[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4436 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.4436
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five
An Act
To provide certain authorities for the Department of State, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
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.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.