State Department FY98-99 Authorization bill

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Division A: Consolidation of Foreign Affairs Agencies

Title I: General Provisions

Title II: United States Arms Control and Disarmament

Agency

Title III: United States Information Agency

Title IV: United States International Development

Cooperation Agency

Title V: Agency for International Development

Title VI: Transition

Title VII: Functions, Conduct, and Structure of United

States Foreign Policy for the 21st Century

Division B: Foreign Relations Authorization

Title X: General Provisions

Title XI: Department of State and Related Agencies

Title XII: Other International Organizations and

Commissions

Title XIII: United States Informational, Educational,

and Cultural Programs

Title XIV: Peace Corps

Title XV: United States Arms Control and Disarmament

Agency

Title XVI: Foreign Policy

Division C: United Nations Reform

Title XX: General Provisions

Title XXI: Authorization of Appropriations

Title XXII: Arrears Payments and Reform

Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1997 - Division A:

Consolidation of Foreign Affairs Agencies - Title I: General Provisions - Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1997 - Specifies the purposes of this division, including: (1) to strengthen the coordination of U.S. foreign policy; (2) to consolidate the foreign affairs functions of the United States within the Department of State; and (3) to assist congressional efforts to balance the Federal budget and reduce the Federal debt.

(Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary of State to report periodically to the appropriate congressional committees on budgetary cost savings resulting from the reorganization.

Title II: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) as of October 1, 1998 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the ACDA Director to the Secretary.

(Sec. 213) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State an Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

Title III: United States Information Agency - Abolishes the U.S.

Information Agency (USIA) (other than the Broadcasting Board of Governors) as of October 1, 1999 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the USIA Director to the Secretary.

(Sec. 313) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State an Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy.

(Sec. 314) Abolishes the Office of the Inspector General of the USIA, and transfers its functions to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service.

(Sec. 322) Amends the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to declare that the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall continue to exist within the executive branch of Government.

(Sec. 327) Expresses the sense of the Congress that Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFE-RL), Incorporated should cease to receive Federal support, and should be funded by the private sector, before December 31, 1999.

Title IV: United States International Development Cooperation Agency - Abolishes the United States International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) (including the Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation, but excluding the Agency for International Development (AID) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)) as of October 1, 1998 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the Agency Director to the Secretary.

Title V: Agency for International Development - Mandates reorganization of AID, according to a specified plan required by this Act, as of October 1, 1998 (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the plan), and transfers specified functions to the Department of State.

(Sec. 522) Declares that the Administrator of AID shall serve under the direct authority of the Secretary.

(Sec. 523) Directs the Secretary, under the direction of the President, to coordinate all U.S. assistance programs, projects, and activities, except export promotion (which shall be under the Secretary of Commerce) and international economic activities (which shall be under the Secretary of the Treasury).

(Sec. 524) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget should apportion U.S. assistance funds appropriated to the President under the major functional budget category for international affairs to the Secretary in lieu of the apportionment of those funds to the head of any other Federal agency.

Title VI: Transition - Directs the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a reorganization plan for: (1) the abolition, and transfer of functions, of ACDA, USIA, and IDCA; and (2) the consolidation, and transfer of specified functions, of AID.

(Sec. 601) Sets forth transition administrative provisions regarding: (1) the Secretary's reorganization authorities; (2) the transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel; and (3) specified incidental transfers of personnel, liabilities, records, and funds.

(Sec. 617) Requires the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final accounting of the finances and operations of the agencies abolished under this Act.

Title VII: Functions, Conduct, and Structure of United States Foreign Policy for the 21st Century - Establishes the Commission on the Functions, Conduct, and Structure of United States Foreign Policy for the 21st Century to: (1) review the functions required of U.S. foreign policy to assure continued U.S. global leadership in the 21st century; (2) assess the current structures, procedures, and priorities of foreign policy decisionmaking and management, and, if necessary, to consider alternatives; and (3) evaluate the resources necessary to promote U.S. interests, values, and principles abroad.

