22 U.S.C. § 3927 — Chief of mission

Page 1430 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3926 Executive Documents DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS Functions of President under this section delegated to Secretary of State, see section 1 of Ex. Ord. No. 12293, Feb. 23, 1981, 46 F.R. 13969, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title. CONSULTATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES For authority for the Secretary of State to consult with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the United States Informa- tion Agency, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to ensure com- patibility between the Foreign Service personnel sys- tem and other government personnel systems, see sec- tion 2 of Ex. Ord. No. 12293, Feb. 23, 1981, 46 F.R. 13969, as amended, set out as note under section 3901 of this title. § 3926. Regulations; delegation of functions (a) The Secretary may prescribe such regula- tions as the Secretary deems appropriate to carry out functions under this chapter. (b) The Secretary may delegate functions under this chapter which are vested in the Sec- retary to any employee of the Department or any member of the Service. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 206, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2079.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries REGULATIONS REGARDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCE WITHIN FOREIGN SERVICE Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 191(a), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 418, as amended by Pub. L. 103–415, § 1(u), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4302, provided that: ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Apr. 30, 1994], the Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations— ‘‘(1) establishing hiring preferences for Foreign Service Officer candidates competent in languages, with priority preference given to those languages in which the Department of State has a deficit; ‘‘(2) establishing a standard that employees will not receive long-term training in more than 3 languages, and requiring that employees achieve full profes- sional proficiency (S4/R4) in 1 language as a condition for training in a third, with exceptions for priority needs of the service at the discretion of the Director General; ‘‘(3) requiring that employees receiving long-term training in a language, or hired with a hiring pref- erence for a language, serve at least 2 tours in jobs requiring that language, with exceptions for certain limited-use languages and priority needs of the serv- ice at the discretion of the Director General; ‘‘(4) requiring that significant consideration be given to foreign language competence and use in the evaluation, assignment, and promotion of all Foreign Service Officers of the Department of State, the Agency for International Development, and the United States Information Agency; ‘‘(5) requiring the identification of appropriate Washington, D.C. metropolitan area positions as lan- guage-designated; and ‘‘(6) requiring remedial training and suspension of language differential payments for employees receiv- ing such payments who have failed to maintain re- quired levels of proficiency.’’ [For abolition of United States Information Agency (other than Broadcasting Board of Governors and Inter- national Broadcasting Bureau), transfer of functions, and treatment of references thereto, see sections 6531, 6532, and 6551 of this title.] § 3927. Chief of mission (a) Duties Under the direction of the President, the chief of mission to a foreign country— (1) shall have full responsibility for the di- rection, coordination, and supervision of all Government executive branch employees in that country (except for Voice of America cor- respondents on official assignment and em- ployees under the command of a United States area military commander); and (2) shall keep fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and operations of the Government within that country, and shall insure that all Government executive branch employees in that country (except for Voice of America correspondents on official assignment and employees under the com- mand of a United States area military com- mander) comply fully with all applicable di- rectives of the chief of mission. (b) Duties of agencies with employees in foreign countries Any executive branch agency having employ- ees in a foreign country shall keep the chief of mission to that country fully and currently in- formed with respect to all activities and oper- ations of its employees in that country, and shall insure that all of its employees in that country (except for Voice of America cor- respondents on official assignment and employ- ees under the command of a United States area military commander) comply fully with all ap- plicable directives of the chief of mission. (c) Promotion of United States goods and serv- ices Each chief of mission to a foreign country shall have as a principal duty the promotion of United States goods and services for export to such country. (d) Promotion of United States economic inter- ests Each chief of mission to a foreign country shall have as a principal duty the promotion of United States economic and commercial inter- ests in such country. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 207, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2079; Pub. L. 97–241, title I, § 123, Aug. 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 281; Pub. L. 100–204, title I, § 136, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1345; Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title V, § 505(b), Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1393; Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title VII, § 704, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3070.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–94 added subsec. (d). 