Ranking Member Shaheen, Foreign Relations Democrats Introduce Legislation to Safeguard U.S. Diplomatic Workforce

WASHINGTON—Over the weekend, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act, legislation to protect the U.S. diplomatic workforce from unjustified reductions in force (RIFs) at the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other foreign affairs agencies. The legislation comes as personnel are bracing for widespread cuts the Trump Administration has said it will carry out—with no transparency, justification or regard for the impact on U.S. diplomacy or national security. The bill would also protect against efforts similar to the State Department’s recent rewriting of rules for carrying out terminations that rolled back protections for personnel.

"This legislation is crucial to protecting America's ability to respond to global threats,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “The Trump Administration is systematically dismantling our diplomatic institutions and weakening the workforce we depend on to advance U.S. interests, respond to crises and out-compete adversaries like the People's Republic of China. At a time of growing instability around the world, from Ukraine to the Middle East, undermining our national security capabilities put Americans at risk and weakens our diplomatic hand." 

Specifically, the Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act would:

• Require a justification for any significant termination of personnel and an assessment of the impact such terminations will have on the U.S. ability to compete with adversaries: prior to any RIF involving more than 50 employees, the bill requires a detailed explanation for the terminations, including what alternatives were considered, how the cuts would affect the agency’s ability to carry out its mission and meet statutory obligations, how a reduced diplomatic presence would affect the U.S. ability to compete with adversaries, and how the planned terminations comply with existing law.
  
  
• Protect Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) by ensuring that RIF decisions are primarily based on performance and prior selection board rankings.
  
  
• Ensure that personnel receive  sufficient notice prior to being terminated by preventing agencies from using loopholes to provide a shorter amount of notice to personnel than is envisioned in statute and existing rules.
  
  
• Prevent sudden changes to personnel policies by requiring the State Department to provide at least 30 days’ advance notice to Congress before making any changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual that affect personnel issues and to brief Congress on the proposed updates.

This legislation has been endorsed by the American Foreign Service Association.

Full text of the bill can be found HERE. 

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