Strengthening commercial diplomacy expertise at the Department of State

(a) Direct hire authority (1) In general Notwithstanding section 301 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3941), the Director General of the Foreign and Commercial Diplomatic Service may appoint qualified candidates directly to positions in the Commercial Diplomatic Service. (2) Termination The authority provided under subparagraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director General of the Foreign and Commercial Diplomatic Service shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains plans to attract and retain commercial diplomacy expertise for officers in the Commercial Diplomatic Service, including career promotion tracks to supervisory and non-supervisory positions within the Senior Foreign Service.