EXAMINATION AND ORAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

SEC. 5406. EXAMINATION AND ORAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE FOREIGN SERVICE. (a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the Department should offer both the Foreign Service written examination and oral assessment in more locations throughout the United States. Doing so would ease the financial burden on potential candidates who do not currently reside in and must travel at their own expense to one of the few locations where these assessments are offered. (b) Foreign Service Examinations.—Section 301(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3941) is amended— (1) by striking “The Secretary” and inserting: “(1) The Secretary”; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service annually offers the oral assessment examinations described in paragraph (1) in cities, chosen on a rotating basis, located in at least three different time zones across the United States.” .