action has had a significant, positive 
impact on the longstanding structural imbalance of the Consular and 
Border Security Programs (CBSP) account. Continuation of the 
expenditure authorities in section 7052 for the Passport Security 
Surcharge and other fees, as well as renewing the expenditure authority 
for the Passport Application and Execution Fees, however, remains 
critical to ensure the CBSP account is able to manage future 
fluctuations in demand for consular services. The FY 2023 Congressional 
budget request seeks to ensure the Department has the flexibility to 
address remaining structural gaps as a result of non-retained and no-
fee services.

    Question. Why does State need additional flexibilities? Please 
describe why each of the requested changes, or which subset of the 
changes, would be sufficient to ensure that Consular Affairs collects 
sufficient revenue to ensure full cost recovery and the targeted 
threshold for carry over balances.

    Answer. The State Department requires the requested additional 
flexibilities to continue addressing the long-standing structural 
imbalance of the Consular and Border Security Programs account and 
maintain resilience against unforeseen fluctuations in demand. 
Enactment of these requests, and the continuation of the new Passport 
Application and Execution Fee expenditure authority, would support the 
Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) in fulfilling its mission of providing 
critical support to U.S. citizens overseas and upholding national 
security. CA looks forward to briefing committee staff on the rationale 
behind each section.

  1.  Extending broader expenditure authorities (sec. 7052)

  2.  The CBSP visa services cost recovery proposal (sec. 7062)

  3.  Modification of PSS and IVSS authority (sec. 7063(b))

  4.  Extension of the WHTI authority (sec. 7025(i)(1))

  5.  Border Crossing Card for Minors (sec. 7063)

  6.  Transfer Authority (sec. 7025(i)(9)

    Question. Embassy Maintenance: State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings 
Operations operates and maintains over 8,500 owned and leased real 
property assets, including both buildings and structures. State has an 
estimated $3 billion maintenance backlog. However, we reported in 
September 2021 that State did not have a plan to address this backlog 
and has not specifically requested funding to address the backlog in 
its congressional budget requests. State officials estimated it could 
take 30 to 40 years to eliminate the backlog with current funding 
levels. Is State developing a plan with specific information on the 
funding and timeframes needed to reduce its deferred maintenance 
backlog?

    Answer. The Department's real property portfolio includes more than 
25,000 leased and government-owned assets. The Bureau of Overseas 
Buildings Operations (OBO) is addressing the overseas deferred 
maintenance backlog by implementing a Sustainment, Restoration, and 
Modernization (SRM) framework that will better project operational and 
maintenance costs for the life cycle of facilities in our overseas 
portfolio. The SRM framework will include site surveys and data 
collection for Facility Performance Evaluations. The Department 
continues to prioritize funds for programs that address deferred 
maintenance and repair.

    Question. Does State plan to specifically request funding to 
address the deferred maintenance backlog in its Congressional budget 
requests?

    Answer. The FY 2023 request includes more than $365 million to fund 
programs intended to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog for 
overseas facilities. We are currently collecting data that will inform 
future budget requests, as well as the internal allocation of 
resources.

    Question. U.S. Assistance to the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen: 
Since 2015, the United States has provided intelligence, military 
advice, and logistical support to the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition in 
Yemen. In February 2021, the President announced an end to all American 
support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including 
relevant arms sales. How, if at all, has State sought to determine 
whether requested equipment is offensive or defensive in nature?

    Answer. The Department adheres to the President's February 2021 
guidance that suspended arms sales relevant to offensive operations in 
Yemen and maintained support for Saudi Arabia's capabilities to defend 
its territory, where more than 70,000 U.S. citizens reside. Pursuant to 
this direction, the Department suspended air-to-ground munitions sales. 
The Administration continues to evaluate proposed arms transfers on a 
case-by-case basis, informed by previous use. The Department has 
briefed Members and staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
regarding issues related to this distinction and provided classified 
details of the current policy that puts into effect President Biden's 
guidance to cease support for offensive operations in Yemen. We will 
continue to consult with Congress to ensure that sales and support to 
Saudi Arabia are considered with this question in mind.

    Question. We understand that the Administration plans to release a 
new version of the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy in the near 
future. How, if at all, does State plan to use this policy to guide its 
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transfer decisions in a way that aligns 
with the Administration's policy not to support offensive operations in 
the war in Yemen?

    Answer. The Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) Policy provides a 
global framework under which U.S. Government agencies review and 
evaluate proposed transfers of military articles, defense services, and 
certain commercial items, to foreign countries or organizations. Under 
the CAT Policy, proposed arms transfer decisions continue to be 
reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure transfers align with U.S. 
foreign policy and national security interests. The Administration will 
continue the policy of denying arms transfers where we believe there is 
significant risk of diversion, civilian harm, or misuse, including 
human rights abuses. While the CAT Policy does not specifically address 
the conflict in Yemen, we apply the same standards to those partners 
who are operating in Yemen.
    In reviewing and updating the CAT Policy, the Biden-Harris 
administration is working to emphasize our foreign policy priorities, 
including leading with diplomacy, elevating human rights, and renewing 
and revitalizing America's alliances.

    Question. Countering China's Economic Espionage and Technology 
Transfer Efforts: The Government of the People's Republic of China has 
publicly stated its intent to acquire foreign technology as a key 
element of its strategy for international competitiveness. State's visa 
adjudication process is integral to identifying which prospective 
foreign visitors, from China and elsewhere, may pose specific types of 
threats, such as a risk to sensitive technology transfer. In January 
2021, the White House's Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on 
Entry to the United States directed State to, among other things, 
provide a report within 120 days on various visa processing topics, 
including recommendations to improve screening and vetting activities 
to further integrate relevant government data into the vetting system. 
According to State officials, this report was transmitted to the White 
House in the fall of 2021. What, if any, recommendations has State 
identified to improve the screening and vetting process, particularly 
to address technology transfer threats presented by the PRC and other 
countries of concern?

    Answer. As required by Presidential Proclamation 10141, section 3, 
the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security 
submitted a report underscoring a multifaceted approach that 
continually and deliberately strengthens multilayered screening and 
vetting procedures for visa applicants. The proposed approach includes 
11 recommendations that leverage existing processes and programs, such 
as international data sharing and domestic coordination, to improve our 
ability to detect and counter security threats, including that of 
technology transfer. The Department's recommendations in the report are 
classified. We request that you contact the National Security Council 
for additional information.

    Question. What, if any, challenges may exist that would impede the 
implementation of these recommendations?

    Answer. The Department's report to the President is classified, and 
we request that you contact the National Security Council for 
additional information. The report identified several challenges, as 
well as possible remedies to address them. The Department of State is 
committed to strengthening national security and will continue to work 
to identify and address these issues. We will continue to collaborate 
with the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland 
Security, and other interagency partners on these efforts.

    Question. Promoting Equity Abroad: Protests around the world 
against racism and injustice have highlighted opportunities for U.S. 
leaders to advance racial and ethnic equity and to support historically 
marginalized groups around the world. To this end, in 2021, the 
President issued several executive directives that outlined policy 
commitments for his Administration. These include advancing racial 
equity and support for underserved communities, preventing and 
combating discrimination based on gender identity and sexual 
orientation, and promoting and protecting the human rights of lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) persons. The 
2023 Budget request provides $2.6 billion to advance gender equity and 
equality and to support underserved communities across a broad range of 
sectors. This includes $200 million for the Gender Equity and Equality 
Action Fund to advance the economic security of women and girls. How 
does State plan to spend the remaining $2.4 billion?

    Answer. The FY 2023 President's budget request includes an historic 
request of $2.6 billion for gender equity and equality across the 
Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, more 
than doubling such funding over the FY 2022 request. In addition to the 
Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund (GEEA), the request includes 
funding with a primary purpose of advancing gender equality and women's 
empowerment, preventing and responding to gender-based violence, and 
promoting women, peace, and security. The request also includes funding 
for other assistance programming across development sectors and 
security assistance that will integrate gender equality and women's 
empowerment.

    Question. Given the Administration's focus on racial equity and 
equity for all, how does State plan to promote equity amongst other 
underserved populations?

