[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 39 (Thursday, March 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2723-S2725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL SECURITY EDUCATION PROGRAM

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the National Security Education Program 
has released an Analysis of Federal Language Needs. This analysis will 
appear later this year as part of its annual report to Congress. It 
confirms the need to support foreign language instruction at the 
elementary and secondary education level.
  It also is compelling evidence that the Senate should pass S. 541, 
the Foreign Language Acquisition and Proficiency Improvement Act, which 
will provide assistance to schools for foreign language instruction. I 
ask unanimous consent that the March, 2001, National Security Education 
Program Analysis of Federal Language Needs, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

National Security Education Program (NSEP) Analysis of Federal Language 
                                 Needs


                              introduction

       There is little debate that the era of globalization has 
     brought increasingly diverse and complex challenges to U.S. 
     national security. With these challenges comes a rapidly 
     increasing need for a workforce with skills that address 
     these needs, including professional expertise accompanied by 
     the ability to communicate and understand the languages and 
     cultures of key world regions: Russia and the former Soviet 
     Union, China, the Arab world, Iran, Korea, Central Asia and 
     key countries in Africa, Latin America and East Asia.
       Some 80 federal agencies and offices involved in areas 
     related to U.S. national security rely increasingly on human 
     resources with high levels of language competency and 
     international knowledge and experience. Finding these 
     resources and, in particular, finding candidates for 
     employment as professionals in the U.S. Government, has 
     proven increasingly difficult, and many agencies now report 
     shortfalls in hiring, deficits in readiness, and adverse 
     impacts on operations. Some important documentation of these 
     needs and shortfalls can be found in September 2000 testimony 
     provided to the United States Senate Committee on 
     Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on International Security, 
     Proliferation, and Federal Services, chaired by Senator Thad 
     Cochran.
       Since 1994, the National Security Education Program (NSEP) 
     has funded outstanding U.S. students, both undergraduate and 
     graduate students, to study those languages and cultures 
     critical to U.S. national security and under-represented in 
     U.S. study. NSEP award recipients make an important 
     contribution to future U.S. national security by working in 
     the federal government or in higher education.


                              nsep survey

       The National Security Education Program (NSEP), as per its 
     legislative mandate, conducts a yearly survey to identify 
     those world regions, languages, and fields of study critical 
     to U.S. national security and under-represented in U.S. 
     study. The findings are used to better understand the current 
     and projected needs of the federal government by emphasizing 
     those same countries, languages, and fields of study in the 
     annual application guidelines for the NSEP Undergraduate 
     Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships, and Grants to U.S. 
     Institutions of Higher Education.
       Using as a baseline the current annual list of world 
     regions, languages, and fields of study emphasized by the 
     program, (see Attachment A) NSEP asks a broad range of 
     Federal agencies and organizations with responsibilities in 
     the national security arena to consider the next five to ten 
     years in recommending additions and/or deletions to the 
     existing list. These changes are reflected in annual 
     guidelines for applications, released each fall.
       NSEP, in its 2000-2001 survey, broadened the scope of the 
     survey by first, increasing the number and types of agencies 
     and/or offices queried, and second, by identifying the role 
     that professional competency in critical languages plays in 
     the capacity of the federal agencies to execute their 
     missions. This type of information is of critical importance 
     as we attempt to refine and modify existing and potentially 
     new programs to respond to the demands of the 21st century. 
     Questionnaires were mailed to 91 federal agencies and/or 
     offices that deal with international issues. Forty-eight 
     respondents from 46 agencies/offices sent their feedback to 
     NSEP. Attachment B provides a list of agencies who responded 
     to the 2000-2001 survey.
       The purpose of this report is to provide results from this 
     analysis and to contribute to our understanding of the 
     increasing need for language and international expertise in 
     the federal sector.


