Foreign Service Families Act of 2021
Latest action · Jul 1, 2021 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 1, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Foreign Service Families Act of 2021
This bill increases access to career and educational opportunities for eligible family members of foreign service employees.
Specifically, the Department of State must use additional hiring preferences and apply appropriate hiring standards to eligible family members seeking employment in certain civil service positions overseas. Additionally, the State Department may take other steps to improve job portability and otherwise support employment of eligible family members who work in the federal civil service or private sector jobs. The State Department must also report on the implementation of the Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps, a program that expedites hiring and onboarding processes for family members who are eligible for appointment to positions overseas.
Furthermore, each federal agency must include in its telework policy the circumstances under which an employee may temporarily work from an approved location overseas.
The bill also makes foreign service employees (or their spouses and dependent children) who are domiciled or assigned to a duty station in a given state eligible for in-state tuition at public institutions of higher education in that state. Such individuals retain their eligibility for in-state tuition provided they maintain continuous enrollment even if their domicile or duty station changes.
Cosponsors 17
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 1, 2021 to Dec 16, 2021; 13 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-VA | Jennifer Wexton | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Sara Jacobs | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Jul 1, 2021 |
| D-VA | Elaine G. Luria | Jul 19, 2021 | |
| D-MN | Dean Phillips | Dec 16, 2021 | |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Dec 16, 2021 | |
| D-NJ | Tom Malinowski | Dec 16, 2021 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Foreign Affairs Committee | Referred Jul 1, 2021 |
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred Jul 1, 2021 |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Jul 1, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 1, 2021Introduced in House
- Jul 1, 2021Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 115, July 1, 2021, page H3601.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1550 | Foreign Service Families Act of 2021 | Related bill | May 11, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To expand employment opportunities for spouses of Foreign Service officers, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Foreign Service Families Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 1, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