    Answer. The Department of State employs a range of diplomatic and 
programmatic tools to address the intersectional barriers that limit 
members of all marginalized communities from fully participating in 
civic and economic life, including by integrating racial equity and 
support for underserved communities into the Department's strategic 
plans at the mission, bureau, and agency levels. For example, the 
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor champions the access, 
inclusion, and equality of all people by leading and supporting 
Department efforts to identify and address barriers for marginalized 
and underserved groups within society, including those experiencing 
discrimination, violence, or other forms of injustice, through both 
diplomacy and programming.

    Question. Definitions for marginalized groups are somewhat 
expansive due to the need to include all those who may experience 
marginalization. Do you anticipate any challenges with directing 
sufficient resources to any particular group due to the number of 
populations covered by expansive definitions?

    Answer. As the lead for democracy and human rights in the 
Department, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) 
supports programs that contribute to the promotion, protection, and 
advancement of nondiscriminatory practices and laws around the globe 
through strategic resource allocation to ensure we are meeting the 
needs of all marginalized populations. DRL prioritizes inclusive and 
integrated programming to address the barriers to access for 
individuals and groups based on their unique needs, including 
communities that experience intersectional discrimination. Our 
resources are targeted based on connections between discrimination and 
the weakening of democratic institutions, and where specific types of 
marginalization are a global issue.

    Question. Your budget request expands programs to foster diversity 
and inclusion. In support of the President's DEIA-related Executive 
Orders, the Department's request is $65.6 million, which includes 
funding for 30 new positions for DEIA efforts. What efforts and how 
many positions, if any, will be directed to promoting DEIA in State's 
foreign assistance provided abroad?

    Answer. As outlined in the Department's recently released Equity 
Action Plan, the United States is addressing systemic racism and 
strengthening democracy and human dignity worldwide as a core tenet of 
President Biden's foreign assistance. In addition to orienting our 
external work around the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and 
access, we are placing just as much emphasis on bolstering Department 
leadership to amplify and accelerate assistance that is comprehensive 
in its approach to advancing equity for all. Accordingly, we expect to 
see new and enhanced leadership across sectors and regions, the details 
of which will correspond to Department personnel announcements and 
staffing timelines.

    Question. State has taken numerous actions in response to E.O. 
13985, such as creating the Agency Equity Team and increasing the focus 
on equity in new strategy documents. How does State plan to 
institutionalize these changes, such as through multiyear funding or 
permanent dedicated staffing?

    Answer. The Department created an Equity Action Plan outlining 
actions, commitments, and accountability mechanisms to integrate equity 
across our foreign affairs work. We will institutionalize this plan by 
prioritizing engagements with diplomatic partners from underrepresented 
and underserved communities, establishing reporting requirements and 
equity analysis tools for international aid, embedding the executive 
order's principles into public diplomacy programming and communications 
strategies, updating the interpretation and application of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, and requiring reviews under current 
federal contracting processes to provide more equitable access to 
underserved and small business partners.

    Question. Child Trafficking Programs: In 2013, Congress authorized 
Child Protection Compacts (CPCs), multi-year bilateral agreements 
between the U.S. Government and selected partner countries that are 
managed by the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat 
Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP). These compacts focus on bilateral 
efforts to prevent child trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute 
cases of child trafficking. Since 2015, J/TIP has selected five CPC 
partner countries to work collaboratively with the government through a 
joint commitment (with a sixth CPC to be negotiated soon). How, if at 
all, are these bilateral government partnerships more effective than 
individual State awards/projects in combatting trafficking?

    Answer. Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnerships are negotiated 
with the partner government and are multidisciplinary in nature, 
engaging a wide variety of governmental institutions and systems across 
the three ``Ps'' of prevention, protection, and prosecution to reduce 
child trafficking and protect victims. Unlike our typical foreign 
assistance, foreign governments make formal commitments to address 
child trafficking and often their own investments to advance the goals 
of the partnership. This level of coordination with the CPC partner 
government is deeper than typical bilateral programs, which tend to 
focus on one or two issues or institutions within a country and are not 
intended to take the multidisciplinary approach that the CPC program 
does.

    Question. Does State believe it would be useful to adopt this type 
of compact partnership model for delivering foreign assistance in other 
areas?

    Answer. The Department is constantly examining new and innovative 
ways to be more effective with our foreign assistance funding. We 
examine each proposal on a case-by-case basis to determine what is most 
appropriate for a given program and account. However, per our response 
to Senator Menendez's previous question about Child Protection Compact 
Partnerships, J/TIP has found that programs can have particularly 
strong and sustainable impacts when there is a multidisciplinary 
approach that includes increased engagement with government 
stakeholders at all levels.

    Question. Global Health Programs Funds: The Global Health Programs 
(GHP) account funds health-related foreign assistance to control the 
HIV/AIDS epidemic, prevent child and maternal deaths, and combat 
infectious disease threats. Between fiscal years 2018 through 2020, 
State typically carried over an average of about $9 billion in 
unobligated balances. In fiscal year 2021, Congress appropriated $4 
billion in emergency funds to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please 
provide an update on State's GHP obligations and describe how, if at 
all, the global pandemic is affecting your ability to obligate and 
distribute funding before available GHP funds expire.

    Answer. Please see the chart below for an update on unobligated GHP 
balances.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]



    Thus far, the pandemic has not significantly impacted PEPFAR's 
ability to obligate funds before they expire. While some costs 
decreased (e.g., travel, certain program interventions like voluntary 
male medical circumcisions), others increased (e.g., virtual platforms, 
internet bandwidth, need for personal protective equipment, and supply 
chain costs). One significant program disruption has been to our Peace 
Corps programming as volunteers departed most programs during the 
pandemic. However, this has not yet specifically resulted in the 
expiration of funding.
    USAID fully obligated the $4 billion in FY 2021 COVID-19 emergency 
funds during FY 2021. While there continue to be challenges in the 
programming, obligation, and implementation of GHP funds as a result of 
the pandemic, USAID remains committed to the timely obligation of GHP 
funds to achieve our three strategic global health goals. USAID does 
not foresee any insurmountable challenges to fully obligating FY 2021 
funds this fiscal year.

    Question. Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance Funds: 
State's Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance (ESCM) account 
provides funding to maintain safe, secure, and functional facilities 
for U.S. diplomatic and consular missions abroad. Between fiscal years 
2018 and 2021, State has typically carried over an average of about $7 
billion in unobligated balances. In fiscal year 2022, State noted that 
it planned to use part of the ESCM funding for Embassy and Consulate 
construction and renovations worldwide. Specifically, about $2.1 
billion in unobligated funds were to be used for several major 
construction contracts. Given the current global pandemic and supply 
chain shortages, please provide an update on State's planned 
construction and renovation contracts. Is State planning to move 
forward with all of its planned efforts?

    Answer. The Department is planning to award an estimated $3.1 
billion worth of construction and renovation contracts in FY 2022. We 
continue to work with our partners in the construction industry to 
overcome challenges created by the global pandemic and supply chain 
shortages. We will manage the impact of changes using existing 
contingency funds when possible. When that is not possible, we will 
reprogram funding when needed in consultation with Congress following 
the regular notification process.

    Question. Climate Preparedness: Congress has supported measures 
that improve the climate resilience and adaptability of the Department 
of Defense's assets and installations located overseas. It stands to 
reason the State Department should take similar measures to secure our 
non-defense facilities and assets abroad. Is the State department aware 
of the provisions pertaining to the climate preparedness of the Defense 
Department included in the FY 2019 and FY 2020 National Defense 
Authorization Act?

    Answer. The Department of State is aware of the Department of 
Defense's efforts to adapt their operations and infrastructure to the 
effects of climate change and has initiated collaboration with them on 
best practices for data sources, risk analysis and adaptation planning. 
The Department also agrees that our overseas diplomatic platforms are 
critical infrastructure and takes seriously the responsibility to adapt 
our facilities and operations to be resilient to the unavoidable 
effects of climate change and other natural hazards. Although not 
inclusive of all the provisions of the National Defense Authorization 
Act, the Department is addressing the resilience of its overseas assets 
and installations, as outlined in its 2021 Climate Adaptation and 
Resilience Plan.

    Question. If these provisions were appropriately modified to apply 
to State Department facilities and resources, and other non-defense 
assets and facilities that operate under chief of mission authorities 
in foreign countries, would the State Department be able to 
meaningfully execute such laws?

