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Sponsored by Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) · 3 active : 3 Republicans
Latest action: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Foreign Service Modernization Act
This bill requires or authorizes certain actions related to U.S. Foreign Service (FS) management and operations, including an increased focus on expeditionary diplomacy (a concept that emphasizes diplomats conducting direct diplomacy in high-risk environments outside of the embassy), expanded hiring pathways, and additional training requirements.
For example, the bill requires the Department of State to establish
a team to develop a plan to improve the capability and willingness of FS members and leaders to engage in expeditionary diplomacy;
a program to recruit qualified veterans and separating military personnel into the FS, including by integrating FS recruitment into military transition programs; and
a Diplomatic Reserve Corps pilot program to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a trained reserve cadre providing a surge workforce to support foreign affairs contingencies.
Additionally, the State Department is authorized to establish a structured training framework that is integrated into normal career progression with protected training periods (similar to the Armed Forces' professional military education model).
The bill specifies that FS members
must successfully complete specified leadership and management training prior to assuming leadership assignments;
who participate in approved external training, education, or details shall have certain employment protections (such as eligibility for promotions and pay increases on the same basis as those not on such assignments); and
Each member’s recorded vote compared with their swing projection from before the vote. A member by voting against most of their own party.
Passed by voice vote or unanimous consent: no individual votes recorded.
Members fall into . 2 representatives don’t have enough data yet and are marked “insufficient data”. Non-voting delegates are not counted. The bill is not before the House right now; these scores show where members would stand.
: only movement toward the other party counts, so members who sit further from the center than their party no longer score as swing votes.
Bars show each input from 0 to 100: ideology gap, scorecard gap, , and the . is the seat’s partisan lean, and shows how much of the input data a score has.
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who undergo full-time, department-funded language training for more than six months must serve at least three consecutive tours in positions requiring proficiency in that language, with assignments beginning immediately after such language training.









These members have less than half of the model’s inputs, so their scores are not banded or ranked.


Ideology is each member’s score. The cluster low on the chart includes the bill’s 4 sponsor and cosponsors in the House: they have already committed, so they score as entrenched. 2 representatives without a DW-NOMINATE score or with insufficient data are not plotted.
Similar votes count toward swing-v3 in the House: total similarity weight 45.5 (needs 5.0).