[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 160 (Wednesday, December 14, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H11607-H11609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TO PROVIDE CERTAIN AUTHORITIES FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4436) to provide certain authorities for the
Department of State, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4436
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[[Page H11608]]
SECTION 1. REDI CENTER.
(a) Authorization.--The Secretary of State is authorized to
provide for the participation by the United States in the
Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention Center (in this
section referred to as ``REDI Center'') in Singapore, as
established by the Agreement described in subsection (c).
(b) Consultation and Report.--
(1) Consultation.--Prior to the review required under
Article 6.3 of the Agreement described in subsection (c), the
Secretary shall consult with the Committee on International
Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(2) Report.--In connection with the submission of the
annual congressional budget justification, the Secretary
shall report on efforts undertaken at the REDI Center with
regard to bioterrorism concerns.
(c) Agreement Described.--The Agreement referred to in this
section is the Agreement between the Governments of the
United States of America and the Republic of Singapore
Establishing the Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention
Center, done at Singapore, November 22, 2005.
SEC. 2. RETENTION OF MEDICAL REIMBURSEMENTS.
Section 904 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
4084) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(g) Reimbursements paid to the Department of State for
funding the costs of medical care abroad for employees and
eligible family members shall be credited to the currently
available applicable appropriation account. Such
reimbursements shall be available for obligation and
expenditure during the fiscal year in which they are received
or for such longer period of time as may be provided in
law.''.
SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY REVIEW BOARDS.
Section 301(a) of the Diplomatic Security Act (22 U.S.C.
4831(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and
inserting ``paragraphs (2) and (3)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Facilities in afghanistan and iraq.--
``(A) Limited exemptions from requirement to convene
board.--The Secretary of State is not required to convene a
Board in the case of an incident that--
``(i) involves serious injury, loss of life, or significant
destruction of property at, or related to, a United States
Government mission in Afghanistan or Iraq; and
``(ii) occurs during the period beginning on October 1,
2005, and ending on September 30, 2009.
``(B) Reporting requirements.--In the case of an incident
described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
``(i) promptly notify the Committee on International
Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate of the incident;
``(ii) conduct an inquiry of the incident; and
``(iii) upon completion of the inquiry required by clause
(ii), submit to each such Committee a report on the findings
and recommendations related to such inquiry and the actions
taken with respect to such recommendations.''.
SEC. 4. INCREASED LIMITS APPLICABLE TO POST DIFFERENTIALS AND
DANGER PAY ALLOWANCES.
(a) Repeal of Limited-Scope Effective Date for Previous
Increase.--Subsection (c) of section 591 of the Foreign
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2004 (division D of Public Law 108-199)
is repealed.
(b) Post Differentials.--Section 5925(a) of title 5, United
States Code, is amended in the third sentence by striking
``25 percent of the rate of basic pay or, in the case of an
employee of the United States Agency for International
Development,''.
(c) Danger Pay Allowances.--Section 5928 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``25 percent of the basic
pay of the employee or 35 percent of the basic pay of the
employee in the case of an employee of the United States
Agency for International Development'' both places that it
appears and inserting ``35 percent of the basic pay of the
employee''.
(d) Criteria.--The Secretary of State shall inform the
Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate of the criteria to be used in determinations of
appropriate adjustments in post differentials under section
5925(a) of title 5, United States Code, as amended by
subsection (b), and danger pay allowances under section 5928
of title 5, United States Code, as amended by subsection (c).
(e) Study and Report.--Not later than two years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State
shall conduct a study assessing the effect of the increases
in post differentials and danger pay allowances made by the
amendments in subsections (b) and (c), respectively, in
filling ``hard-to-fill'' positions and shall submit a report
of such study to the committees specified in subsection (d)
and to the Committee on Government Reform of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF FOREIGN SERVICE GRIEVANCE BOARD
PROCEDURES.
Section 1106(8) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 4136(8)) is amended in the first sentence--
(1) by inserting ``the involuntary separation of the
grievant (other than an involuntary separation for cause
under section 610(a)),'' after ``considering''; and
(2) by striking ``the grievant or'' and inserting ``the
grievant, or''.
SEC. 6. PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTING PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 504(c) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) is amended by striking
``December 31, 2005'' and inserting ``December 31, 2006''.
SEC. 7. OFFICIAL RESIDENCE EXPENSES.
