S 1293 — Foreign Service Families Act of 2019

Summary

Foreign Service Families Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of State to include in the Foreign Affairs Manual an updated plan for providing telecommuting employment opportunities for the spouses of overseas Foreign Service Officers. The State Department shall facilitate employment of such spouses by providing regular career counseling, maintaining a centralized database of the skills of such spouses and available employment opportunities, and offering other employment-related assistance. (Currently, the State Department is authorized to provide such assistance but not required to do so.) The State Department shall establish a program to help such spouses access employment and education opportunities, modeled after already-authorized programs for military spouses. The State Department shall report to Congress on the status of the implementation of the Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps (a program designed to speed up the hiring process for eligible family members of overseas Foreign Service officers), including (1) an update on the implementation of a hiring preference for Corps members, and (2) an accounting of any Corps-eligible individuals who were unable to fill a position at new location due to an inability to transfer a security clearance. Family members of overseas government employees shall not be held to a higher employment standard for positions customarily filled by Foreign Service officers, Foreign Service personnel, or foreign nationals.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in Senate Current html May 02, 2019

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill mandates the Secretary of State to provide additional employment and education opportunities for spouses of Foreign Service officers and establishes new responsibilities regarding hiring standards for family members.

• 22 U.S.C. 4026(b)(1)

  The Secretary may → The Secretary shall

  This change requires the Secretary of State to take action instead of allowing discretionary action.

• 22 U.S.C. 4026(b)(1)

  and

  This removes the conjunction, facilitating the addition of a new subparagraph.

• 22 U.S.C. 4026(b)(1)

  notwithstanding the prohibition on marital discrimination found in 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(1)(E), if—

  This adjustment allows for clearer structuring of employment preferences for spouses of Foreign Service officers.

• 22 U.S.C. 4026(b)(1)

  (C) establishing a program for assisting spouses of Foreign Service officers to access employment and education opportunities, which shall be modeled after the programs authorized under sections 1784 and 1784a of title 10, United States Code, and based on regulations modeled after those prescribed pursuant to subsection (b) of such section 1784;

  This addition creates a specific program to assist spouses in finding employment and education opportunities.

• 22 U.S.C. 3951

  (e) The Secretary shall hold a family member of a government employee described in subsection (a) seeking employment in a position described in that subsection to employment standards not higher than the employment standards applicable to Foreign Service officers, Foreign Service personnel, or foreign national employees seeking the same position.

  This change establishes job standards for family members of government employees to ensure they are not held to higher standards than other candidates.

Action History

1. May 02, 2019

   Introduced in Senate

2. May 02, 2019

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Sponsors

• Chris Van Hollen · Primary

Subjects