2002—Subsecs. (a)(1), (2), (b). Pub. L. 107–228 inserted ‘‘Voice of America correspondents on official assign- ment and’’ after ‘‘except for’’. 1987—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–204, § 136(1), (2), inserted ‘‘executive branch’’ after ‘‘Government’’ in par. (1) and after second reference to ‘‘Government’’ in par. (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–204, § 136(3), inserted ‘‘execu- tive branch’’ after ‘‘Any’’. 1982—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–241 added subsec. (c). Page 1431 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 3929 § 3927a. Review by chief of mission (a) Review of staff element under chief of mis- sion authority; approval; process The Secretary of State shall require each chief of mission to review, not less than once every 5 years, every staff element under chief of mission authority, including staff from other depart- ments or agencies of the United States, and rec- ommend approval or disapproval of each staff element. Each such review shall be conducted pursuant to a process established by the Presi- dent for determining appropriate staffing at dip- lomatic missions and overseas constituent posts (commonly referred to as the ‘‘NSDD–38 proc- ess’’). (b) Actions by Secretary of State The Secretary of State, as part of the process established by the President referred to in sub- section (a), shall take actions to carry out the recommendations made in each such review. (Pub. L. 108–447, div. B, title IV, § 409, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2904; Pub. L. 112–74, div. I, title VII, § 7034(n), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1217.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Re- lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, and not as part of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2011—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 112–74 struck out subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 1 year after December 8, 2004, and annually there- after, the Secretary of State shall submit a report on such reviews that occurred during the previous 12 months, together with the Secretary’s recommenda- tions regarding such reviews to the appropriate com- mittees of Congress, the heads of all affected depart- ments or agencies, and the Inspector General of the De- partment of State.’’ § 3927b. Reporting requirement on chiefs of mis- sion Not later than 30 days following the end of each calendar quarter, the Secretary shall sub- mit to the appropriate congressional commit- tees— (1) a list of every chief of mission or United States representative overseas with the rank of Ambassador who, during the prior quarter, was granted approval by the Under Secretary of State for Management to be outside a coun- try of assignment for purposes other than offi- cial travel or temporary duty orders; and (2) the number of days each such chief of mission or United States representative over- seas with the rank of Ambassador was outside a country of assignment during the previous quarter for purposes other than official travel or temporary duty orders. (Pub. L. 118–31, div. F, title LXII, § 6209, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 975.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023, and also as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, and not as part of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS For definitions of ‘‘Secretary’’ and ‘‘appropriate con- gressional committees’’ as used in this section, see sec- tion 6002 of Pub. L. 118–31, set out as a note under sec- tion 2651 of this title. § 3928. Director General of Foreign Service The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Director General of the Foreign Service, who shall be a current or former career member of the Foreign Service. The Director General should assist the Secretary of State in the management of the Service and perform such functions as the Sec- retary of State may prescribe. (Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 208, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2080; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 163, Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 411.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1994—Pub. L. 103–236 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: ‘‘There shall be a Director General of the Foreign Service, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the career members of the Senior Foreign Service. The Director General shall assist the Secretary of State in the management of the Service and shall perform such functions as the Secretary of State may prescribe.’’ § 3929. Inspector General (a) Appointment; supervision by Secretary of State; prohibition against interference by State Department with certain duties; in- spections, audits, and other functions; re- moval from office (1) There shall be an Inspector General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, with- out regard to political affiliation from among individuals exceptionally qualified for the posi- tion by virtue of their integrity and their dem- onstrated ability in accounting, auditing, finan- cial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations, or their knowledge and experience in the conduct of for- eign affairs. The Inspector General shall report to and be under the general supervision of the Secretary of State. Neither the Secretary of State nor any other officer of the Department shall prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation, or from issuing any sub- pena during the course of any audit or investiga- tion. The Inspector General shall periodically (at least every 5 years) inspect and audit the ad- ministration of activities and operations of each Foreign Service post and each bureau and other operating unit of the Department of State, and shall perform such other functions as the Sec- retary of State may prescribe, except that the Secretary of State shall not assign to the In-