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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5628 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5628
To provide for an international disability rights strategy, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for an international disability rights strategy, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``State Department Disability Policy
and Accommodations Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The United States has shown leadership domestically on
disability policy with the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), as well as section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), and this leadership should
be leveraged to support international disability policy
priorities.
(2) The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals 4
(No Poverty), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reduced
Inequality), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 16
(Peaceful and Inclusive Societies), and 17 (Partnerships)
explicitly mention persons with disabilities, while 13 other
Goals are particularly related to persons with disabilities,
and countries are required to report disability disaggregated
data for each.
(3) There are more than 1,000,000,000 people with
disabilities around the world and 80 percent live in developing
countries.
(4) Sixty percent of people with disabilities are women,
according to the United Nations.
(5) Women with disabilities are more likely to experience
violence and sexual violence than women without disabilities.
(6) There are more than 90,000,000 children with
disabilities worldwide according to the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF).
(7) Children with disabilities are more likely to be
malnourished, subject to violence, isolation, and abuse and
less likely to attend school than children without
disabilities.
(8) People with disabilities are subject to economic and
social marginalization. The International Labor Organization
has estimated that the cost of excluding people with
disabilities from the world of work could be up to 7 percent of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in some low- and middle-income
countries.
(9) The inclusion of people with disabilities is a
fundamental part of democracy and essential to the full
realization of human rights.
(10) The political participation and leadership of people
with disabilities, including those who acquired a disability
through conflict, is crucial to sustaining democratic
institutions.
(11) People with disabilities can face disadvantages in all
areas of life, including educational attainment, labor market
outcomes, financial stability, housing, standard of living
conditions, political participation, access to health care,
arts and culture, sports, transportation, and access to justice
and citizenship.
(12) Issues related to disability policy cut across all
sectors of foreign assistance, including democracy, voting and
elections, human rights, civil rights, labor, global health,
education, economic growth and trade, gender equality and
women's empowerment, agriculture and food security, water and
sanitation, conflict transformation, disaster risk reduction,
and humanitarian recovery and relief.
(13) People with disabilities are members of all
marginalized groups, including women, young people, older
adults, the LGBTI+ community, ethnic and religious minorities,
indigenous people, internally displaced people, and refugees.
(14) The public presence of the Special Advisor for
International Disability Rights at the Department of State,
first appointed in 2010, helped raise the visibility of people
with disabilities in Department policies and programs, and
improved the inclusion of disability in the Department's annual
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and Trafficking in
Persons reports.
(15) There is currently no mandate that Department of State
programming be disability inclusive where relevant and the
Department does not have a formal, publicly available
disability policy.
SEC. 3. DISABILITY INCLUSION IN FOREIGN POLICY.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, since
international disability rights is foundational to development,
national security, and economic outcomes, disability inclusion should
be mainstreamed through all foreign assistance and programming.
(b) Formal Policy for Disability Inclusion in Foreign Policy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop
and adopt a formal policy for disability inclusion in United
States foreign assistance programming and ensure that such
policy is implemented in the Foreign Affairs Manual.
(2) Matters to be included.--The policy required under
paragraph (1) should include information and guidance on the
Department's approach to disability inclusion in United States
foreign assistance and disaster response programming.
(3) Consultation.--In developing and adopting the policy,
the Secretary shall consult with--
(A) individuals with disabilities, organizations of
people with disabilities and international
nongovernmental organizations working on disability
rights; and
(B) the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) to promote
coherence of such policy with USAID's formal disability
policy.
(4) Public availability.--The Secretary shall publish such
policy on a publicly available website of the Department.
SEC. 4. OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY RIGHTS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall establish an Office
of International Disability Rights (referred to in this section as the
``Office'') and which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large.
(b) Appointment.--The Ambassador shall be appointed by the
President, by and with advice and consent of the Senate, and shall work
with and through the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor to advise the Secretary of State regarding matters
related to disability rights.
(c) Purpose.--The Office shall coordinate efforts of the United
States Government, as directed by the Secretary, regarding human rights
for people with disabilities and advancing the status of people with
disabilities in United States foreign policy.
