Christopher Shays: “I support the inclusion of Section 213 in H.R. 1646, the Department of State Authorization Act Conference Report. This…”

“I support the inclusion of Section 213 in H.R. 1646, the Department of State Authorization Act Conference Report. This section of the conference report repeals Section 738 of the 2001 Agriculture Appropriations Act, which gave unwarranted special treatment to foreign agriculture attaches. Both the State Department and the Office of Management and Budget support repealing Section 738, and H.R. 1646 does just that. In 1978, Congress, with the support of the Office of Management and Budget, endorsed the State Department as the sole manager for overseas property. In 1990, Congress directed State to implement a uniform housing policy for and with the input of all agencies overseas. That system worked. It has the support of OMB, the General Accounting Office, and apparently had the support of Congress. But last year, a little-noticed section of the Agriculture Appropriations Act changed the system for one agency: the Foreign Agriculture Service. The provision required the State Department to obtain FAS approval to sell property originally purchased to house FAS employees overseas. Moreover, FAS gained the right to occupy new residences permanently. That provision created an exception for one agency, an exception that if copied by other agencies would disrupt the equitable management of overseas property. Overseas property management would lose much needed flexibility and make the housing of overseas personnel more difficult and costly.”