(Sec. 705) Requires the Commission to report its activities, findings, and recommendations to the Congress, the President, and the Secretary.

(Sec. 710) Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate a simultaneous review of the functions, conduct, and structure of U.S. foreign relations in the same manner and to the same extent as the Commission's review; and (2) report to the Congress findings and proposals for recommended reforms.

(Sec. 711) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on a national foreign relations strategy, describing the priorities and resources required to advance U.S. national interests, values, and principles.

Division B: Foreign Relations Authorization - Title X (sic), General Provisions - Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Sets forth the short title and definitions for Division B.

Title XI: Department of State and Related Agencies - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 1998 and 1999 for: (1) administration of foreign affairs; (2) migration and refugee assistance; and (3) the Asia Foundation.

(Sec. 1121) Repeals specified reporting requirements.

(Sec. 1122) Amends the International Claims Settlement Act to grant jurisdiction to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States to adjudicate claims included in a category of claims against a foreign government upon referral by the Secretary.

(Sec. 1123) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to procure personal services in prosecuting claims against a foreign government before an international tribunal.

(Sec. 1124) Authorizes the Secretary to charge a fee for the use of the Department of State's diplomatic reception rooms.

(Sec. 1125) Prohibits the judicial review of counterterrorism and narcotics-related rewards awarded by the Secretary.

(Sec. 1126) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to direct the Inspector General of the Foreign Service to develop and provide employees under investigation with information detailing their rights to counsel and the policies and procedures of the Office of Inspector General. Requires a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the Office's policy guidelines with respect to public disclosure of information during an ongoing investigation.

(Sec. 1127) Declares that it is U.S. policy to foster and support procurement of international telecommunications goods and services from private, commercial companies. Directs the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office (DTS-PO) to use full and open competition in the procurement of telecommunications services, and otherwise implement such policy.

(Sec. 1141) Repeals the establishment of a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Burdensharing.

(Sec. 1142) Amends Federal criminal law to subject to both criminal and civil penalties any person who serves in the position of chief of mission and who, within one year after termination from such position, engages in certain lobbying activities.

(Sec. 1143) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary, under the State Department health care program, to collect from a third party payer the reasonable costs incurred by the Department on behalf of covered beneficiaries for health care services to the same extent that such a beneficiary would be eligible to receive indemnification from the third party payer for such costs.

(Sec. 1145) Limits the remedial authority of the Foreign Service Grievance Board.

(Sec. 1146) Authorizes the Secretary to provide training through the Foreign Service Institute to U.S. company employees and their families engaged in business abroad.

Authorizes the Secretary to charge a fee for use of the Department's National Foreign Affairs Training Center Facility.

(Sec. 1147) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize a Federal agency to make grants to the Department, or otherwise reimburse or credit it with advance payment, for funds used in providing assistance to overseas educational facilities attended by children of agency employees.

(Sec. 1148) Amends the International Child Abduction Remedies Act to authorize the U.S. Central Authority to make grants to, or contract with, any individual, corporation, or other Federal, State, or local agency, or U.S. private organization for the purpose of helping it remedy international child abductions (returning wrongfully removed children, as well as securing the exercise of visitation rights).

(Sec. 1151) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize special agents of the Department and the Foreign Service, among other things, to conduct investigative leads or perform other law enforcement duties at the request of any law enforcement agency while assigned to a U.S. Mission outside of the United States.

(Sec. 1161) Authorizes any U.S. citizen employee of the Department designated to adjudicate nationality abroad to issue reports of birth of U.S. citizens abroad, authenticate certain foreign documents, perform certain notarial acts, administer oaths, and perform certain naturalization functions.

(Sec. 1164) Amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to exclude from admission into the United States: (1) any member of former Soviet Union intelligence services, with specified exceptions; and (2) any alien who has supported the abduction of children.

