On the recordJanuary 25, 1994
in the current section 136 of the bill that the committee has submitted, there is a 6-year term limit in the position of the State Department inspectors general. This amendment was adopted as part of the en bloc package within the full committee markup, and it was offered by Senator Helms because of concern over the inspector general's performance, and that concern was shared particularly by Senator Dodd and by other Senators on the committee. After the bill was reported, Senator Glenn, as chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, contacted us and expressed some concern about the jurisdictional issue of the Governmental Affairs Committee and this particular amendment. I might say to the Chair and to my colleagues that the Foreign Relations Committee clearly has jurisdiction over the State Department's inspector general, and that is established in the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The committee simultaneously recognizes the Governmental Affairs Committee's interest in and jurisdiction over the question of inspectors general within certain agencies and departments of the Government. Therefore, we have worked out a compromise, which these two amendments represent. The first amendment strikes section 136, dealing with the term of the inspector general's service, and the second amendment adds a new section at the appropriate place in the bill which expresses the sense of the Senate regarding unlimited terms for inspectors general.
