§2734f Strategic Staffing Plan for the Department of State

Summary

The Secretary must submit a comprehensive 5-year staffing plan to the relevant congressional committees and to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees no later than 18 months after December 27, 2021. The plan must fit with the U.S. National Security Strategy from December 2017 or a newer strategy issued by that same 18‑month deadline. It must include a dataset showing all current and planned Department employees and shortages noted in GAO‑19‑220, broken down by Foreign Service officer and specialist rank; civil service job code, grade, and bureau; contracted staff and schedule C hires with equivalent codes and bureau; and overseas region. The plan must also give recommended numbers of Foreign Service officers by service cone for each post and in Washington, D.C., and recommended numbers of civil service staff, with detailed reasons for each. The dataset must be kept up to date. The Secretary will lead the plan but may work with private experts in labor economics, management, or human resources and with organizations familiar with the Department’s workforce. Also, within 120 days after December 27, 2021, the Secretary must send Congress a report on the root causes of Foreign Service and civil service shortages, how those shortages affect national security goals, and the Department’s plan to carry out the GAO‑19‑220 recommendations.