    Answer. Modifications to the existing National Defense 
Authorization Act provisions and appropriate resources would enable the 
Department to meaningfully execute those provisions as it implements 
the priority adaptation actions. Specifically, the Department's 2021 
Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan includes a priority adaptation 
action for ``Program Building in Support of Climate-Ready Sites and 
Facilities,'' taking measures to secure our non-defense facilities and 
assets abroad.

    Question. How important is it to the security of Americans serving 
abroad under chief of mission authority, and for the safety and 
security of U.S. Government civilian assets abroad, for the State 
Department to take protective and preventive measures against the 
effects of climate change?

    Answer. The Department's Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan 
calls on diplomatic missions to include climate hazards in emergency 
management activities. The Department has assessed overseas facilities 
for several climate hazards and has reviewed emergency plans to 
identify gaps. From an emergency planning perspective, natural disaster 
and weather-related events are assessed at the post level. Post's 
hazard-specific response plans are documented in the custom content 
section in its Emergency Action Plan that lays out protective and 
preventive measures for the safety and security of U.S. Government 
civilian personnel, facilities, and residences. Climate hazards are now 
being incorporated into site selection, new construction, and 
renovations.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                  Submitted by Senator James E. Risch

    Question. U.S. Diplomats in China: How many U.S. personnel under 
chief of mission in China have been forced by the Chinese Government 
into ``fever hospitals''?

    Answer. Prior to the arrival of Ambassador Nick Burns to Beijing in 
late March 2022, Mission China had a total of 30 personnel (employees 
or family members) test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in China and 
submit to hospitalization until cleared by People's Republic of China 
(PRC) health authorities. On his first day, the Ambassador committed to 
the Embassy community and subsequently communicated to the PRC that he 
would not permit any American Mission personnel to be forced into a 
fever clinic or COVID hospital. No American personnel of the Mission 
have been admitted to PRC facilities since that time. Ambassador Burns 
has reaffirmed this new U.S. position to senior PRC officials since 
then.

    Question. What is the longest stay in a fever hospital experienced 
by U.S. personnel?

    Answer. The longest stay in a fever hospital experienced by U.S. 
personnel occurred between July and October 2021, during which time a 
family stayed in a COVID-19 hospital for 56 days. Throughout this stay, 
Mission China and EAP exerted constant advocacy and pressure on PRC 
authorities for better treatment and release of the family. The 
employee chose to remain in China and proceed with his assignment after 
release.

    Question. What is the second longest stay in a fever hospital 
experienced by U.S. personnel?

    Answer. The second longest stay in a fever hospital experienced by 
U.S. personnel is 39 days. Throughout this stay, Mission China and EAP 
exerted constant advocacy and pressure on PRC authorities for better 
treatment and release of this employee.

    Question. What MOU or other agreement governs the compliance of 
U.S. personnel with the PRC COVID protocols?

    Answer. There is no MOU or other agreement specifically governing 
the compliance of U.S. personnel with the PRC COVID-19 protocols. The 
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on 
Consular Relations and two applicable bilateral conventions between 
China and the United States govern the PRC's obligations vis-a-vis the 
treatment of U.S. diplomatic personnel and their families in the PRC. 
None of these agreements establish detailed rules concerning the extent 
to which diplomatic personnel must abide by host country health 
regulations during a health emergency.

    Question. Are there any current PRC requirements that exceed the 
terms of the original agreement?

    Answer. The Vienna Conventions require diplomatic personnel to 
respect local law as long as local law does not prejudice the 
privileges and immunities enjoyed by diplomatic personnel. Some PRC 
COVID-19 protocols are inconsistent with the immunities enjoyed by U.S. 
diplomatic personnel, notably requiring submission to long stays in 
fever hospitals by those who test positive. To secure our privileges 
and immunities in this context, on his first day, Ambassador Burns 
committed to the Embassy community and subsequently communicated to the 
PRC authorities that he would not permit any American personnel of the 
U.S. Mission to be forced into a fever clinic or COVID hospital.

    Question. Are Mission China and EAP satisfied with the current 
arrangement with the PRC regarding COVID protocols for U.S. diplomats?

    Answer. The United States expects all governments, including the 
PRC, to adhere to their commitments under the Vienna Convention on 
Diplomatic Relations. Senior Department officials have raised our 
concerns in Washington and Beijing regarding the challenging 
circumstances as the PRC responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. On his 
first day, Ambassador Burns committed to the Embassy community and 
subsequently told PRC authorities that he would not permit any American 
personnel of the Mission to be forced into a fever clinic or COVID 
hospital.

    Question. Are Mission China and EAP taking any actions to improve 
or modify COVID protocol arrangements?

    Answer. On his first day on the job, Ambassador Nicholas Burns 
committed to the Embassy community and subsequently communicated to the 
PRC authorities that he would not permit any U.S. personnel of the 
Mission to be forced into a fever clinic or COVID hospital. No U.S. 
personnel of the Mission have been admitted to PRC facilities since 
that time.

    Question. Are the Bureaus of Medical Services, Diplomatic Security, 
and Overseas Building Operations able to inspect the fever hospitals 
for health, safety, and security? If so, how many such inspections have 
been conducted, when did they occur, and what were the findings? If 
not, why is the Department unable to inspect these facilities, and what 
is the Department doing to change that?

    Answer. Despite repeated requests by Mission China leadership and 
engagement by the Secretary with his PRC counterpart over China's 
``Zero COVID'' policy, PRC officials have refused requests by post 
personnel on behalf of the Bureaus of Medical Services (MED), 
Diplomatic Security, and Overseas Buildings Operations to access fever 
hospitals to ensure these facilities are safe and secure. Ambassador 
Burns told PRC authorities that he would not permit any U.S. Mission 
personnel to be forced into a PRC facility. In addition, MED has made 
evacuations available for personnel under Chief of Mission security 
authority to enable them to avoid involuntary admission to fever 
hospitals.

    Question. Are the Bureaus of Medical Services, Diplomatic Security, 
and Consular Affairs able to access U.S. personnel forced into fever 
hospitals to check on their safety and security?

    Answer. Because of PRC COVID-19 restrictions, these facilities are 
inaccessible to diplomatic personnel or other visitors. Mission China's 
personnel have been able to communicate with U.S. personnel in fever 
hospitals and deliver food and other items to them via facility staff. 
Once when the Embassy's medical staff was unable to get needed 
medication to a patient in a fever hospital, the Department medically 
evacuated the patient.

    Question. How would you describe the conditions of a fever 
hospital? Are they comparable to a U.S. hospital?

    Answer. Fever clinics--the initial isolation facilities where 
suspected patients remain for 1 to 3 days while being confirmed COVID-
19-positive--range in quality, though in general the Embassy views them 
as unacceptable for U.S. standards. Several have moldy walls, no 
running water, overcrowded conditions, and a general lack of 
cleanliness. COVID-19 hospitals--where patients remain until they test 
COVID-19-negative--are generally better and on par with those in the 
United States. On his first day, Ambassador Burns committed to the 
Embassy community and subsequently told PRC authorities that he would 
not permit any U.S. Mission personnel to be forced into a PRC facility.

    Question. Are U.S. personnel in a fever hospital provided with a 
translator in order to fully understand their medical situation?

    Answer. Translation has not been a problem for our personnel. These 
facilities have staff who speak English, and Mission China's personnel 
have also been able to communicate with U.S. personnel and with 
facility staff. However, we see these facilities as unacceptable for 
U.S. standards. On his first day, Ambassador Burns committed to the 
Embassy community and subsequently communicated to the PRC authorities 
that he would not permit any U.S. personnel of the Mission to be forced 
into a fever clinic or COVID hospital. No U.S. personnel of the Mission 
have been admitted to PRC facilities since that time. Ambassador Burns 
has reaffirmed this new U.S. position to senior Chinese officials.

    Question. Are U.S. personnel administered medical tests in a fever 
hospital by Chinese doctors? If yes, are U.S. personnel able to decline 
tests?

