14 U.S.C. § 333 — Training courses on workings of Congress

(a) Training Course for Senior Leaders
(1)(A) The Commandant^*, along with any other individuals and organizations the Commandant considers appropriate, must develop a training course on the workings of Congress. (B)(i) This course must be offered at least once a year. (ii) It may be offered more than once a year, so covered recipients get it in time.
(2)(A) At least once each year, every "covered recipient" must receive this training. (B) "Covered recipients" means: (i) flag officers serving in the Coast Guard; (ii) members of the senior executive service (career reserved) serving in Coast Guard positions; and (iii) political appointees serving in Coast Guard positions, or at the Department of Homeland Security with Coast Guard in their portfolio — including any Senior Advisor to the Secretary^* for the Coast Guard.
(3) The course must give an overview and introduction to Congress and the federal legislative process, including: (A) the history and structure of Congress and the committee systems of the House and Senate, including the functions of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (B) the documents Congress produces — bills, resolutions, committee reports, and conference reports — and their purposes; (C) the legislative processes and rules of the House and Senate, including similarities and differences between them, including the congressional budget process, the authorization and appropriation processes, the Senate advice-and-consent process for Presidential nominees, the Senate advice-and-consent process for treaty ratification, and all relevant notification and reporting requirements to Congress found in statute, policy, or other agreements; (D) the roles of Members of Congress and congressional staff in the legislative process; (E) the concept and purposes of congressional oversight within the separation-of-powers framework; (F) the roles of independent oversight entities — including the Offices of Inspectors General, the Government Accountability Office, and others — with respect to oversight of the Coast Guard; (G) the legal and ethical requirements of complying with oversight from those independent entities, including congressionally mandated oversight; (H) an overview of section 552a of title 5 (the Privacy Act of 1974) as it relates to working with Congress and independent oversight; (I) an overview of the right of all Coast Guard members and staff to engage with Congress as a constitutionally protected right; and (J) for Coast Guard covered recipients, an overview of any law the Coast Guard administers and any policy it implements, as needed to improve compliance with that law and policy, ethics, professionalism, and timeliness of response to congressional oversight requests, including requests from independent oversight entities.

(b) Training for Congressional Affairs Personnel
(1) The Commandant must develop a training course on the workings of Congress, administered in person to every "required participant."
(2) "Required participant" means: (A) a member of the Coast Guard Office of Congressional and Governmental Affairs selected for a position as a fellow, liaison, counsel, or administrative staff; (B) a Coast Guard district or area governmental affairs officer; (C) an individual who reviews, edits, or transmits formal or informal Coast Guard correspondence to Congress, including relevant program-level personnel; and (D) an individual serving in the Office of Coordination, Programs, and Accountability (or its successor), the Force Design 2028 office, or Coast Guard Office of General Law personnel (including those detailed there).
(3)(A) This course must cover the items described in subsection (a)(3)(C) through (J), plus: (ii) the roles of Coast Guard fellows, liaisons, counsels, governmental affairs officers, the Office of Program Review, headquarters program offices, and any other relevant entity; (iii) the roles of Coast Guard public affairs and external communications personnel with respect to Members of Congress and their staff, to enhance communication between Coast Guard units, sectors, and districts and Member offices and committees of jurisdiction, so as to ensure visibility of Coast Guard activities; and (iv) for Coast Guard required participants, an overview of any law the Coast Guard administers and any policy it implements, as needed to improve compliance, ethics, professionalism, and timeliness of response to congressional oversight requests.
(4)(A) At the written request of a receiving congressional office, this training must include a multi-day detail within the Coast Guard Office of Coordination, Programs, and Accountability, to ensure adequate exposure to Coast Guard policy, oversight, and requests from Congress. (B) This detail is not required to be consecutive with the rest of the training.
(5) A member of the Coast Guard selected for a position described in subsection (a) must complete this required training before reporting for duty in that position.

(c) Lecturers and Panelists
(1) The Commandant must ensure that at least 60 percent of the lecturers, panelists, and other individuals providing this training are experts on Congress and the federal legislative process who are not employed by the executive branch of the federal government.
(2) To meet that requirement, the Commandant must seek, and may accept, educational and instructional services provided on a pro bono basis by such lecturers, panelists, and organizations.