---
kind: "section"
citation: "22 U.S.C. § 10305"
title: "22"
title_heading: "Foreign Relations and Intercourse"
number: "10305"
heading: "Establishment and expansion of Regional Technology Officer Program"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/22/10305"
units:
  - "Chapter 110 — Information Security and Cyber Diplomacy"
---

# §10305. Establishment and expansion of Regional Technology Officer Program

- (a) **Regional Technology Officer Program—**
  - (1) **Establishment—** The [Secretary](/usc/22/277d–43.md?p=5) shall establish a program, which shall be known as the “Regional Technology Officer Program” (referred to in this section as the “Program”), and shall be administered by the Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy.
  - (2) **Goals—** 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](/usc/22/7432.md?p=12) 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) **Implementation plan—** Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2022, the [Secretary](/usc/22/277d–43.md?p=5) shall submit an implementation plan to the [appropriate congressional committees](/usc/22/2152j–4.md?p=1) that outlines strategies for—
  - (1) advancing the goals described in [subsection (a)(2)](#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) **Annual briefing requirement—** Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2022, and annually thereafter for the following 5 years, the [Secretary](/usc/22/277d–43.md?p=5) shall brief the [appropriate congressional committees](/usc/22/2152j–4.md?p=1) regarding the status of the implementation plan required under [subsection (b)](#b).
- (d) **Authorization of appropriations—** 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.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 117–263, div. I, title XCV, § 9508, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3906; Pub. L. 118–159, div. G, title LXXIII, § 7301, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2541.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2024—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 118–159 inserted “, and shall be administered by the Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy” before period at end.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Definitions

For definitions of “Secretary”, “appropriate congressional committees”, and “Department” as used in this section, see section 9002 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as a note under section 2651 of this title.