    Answer. PRC doctors administer COVID-19 tests to U.S. personnel in 
a fever clinic or COVID hospital. Personnel can decline tests, but for 
a patient already tested to be COVID-19-positive, declining further 
tests lengthens their hospital stay as they will not be permitted to 
leave until testing negative. These are among the reasons we see COVID 
hospitalization in China to be unacceptable for our Mission's U.S. 
personnel. Upon arrival on March 28, Ambassador Burns committed to the 
Embassy community and told PRC authorities that no U.S. personnel of 
the Mission would be subject to a fever clinic or COVID hospital. He 
has reiterated this in every official encounter with PRC authorities.

    Question. Does the MED Unit at post have access to the test results 
of any medical tests administered in a fever hospital?

    Answer. MED units receive test results directly from the PRC 
Ministry of Health. The PRC Ministry of Health has been, at times, less 
than forthcoming with this information. This is among the reasons we 
see COVID hospitalization in China to be unacceptable for our Mission's 
U.S. personnel. On his first day, Ambassador Burns committed to the 
Embassy community and subsequently told PRC authorities that he would 
not permit any U.S. personnel of the Mission to be forced into a fever 
clinic or COVID hospital. No U.S. Mission personnel have been admitted 
to fever hospitals since that time. Ambassador Burns has reaffirmed 
this new U.S. position to senior Chinese officials since then.

    Question. Does the ``patient'' have access to the test results of 
any medical tests administered in a fever hospital?

    Answer. The patient in a fever clinic or COVID hospital being 
tested has access to test results administered to them, though not 
always as those test results are finalized; they often must wait until 
discharge.

    Question. What does the Department know about what happens to the 
medical data collected from U.S. personnel while they detained in 
``fever hospitals''?

    Answer. PRC authorities are unable to provide assurances that 
medical data, in the form of samples, will be destroyed after 
processing in all cases.

    Question. Are U.S. personnel in China allowed to medevac if they 
receive a positive COVID result?

    Answer. From his first day in Beijing, Ambassador Burns has 
insisted no U.S. Mission personnel would be subject to a fever clinic 
or COVID hospital. The PRC has agreed that arriving U.S. personnel who 
test positive may remain in their quarantine hotel and be medically 
evacuated within 72 hours rather than enter the PRC health care system. 
Personnel already in China may be evacuated if they receive a positive 
COVID-19 result, the Department confirms a need for medevac, and after 
further negotiation with the MFA on a case-by-case basis.

    Question. What is the process for U.S. personnel in China who 
choose to medevac?

    Answer. If U.S. personnel in China are medically evacuated, post 
will coordinate their departure with local MFA officials, who will in 
turn coordinate with local PRC Center for Disease Control officials. 
They are transported to the nearest accepting location, which is 
currently Guam, to board an aircraft contracted by the Bureau of 
Medical Services. They are treated in Guam and once they are recovered 
and can be released, they are transported to the United States. From 
there, they decide whether to continue their tour of duty in China and 
if so, they must meet the travel requirements to re-enter China.

    Question. Are U.S. personnel who medevac allowed to return to 
Mission China after they have recovered from COVID?

    Answer. Yes, U.S. personnel who are medically evacuated are allowed 
to return to Mission China after they have recovered from COVID-19. 
They must meet the PRC's testing requirements for travel to China. For 
a person with prior COVID-19-positive testing results, meeting these 
requirements can take months and may involve additional diagnostics, 
including chest x-rays.

    Question. If the policy regarding U.S. personnel medevac has been 
modified, when has it changed and why?

    Answer. In April 2022, the Department of State developed a 
mechanism by which personnel testing positive, but who are asymptomatic 
could, nevertheless, depart China via appropriate means. The Department 
created this option in recognition of the unacceptable hardship 
presented by isolation in a PRC Government facility for diplomatic 
personnel or their family members.

    Question. Does the U.S. Government force Chinese diplomats in the 
United States to submit COVID tests periodically to demonstrate that 
they aren't spreading COVID while living in the United States?

    Answer. No, the United States does not force any diplomats to 
submit to COVID-19 testing. The United States strives to always respect 
its diplomatic law obligations and does not suspend them as a 
reciprocal matter.

    Question. If Chinese diplomats in the United States receive a 
positive COVID test result, are they forced to enter a U.S. hospital?

    Answer. No, diplomats who test positive for Covid-19 are not 
required to hospitalize.

    Question. If Chinese diplomats in the United States receive a 
positive COVID test result, are they forced by the U.S. Government to 
quarantine?

    Answer. Foreign diplomats, including those from the PRC, are 
required to observe local COVID-19 mitigation measures. To the extent 
those measures require a COVID-19 positive individual to remain in 
quarantine for a certain period of time, the Department would expect 
PRC diplomats to do so.

    Question. Has the State Department discussed the lack of 
reciprocity in how American and Chinese diplomats are treated vis-a-vis 
COVID? If yes, what has been the Chinese Government's response?

    Answer. We continue to assert to the PRC that many of its COVID-19 
mitigation measures are inconsistent with the privileges and immunities 
diplomats enjoy under applicable diplomatic law instruments. The 
Department has also pointed out to the PRC the disparity in treatment 
between U.S. diplomats and those of the PRC. The PRC has refused to 
make significant exceptions to its ``Zero COVID'' policy with respect 
to its obligations toward diplomatic personnel entering or residing in 
the PRC. PRC authorities are adamant all residents, including diplomats 
and their families, must comply with its public health measures.

    Question. Mr. McKeon, you corrected your initial answer on 
questions regarding U.S. personnel in China and COVID protocols with, 
``Nobody who is currently stationed in China has gone into a fever 
hospital if they tested positive, but they have gone into them if they 
test positive when they come from abroad.'' Can the Department confirm 
that not one person under chief of mission authority in China has been 
forced into a fever hospital, except upon entry into China?

    Answer. The Department confirms that not one person under Chief of 
Mission authority in China has been forced into a fever hospital, 
except upon entry into China.

    Question. Lockdowns in China: Since the determination to go to 
ordered departure in Shanghai, what kinds of routine and emergency 
services is the consulate able to provide to U.S. citizens? Please be 
specific.

    Answer. Ambassador Burns ordered the creation of a 24-hour Task 
Force of 80 officers to support U.S. citizens and provide reinforcement 
to Consulate General (CG) Shanghai. From April 7 to May 27, CG Shanghai 
and Embassy Beijing staffed this task force, providing extensive 
assistance to U.S. citizens. Diminution in demand for the Task Force's 
services led to its dissolution. Mission China continues to provide 
emergency and routine services to U.S. citizens, including passport 
renewals. Mission China is also urging PRC officials to open residences 
of U.S. citizens that city officials have blocked, and to allow U.S. 
citizens to quarantine at home.

    Question. Does the Department of State currently have regular 
access to detained Americans, especially those located in facilities in 
areas that the Chinese Government has locked down? If not, what is the 
Department doing--both at Mission China and from Washington--to ensure 
regular consular access?

    Answer. Since the start of the pandemic, all Mission China posts 
have sent multiple diplomatic notes to PRC authorities requesting 
regularized consular access and to address individual U.S. citizen 
inmate concerns. Consulate General Shanghai requested welfare status 
updates for every U.S. citizen inmate in its consular district, within 
which all prisons and detention centers have been locked down with no 
consular access in any form. Visits with detainees in Beijing's 
consular district are being conducted by phone, where possible, due to 
recent PRC restrictions. Mission China is discussing with other 
likeminded missions how to collectively advocate for regular consular 
access.

    Question. The Office of Sanctions Coordination: The President's FY 
2023 Budget Request includes a request for contractors in the Office of 
Sanctions Coordination. When Congress created the Office of Sanctions 
Coordination it included a 2-year direct hire authority. How many 
personnel have been hired using that direct hire authority?

    Answer. The Office of Sanctions Coordination (S/SC) has certain 
direct hire authority as provided by Congress through the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021. S/SC is in the process of using this 
authority to hire three members in addition to securing the services of 
a contracted Office Management Specialist. The request for contractors 
in the President's FY 2023 Budget Request is for the Office of 
Sanctions Policy and Implementation in the Bureau of Economic and 
Business Affairs Division of Threat Finance and Sanctions (EB/TFS/SPI). 
The direct hire authority was not extended to EB/TFS/SPI, which reports 
up through the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business 
Affairs (EB). The direct hire authority provided was specific to the 
Office of the Sanctions Coordinator (S/SC), which reports directly to 
the Secretary of State.

