Bipartisan Bill Would Revitalize the State Department Workforce

The 2021 State Department Authorization Act (H.R. 1157) is a bipartisan measure that would work to revitalize the Department of State by increasing hiring, retention, and bonuses. The act would improve the workforce at the State Department by providing broad guidelines on how to improve the department's foreign service and civil servants.

State Department stakeholders have recently been calling for reforming the department’s workforce.

The Truman Center recently released a report in which they said it is vital “to remake the State Department into an institution that leads by the power of example.” The Truman Center pointed to the national security threats present in 2020 and early 2021 as presenting a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to reform the State Department to be a “more just, equitable, and innovative institution.”

The report outlined task force suggestions around three pillars that can transform the State Department. First: laying a strong foundation for transformation; second: building a State Department that looks like America; and finally: broadening diplomatic engagement across America.

The bipartisan State Department reauthorization legislation would require the State Department to produce two major reports that address reforming the department’s workforce.

The first report would be a five-year strategic staffing plan that would be required after 18 months. The plan would identify staffing shortages in the civil and foreign services, trends and patterns in the workforce, and paint a comprehensive picture of the status of the workforce at the State Department. The department would then identify in the plan the desired number of employees in each of the two services and where they should be placed.

The second report would be focused on diversity and inclusion. After the bill is passed, the State Department would be required to publicly document its demographic data by applicants, job type, and promoted workers. The report would also assess the department’s effectiveness in enforcing anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and its ability to recruit a representative workforce. This report would be updated annually and would be due within six months after the passage of the bill.

Furthermore, the bill would also make it easier for former foreign service officers to reapply for their old jobs and remove certain qualification requirements for foreign affairs positions on a case-by-case basis. It would also expand the Secretary of State’s ability to indefinitely suspend without pay any foreign service officer who loses his or her security clearance or commits a crime. The State Department would have to conduct interviews with employees on why they remain in the department and exit interviews with those who are leaving.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, (D-NY) and Rep. Michael McCaul, (R-TX), who lead the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a joint statement, “With the passage of this legislation, the House Foreign Affairs Committee has taken a critical step toward revitalizing the State Department and equipping it with the resources it needs to better conduct diplomacy in the 21st century.”