Taiwan Fellowship Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7414 To establish the Taiwan Fellowship Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 29, 2020 Mr. YOHO (for himself and Mr. BERA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To establish the Taiwan Fellowship Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Fellowship 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96– 8 8; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) affirmed United States 9 policy ‘‘to preserve and promote extensive, close, and 10 friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations be- 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7414 IH tween the people of the United States and the people 1 on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China main- 2 land and all other peoples of the Western Pacific 3 area’’. 4 (2) Consistent with the Asia Reassurance Ini- 5 tiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–409), the 6 United States has grown its strategic partnership 7 with Taiwan’s vibrant democracy of 23,000,000 peo- 8 ple. 9 (3) Despite a concerted campaign by the Peo- 10 ple’s Republic of China to isolate Taiwan from its 11 diplomatic partners and from international organiza- 12 tions, including the World Health Organization, Tai- 13 wan has emerged as a global leader in the 14 coronavirus global pandemic response, including by 15 donating more than 2,000,000 surgical masks and 16 other medical equipment to the United States. 17 (4) The creation of a United States fellowship 18 program with Taiwan would support a key priority 19 of expanding people-to-people exchanges, which was 20 outlined in the President’s 2017 National Security 21 Strategy. 22 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 23 (1) to further strengthen the United States-Tai- 24 wan strategic partnership and broaden under- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7414 IH standing of the Indo-Pacific region by temporarily 1 assigning officials of any branch of the United 2 States Government to Taiwan for intensive study in 3 Mandarin and placement as Fellows with Taiwan 4 central authorities or a Taiwanese civic institution; 5 (2) to provide for eligible United States per- 6 sonnel to learn Mandarin Chinese and expand their 7 understanding of the political economy of Taiwan 8 and the Indo-Pacific region; 9 (3) to better position the United States to ad- 10 vance its economic, security, and human rights in- 11 terests in the Indo-Pacific region; and 12 (4) to encourage further expansion of other 13 people-to-people exchanges, including by expanding 14 the Fulbright Scholars Program, the International 15 Visitors Leadership Program, and other exchange 16 programs that permit the people of Taiwan to work 17 and study in the United States. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 21 means— 22 (A) in the case of the executive branch of 23 United States Government or an agency of the 24 legislative branch other than the Senate or the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7414 IH House of Representatives, the head of the re- 1 spective agency; 2 (B) in the case of the judicial branch of 3 United States Government, the chief judge of 4 the respective court; 5 (C) in the case of the Senate, the Presi- 6 dent pro tempore, in consultation with the ma- 7 jority leader and the minority leader of the Sen- 8 ate; and 9 (D) in the case of the House of Represent- 10 atives, the Speaker of the House, in consulta- 11 tion with the majority leader and the minority 12 leader of the House of Representatives. 13 (2) AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERN- 14 MENT.—The term ‘‘agency of the United States 15 Government’’ includes any agency of the legislative 16 branch and any court of the judicial branch as well 17 as any agency of the executive branch. 18 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 19 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 20 mittees’’ means— 21 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 22 the Senate; 23 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 24 the Senate; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7414 IH (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 1 the House of Representatives; and 2 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 3 the House of Representatives. 4 (4) DETAILEE.—The term ‘‘detailee’’ means an 5 employee of an agency of the United States Govern- 6 ment on loan to the American Institute in Taiwan 7 without a change of position from the agency at 8 which he or she is employed. 9 (5) IMPLEMENTING PARTNER.—The term ‘‘im- 10 plementing partner’’ means any United States orga- 11 nization described in 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev- 12 enue Code of 1986 that— 13 (A) performs logistical, administrative, and 14 other functions, as determined by the Depart- 15 ment of State and the American Institute in 16 Taiwan in support of the Taiwan Fellowship 17 Program; and 18 (B) enters into a cooperative agreement 19 with the American Institute in Taiwan to ad- 20 minister the Taiwan Fellowship Program. 21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TAIWAN FELLOWSHIP PRO- 22 GRAM. 23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 24 establish the ‘‘Taiwan Fellowship Program’’ to provide 2- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7414 IH year fellowship opportunities in Taiwan for eligible United 1 States citizens. The Department of State, in consultation 2 with the American Institute in Taiwan and the imple- 3 menting partner, may modify the program name. 4 (b) GRANTS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The American Institute in 6 Taiwan should use amounts appropriated pursuant 7 to section 7(a) to provide annual or multi-year 8 grants to an appropriate implementing partner. 9 (2) FELLOWSHIPS.—The Department of State, 10 in consultation with the American Institute in Tai- 11 wan and, as appropriate, the implementing partner, 12 should annually award not fewer than 10 2-year fel- 13 lowships (based on available funding) to eligible 14 United States citizens. 15 (c) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT; IMPLEMENTING 16 PARTNER.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the 17 enactment of this Act, the American Institute in Taiwan, 18 in consultation with the Department of State, should— 19 (1) begin negotiations with the Taipei Economic 20 and Cultural Representative Office, or with another 21 appropriate entity, for the purpose of entering into 22 an agreement to facilitate the placement of fellows 23 in an agency of the Taiwan authorities during the 24 second year of their fellowships; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7414 IH (2) begin the process of selecting an imple- 1 menting partner, which— 2 (A) shall agree to meet all of the legal re- 3 quirements required to operate in Taiwan; and 4 (B) shall be composed of staff who dem- 5 onstrate significant experience managing ex- 6 change programs in the Indo-Pacific region. 