§ 10305. Establishment and expansion of Regional Technology Officer Program

• (a)
  • (1) The Secretary shall establish a program, which shall be known as the “Regional Technology Officer Program” (referred to in this section as the “Program”).
  • (2) The goals of the Program shall include the following:
    • (A) Promoting United States leadership in technology abroad.
    • (B) Working with partners to increase the deployment of critical and emerging technology in support of democratic values.
    • (C) Shaping diplomatic agreements in regional and international fora with respect to critical and emerging technologies.
    • (D) Building diplomatic capacity for handling critical and emerging technology issues.
    • (E) Facilitating the role of critical and emerging technology in advancing the foreign policy objectives of the United States through engagement with research labs, incubators, and venture capitalists.
    • (F) Maintaining the advantages of the United States with respect to critical and emerging technologies.
• (b) Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2022 , the Secretary shall submit an implementation plan to the appropriate congressional committees that outlines strategies for—
  • (1) advancing the goals described in subsection (a)(2);
  • (2) hiring Regional Technology Officers and increasing the competitiveness of the Program within the Foreign Service bidding process;
  • (3) expanding the Program to include a minimum of 15 Regional Technology Officers; and
  • (4) assigning not fewer than 2 Regional Technology Officers to posts within—
    • (A) each regional bureau of the Department; and
    • (B) the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.
• (c) Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2022 , and annually thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary shall brief the appropriate congressional committees regarding the status of the implementation plan required under subsection (b).
• (d) There is authorized to be appropriated up to $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out this section.