                            Survey Responses

       The responses to the 2000-2001 survey confirm the 
     significant need for language expertise in the federal 
     sector. In addition, respondents indicate that when language 
     expertise is either required, or an important asset to an 
     organization's missions and functions, the language must be 
     at the advanced level. The responses show that the demand for 
     advanced language skills exists across the board. Agencies 
     from all functional areas--political/military, social and 
     economic--vouch that professional proficiency in languages 
     are imperative to the function of their missions.
       The chart at Attachment C provides some additional insight 
     concerning languages identified by federal organizations and 
     the advanced levels of expertise associated with these 
     requirements. Eleven languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, 
     German, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Urdu, 
     and Arabic) were identified by at least four different 
     federal organizations. An additional 19 languages were 
     identified by at least two different federal organizations; 
     40 languages were identified by single organizations.
       The following examples serve to provide some additional 
     insights into federal needs:
       The National Cryptologic School of the NSA stated that 
     ``language skills tied to any

[[Page S2724]]

     academic discipline is a plus'', while the DIA stated that 
     ``all languages must be at the advanced level.'' The U.S. 
     Secret Service indicated needs for bilingual capabilities for 
     Special Agents assigned to certain permanent overseas posts. 
     Special Agent personnel affected by this requirement attend a 
     language immersion course and receive certification 
     documenting their level of proficiency. In addition, the 
     Service foresees a need to provide bilingual capability to 
     those personnel tasked with providing training to foreign law 
     enforcement officials and to those individuals who engage in 
     the forensic analysis of evidence, including those 
     responsible for the examination of computers used in criminal 
     activity.
       The International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting 
     Board of Governors reported a unique need for professionals 
     with language and area expertise. While in its management and 
     daily operations language knowledge is not required, 
     intermediate or advanced proficiency in a major regional 
     language (such as Russian for Russia and the former Soviet 
     Republics) is a tremendous advantage and sometimes necessary 
     for marketing officers who place BBG programming in local 
     markets, as well as for engineers who establish, manage, and 
     maintain the Bureau's global transmission network.
       The Centers for Disease Control of the Department of Health 
     and Human Services works in more than 140 countries each year 
     to address public health challenges. In addition, CDC has 
     more than 100 assignees in 41 countries to provide long-term 
     assistance on disease surveillance, disease eradication, HIV, 
     infectious and chronic diseases, and other priority programs. 
     Due to the nature of CDC's work, the agency may carry 
     operations in countries where the US has no diplomatic 
     relations to address critical health needs.
       The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has 
     strong needs for proficient language skills in Russian, 
     Japanese and Spanish.
       The Drug Enforcement Agency has 78 offices in 56 countries. 
     Language training is provided to personnel posted to these 
     offices by two contract language service companies. These 
     employees receive one-on-one instruction for the training 
     period required for the specific language. All employees must 
     achieve a competency of Level 2 for both speaking and reading 
     prior to completion of the training.
       The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a critical need for 
     translators proficient in the following languages: Arabic, 
     Farsi, Hindi, Pashto, Punjabi, Turkish, Urdu, Hebrew, 
     Japanese, Korean, Chinese (all dialects) and Vietnamese. 
     Applicants must pass a language proficiency test 3+ 
     (Advanced/Native Speaker).''
       The U.S. Customs Service enforces over 600 laws for 60 
     other agencies involved in international commerce and travel. 
     ``Knowledge of a foreign language is not a mandatory 
     requirement for employment by the U.S. Customs Service. 
     However, with over 300 Customs land, sea and air ports in 
     the U.S., twenty-four Customs attache and senior 
     representative offices established at American embassies 
     and consulates in strategic areas around the globe, and 
     advisory teams in thirteen countries, possessing foreign 
     language skills is highly desirable to accomplish our 
     mission as U.S. Customs investigators, inspectors and 
     other officers.''
       In 1999 the U.S. Coast Guard independently carried out an 
     in-depth study to determine how to best meet the foreign 
     language needs of its service. All cutters, stations, groups, 
     air stations, districts and the Coast Guard Intelligence 
     Service were tasked with reporting the number of incidents 
     requiring foreign language skills. The selected comments from 
     the study are highly instructive on the kind of repercussions 
     that lack of language expertise has for the Coast Guard:
       ``Absence of effective communications influenced decision 
     not to board'';
       ``Lack of interpreter reduced quality of right of approach 
     questions'';
       ``Never determined nationality due to lack of 
     interpreter'';
       ``All Alaskan Patrol cutters should have Russian 
     interpreter on board'';
       ``Lack of interpreter made overall Fish Mission 
     ineffective'';
       ``Lack of interpreters in Chinese, Russian, Polish, 
     Japanese and Korean curtail any intelligence gathering which 
     is critical to success of mission'';
       ``50% of crew bilingual, critical to mission success'';
       ``Heavy workload for 2 Spanish speakers during two intense 
     patrols; multiple daily interactions with immigrants'';
       ``Delay due to sharing of Coast Guard and INS 
     interpreters'';
       ``Delay attributed to availability of interpreter being 
     ashore and underway. Lack of Japanese interpreter resulted in 
     no radio communications'';
       ``Lone bi-lingual crewmember over tasked. Assistance of INS 
     Asylum Pre-Screening--Officer critical to relay medical 
     problems of migrant''.


