[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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