7 (d) CURRICULUM.— 8 (1) FIRST YEAR.—During the first year of each 9 fellowship under this section, each fellow should 10 study— 11 (A) the Mandarin Chinese language; 12 (B) the people, history, and political cli- 13 mate on Taiwan; and 14 (C) the issues affecting the relationship be- 15 tween the United States and the Indo-Pacific 16 region. 17 (2) SECOND YEAR.—During the second year of 18 each fellowship under this section, each fellow, sub- 19 ject to the approval of the Department of State, the 20 American Institute in Taiwan, and the implementing 21 partner, and in accordance with the purposes of this 22 Act, shall work in— 23 (A) a parliamentary office, ministry, or 24 other agency of Taiwan authorities; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7414 IH (B) an organization outside of Taiwan au- 1 thorities, whose interests are associated with 2 the interests of the fellow and the agency of the 3 United States Government from which the fel- 4 low had been employed. 5 (e) PILOT PROGRAM.—Notwithstanding any require- 6 ment under this section, during fiscal years 2021 and 7 2022, the Secretary of State may select fewer than 10 fel- 8 lows for placement in a parliamentary office, ministry, or 9 other agency of Taiwan authorities for a period shorter 10 than 1 year. 11 SEC. 5. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 12 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—A United States 13 citizen is eligible for a fellowship under section 4 if he or 14 she— 15 (1) is an employee of the United States Govern- 16 ment; 17 (2) has at least 2 years of experience in any 18 branch of the United States Government; 19 (3) has a strong career interest in the relation- 20 ship between the United States and countries in the 21 Indo-Pacific region; 22 (4) has demonstrated his or her commitment to 23 further service in the United States Government; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7414 IH (5) meets any other qualifications established 1 by the Department of State, the American Institute 2 in Taiwan and, as appropriate, its implementing 3 partner. 4 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FELLOWS.—Each recipi- 5 ent of a fellowship under this Act shall agree, as a condi- 6 tion of such fellowship— 7 (1) to maintain satisfactory progress in lan- 8 guage training and appropriate behavior in Taiwan, 9 as determined by the Department of State, the 10 American Institute in Taiwan and, as appropriate, 11 its implementing partner; 12 (2) to refrain from engaging in any intelligence 13 or intelligence-related activity on behalf of the 14 United States Government; and 15 (3) to continue Federal Government employ- 16 ment for a period of not less than 2 years after the 17 conclusion of the fellowship. 18 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF IMPLEMENTING PART- 19 NER.— 20 (1) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.—The imple- 21 menting partner, in close coordination with the De- 22 partment of State and the American Institute in 23 Taiwan, shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7414 IH (A) make efforts to recruit fellowship can- 1 didates who reflect the diversity of the United 2 States; and 3 (B) select fellows for the Taiwan Fellow- 4 ship Program based solely on merit, with appro- 5 priate supervision from the Department of 6 State and the American Institute in Taiwan. 7 (2) FIRST YEAR.—The implementing partner 8 should provide each fellow in the first year of his or 9 her fellowship with— 10 (A) intensive Mandarin Chinese language 11 training; and 12 (B) courses in the political economy of 13 Taiwan, China, and the broader Indo-Pacific. 14 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIRED TRAINING.—The De- 15 partment of State, in coordination with the Amer- 16 ican Institute in Taiwan and, as appropriate, the im- 17 plementing partner, may waive any of the training 18 required under paragraph (1) to the extent that a 19 fellow has Mandarin language skills, knowledge of 20 the topic described in paragraph (2)(B), or for other 21 reasons approved by the Department of State and 22 the American Institute in Taiwan. If any of the 23 training requirement is waived for a fellow, the first 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7414 IH year of his or her fellowship may be shortened to the 1 extent appropriate. 2 (4) OFFICE; STAFFING.—The implementing 3 partner, in consultation with the Department of 4 State and the American Institute in Taiwan, shall 5 maintain an office and at least 1 full-time staff 6 member in Taiwan— 7 (A) to liaise with the American Institute in 8 Taiwan and Taiwan authorities; and 9 (B) to serve as the primary in-country 10 point of contact for the recipients of fellowships 11 under this Act and their dependents. 12 (5) OTHER FUNCTIONS.—The implementing 13 partner shall perform other functions in association 14 in support of the Taiwan Fellowship program to in- 15 clude those logistical and administrative in nature as 16 may be determined by the Department of State and 17 the American Institute in Taiwan. 18 (d) NONCOMPLIANCE.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any fellow who fails to com- 20 ply with the requirements under this section shall re- 21 imburse the American Institute in Taiwan for— 22 (A) the Federal funds expended for the fel- 23 low’s participation in the fellowship, as set forth 24 in paragraphs (2) and (3); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7414 IH (B) interest accrued on such funds (cal- 1 culated at the prevailing rate). 2 (2) FULL REIMBURSEMENT.—Any fellow who 3 violates paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) shall 4 reimburse the American Institute in Taiwan in an 5 amount equal to the sum of— 6 (A) all of the Federal funds expended for 7 the fellow’s participation in the fellowship; and 8 (B) interest on the amount specified in 9 subparagraph (A), which shall be calculated at 10 the prevailing rate. 11 (3) PRO RATA REIMBURSEMENT.—Any fellow 12 who violates subsection (b)(3) shall reimburse the 13 American Institute in Taiwan in an amount equal to 14 the difference between— 15 (A) the amount specified in paragraph (2); 16 and 17 (B) the product of— 18 (i) the amount the fellow received in 19 compensation during the final year of the 20 fellowship, including the value of any al- 21 lowances and benefits received by the fel- 22 low; multiplied by 23 (ii) the percentage of the period speci- 24 fied in subsection (b)(3) during which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7414.IH H7414 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]