§349 Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans

Summary

Creates an Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans in the Department and puts an Under Secretary in charge. The Under Secretary is the main policy adviser to the Secretary and must be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Under Secretary must lead and coordinate policy and strategic planning across the Department, promote consistent programs, run leadership councils, handle international engagement, use outside feedback, and do other duties the Secretary assigns. The Secretary may create one Deputy Under Secretary to help, and may fill that job with a career employee. No other similar deputy jobs can be created without Congress. Department component heads must work with the Office when they set or change policies. The Under Secretary must set standards for departmental statistics, get statistics from all parts of the Department, run or oversee required analysis and reports, and ensure data given to Congress is accurate. Responsibility for immigration statistics like those in the "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics" is moved to the Under Secretary, including region-by-region counts of applications and denials and reasons. An Assistant Secretary position is also created inside the Office. The Assistant Secretary is appointed by the President without Senate confirmation. At the Secretary’s direction, the Assistant Secretary must make policy on economic security and trade as they relate to the Department. The Assistant Secretary may also oversee supply chain policy, prepare or coordinate reports to Congress about critical economic security areas, work with other agencies and non-government groups, and take on other tasks the Secretary or Under Secretary give. Definitions: career employee = a regular federal employee (not a political appointee); political appointee = an employee in a noncompetitive job because of confidential or policy-making duties; critical economic security domain = infrastructure, industry, technology, or intellectual property essential to U.S. economic security; economic security = as defined in section 474(c)(2) of this title. This does not change the requirements in section 468 of this title.