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United States · Bill · HR

H.R. 1757 (105th)

Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1997

passedUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

3 June 1997

Last action

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Status

On motion to refer the bill and the accompanying veto message to the Committee on International Relations. Agreed to without objection. (consideration: CR H11699)

Sponsors

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Subjects

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7 April 2025

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Summary

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 Division B: State Department and Related Agencies Authorization Act Title X: General Provisions Title XI: Authorization of Appropriations for Department of State and Certain International Affairs Functions and Activities Title XII: Department of State Authorities and Activities Title XIII: Organization of the Department of State; Department of State Personnel; the Foreign Service Title XIV: United States Public Diplomacy: Authorities and Activities for United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs Title XV: International Organizations; United Nations and Related Agencies Title XVI: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Title XVII: Foreign Policy Provisions Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Division A: Consolidation of Foreign Affairs Agencies - Title I: General Provisions - Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1997 - Specifies findings and purposes of this division, including to: (1) consolidate and reinvent U.S. foreign affairs agencies within the Department of State; and (2) assist congressional efforts to balance the Federal budget and reduce the Federal debt. Title II: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) as of August 17, 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 of State. (Sec. 213) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State: (1) an Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security; (2) an Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Transfer and Export Control Policy; and (3) an Assistant Secretary for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to authorize the Under Secretary to attend and participate in meetings of the National Security Council. Title III: United States Information Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) as of August 17, 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. Declares that the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau shall continue to carry out their duties. (Sec. 313) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State: (1) an Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy; (2) an Assistant Secretary for International Exchanges; and (3) an Assistant Secretary for International Information Programs. (Sec. 315) Abolishes the Office of the Inspector General of the USIA, and transfers all its functions to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State. (Sec. 323) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 and other specified Federal law to make conforming amendments with respect to the transfer of functions to the Department of State. Title IV: United States International Development Cooperation Agency - Abolishes the United States International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) (except for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)) as of August 17, 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 the Agency for International Development (AID), according to a specified plan required by this Act, as of August 17, 1999, (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the plan), and transfers specified functions to the Department of State. 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. Sets forth transition administrative provisions regarding: (1) the Secretary's reorganization authorities; (2) the transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel; (3) specified incidental transfers of personnel, liabilities, records,and funds; and (4) effects of terminations and transfers of functions on personnel. (Sec. 615) Establishes the Foreign Affairs Reorganization Transition Fund to provide funds for the orderly transfer of functions and personnel. (Sec. 620) 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. Division B: State Department and Related Agencies Authorization Act - Title X (sic): General Provisions - State Department and Related Agencies Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Sets forth the legislative history of this division. Title XI: Authorization of Appropriations for Department of State and Certain International Affairs Functions and Activities - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 1998 and 1999 for: (1) the administration of foreign affairs; (2) contributions to international organizations and international peacekeeping activities; (3) international conferences and contingencies; (4) purposes of offsetting adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; (5) international commissions; (6) migration and refugee assistance (including Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal, refugees resettling in Israel, humanitarian assistance for displaced Burmese); (7) the Asia Foundation; (8) specified international information activities and educational and cultural exchange programs; and (9) activities carrying out the Arms Control and Disarmament Act. (Sec. 1102) Specifies limits on the U.S. voluntary contribution to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with respect to UNDP programs and activities in Burma unless the President certifies that certain conditions are met. Title XII: Department of State Authorities and Activities - Revises the program of Department of State rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual in connection with acts of international terrorism against U.S. persons or property or with certain narcotics-related offenses. Adds conspiracy, attempt to commit such acts, and aiding or abetting to the list of crimes for which information rewards may be paid. Requires Secretary approval of all rewards (currently, only those over $100,000). (Sec. 1201) Authorizes appropriations for such awards, with limitations. Authorizes the President to retain a specified percentage of earnings accruing on all assets of foreign countries blocked by the President pursuant to the International Emergency Powers Act for such award program. (Sec. 1202) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to allow use of the Capital Investment Fund for enhancement of information technology and other related capital investments. (Sec. 1203) Repeals specified reporting requirements. (Sec. 1205) 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. 