Thomas E. Petri: “The bill before us amends the International Center Act to allow the State Department to lease a Federal property in…”

“The bill before us amends the International Center Act to allow the State Department to lease a Federal property in northwest Washington to nongovernmental entities. Currently, the International Center Act only permits the State Department... to lease the property to foreign governments or international organizations. The site is occupied by the international satellite service provider Intelsat, which was privatized by an act of Congress in the year 2000. Prior to its privatization, Intelsat was created as an international organization in the 1960s to establish the world's first global satellite system. As an international organization, Intelsat leased the property for 99 years from the State Department in accordance with the International Center Act. The bill before us corrects an apparent oversight when Intelsat was privatized by this Congress. The underlying statute requires a foreign government or international organization to occupy the property, and that was no longer consistent with the lease between the government and Intelsat after Intelsat was privatized. This bill would make the International Center Act consistent with the lease.”