(d) Duties.--Section 5104(b) of the Department of State
Authorization Act of 2021 (division D of Public Law 117-81; 135 Stat.
2345) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5),
(6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7),
(8), and (13), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, the following new paragraph:
``(1) coordinate all international disability policy and
international assistance provided by the United States
Government, in consultation with relevant and appropriate
regional bureaus of the Department and chiefs of mission, to
support efforts abroad to strengthen the rights of persons with
disabilities;''; and
(3) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated, by striking
``disabilities; and'' and inserting the following:
``disabilities;
``(9) coordinate the collection of data regarding the
United States Government's international assistance and
activities to promote the rights of persons with disabilities,
in coordination with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, the Secretary of State,
and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, including to
the extent feasible--
``(A) a detailed accounting of spending by relevant
Federal departments and agencies, including, for each
Federal department and agency, the statutory source of
spending;
``(B) the amounts spent; and
``(C) activities supported to the extent
practicable and appropriate;
``(10) establish interagency detail or rotation
opportunities for relevant Federal agencies to be housed within
the Office for the purposes of--
``(A) augmenting the Office's ability to share
United States Government best practices with United
States missions and with international partners; and
``(B) strengthening the Office's role in the
coordination of efforts across the government;
``(11) work with relevant bureaus to promote the use of
existing educational and cultural exchanges with international
disability policymakers and advocates;
``(12) coordinate with the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development on the publication
and promotion of an updated United States Agency for
International Development disability policy; and''.
(e) Supervision.--Section 5104(c) of the Department of State
Authorization Act of 2021 (division D of Public Law 117-81; 135 Stat.
2345) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Supervision.--The Office shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-
Large for International Disability Rights. The Ambassador-at-Large
should be a person of recognized distinction in the field of disability
rights. The Ambassador-at-Large shall be provided with appropriate
funding and staff consistent with the duties of the Office and with
Department of State guidance on the status of an Office.''.
(f) International Disability Rights Strategy.--Section 5104 of the
Department of State Authorization Act of 2021 (division D of Public Law
117-81; 135 Stat. 2345) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(e) International Disability Rights Strategy.--
``(1) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development, the heads of other relevant
Federal agencies, and nongovernmental organizations, should
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy
to--
``(A) achieve the purposes described in subsection
(b);
``(B) identify target countries and regions for
prioritization of the Department's international
assistance efforts related to the rights of persons
with disabilities;
``(C) identify the United States national security
interest in the target countries and regions where
assistance will be provided;
``(D) establish specific goals to advance
international best practices relating to the rights of
persons with disabilities; and
``(E) implement the Department's plan to leverage
resources and expertise through partnerships with the
private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and
research and academic institutions.
``(2) Annual report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than one year after
submission of the strategy required under paragraph
(1), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State,
in consultation with the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development and other
relevant Federal agencies, should provide the
appropriate congressional committees with a written
description of results achieved, including--
``(i) progress on implementation of the
strategy;
``(ii) an assessment of efforts to
coordinate United States international
disability rights activities and initiatives
with foreign governments, multilateral
institutions, nongovernmental organizations,
and other key stakeholders related to the
rights of persons with disabilities;
``(iii) a detailed accounting of spending
by the Department of State, the United States
Agency for International Development, and other
relevant Federal agencies on United States
international disability rights assistance to
foreign governments and multilateral
institutions related to the rights of persons
with disabilities; and
``(iv) the number of educational and
cultural exchanges focused on advancing
international disability rights.
``(B) Disaggregation of data.--The data submitted
under subparagraph (A) should, where feasible, be
disaggregated by country, gender of recipients of
assistance, funding account, funding levels, and fiscal
year of funding.
``(3) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In
this subsection, the term `appropriate congressional
committees' means--
``(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.''.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of State $6,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2027, to achieve the purposes described in
subsection (b) of section 5104 of the Department of State Authorization
Act of 2021, as amended by subsection (a) of this section.