1206) Amends the Department of State Appropriation Act, 1937 to authorize the Secretary to accept, in certain cases, reimbursement from private sector claimants for ordinary (currently, only extraordinary) expenses incurred in pursuing a claim on their behalf against a foreign government or other foreign entity. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to procure personal services in prosecuting such a claim or a proceeding before an international tribunal. (Sec. 1207) Establishes a special fee account for use in paying certain expenses of the Department of State and the Foreign Service. Earmarks funds for the provision, without charge, of passport information services to U.S. citizens. (Sec. 1208) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to require deposit in a special fund of the Treasury of a certain amount of fees collected from processing machine readable visas. Makes funds available for certain costs of the Department's border security program. Repeals the prohibition against the charging of fees to citizens of countries that are signatories to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (Sec. 1209) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to change from $700,000 to all the amount of registration fees collected by the Office of Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State which shall be credited for each fiscal year to a Department of State account, without limitation. Adds to the permissible expenses payable from such account the enhancement of specified defense trade export compliance and enforcement activities. (Sec. 1210) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary to provide training through the Foreign Service Institute on a reimbursable basis to U.S. company employees (and their families) who are engaged in business abroad, as well as Members of Congress, congressional staff, the judiciary, and their employees. Authorizes the Secretary to charge fees for use of the Department's National Foreign Affairs Training Center Facility and diplomatic reception rooms. (Sec. 1213) Directs the Secretary to include in the annual Congressional Presentation Document and the Budget in Brief an accounting of the total collections received from all sources, including fees. (Sec. 1214) Authorizes 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. 1215) 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. 1241) Makes 30 percent of the fees collected in FY 1998 and 1999 for expedited passport processing available only for enhancing passport services, investigating passport fraud, and deterring entry into the United States by terrorists and other criminals. (Sec. 1242) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize any U.S. citizen employee of the Department of State designated to adjudicate nationality abroad to issue reports of birth of U.S. citizens abroad, authenticate certain foreign documents, and administer oaths. (Sec. 1261) Directs the Secretary to include in the monthly report to the Congress entitled "Update on Monitoring of Cuban Migrant Returnees" information on: (1) the methods employed by the Cuban Government to enforce the United States-Cuba Immigration Agreement of September 1994 to restrict the emigration of Cuban people to the United States; and (2) the Cuban Government's treatment of persons who have returned to Cuba pursuant to the United States-Cuba Agreement of May 1995. (Sec. 1262) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to waive certain congressional notification requirements with respect to the reprogramming of Department funds if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare. Requires such notification to specified congressional committees, with an explanation of the emergency circumstances, not later than three days after such reprogramming is done. Title XIII: Organization of the Department of State; Department of State Personnel; The Foreign Service - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish a Coordinator for Counterterrorism within the office of the Secretary. (Sec. 1302) Repeals the establishment of: (1) an Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs; (2) a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Burdensharing; and (3) a Bureau and Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. (Sec. 1303) Establishes within the Department of State: (1) an Assistant Secretary for Human Resources; (2) an Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security; and (3) a U.S. Special Envoy for Tibet. (Sec. 1306) Declares that the Bureau of Migration and Refugee Assistance: (1) shall be charged with principal responsibility for carrying out the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962; but (2) shall not be charged with responsibility for assisting the Secretary in matters relating to family planning or population policy. (Sec. 1321) Establishes limits on the number of Foreign Service personnel in the Department of State, USIA, and AID during FY 1998 and 1999, subject to waiver as necessary to carry out foreign affairs functions. (Sec. 1323) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary to separate from the Foreign Service without a hearing a member of the Service convicted of a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment of more than one year may be imposed. (Currently, a Foreign Service member can be separated without a hearing only if convicted of a crime related to the cause of separation). (Sec. 1325) Directs the Secretary report annually to the Congress on minorities and the Foreign Service officer corps. (Sec. 1326) Provides for certain retirement benefits under the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System and the Foreign Service Pension System for employees