III
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. RES. 123
Recognizing the contributions of the Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship
Program, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship
Program, the William D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Security Fellowship,
and the Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellow-
ship Program in advancing the national security and the development
and diplomacy efforts of the United States.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH11 (legislative day, MARCH10), 2025
Mr. B
OOKERsubmitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the contributions of the Charles B. Rangel Grad-
uate Fellowship Program, the Thomas R. Pickering For-
eign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program, the William
D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Security Fellowship, and the
Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate
Fellowship Program in advancing the national security
and the development and diplomacy efforts of the United
States.
Whereas the Department of State, the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID), and other for-
eign affairs agencies require a workforce with diverse tal-
ents, skills, and experiences to effectively protect United
States citizens abroad, expand commercial opportunities
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for United States businesses, and administer United
States foreign policy;
Whereas Congress has required in statute and the Depart-
ment of State and the USAID have committed to recruit,
hire, and retain employees on the basis of merit that re-
flect the diverse backgrounds of the American people that
they represent abroad;
Whereas, in 1990, Congress amended the State Department
Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.)
to authorize the Secretary of State to make grants to
postsecondary educational institutions or students to in-
crease knowledge of and interest in employment with the
Foreign Service, with a special focus on minority stu-
dents, broadening recruitment and retention efforts in
order to ensure equal opportunity and draw on the
strength of all United States citizens;
Whereas, pursuant to these authorities, the Department of
State launched the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs
Fellowship, the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs
Program, and the William D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Se-
curity Fellowship in 1992, 2002, and 2023, respectively;
Whereas these programs increase the inclusion of Pell-eligible
and first-generation college graduates in the Foreign
Service, with a majority of current fellows having been
Pell grant recipients;
Whereas the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Grad-
uate Fellowship Program and the Thomas R. Pickering
Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program—the Department of
State’s flagship initiatives to recruit top-tier talent—are
merit-based, need-based, and highly competitive, with an
annual acceptance rate of less than 5 percent;
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Whereas all fellows pass the same rigorous selection, hiring,
and security clearance process as all other members of
the Foreign Service;
Whereas research shows that developing a workforce rep-
resenting all of the United States significantly contrib-
utes to better national security outcomes by providing a
wider range of perspectives, experiences, and cultural un-
derstanding, enabling more effective threat identification,
innovative solutions, and stronger diplomatic engagement
across the globe;
Whereas international affairs fellowships that promote the
employment of candidates who belong to historically ex-
cluded groups and who have financial needs, including
the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate
Fellowship Program, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign
Affairs Fellowship Program, the William D. Clarke, Sr.
Diplomatic Security Fellowship, and the Donald M.
Payne International Development Fellowship Program,
represent smart investments vital for building a strong,
merit-based, capable, and diverse national security work-
force;
Whereas Congress, on a bipartisan basis, has authorized each
of these fellowship programs, recognizing the importance
of these fellowship programs in expanding merit- and
need-based recruitment from a wide geographically and
economically diverse talent pool, including from all 50
States and more than 500 institutions of higher edu-
cation;
Whereas Historically Black Colleges and Universities, His-
panic-serving institutions, other minority-serving institu-
tions and other institutions of higher education, including
community colleges and trade schools, serve populations
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historically excluded from the Department of State and
the USAID and prepare the next generation of inter-
national affairs professionals with the core skills nec-
essary to meet the United States global diplomatic and
development imperatives; and
Whereas the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development are
required by law to consult with Congress before taking
steps to modify these programs: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate— 1
(1) recognizes the importance of efforts to re-2
cruit, hire, and retain for United States foreign af-3
fairs agencies employees from the broadest talent 4
pool, in order for the United States to be globally 5
competitive and ensure that the diplomatic and de-6
velopment agencies of the United States remain the 7
best in the world; 8
(2) reaffirms that the Charles B. Rangel Grad-9
uate Fellowship Program, the Thomas R. Pickering 10
Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program, the 11
William D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Security Fellow-12
ship, and the Donald M. Payne International Devel-13
opment Graduate Fellowship Program are statu-14
torily mandated programs enacted into law on a bi-15
partisan basis to address recognized issues that have 16
plagued the Department of State and the United 17
States Agency for International Development for 18
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decades of exclusion of women, racial and ethnic mi-1
nority groups, and economically disadvantaged and 2
rural populations; 3
(3) underscores the importance to United 4
States national security and foreign policy of inter-5
national affairs fellowships and similar career entry 6
programs; and 7
(4) recognizes the substantial investment by 8
United States taxpayers in ensuring the Department 9
of State and the United States Agency for Inter-10
national Development can recruit top talent from 11
across the country, provide them with critical train-12
ing, and strengthen the development and diplomatic 13
capabilities of the United States—efforts that are 14
undermined by attempts to dismantle these pro-15
grams, wasting taxpayer resources and weakening 16
national security. 17
Æ
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