Section 5913 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Funds made available under subsection (b) may be
provided in advance to persons eligible to receive
reimbursements.''.
SEC. 8. COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
EDUCATION BENEFITS.
Section 305(a) of the United States International
Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6204(a)) is amended by
inserting after paragraph (18) the following new paragraph:
``(19)(A) To provide for the payment of primary and
secondary school expenses for dependents of personnel
stationed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI) at a cost not to exceed expenses authorized by the
Department of Defense for such schooling for dependents of
members of the Armed Forces stationed in the Commonwealth, if
the Board determines that schools available in the
Commonwealth are unable to provide adequately for the
education of the dependents of such personnel.
``(B) To provide transportation for dependents of such
personnel between their places of residence and those schools
for which expenses are provided under subparagraph (A), if
the Board determines that such schools are not accessible by
public means of transportation.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume, and I want to point out to my colleagues and remind them
that last July, July 20 to be exact, by a vote of 351-78, the House
passed a very comprehensive piece of legislation, H.R. 2601, the
Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
That bill, regrettably, is stalled over in the other body, so this is a
much scaled-down version that will provide some very important
authorities to the Department of State, and I will just briefly outline
that bill at this point.
First, H.R. 4436 provides for U.S. participation in the Regional
Emerging Disease Intervention Center, or REDI Centers, in Singapore.
This provision will allow the U.S. Government to detail Health and
Human Services infectious disease experts to the center to work with
their Asian counterparts, by providing training and research to prevent
and respond to disease outbreaks and bioterror attacks, such as the
avian flu and SARS. Not only will this help prevent the spread of the
epidemic abroad, it will also be a vital step in protecting American
citizens at home from this and other deadly viruses.
Second, H.R. 4436 addresses key personnel issues which will
strengthen the Department of State's ability to manage its people and
resources. I have always believed, Mr. Speaker, that personnel is
policy, and how we take care of our foreign service officers abroad,
many of whom operate under dangerous and difficult conditions, has
great impact on how the U.S. is perceived abroad. H.R. 4436 increases
the maximum post-differential and danger pay allowance that may be
given to an FSO of the Department of State to 35 percent of base pay,
bringing it in line with allowances offered to USAID personnel.
Other provisions will restore grievance rights to those being
separated for cause and provides funding for educational expenses for
dependents of the Broadcasting Board of Governors personnel stationed
at the Northern Mariana Islands if the board determines that the
commonwealth schools are unable to be recognized as an adequate
education.
I would just point out that, earlier, we had a very good briefing
with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who spoke to that very issue
of the difficulty of attracting experienced State Department personnel
for those overseas missions that have great risk affixed to them. She
was very glad to hear that this bill would be coming to the floor, as
my good friend and colleague, Mr. Lantos, who was there at that
briefing, heard as well.
[[Page H11609]]
Third, the bill makes discretionary the convening of an
Accountability Review Board in the case of an incident involving
serious injury, loss of life or significant destruction of property at
or related to a U.S. Government mission in Afghanistan or Iraq. In lieu
of such a board, the Secretary of State may conduct an inquiry and
submit a report on the incident to the House International Relations
and Senate Foreign Relations Committees.
Lastly, the bill amends section 904 of the Foreign Service Act of
1980 to enable the State Department to retain medical insurance
reimbursements in the year in which they are collected, strengthening
the Department's management tools and ability to provide emergency
medical services for its employees abroad.
In conclusion, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It gives
our diplomatic service the resources it needs in this post-9/11
environment to promote U.S. interests and values abroad and to protect
American citizens right here at home.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise in support of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, this simple and straightforward bill amends certain
authorities of the Department of State so that the Secretary can better
manage that global institution.
Many of the provisions have already passed the House in one form or
another. One provision of note is the authority for the United States
to become a member of the Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention
Center which is being established in Singapore. This regional
institution, originally designed to address the threat of SARS that was
recognized at the end of 2003, now can be a focal point for addressing
issues arising out of the avian flu outbreaks that we have seen earlier
this year.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, to conclude, before yielding
back, I do want to thank Chairman Davis from the Government Reform
Committee for his cooperation because there were some issues of
jurisdiction, and he acted in a very cooperative and collegial way to
help make this legislation possible.
I would also like to thank Kristen Gilley for her fine work in
working on this legislation, and to my good friend and colleague Mr.
Lantos as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4436, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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