SEC. 5. DEPARTMENTAL HIRING AND FACILITIES ACCESSIBILITY.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary of State for Management shall,
in consultation with the Office of International Disability Rights,
prioritize in the hiring and recruitment and overseas assignments, the
accessibility practices of civil service employees and Foreign Service
officers with disabilities and their family members with chronic
medical conditions or disabilities.
(b) Duties.--The Under Secretary shall--
(1) ensure that facilities used to carry out the mission of
the United States at embassies, consulates, leased facilities,
or any other facilities are in compliance with United States
Access Board standards, including accessibility to people with
disabilities, including by--
(A) making websites and other forms of
communication accessible to people with disabilities
and providing reasonable accommodations to program
participants;
(B) ensuring accessibility of United States
Government facilities by contracting with local
contractors and subcontractors that meet the
requirements of section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793) to affirmatively hire workers
with disabilities; and
(C) consulting with the Department of Labor's
Office of Federal Contracts Compliance to ensure all
Department of State contractors are compliant with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12101 et seq.);
(2) ensure that the policies and practices for the
recruitment and placement of Foreign Service officers and their
families encourage the hiring and placement of people with
disabilities in compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
(3) consult with the Disability Rights Section of the Civil
Rights Division of the Department of Justice to ensure that
Department of State hiring is compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); and
(4) ensure that policies are in place for hiring locally
employed staff in embassies and consulates outside the United
States to ensure that accommodations are offered, provided, and
funded from the Department's centralized reasonable
accommodation fund.
(c) Facility Accessibility.--The Under Secretary for Management
shall, in consultation with the Office of International Disability
Rights--
(1) ensure that embassies and consulates and their services
are accessible to people with disabilities, including with
respect to--
(A) the physical accessibility of facilities
housing embassies and consulates;
(B) websites of United States embassies and
consulates;
(C) public internet and telecommunications; and
(D) other means of communication with United States
residents and the general public; and
(2) acquire 5 percent of residences per diplomatic post and
ensure that such residences meet the adaptable standards set by
the Director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings.
SEC. 6. TRAINING.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall require online or in-
person mandatory disability inclusion training for all civil service
and Foreign Service personnel of the Department of State and chiefs of
mission, including on--
(1) how to develop solicitations, programming, budgets, and
policies that are inclusive;
(2) how to ensure a disability-inclusive work environment;
(3) how to conduct disability-inclusive analyses of laws
and programming;
(4) how to empower and support local organizations of
people with disabilities;
(5) how to ensure implementing partners that receive
funding from the Department hire and include people with
disabilities throughout all Department programs, as applicable
by using international monitoring frameworks that address
inclusive programming and integrating inclusion indicators; and
(6) inclusive humanitarian action for people with
disabilities, in line with established international frameworks
including the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines
and the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in
Humanitarian Action.
(b) Country-Specific and Cultural Considerations.--The Secretary
shall ensure that training for Foreign Service officers under
subsection (a) should include country-specific and cultural
considerations.
(c) Foreign Service Officers.--Section 708(a)(1) of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new
subparagraph:
``(D) instruction on recognizing risks and
vulnerabilities of individuals with disabilities in
specific country contexts, disability inclusion in
policymaking and outreach at United States embassies
and analysis of disability-inclusive laws and
programming in local country contexts; and''.
SEC. 7. REPORT AND BRIEFING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State
shall provide to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a
report and briefing on the steps taken to implement this Act.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report and briefing required under
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) an explanation of policies and programs to fulfill--
(A) the duties of the Office of International
Disability Rights established under section 4; and
(B) the training requirements under section 6;
(2) a description of the status of efforts to mainstream
disability rights throughout Department of State programming
without regard to whether such programming is specifically
directed toward people with disabilities;
(3) an explanation of disability-specific programming
across the Department;
(4) a description of the status of accessible facilities in
all foreign missions, as required under section 5(c);
(5) a description of any policy, programming, or human
resources gaps to mainstreaming disability rights policy
throughout the Department, and plans to address gaps through
appropriate mechanisms;
(6) a description of progress made on the realization of
the rights of people with disabilities as a result of
Department policies and programming;
(7) an explanation of the current status of the
Department's evidence gathering and improved systematic
disability data collection, including the use of disaggregated
data, in order to ensure that programming, monitoring, and
reporting reflect and address the risks and needs of people
with disabilities; and
(8) recommendations for legislative actions to fully
implement the matters described in paragraphs (1) through (7).