                               conclusion

       The NSEP analysis, while not intended as a comprehensive 
     survey of language needs of the federal government, provides 
     some valuable insights into the need for global skills in the 
     federal sector and, more specifically, the need for 
     professional competencies in languages critical to national 
     security. Along with other ongoing efforts to codify the need 
     for language expertise, these data serve to continue to build 
     the case for a more proactive role for federal programs like 
     NSEP.
       The comments received in response to our survey, the 
     interactions with officials from various agencies, and the 
     congressional testimonies to the Senate Committee on 
     Governmental Affairs reveal disjunctions between the existing 
     demand for language expertise in the federal sector and the 
     corresponding capacity to meet those needs.


             attachment a--nsep areas of emphasis 1999-2000

     World Regions
       Africa
     Angola
     Dem. Rep. of the Congo
     Rep. of the Congo
     Eritrea
     Ethiopia
     Kenya
     Liberia
     Nigeria
     Rwanda
     Sierra Leone
     South Africa
     Morocco
     Sudan
     Tanzania
     Uganda
       Latin America
     Argentina
     Brazil
     Chile
     Colombia
     Cuba
     Guatemala
     Mexico
     Panama
     Peru
     Venezuela
       East Asia and the Pacific
     Burma
     Cambodia
     China
     Indonesia
     Japan
     North Korea
     South Korea
     Malaysia
     Philippines
     Taiwan
     Thailand
     Vietnam
       South Asia
     Afghanistan
     India
     Pakistan
       Europe
     Albania
     Armenia
     Azerbaijan
     Belarus
     Bosnia & Herzegovina
     Bulgaria
     Croatia
     Czech Republic
     Georgia
     Hungary
     Kazakhstan
     Macedonia
     Moldova
     Poland
     Romania
     Russia
     Serbia & Montenegro
     Slovakia
     Slovenia
     Tajikistan
     Turkey
     Ukraine
     Uzbekistan
       Near East
     Algeria
     Bahrain
     Egypt
     Iran
     Iraq
     Israel
     Jordan
     Kuwait
     Lebanon
     Libya
     Oman
     Qatar
     Saudi Arabia
     Syria
     Tunisia
     Unit.Arab.Emira.
     Yemen
     Languages
     Albanian
     Arabic (and dialects)
     Armenian
     Azeri
     Belarusian
     Burmese
     Cantonese
     Czech
     Farsi
     Georgian
     Hebrew
     Hindi
     Hungarian
     Indonesian
     Japanese
     Kazakh
     Khmer
     Korean
     Kurdish
     Lingala
     Macedonian
     Malay
     Mandarin
     Mongolian
     Polish
     Portuguese
     Romanian
     Russian
     Serbo-Croatian
     Sinhala
     Swahili
     Tagalog
     Tajik
     Tamil
     Thai
     Turkmen
     Turkish
     Uighur
     Ukrainian
     Urdu
     Uzbek
     Vietnamese
     Fields of Study
       Agricultural and Food Sciences
       Applied Sciences and Engineering: Biology, Chemistry, 
     Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics
       Business and Economics
       Computer and Information Science
       Health and Biomedical Science
       History
       International Affairs
       Law
       Other Social Sciences: Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, 
     Political Science, and Policy Studies