    Question. Why does the Department need contractors in the Office of 
Sanctions Coordination if it has a direct hire authority?

    Answer. The Office of Sanctions Policy and Implementation in the 
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Division of Threat Finance and 
Sanctions (EB/TFS/SPI) employs roughly 43 contractors in the 
development and implementation of economic sanctions authorities 
implemented by the Secretary of State. These contractors began 
supporting sanctions work for EB/TFS/SPI in 2019 with a focus on Iran. 
Since that time, their scope of work has expanded and they have 
supported the implementation of sanctions against more than 300 
Russian, PRC, Iranian, Burmese, and Nord Stream 2-related actors. The 
Office of Sanctions Coordination (S/SC) has certain direct hire 
authority as provided in the Congress through the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021. S/SC is in the process of using this 
authority to hire three direct hire members in addition to securing the 
services of a contracted Office Management Specialist.

    Question. Consular Affairs: According to the State Department's 
website, the wait time for obtaining an interview for a visitor visa to 
the U.S. can easily take longer than 200 days and in some instances 
more than 2 years. While the State Department has, like the rest of the 
world, been challenged responding to COVID-19, it seems as though 
certain consulate's visa processing wait times are getting longer. What 
is the ideal time for the State Department to process the average visa?

    Answer. The Department of State is committed to reducing wait times 
in all visa classes, and to meeting visa demand safely and efficiently 
at our posts around the world. Consular sections assess local 
conditions, staffing capacity, and seasonal priorities to allocate the 
maximum number of interviews for applicants. They also maintain 
expedited appointment programs to facilitate travel for people with 
emergent or urgent needs. Given the wide range of conditions at each 
embassy and consulate, nonimmigrant visa wait times fluctuate depending 
on visa class, as well as local conditions and resources at each post.

    Question. What steps is the State Department taking to speed up the 
visa approval process?

    Answer. The Department is committed to reducing appointment wait 
times for all visa classes, through policy innovations, including the 
expansion of the interview waiver authorities, and staffing and 
resource increases, such as additional hiring. Consular sections also 
maintain expedited appointment programs to facilitate travel for people 
with emergent or urgent needs and have done so throughout the pandemic. 
For the majority of nonimmigrant visa cases, the key factor in 
processing length is the wait for a visa appointment. Once an applicant 
appears for their visa appointment, a consular officer makes a decision 
about the applicant's visa eligibility. Issued visas are typically 
provided to applicants within 5 working days of their interview.

    Question. Are there viable alternatives to in-person interviews for 
visas?

    Answer. Under statutory authorities, the Department has waived the 
in-person interview requirement for several categories of nonimmigrant 
visa (NIV) applicants. Consular officers' ability to waive this 
requirement will allow a larger number of some categories of NIV 
applications to be issued without an in-person interview, reducing the 
number of people present in waiting rooms and improving processing 
efficiencies. The Department, in coordination with the Department of 
Homeland Security, will continue to explore means for exercising the 
statutory interview waiver authorities. Immigrant visa applications 
require biometrics taken at an embassy or consulate, limiting 
processing efficiencies of virtual or mail-in processes for those 
applicants.

    Question. Due to the wide variation in wait times for visa 
appointments, is the State Department focusing on consulates with 
longer than average wait times? If so, what is the Department doing to 
support consulates with a longer than average wait time?

    Answer. The Department is committed to reducing wait times in all 
visa classes through policy initiatives, including the expansion of the 
interview waiver (IW) authorities, and rebuilding staffing and 
resources that were constrained during the pandemic. Consular sections 
also maintain expedited appointment programs to facilitate travel for 
people with emergent or urgent needs and have done so throughout the 
pandemic. An increasing number of nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants 
will benefit from IW. In addition, we are training and onboarding new 
employees. Staffing resources are directed to posts with the most 
urgent needs, such as those processing Afghan Special Immigrant Visas, 
supporting Ukraine efforts, and high-volume immigrant visa posts.

    Question. Do you have the funding and other resources necessary to 
reduce wait times for appointments? If not, what do you need in order 
to reduce the backlog?

    Answer. Thank you for your support through COVID Supplementals and 
Appropriations, as well as expanded expenditure authorities. The wait 
time issue is not presently a question of funding. The Bureau of 
Consular Affairs continues to work with the rest of the Department to 
rebuild lost capacity and fill positions left vacant during the 
pandemic. Despite the easing of the funding challenge, the processes 
for hiring, security clearances, training, and deployment for an 
overseas consular officer to arrive at an assignment take over a year.

    Question. When will the State Department return to pre-pandemic 
processing times?

    Answer. The Department is working to reduce wait times in all visa 
classes, and meet demand safely and efficiently, through policy 
initiatives and staffing and resource increases. Wait times for 
consular services vary from post to post; all consular sections 
maintain expedited appointment programs to facilitate travel for people 
with emergent or urgent needs and have done so throughout the pandemic. 
Staffing resources are directed to posts with the most urgent needs, 
such as those processing Afghan Special Immigrant Visas, supporting 
Ukraine efforts, and high-volume immigrant visa posts.

    Question. State Department Authorization: The Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee has been working on a new State Department 
authorization for months. Absent from our work have been State 
Department requests for inclusion in a Department authorization. When 
should the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expect to receive the 
Department's requests?

    Answer. Thank you for the committee's work on State Department 
authorization. The Department is actively working on interagency 
coordination and expects to be in touch shortly with you on our 
legislative priorities. The Department looks forward to engaging with 
the committee on this.

    Question. In your remarks, you noted that diversity was now 
included as a promotion precept. In practice, how will diversity as a 
promotion precept be operationalized?

    Answer. The Foreign Service issued new decision criteria for tenure 
and promotion, identifying core skills and abilities that employees 
must demonstrate to show potential to succeed at the next level. 
Employee evaluations, which are reviewed for promotion consideration, 
must document how the employee has met these criteria. The new criteria 
elevate the critical importance of demonstrating through action and 
achievements a commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, 
and accessibility and ensuring this important work is woven into all 
that we do as an institution. The new Foreign Service performance 
objectives--or Core Precepts--went into effect in April 2022.

    Question. How will the diversity precept be measured or evaluated 
for promotion?

    Answer. The diversity-specific precept describes the competencies 
employees must demonstrate to meet the objectives of the precept and is 
one of five areas of performance evaluated. Through evaluation of these 
competencies, Selection Boards identify and rank-order employees who 
demonstrate potential to succeed in positions of greater 
responsibility. In the evaluation narratives, raters and reviewers must 
appraise the employee's potential in these areas and cite specific 
examples of institutional impact.

    Question. What types of activities will reflect positively for 
promotion in terms of diversity?

    Answer. The new diversity precept was drafted in concert with the 
Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Bureau of Global Talent 
Management, and the America Foreign Service Association. Each employee 
must demonstrate their contributions to that precept. For example, 
exhibiting cultural awareness, achieving goals through inclusive 
teamwork, showing support for workplace flexibilities, organizing 
programs and events to discuss actionable ways to advance diversity, 
infusing diversity, equity, and inclusion in foreign policy work, and 
working to ensure the workplace is accessible, are all ways in which 
any employee at any level can demonstrate a commitment to the 
principles of diversity and inclusion.

    Question. Professional Development: A training float for the Civil 
Service will inevitably look different than the Foreign Service because 
the Civil Service does not require consistent changes in positions. How 
will the Civil Service training float differ from its Foreign Service 
counterpart?

    Answer. The Department is developing pilots, prototypes, and 
expanded concepts for implementing additional training and professional 
development programs, particularly at the mid- and senior levels for 
both Foreign Service (FS) and Civil Service (CS) employees. The current 
FS training float covers primarily long-term language and new hire 
intake positions, which will affect orientation, Consular training, 
tradecraft, and language training for new FS professionals as well as 
family member support. The FS training float also covers NDU and other 
interagency rotational opportunities that FSOs can bid. Because FSOs 
rotate and `bid' on these positions, they are reassigned when they 
rotate. Generally, CSOs are not reassigned to `long term training'--
they are detailed and stay assigned to their position of record because 
they need a specific job/position to return to as a result of the rank 
in position system versus the FS rank in person system. With no formal 
training float for the CS, the Bureau of Global Talent Management has 
been working to develop and pilot a professional development mobility 
program. This will provide backfill capability to eliminate the 
challenges associated with supervisors not approving developmental and 
rotational opportunities due to staffing gaps when CSOs are detailed 
from their positions.

