§ 2734. Reconstruction and stabilization

(a) Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization

(1) Establishment

There is established within the Department of State the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization.

(2) Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization

The head of the Office shall be the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Coordinator shall report directly to the Secretary.

(3) Functions

The functions of the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization shall include the following:

(A) Monitoring, in coordination with relevant bureaus and offices of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), political and economic instability worldwide to anticipate the need for mobilizing United States and international assistance for the reconstruction and stabilization of a country or region that is at risk of, in, or are ^[1] in transition from, conflict or civil strife.

(B) Assessing the various types of reconstruction and stabilization crises that could occur and cataloging and monitoring the non-military resources and capabilities of agencies (as such term is defined in section 1603 of the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008) that are available to address such crises.

(C) Planning, in conjunction with USAID, to address requirements, such as demobilization, disarmament, rebuilding of civil society, policing, human rights monitoring, and public information, that commonly arise in reconstruction and stabilization crises.

(D) Coordinating with relevant agencies to develop interagency contingency plans and procedures to mobilize and deploy civilian personnel and conduct reconstruction and stabilization operations to address the various types of such crises.

(E) Entering into appropriate arrangements with agencies to carry out activities under this section and the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008.

(F) Identifying personnel in State and local governments and in the private sector who are available to participate in the Civilian Reserve Corps established under subsection (b) or to otherwise participate in or contribute to reconstruction and stabilization activities.

(G) Taking steps to ensure that training and education of civilian personnel to perform such reconstruction and stabilization activities is adequate and is carried out, as appropriate, with other agencies involved with stabilization operations.

(H) Taking steps to ensure that plans for United States reconstruction and stabilization operations are coordinated with and complementary to reconstruction and stabilization activities of other governments and international and nongovernmental organizations, to improve effectiveness and avoid duplication.

(I) Maintaining the capacity to field on short notice an evaluation team consisting of personnel from all relevant agencies to undertake on-site needs assessment.

(b) Response Readiness Corps

(1) Response Readiness Corps

The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the heads of other appropriate agencies of the United States Government, may establish and maintain a Response Readiness Corps (referred to in this section as the “Corps”) to provide assistance in support of reconstruction and stabilization operations in countries or regions that are at risk of, in, or are in transition from, conflict or civil strife. The Corps shall be composed of active and standby components consisting of United States Government personnel, including employees of the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, and other agencies who are recruited and trained (and employed in the case of the active component) to provide such assistance when deployed to do so by the Secretary to support the purposes of this Act.

(2) Civilian Reserve Corps

The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, may establish a Civilian Reserve Corps for which purpose the Secretary is authorized to employ and train individuals who have the skills necessary for carrying out reconstruction and stabilization activities, and who have volunteered for that purpose. The Secretary may deploy members of the Civilian Reserve Corps pursuant to a determination by the President under section 2368 of this title.

(3) Mitigation of domestic impact

The establishment and deployment of any Civilian Reserve Corps shall be undertaken in a manner that will avoid substantively impairing the capacity and readiness of any State and local governments from which Civilian Reserve Corps personnel may be drawn.

The Secretary shall ensure that personnel of the Department, and, in coordination with the Administrator of USAID, that personnel of USAID, make use of the relevant existing training and education programs offered within the Government, such as those at the Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Interagency Training, Education, and After Action Review Program at the National Defense University.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “is”.

U.S. Code

§ 2734. Reconstruction and stabilization