    Attachment B--FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS RESPONDING TO NSEP NATIONAL 
                  SECURITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, 2000-2001

     Executive Office of the President
       Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
       National Intelligence Council
     Department of Agriculture
       Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
     Department of Commerce
       International Trade Administration: U.S. Foreign Commercial 
     Service
       National Communications & Information Administration 
     (NTIA): Office of International Affairs
     Department of Defense
       Defense Intelligence Agency
       National Security Agency
       Defense Threat Reduction Agency
       National Imagery and Mapping Agency
       Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict
       Strategy and Threat Reduction
       Department of the Navy: International Programs Office
     Department of Energy
       Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
     Department of Health and Human Services:
       Office of International and Refugee Health
       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
       Food and Drug Administration
     Department of Justice
       Drug Enforcement Administration
       INTERPOL
       Federal Bureau of Investigation
     Department of Labor
       Office of International Economic Affairs.
     Department of State
       Bureau of Intelligence & Research
       Office of the Legal Adviser
       Under Secretary for Global Affairs: Bureau of Democracy, 
     Human Rights and Labor; and Bureau of International Narcotics 
     and Law Enforcement Affairs

[[Page S2725]]

       Bureau of Consular Affairs
       Foreign Service Institute
     Department of Transportation
       Office of Intelligence & Security
       U.S. Coast Guard: Office of the Commandant; and 
     Intelligence Coordination Center
       Federal Aviation Administration: Asst Administrator for 
     Policy Planning & Intl Affairs
       Federal Highway Administration: Office of International 
     Programs
       Maritime Administration: Associate Administrator for Policy 
     and Intl Trade
     Department of the Treasury
       U.S. Customs Service: Office of International Affairs
       International Revenue Service: Office of the Commissioner, 
     International
       U.S. Secret Service
     Department of Veterans Affairs
       Assistant Secretary for Public & Intergovernmental Affairs: 
     Intergovernmental & International Affairs
     U.S. Agency for International Development
       Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support & Research
       Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean
     Broadcasting Board of Governors
       International Broadcasting Bureau
     Export-Import Bank of the U.S.
       Policy Group
     Federal Communications Commission
       International Bureau
     Federal Reserve System
       International Finance Division
     International Trade Commission
       Office of Operations
     National Aeronautics and Space Administration
       Office of Human Resources and Education
     Nuclear Regulatory Commission
       Office of International Programs
     U.S. Postal Service
       International Business


         attachment c--language requirements at advanced levels

     Language--Number of Federal Organizations
     Haitian-Cr--3
     Farsi--3
     Hindi--3
     Vietnamese--3
     Turkish--3
     Romanian--3
     Ukranian--3
     Serbo-Croatian--3
     Bulgarian--3
     Arabic--4
     Italian--3
     Urdu--4
     German--4
     Korean--5
     Japanese--6
     Portuguese--7
     French--9
     Mandarin--9
     Russian--12
     Spanish--16
     Additional Languages (at the Advanced Level) Identified by 
         Federal Organizations
     Afan Oromo
     Amharic
     Armenian
     Azeri
     Bangla
     Belarus
     Burmese
     Czech
     Danish
     Dari
     Dutch
     Estonian
     Finnish
     Georgian
     Greek
     Hausa
     Hebrew
     Hongul
     Hungarian
     Ibo
     Indonesian
     Kazakh
     Khmer
     Kinyarwanda
     Kirundi
     Kurdish
     Kyrgyz
     Lao
     Latvian
     Lingala
     Lithuanian
     Malay
     Mongul
     Pashto
     Polish
     Punjabi
     Sengalese
     Shona
     Sinhala
     Slovenian
     Swahili
     Tagalog
     Tajik
     Tamil
     Thai
     Tibetan
     Tigrigna
     Turkish
     Turkmen
     Uzbek
     Xhosa
     Yoruba

                          ____________________