who are involuntarily separated from the Foreign Service. (Sec. 1327) Makes qualified criminal investigators within the Diplomatic Security Service eligible for availability pay. (Sec. 1329) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require the Inspector General of the Foreign Service to provide an employee who is a target of a criminal investigation notice of his or her rights, including the right to retain counsel and the right to remain silent, as well as the identification of those attending a formal interview. Directs the Inspector General to report to the appropriate congressional committees on internal guidance used with respect to public disclosure of information concerning the investigation of any Department of State, USIA, or ACDA employee. Title XIV: United States Public Diplomacy: Authorities and Activities for United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs - Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to decrease the fiscal year authorization of appropriations for the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between North and South. (Sec. 1405) Revises 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. 1406) Establishes within 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. 1407) Requires the USIA Director to establish programs of educational and cultural exchange between the United States and the people of Tibet, including scholarships to Tibetan and Burmese students and professionals who are outside their countries. (Sec. 1408) Amends the Japan-United States Friendship Act to authorize the investment of amounts from the United States-Japan Trust Fund, as redesignated, in interest-bearing obligations of Japan, or in obligations guaranteed by Japan. Renames: (1) the Japan-United States Friendship Commission as the United States-Japan Commission; and (2) the Japan-United States Friendship Trust Fund as the United States-Japan Trust Fund. (Sec. 1409) Urges USIA and the Board of Broadcasting Governors to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the appropriateness, feasibility, and projected costs of: (1) providing surrogate broadcasting service to Africa; and (2) a Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty broadcasting service to Iran. (Sec. 1410) Authorizes the Director of USIA to administer summer travel-work programs without regard to preplacement requirements. (Sec. 1411) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to make permanent certain administrative authorities regarding appropriations for the USIA. (Sec. 1412) Amends the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to revise the authorities of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Director of the Board. Amends the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Acts to replace the Voice of America with the International Broadcasting Bureau. Title XV: International Organizations; United Nations and Related Agencies - Amends Federal civil service law with respect to employment benefits due to Federal employees who are reemployed by a Federal agency after a temporary transfer to an international organization. Repeals the employee's entitlement, upon reemployment, to the difference between the pay and benefits he or she received from the international organization and the pay and benefits that would have been paid by the Federal agency had he or she been detailed to the international organization instead of transferred. Repeals such an employee's entitlement to such pay and benefits even if unable to exercise reemployment rights because of disability or death. (Sec. 1502) 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. (Sec. 1521) Authorizes the President to withhold 20 percent of the funds appropriated for the U.S. assessed contribution to the United Nations if the United Nations has failed to implement consensus-based decisionmaking procedures on budgetary matters which assure that sufficient attention is paid to the views of the United States and other member states who are major financial contributors. (Sec. 1522) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States must help promote an end to the persistent inequity experienced by Israel in the United Nations whereby it is denied acceptance into any of the United Nations's regional blocs. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on steps carried out to encourage the nations of the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) to accept Israel. (Sec. 1523) Limits the U.S. contribution to the United Nations Population Fund for FY 1998 and 1999. Prohibits the use of such contributions for any country program in China. Sets forth certain conditions on the availability of amounts from the fund. (Sec. 1524) Amends the International Organizations Immunities Act to continue extension of the privileges, exemptions, and immunities of such Act to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Title XVI: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Amends the Arms Control and Disarmament Act to repeal the mandate for the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency to report annually to the Congress a comprehensive compilation of studies relating to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues concluded during the previous calendar year. Title XVII: Foreign Policy Provisions - Bars the use of funds for the involuntary return by the United States of a person to a country in which the person has a well founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, except on grounds recognized as precluding protection as a refugee under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of July 28, 1951, and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of January 31, 1967. (Sec. 1701) Bars the use of migration and refugee assistance funds for the involuntary return of a person to any country unless the Secretary first notifies the appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 1702) Prohibits the United States from expelling, extraditing, or otherwise effecting the involuntary return of a person to a country in which there are reasonable grounds for believing the person would be in danger of subjection to torture. (Sec. 1703) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on specific actions taken by the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Commerce