(Sec. 1165) Authorizes the Secretary to deny the issuance of a visa to any alien who has confiscated property owned by U.S. persons.

Title XII: Other International Organizations and Commissions - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 1998 and 1999 for: (1) international conferences and contingencies; and (2) certain international commissions.

(Sec. 1212) Withholds from obligation an amount equivalent to 110 percent of the total unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines owed to the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and New York by the government of a foreign country in a fiscal year until the Secretary certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such fines are fully paid.

(Sec. 1213) Directs the United States to: (1) either limit to no more than $500,000 its annual dues for membership in the Interparliamentary Union; or (2) formally withdraw from it. Prohibits the use of Department funds for congressional participation in such organization.

(Sec. 1214) Prohibits, without a prior estimated expense report to the Department's Director of the Office of International Conferences, the use of any funds under this Act to pay: (1) foreign travel expenses of an employee of the U.S. executive agencies (with certain exceptions) in attending any international conference or in engaging in any other foreign travel; or (2) the routine services that a U.S. diplomatic mission provides in support of travel by such employee.

Title XIII: United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 to:

(1) carry out specified international information activities and educational and cultural exchange programs; and (2) certain organizations under the National Endowment for Democracy Act.

(Sec. 1311) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the USIA to receive fees from educational advising and counseling, exchange visitor program services, advertising sold by the Voice of America, and receipts from international organizations and from the privatization of the Voice of America (VOA) Europe.

(Sec. 1313) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to revise the Muskie Fellowship Program for graduate students from the independent states of the former Soviet Union, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to require selection of participants on the basis of academic and leadership potential in the additional fields of journalism and communications, education administration, public policy, and library and information science.

(Sec. 1314) Amends Federal law to repeal the termination date for the USIA au pair program (thus extending indefinitely the authority for the program).

(Sec. 1315) Earmarks a specified amount of funds for RFE-RL, Incorporated, for surrogate radio broadcasting (Radio Free Iran) to the Iranian people in the Farsi language.

(Sec. 1316) Directs VOA to devote programming time each day to broadcasting information on the individual U.S. States.

(Sec. 1317) Amends the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 to establish within the USIA, in order to improve the coordination and effectiveness of U.S. Government sponsored international exchanges and training, a senior-level interagency Working Group on United States Government Sponsored International Exchanges and Training.

(Sec. 1319) Authorizes the Director of USIA to administer summer travel-work programs without regard to preplacement requirements.

Title XIV: Peace Corps - Peace Corps Act Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for the Peace Corps. Prohibits the use of funds to pay for abortions.

Title XV: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 to carry out the purposes of the ACDA.

(Sec. 1511) Amends the ACDA to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize any Government action which would interfere with, restrict, or prohibit the acquisition, possession, or lawful use of firearms by an individual.

Title XVI: Foreign Policy - Declares that all nondiplomatic accounts of the Government of Iraq in the United States that have been blocked pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act shall vest in, and be liquidated by, the President. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the vesting of the accounts, to establish within the Treasury the Iraq Claims Fund for payment of private or U.S. Government claims. Requires the President to determine the validity and amounts of U.S. Government claims against the Government of Iraq. Authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States to receive and determine the validity and amounts of private claims against Iraq.

(Sec. 1602) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe should introduce a resolution abrogating the sovereign status of Belarus within the United Nations (UN) if Belarus concludes a treaty of unification with another country.

(Sec. 1603) Earmarks specified funds for construction of a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. Bars the use of funds for: (1) the operation of a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem unless it is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel; and (2) the publication of any official government document which lists countries and their capitals unless it identifies Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

(Sec. 1604) Establishes within the Department of State a U.S. Special Envoy for Tibet.

(Sec. 1605) Amends Federal criminal law to exempt from provisions prohibiting a U.S. citizen from transacting financial business with a country that supports international terrorism any financial transaction: (1) engaged in by U.S. officers or employees acting within their official capacities; (2) for the sole purpose of providing humanitarian assistance to a foreign country; (3) involving travel or other activity by any journalist or other member of the news media in a foreign country; or (4) with a specified country that is determined vital to the national security interests of the United States.