    Question. A transparent promotion process has the potential to 
improve the quality of the workforce while also increasing diversity. 
What is the Department doing to increase transparency in the promotion 
process?

    Answer. In 2020, the Director General announced the launch of a 
new, long-term Foreign Service Performance Management Reform 
initiative. The Bureau of Global Talent Management is conducting a 
comprehensive review of the Foreign Service performance management 
system to ensure the Department develops, evaluates, and promotes 
employees in a fair, inclusive, and effective manner. These initiatives 
will support wider Department efforts to promote diversity and 
inclusion, support employee training and development at every stage of 
their careers and improve retention of top talent. The initiative draws 
on best practices from other organizations, Department and federal 
government data, and employee and union input. All changes are 
communicated to the workforce via Department-wide notices and cables, 
as well as performance management related webinars and presentations.

    Question. Is the Department considering changes to the promotion 
process? If yes, at what levels?

    Answer. The Department's Bureau of Global Talent Management has a 
team looking at our performance management and promotion processes and 
deploying new initiatives to enhance our ability to develop and advance 
outstanding members of our workforce. For example, we have updated the 
precepts against which performance is assessed at all levels to ensure 
we have the modern skills needed to meet current and future foreign 
policy goals. In addition, we are using technology and best practices 
learned through experience over the past 2 years to enhance 
transparency and efficiency in our processes.

    Question. State Department Congressional Briefings: When Secretary 
Blinken testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 
April 26, 2022, he noted that it was the 100th time he has briefed 
Congress. That is a large number given that Sec. Blinken was sworn-in 
on January 26, 2021. How is the number of Congressional briefings 
calculated?

    Answer. The Secretary is committed to maintaining a forward-leaning 
posture with Congress--with members who are both on and off the 
Department's authorizing and appropriating committees. The Bureau of 
Legislative Affairs (H) facilitates official Department engagements and 
communications with Capitol Hill. H calculated the number of 
congressional briefings, which can be virtual, telephonic, or in 
person. We do not include unofficial communications or engagements that 
are strictly social in nature.

    Question. Does a short phone conversation count as a briefing?

    Answer. We do not consider the length of time of a conversation to 
be an appropriate determinant of whether something is a briefing. 
Ultimately, if a phone call is set up either at the Department or 
Congress' request and has the purpose of relaying information related 
to a foreign policy or Departmental matter, we would consider that the 
Member of Congress with whom this engagement is taking place is being 
briefed on a matter. If the purpose of a call is social or personal in 
nature, then it would not be considered a briefing.
    Yes, a phone conversation can count as a briefing if it fits the 
criteria outlined above. Virtual meetings can also be briefings.

    Question. Does a passing discussion at a diplomatic event?

    Answer. No, a passing discussion at a diplomatic event is not 
considered a briefing. We do not keep track of such engagements for the 
Secretary or any other Department official or principal.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                Submitted by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

    Question. Changes in recruitment of Foreign Service Officers and 
the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT): I understand that the State 
Department will no longer use the Foreign Service Officer Test as a 
pass/fail gateway test, but will evaluate the education, experience, 
and personal narratives submitted by candidates alongside the FSOT 
score. The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) has already 
expressed its concerns about this new policy, calling for fuller 
transparency regarding hiring decisions made through this new system. 
Why was this change made, and how will the State Department ensure that 
transparent hiring decisions are made in a timely manner under this new 
system?

    Answer. Standardized written tests can only assess a portion of the 
skills and qualifications required to succeed in the Foreign Service. 
This change allows us to consider a candidate's previous experiences--
what they did and how they did it--in addition to their education, 
skills and abilities. We expect that, after this change, candidates 
moving to the next stage of the assessment process will be those more 
likely to pass, making the process more efficient. I am committed to a 
fair and transparent hiring process. While changes to the Foreign 
Service assessment are an exercise of management's right to select 
employees and are not subject to bargaining, the Department briefed the 
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and welcomes continued 
constructive dialogue with AFSA leadership.

    Question. Funding for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access 
programs: the Biden administration is seeking $65.6 million in FY23 to 
implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) programs, 
which includes funding for 30 new positions for DEIA efforts. How will 
this request advance the goals of the State Department's forthcoming 
Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan?

    Answer. The Department's FY 2023 CBJ Appendix 1 outlines $78.6 
million in diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) priorities 
to include the Paid Internship Program and the Accessible Housing 
Program. Additional staffing is key to ensuring we can implement our 
DEIA program, including: hiring personnel to run an anti-bullying 
program to report and mitigate toxic management practices that do not 
have an EEO basis and improve harassment report response time; hiring 
more data scientists and analysts to identify barriers to equal 
opportunity and analyze best practices to better ensure equity in 
career outcomes; and commensurately increasing personnel dedicated to 
improving and sustaining increased career advancement efforts.

    Question. When does the State Department intend to release this 
plan?

    Answer. Pursuant to the executive order, the Department submitted 
its 5-year diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility strategic 
plan. We look forward to sharing the plan once it is released by the 
White House.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                  Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen

    Question. Deputy Secretary McKeon, I want to thank you for your 
leadership in ensuring that our world-class U.S. diplomats receive the 
support they need in all circumstances, including for those afflicted 
by directed energy attacks. My colleagues and I are focused on ensuring 
that these diplomats work for an institution that has their full 
support, especially when attacked in the line of service. I appreciate 
your leadership in ensuring that after years of doubt, they have access 
to the services that they need. My legislation with Senator Collins, 
the HAVANA Act, provides compensation of those who have been affected. 
When will State release its interim rule as required by the HAVANA Act, 
and can you preview for us what that rule will say?

    Answer. We appreciate your leadership on supporting the U.S. 
Government response to Anomalous Health Incidents.
    Taking into consideration Congressional and Administration intent, 
interagency views, and input from affected colleagues and family 
members as well as medical and security professionals, the Department 
developed its draft rule for implementing the HAVANA Act. The draft 
rule is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). We look forward to OMB approval so that the draft rule can be 
released for a 30-day period of public comment.
    I believe our draft rule is faithful to the HAVANA Act and look 
forward to the opportunity to discuss it with you in more detail. I 
remain grateful for your continued support for the Department's efforts 
on Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI).

    Question. Are there any changes to the definition of a qualifying 
brain injury?

    Answer. The Department's draft Interim Final Rule includes a 
definition of qualifying injury to the brain as mandated by the HAVANA 
Act. That definition was developed in consultation with medical 
professionals and the interagency. Once OMB approves the draft rule, it 
will be available for a 30-day period of public comment.

    Question. Can I receive your assurance that State is working with 
all agencies to ensure equity in access to treatment for all victims of 
these attacks?

    Answer. Yes. The Department is actively working with the NSC, OMB, 
and the interagency to ensure implementation of the HAVANA Act is 
consistent and coordinated.

    Question. In congressional testimony last week, Secretary Blinken 
noted that the State Department was implementing a program focused on 
improving retention of members of underrepresented groups who join the 
State Department workforce. Could you please describe the different 
components of this program?

    Answer. It is imperative that the Department recruits, retains, and 
supports a workforce that truly reflects the country it represents. 
Under the Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM), the newly 
established Retention Unit is developing the Department's first 
comprehensive retention strategy, a key component of the Secretary's 
Modernization Agenda. The Retention Unit is collaborating with the 
Office of Diversity and Inclusion, along with GTM's Innovation Unit and 
Office of Talent Analytics, to collect and analyze both quantitative 
and qualitative data to assess and better understand retention trends. 
The Retention Strategy will outline concrete steps the Department can 
take to strengthen retention across all employee groups.

    Question. What data does the State Department have to underpin its 
current understanding of factors that may cause members of 
underrepresented groups to leave the State Department's workforce at 
higher rates than their peers?