SEC. 8. JUDY HEUMANN FOREIGN AND CIVIL SERVICE DISABILITY FELLOWSHIP
PROGRAM.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) disability rights are foundational to human rights,
national security, and positive economic outcomes;
(2) the Department of State should mainstream disability
inclusion by expanding training and professional development
opportunities for Foreign Service and civil service personnel
of the Department--
(A) to support and advance efforts to make the
Department of State a more accessible and disability
inclusive workplace by--
(i) familiarizing personnel with domestic
disability laws, regulations, and policies; and
(ii) providing first-hand experience of
disability policy; and
(B) to fully integrate support for persons with
disabilities as a key component of the Department of
State's foreign policy and foreign assistance
programming by--
(i) examining and identifying the United
States foreign policies and programs that
affect individuals with disabilities in other
countries;
(ii) establishing the principle that no
United States international activity should
have a lower standard of inclusion than its
domestic correlate;
(iii) promoting disability inclusive
practices and the training of personnel on
quality programming that is fully inclusive of
people with disabilities;
(iv) strengthening support for and
inclusion of persons with disabilities, along
with the effective development and
implementation of inclusive disability laws,
regulations, standards, and policies, in
foreign and domestic partnerships; and
(v) representing the United States in
diplomatic and multilateral fora on matters
relevant to the rights of persons with
disabilities and working to raise the profile
of disabilities across a broad range of
organizations contributing to international
development efforts.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of State.
(2) Organization of persons with disabilities.--The term
``organization of persons with disabilities'' means a
nongovernmental civil society organization, including a think
tank, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, academic
institution, or other organization, that--
(A) includes staff leadership and a board of
directors the majority of which consists of people with
disabilities; and
(B) serves people with disabilities.
(c) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish the Judy
Heumann Foreign Service Disability Fellowship (referred in this section
as the ``Fellowship'') for purposes of assigning fellows to
opportunities at organizations of persons with disabilities lasting
between 6 months and one year. The Secretary shall make grants to
organizations of persons with disabilities in order to enable fellows
to carry out the activities described in subsection (e). The Secretary
shall be responsible for designing, implementing, and operating the
Fellowship program, including setting standards for successful
completion of each fellowship.
(d) Selection of Fellows.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall establish
criteria for selecting the fellows for the Fellowship and shall
play a central role in selecting 5 fellows for the Fellowship
during the first two years and 10 fellows for the Fellowship
during each year thereafter.
(2) Selection and placement.--The Secretary of State
shall--
(A) make efforts to recruit fellowship candidates
who reflect the diversity of the United States;
(B) select fellows from among entry-, mid- and
senior-level Foreign Service and civil service
personnel;
(C) prioritize the selection of candidates willing
to serve in a fellowship lasting one year;
(D) help fellows arrange a fellowship placement
with an organization of persons with disabilities; and
(E) for each fellow, approve a work plan that
identifies the target objectives for the fellow,
including specific duties and responsibilities relating
to those objectives.
(e) Fellowship Activities.--Fellows participating in the Fellowship
program shall--
(1) study the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, done at New York December 12, 2006;
(2) attend the Conference of States Parties to the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP)
along with one member of the hosting organization of persons
with disabilities; and
(3) carry out such other activities as the Secretary of
State determines appropriate.
(f) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
completion of the Fellowship by the initial cohort of fellows selected
under subsection (d), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a
report on the implementation of the Fellowship, including--
(1) a summary of gender, race, national origin, disability
status, or other demographic categories of the cohort of
fellows who completed a fellowship during the preceding one-
year period;
(2) a description of the fellowships and placements,
including feedback on implementation and lessons learned; and
(3) an analysis of trends relating to the diversity of each
cohort of fellows since the establishment of the Fellowship
program.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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