(Sec. 1606) Prohibits the United States from expelling, extraditing, or otherwise effecting the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are reasonable grounds to believe the person would be in danger of subjection to torture.

(Sec. 1607) Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress on the situation of U.S. armed forces in Haiti.

(Sec. 1608) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should discuss with the democratically-elected governments of the Western Hemisphere the prospect of forming a multilateral alliance to address problems relating to international drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

(Sec. 1609) Directs the President to assess, and report to the Congress, the effect on the U.S. economy and environment of any objectives, targets, policies, or measures proposed for the control, limitation, or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of the Developed Country Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

(Sec. 1610) Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on criminal cases involving diplomatic immunity.

(Sec. 1611) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Italian Republic must honor its Treaty obligations with regard to the confiscated property of Mr. Pier Talenti by negotiating a prompt resolution of his case. Urges the Department of State to continue to press the Italian Government to resolve the claim.

Division C: United Nations Reform - Title XX (sic): General Provisions - United Nations Reform Act of 1997 - Prohibits the Secretary from delegating the authority in this division to make any certification.

Title XXI: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of State for FY 1998 and 1999 for the U.S. assessed contributions to the UN for international organizations. Declares that a specified amount of such funds may be made available only semi-annually and only after the Secretary certifies on a semi-annual basis that the UN has taken no action to increase its budget. Withholds 20 percent of such funds until a certification is made that the UN has satisfied certain conditions.

Prohibits the disbursement of such funds until the Secretary certifies to the Congress that: (1) the United States has not contributed any funds to pay for any expenses related to the holding of a UN Global Conference; and (2) no portion of such funds will be used to fund any other organization other than the UN, including the Framework Convention on Global Climate Change and the International Seabed Authority. Sets forth other specified limitations.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 to offset adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

(Sec. 2102) Declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) promote an end to Israel's inequity in the UN due to its denied acceptance into any of the UN's regional blocs; and (2) seek abolition of certain UN Palestinian groups.

(Sec. 2103) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and !999 to the Department to carry out U.S. foreign affairs with respect to international peacekeeping activities.

Directs the President to report to the Congress on the status of UN peacekeeping operations.

(Sec. 2105) Directs the President to obtain reimbursement from the UN for expenses incurred by it in UN peacekeeping operations, with specified exceptions.

(Sec. 2106) Directs the President to withhold the U.S. share of funds for any UN peace operation, unless it is determined, and appropriate congressional committees are notified, that funding such operation is important to the national security interests of the United States.

(Sec. 2107) Declares that it shall be U.S. policy: (1) to ensure that major peacekeeping operations authorized by the UN Security Council are undertaken by a competent regional organization such as NATO or a multinational force, and not established as a peacekeeping operation under UN operational control which would be paid for by assessment of UN members; and (2) to consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether it is in the U.S. national interest to agree that smaller peacekeeping operations should be established under UN operational control paid for by UN member assessment.

(Sec. 2108) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should make every effort to pay the U.S. assessed funding levels for the Organization of American States.

Title XXII: Arrears Payment and Reform - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2000 only for the payment of arrearages in assessed contributions to the UN for: (1) the U.S. share of assessments for the regular UN budget (excluding the budgets of UN specialized agencies); (2) the U.S. share of UN peace operations; (3) the U.S. share of UN specialized agencies; and (4) the U.S. share of other international organizations. Authorizes the disbursement of such funds only upon submission to the Congress of certain certifications concerning the reform of UN fiscal, budget, and personnel practices, assessments, and peacekeeping operations.

(Sec. 2242) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any arrearage for: (1) the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, including any costs to merge it into the UN; (2) the costs associated with any UN organization from which the United States has withdrawn; or (3) the World Tourism Organization, or any other organization with respect to the Congress has rescinded funding.