in resolving certain commercial disputes between U.S. firms and the Saudi Arabia Government. (Sec. 1704) Amends Federal law to requires the Secretary's annual report to the Congress on human rights to include the status of child labor practices in each country. Changes the deadline for such report from January 31 to February 25. (Sec. 1705) Amends the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary to report every three months to specified congressional committees on implementation (including an unclassified list of entities and individuals) of the mandate to exclude from the United States any aliens who have confiscated property of U.S. nationals in Cuba, or who traffic in such property. (Sec. 1706) Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress on: (1) the number of persons and aliens residing in the United States entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution, including each case involving such an alien whom appropriate law enforcement authorities reasonably believe to have committed a serious crime within the United States; and (2) the number of U.S. citizens residing in a receiving state who are entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution there, including each case in which the United States has been requested by the government of the state to waive immunity. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should explore, in appropriate fora, whether states should enter into agreements and adopt legislation to provide: (1) jurisdiction in the sending state to prosecute crimes committed in the receiving state by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity; and (2) that where there is probable cause to believe that an individual with such immunity committed a serious crime, the sending state will waive immunity or will prosecute the individual. (Sec. 1707) Declares the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should submit to the Congress a plan to consolidate some or all of the functions currently performed by the Department of State, AID, and ACDA, in order to increase efficiency and accountability in the conduct of the foreign policy of the United States. (Sec. 1708) Expresses the sense of the Congress that Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty should continue surrogate broadcasting beyond the year 2000 to countries (including Serbia, Belarus, Slovakia, and other countries) whose people do not yet fully enjoy freedom of expression. (Sec. 1709) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold the U.S. share of assistance for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects in Cuba, except those for the discontinuation, dismantling, or safety inspection of nuclear facilities or related materials. Declares that such exception shall not apply to the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant near Cienfuegos, or the Pedro Pi Nuclear Research Center, unless Cuba: (1) ratifies the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (commonly known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco); and (2) incorporates internationally accepted nuclear safety standards. Directs the Secretary to instruct the U.S. representative to the IAEA to use the U.S. vote to oppose IAEA projects at: (1) the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant, Cuba; and (2) any other IAEA project in Cuba that is, or could become, a threat to the security of the United States. (Sec. 1710) Earmarks specified funds for construction of a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. Bars use of funds for the publication of any official government document which lists countries and their capitals unless it identifies Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Sec. 1711) Directs the Secretary to report semi-annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the compliance of its signatories with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. (Sec. 1712) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) recognize the Ecumenical Patriarchate (in Turkey) and its nonpolitical, religious mission; and (2) encourage the reopening of the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology. (Sec. 1713) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the return of Hong Kong to China. (Sec. 1714) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the international community should continue to press the Government of Serbia to ensure free, fair, and honest presidential and parliamentary elections in 1997; (2) the United States, the OSCE, the international community, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector should continue to promote the building of democratic institutions in Serbia; and (3) the normalization of relations between Yugoslavia and the United States requires, among other things, that President Milosevic and the leadership of Serbia ensure and promote such objectives. (Sec. 1715) Declares the sense of the Congress about relations with Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the extent to which: (1) Vietnam cooperates with the United States in an accounting of all POW-MIA cases; (2) it has made progress toward the release of all political and religious prisoners; (3) it cooperates with U.S. requests to obtain access to persons of humanitarian interest to the United States for interviews under the Orderly Departure (ODP) and Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Refugees (ROVR) programs, and provide exit visas for such persons; (4) it has taken action to end extortion, bribery, and other corrupt practices in connection with such visas; and (5) the United States has made efforts to resettle former reeducation camp victims and their families. (Sec. 1716) Urges post-Communist countries to return to their owners or compensate such owners for wrongly confiscated properties. Urges foreign financial institutions, and the states having legal authority over their operation, that possess wrongfully and illegally obtained property confiscated from Holocaust victims, from certain residents of former Warsaw Pact states, and from states that were occupied by Nazi, Fascist, or Communist forces, to assist and to cooperate fully with efforts to restore this property to its rightful owners.

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