    Answer. The Department's new Retention Unit, under the Bureau for 
Global Talent Management (GTM), is collecting and analyzing data to 
inform the Department's first Retention strategy. Key data initiatives 
include the launch this month of the Department's first in-person exit 
interviews, ongoing analysis of exit surveys that were revamped in 
2019, and a Department-wide ``stay survey'' later this year. These 
efforts will provide critical insights that will strengthen the 
Department's understanding of the extent to which various retention 
factors may affect underrepresented groups more significantly than the 
broader workforce.

    Question. As you may know, I have been working on the Special 
Immigrant Visa program since its inception, originally with the late 
Senator John McCain, who was a fierce ally of those who sacrificed in 
support of their country, be they American or Afghan. As the program 
was written in 2009--and as it stands today--Afghans are eligible for a 
SIV if they were employed ``by or on behalf of the United States 
Government.'' Successive administrations have chosen to interpret this 
in a way that excludes Afghans who worked under U.S. Government grants 
and cooperative agreements, despite nothing in the statute drawing such 
a distinction. I appreciate that the Biden administration announced a 
Priority 2 designation for refugee admissions intended to capture this 
group, but the slow trickle of individuals approved under this program 
does not make it a viable option for Afghans in immediate danger. Why 
has this State Department chosen to arbitrarily exclude grants and 
cooperative agreements from SIV eligibility and what would it take for 
Congress to demonstrate to State its original intent in capturing these 
individuals under the SIV program?

    Answer. Since enactment of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 
2009, as amended (AAPA), the Department of State has consistently 
interpreted and applied the AAPA to not include individuals working 
pursuant to grants or cooperative agreements. This interpretation is 
consistent with the SIV program in Iraq. I understand that Congress has 
considered adding language to the AAPA to explicitly include Afghans 
working pursuant to grants and cooperative agreements several times, 
but ultimately did not do so.

    Question. I understand you recently visited the National Visa 
Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We are very proud of the work of 
the NVC and its dedicated staff. However, they face a staffing shortage 
that is making it harder for them to do their jobs and slowing down the 
adjudication of applications and the response time to applicants and 
congressional offices. Can you share what you learned from your visit 
to the NVC and what the State Department is doing to best support the 
NVC workers and individuals whose visas are processed at the NVC?

    Answer. The Department shares your positive view of the incredible 
work by the dedicated staff at the National Visa Center (NVC), which is 
a critical part of overseas visa operations. In particular, the influx 
of inquiries and new SIV cases for Afghanistan created a tremendous 
challenge for NVC's staff, and the Department is committed to finding 
solutions and increasing productivity. The Department works closely 
with NVC's contractor to enhance its recruiting efforts and allocate 
staff from its other worksites to provide temporary support to NVC's 
efforts.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                    Submitted by Senator Todd Young

    Question. The National Visa Center has almost half a million cases 
that are documentarily complete, yet only 32,000 were scheduled for 
interviews in April. What resources does the Department need to reduce 
this massive backlog?

    Answer. The National Visa Center (NVC) schedules immigrant visa 
interviews at immigrant visa processing posts based on the interview 
capacity that posts provide to NVC. The Department is working to 
quickly hire, train, and deploy consular officers to visa processing 
posts with the goal of returning to pre-pandemic processing times. 
Thanks to the U.S. Congress, in 2022, the Omnibus Bill temporarily gave 
the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) the spending authorities it needed 
to accomplish this goal. In the FY 2023 budget, CA requests the same 
support from Congress as in FY 2022 to complete our recovery. With this 
support, CA projects deploying more than 700 new consular officers 
between FY 2022 and 2023, which will enable CA to reduce COVID-related 
backlogs.

    Question. The Committee asks of all Senate-confirmed nominees a 
commitment to respond promptly to requests for information. 
Unfortunately, there continue to be significant delays in responding to 
questions for the record and other requests for information. What 
accounts for the delays in the Department responding to the Committee's 
questions in a timely fashion? How are you working to improve 
communication with the legislative branch?

    Answer. Partnering with Congress in the foreign policy making 
process is a top priority for the Department and Secretary Blinken. The 
Department seeks to provide information to Congress that accurately and 
completely answers inquiries, which often takes time to draft and 
subsequently clear with the many offices and bureaus that may have 
equities. However, we also agree that such responses must be timely, 
and there is room for improvement. Currently, the Department seeks to 
turn around QFRs for nominations within 1 week or less, when possible. 
It is important to note that the volume of written inquiries from 
Congress has expanded dramatically: in 2021, the Department, through 
the coordination of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs (H), answered a 
record 5,010 QFRs. To date this year, 2,850 QFRs have been answered. 
Secretary Blinken regularly emphasizes to the Department workforce and 
senior officials that responsiveness to Congress at all levels must be 
the way we do business. The Department will continue working to 
implement this instruction and seek to improve the timeliness of our 
written responses. We also continue to encourage congressional offices 
to request briefings to receive timely information.

    Question. An IG inspection report last year noted that the Bureau 
of Legislative Affairs ``struggled to accomplish routine tasks'' and 
that its organizational structure ``was not well-aligned with 
operational needs.'' What is the Department doing to reform the Bureau 
of Legislative Affairs in accordance with the OIG's recommendations?

    Answer. The IG report referenced examined the H Bureau during the 
period from August 31, 2020, to January 4, 2021. In May 2021, under new 
leadership, the Bureau of Legislative Affairs (H) concurred with the 14 
recommendations of the Department's Inspector General (OIG) 2020 
inspection of the Bureau. This includes OIG's recommendation that the 
Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM) conduct an organizational 
assessment of H with the goal of aligning H's structure with 
operational needs. GTM's assessment is underway, and H has participated 
in completion of survey and interviews conducted by GTM. H also 
continues to take steps to implement and close all OIG recommendations, 
including by recently hiring a career operations director to ensure 
better alignment and continuity of operations.

    Question. The Foreign Affairs Manual (1 FAM 312b) states that the 
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Legislative 
Affairs should be a Career Foreign Service Officer. Why has the 
Administration chosen to encumber this position with political 
appointees without experience in Department management processes?

    Answer. The Department is committed to including career officers, 
including Foreign Service and Civil Service officers, within the 
leadership of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs (H). In June 2021, the 
Senate confirmed Naz Durakoglu as Assistant Secretary of State for 
Legislative Affairs. Since that time, Assistant Secretary Durakoglu 
selected a career SES DAS to oversee the Regional, Global, and 
Functional portion of the H bureau. There are also active recruitment 
efforts under way in regard to the H PDAS position. Assistant Secretary 
Durakoglu would be happy to brief on this matter.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                   Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz

    Question. Visa Processing: International travel is increasing as 
pandemic restrictions eased. Does the State Department have the funding 
and resources necessary to process visas efficiently and reduce 
backlogs to effectively manage consular affairs? If not, what 
additional resources are necessary?

    Answer. Yes, the Department has the resources necessary to process 
visas efficiently and reduce backlogs. We are committed to reduce wait 
times in all visa classes at our existing funding levels, and to meet 
visa demand safely and efficiently at our posts around the world. We 
appreciate the flexibility that Congress has provided by permitting us 
additional authority to retain and use many of the fees we collect for 
services.

    Question. Remote Consular Services: The pandemic has forced many 
consular services to take place remotely. As the world transitions out 
of strict lockdowns, what lessons learned is State taking away from 
remote programming?

    Answer. The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected the operational 
and resource capacity of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA). CA 
implemented new processes, including expanded interview waiver 
authorities, and increased domestic remote processing of certain 
interview-waiver eligible nonimmigrant visa cases; expansion of 
programs to process overseas passport renewals in the United States, 
video and telephonic provision of U.S. citizens services, and a robust 
and flexible hybrid work structure to accomplish our mission. The 
Department continues to examine lessons learned and the feasibility of 
making some of these efforts permanent, to the extent allowable under 
the law, policy, and available resources.

    Question. Are there plans to maintain a remote option for certain 
formerly in-person consular activities including some previously in-
person visa interviews?

    Answer. To minimize applicants entering consular waiting rooms, the 
Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) increased remote consular processing. 
CA successfully conducted a remote interview pilot at select posts 
overseas to register U.S. citizen births. Additionally, the Secretary 
waived in-person interviews and fingerprint collection for several 
categories of nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants. Use of these 
interview waiver authorities could allow a greater number of NIV 
applicants to be processed without appearing at a consular section. The 
Department continues to explore the feasibility of making permanent and 
expanding remote interview and work capabilities to the extent 
allowable under the law, policy, and available resources.

    Question. Employment Relocation Challenges: Military spouses face 
challenges finding and retaining employment, and military spouses who 
are Department of State or USAID employees face a unique set of hurdles 
due to coordinating civilian and military relocations. What is the 
State Department doing to avoid unnecessary family separation, prevent 
income loss due to leave without pay, and improve retention of military 
spouses who work for State or USAID?

    Answer. The Department of State is sensitive to the issues 
confronting all federal employees who are also military spouses, 
including State and USAID employees. To support family unification, the 
Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO) program is a workplace 
flexibility program that enables certain federal employees to continue 
performing their domestic civil service jobs from an overseas location, 
thus avoiding both family separation and income loss. We are aware of 
the difficulty that some prospective DETOs face--specifically those 
whose military spouses are assigned to a military base overseas--and we 
are actively engaged with the Department of Defense on a solution to 
facilitate approval of these types of DETO arrangements.

    Question. Resources required for COFA Negotiations: What resources 
is the State Department anticipating needing for negotiating certain 
provisions of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Freely 
Associated States (FAS)?

    Answer. As the interagency determines the requirements to 
successfully engage in negotiations related to the Compacts of Free 
Association, I look forward to working with Congress on aligning 
resources appropriately. I would defer to OMB for further information 
on resources.

    Question. How is the Department ensuring that any required 
resources are prioritized commensurate with the level of strategic 
importance of the FAS and the successful conclusion of negotiations?

    Answer. The Indo-Pacific--inclusive of the FAS--has become an area 
of increasing strategic importance and competition, underscoring the 
importance of the Compacts of Free Association. The State Department 
recognizes the vital nature of the Compacts of Free Association, which 
is reflected in the priority we are giving to successfully complete 
Compact negotiations.

    Question. DoD Participation in COFA Negotiations: What is State 
Department's position on the inclusion of dedicated Department of 
Defense officials participating in COFA negotiations?

    Answer. The State Department works closely with many interagency 
partners, including the Department of Defense (DoD). We remain open to 
increasing our already significant collaboration with the DoD and would 
be pleased to further explore the possibility of including a dedicated 
DoD official, as appropriate, in negotiations related to Compacts of 
Free Association.

    Question. How are you and other State Department leaders ensuring 
that DoD is participating at the level that our FAS partners would want 
to see, especially given the evolving strategic landscape in the Indo-
Pacific?

    Answer. We closely coordinate with our colleagues at the Department 
of Defense (DoD), and DoD representatives participate in negotiations 
related to the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), and other 
discussions with the Freely Associated States, as appropriate. DoD is 
actively participating in COFA negotiations at each negotiating round 
through in-person participation of the Office of the Secretary of 
Defense, UNINDOPACOM, Joint Region Marianas, and U.S. Army Space and 
Missile Defense Command levels.

    Question. COFA Positions Staffing: Is the State Department 
adequately staffed for the COFA negotiations?

    Answer. The Biden-Harris administration has prioritized Compact 
negotiations with the Freely Associated States as a U.S. foreign policy 
objective. Recognizing the urgency of completing these negotiations, 
the Administration announced the appointment of Ambassador (retired) 
Joseph Yun as the Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations 
(SPECN) on March 22, 2022. Since the SPECN's appointment, the State 
Department has added two staff to the Compact Team, with an additional 
senior officer who was scheduled to begin in June.

    Question. Given the increased importance of the Indo-Pacific, the 
Pacific Islands, and the Freely Associated States, how is the State 
Department planning for staffing and associated resources for the 
period beyond the conclusion of negotiations?

    Answer. The U.S. Government is continually assessing how to expand 
our diplomatic, programmatic, and development efforts in the Pacific. 
In the past 5 years, the Department of State has increased staffing in 
the Pacific by approximately 10 personnel, and USAID has expanded its 
presence as well. In February 2022, Secretary Blinken announced our 
intent to open a U.S. Embassy in Solomon Islands. As the interagency 
engages in negotiations related to the Compacts of Free Association and 
the Economic Assistance Agreement associated with the South Pacific 
Tuna Treaty, we look forward to working with Congress to align 
resources appropriately to ensure the United States remains the 
preferred partner in the Pacific.

    Question. ECA Pacific Island Scholarship: How is the State 
Department, including the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs 
(ECA), prioritizing scholarship and fellowship programs focused on the 
Indo-Pacific?

    Answer. Community engagement and strengthening people-to-people 
ties, including through academic exchange, are important elements of 
our Indo-Pacific Strategy. We are working with EAP and partners like 
the East-West Center (EWC) and others to deepen our outreach to 
students, scholars, and professionals in the region, including through 
EWC's Pacific Islands Development Program and ECA's Young Pacific 
Leaders Fellowships. We are also expanding ECA's educational exchanges 
benefitting undergraduate and graduate participants in the Indo-Pacific 
through Fulbright and Global UGRAD. More than 7,500 people from Pacific 
Islands Forum member countries are alumni of U.S. Government funded 
exchange programs, and we are working to expand that network.

    Question. Is ECA planning on allocating additional resources in 
FY22 to scholarship programs for Pacific Islands students to study in 
the United States, given the importance of increasing U.S. influence in 
the region?

    Answer. In FY 2022, ECA is increasing funding for Fulbright awards 
in the South Pacific by 25 percent, on top of an increase of 33 percent 
in FY 2021, to facilitate engagement and exchange with more South 
Pacific islanders and to allow more diversity of participating islands 
in the region. ECA is also prioritizing English-language preparation, 
with some participants benefitting from an added semester of long-term 
English prior to commencing their studies. In addition, ECA added South 
Pacific Island nations to the Global UGRAD exchange program for 
semester undergraduate study in FY 2021. These efforts complement our 
continued support for the U.S. South Pacific Scholarship Program, which 
provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate degree study.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Brian P. McKeon to Questions 
                 Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen

    Question. Imprisonment of U.S. citizens in Ecuador: In 2017, 
Maryland residents John Roja and Ronell Stephenson were arrested in 
Ecuador on charges of possession of illegal drugs, weapons, and 
homicide. Despite the gravity of these charges, it appears as if there 
were multiple serious due process issues in the course of their 
prosecution, including destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence 
and a failure to provide a translator in court for the brothers. The 
drugs and weapons charges were later dropped, but the murder charges 
remained; the brothers were later convicted and sentenced to 34 years 
in prison. The brothers strongly maintain their innocence and allege 
that they have been framed for the murders. Ronell Stephenson was 
subsequently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2021. He remains 
hospitalized in a perilous environment, and John Roja Stephenson 
remains in prison in what the brothers' lawyer says are dangerous 
conditions. What are the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Quito 
doing to engage Ecuadorian authorities about the Stephenson brothers' 
welfare?

    Answer. The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of 
our top priorities, and we follow up on all health issues raised by 
U.S. citizen prisoners abroad to ensure they have access to appropriate 
medical care. The U.S. Embassy in Quito and the Consulate General in 
Guayaquil have provided consular services to Ronnell and John Roja 
Stephenson throughout the pretrial investigation, trial, and 
incarceration phases of their criminal proceedings. U.S. Embassy 
officials raised Ronnell and John Roja's request for a domestic 
transfer from a maximum-security prison to a minimum-security prison at 
the highest levels of the Ecuadorian Government. John Roja was 
transferred in January, and Ronnell's transfer request is pending 
completion of his medical treatment. We regularly visit the Stephenson 
brothers virtually to ensure their health and well-being.

    Question. Have they raised with Ecuadorian authorities the alleged 
serious due process issues in this case?

    Answer. The U.S. mission in Ecuador has provided consular services 
to Ronnell and John Roja Stephenson throughout the pretrial 
investigation, trial, and post-trial incarceration phases of this 
criminal matter. The embassy has engaged with the highest levels of the 
Ecuadorian Government to ensure the brothers continue to receive fair 
treatment during their incarceration and have been afforded full access 
to, and impartial treatment by, the Ecuadorian criminal justice system.