OVERSEAS BENEFITS FOREIGN SERVICE BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00530R000501090002-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 89
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2013
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 1, 1986
• Content Type: REPORT

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United States General Accounting Office
Fact Sheet to the Honorable
Edward Zorinsky
U.S. Senate
GAO
April 1986
OVERSEAS BENEFITS
Foreign Service
Benefits and
Allowances
GAO/NSIAD-86-105FS
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NATIONAL SECURITY AND
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DIVISION
B-222795
UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548
The Honorable Edward Zorinsky
United States Senate
Dear Senator Zorinsky:
April 25, 1986
In response to your request of November 1, 1985, this fact
sheet provides information on benefits and allowances paid to
Foreign Service officers working overseas for the Department of
State, the Agency for International Development, and the U.S.
Information Agency.
While there is no comprehensive listing of available
benefits and allowances, our review of legislation, regulations,
and other documents identified 65 categories of benefits,
allowances, entitlements, and various other compensation or
services. For purposes of this fact sheet, we refer to all of
these categories as benefits and allowances. It should be noted
that some of these benefits and allowances are available only to
Foreign Service employees while others are generally available
to all Federal government employees working overseas.
As agreed with your office, the following information is
provided in appendixes I through V.
Appendix I--Listing of Available Benefits and Allowances
Appendix II--Brief Description of Each Benefit and
Allowance
Appendix III--Additional Information on Selected Benefits
and Allowances
Appendix IV--Cost Information
Appendix V--Private Sector Practices for Compensating
Americans Working Overseas
Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan
no further distribution of this fact sheet until 30 days from
the date of this letter. If we can be of any further
assistance, please call me on 275-4128.
incerely yours,
(J4
Joan M. McCabe
Associate Director
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Appendix
CONTENTS
Page
List of Benefits and Allowances Provided
Foreign Service Officers Overseas 3
II Descriptions of Benefits and Allowances 6
III Additional Information on Selected Benefits
and Allowances 22
IV
Cost Information on Benefits and Allowances 73
V Private Sector Practices for Compensating
Americans Working Overseas 82
Table Number
IV. 2
IV. 3
ILLUSTRATIONS
Benefits and Allowances Provided Foreign
Service Officers Overseas 3
Cost of Benefits and Allowances Provided
Foreign Service Employees Overseas, Agency
for International Development, Fiscal Years
1984 and 1985
73
Cost of Benefits and Fillowances Provided
Foreign Service Employees Overseas, Depart-
ment of State, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 76
Cost of Benefits and Allowances Provided
Foreign Service Employees Overseas,
U.S. Information Agency, Fiscal Years
1984 and 1985
ABBREVIATIONS
AID Agency for International Development
FAM Foreign Affairs Manual
FTP Federal Travel Regulations
FY Fiscal Year
GAO General Accounting Office
SR Department of State Standardized Regulations
(Government Civilians, Foreign Areas)
USIA United States Information Agency
2
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APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
LIST OF BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES
PROVIDED FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS OVERSEAS
The following list of benefits and allowances available to
Foreign Service officers serving overseas was compiled by
reviewing legislation, regulations, and various publications.
Appendix II describes each of the following.
Table 1.1: Benefits and Allowances
Provided Foreign Service Officers Overseas
Benefit/Allowance
1. Advance of Pay
2. Claims for Lost or Damaged Property
3. Commissary/Post Exchange Privileges
4. Consumables Shipments
First Tour
Second Tour
5. Customs Privileges Abroad
6. Danger Pay
7. Death Benefits
Casket and Preparation
Transportation
U.S. Income Tax Exclusion
8. Dental Care Travel
9. Dependent Care Grants
10. Duty Free Goods
11. Education Allowance
At Post
Away From Post
Handicapped Child
Home Study Instruction
Non-refundable Deposits
Supplementary Instruction
12. Educational Travel
13. Emergency Visitation Travel from Abroad
14. Evacuation Payments
Advance Compensation
Special Education
Subsistence Expense
Travel Advance
15. Family Travel on Extended Temporary Duty
16. Family Visitation Travel from Imminent Danger Areas
17. Government Housing
Furniture and Equipment
Garage Space Rental
Guards and Gardeners
Housing
Phone Installation
Repair and Maintenance
Utilities
18. Health Care at Post
19. Holiday Pay
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20. Holidays, Local Foreign
21. Home Leave
Freight
Time
Travel
22. Hospitalization and Outpatient Care
23. Household Effects, Loan of
24. Household Effects, Moving and Storage of
25. Immunizations
26. Language Incentive
27. Language Proficiency
Employees
Entrants
28. Language Training
29. Layette Shipment
30. Living Quarters Allowance
Electricity, Gas, Water
Furniture Rental
Garage Space Rental
Initial Repairs
Mandatory Agent's Fees
Mandatory Property Insurance
Personally Owned Quarters (Home Purchase)
Rent
31. Medical Examinations
32. Medical Services
Postemployment
For Dependents
33. Medical Travel
34. Military Club, Mess, and Recreational Facilities, Use of
35. Official Residence Expenses
36. Physicians' Comparability Allowance
37. Post (Cost of Living) Allowance
38. Post (Hardship) Differential
39. Relocation Income Tax Allowance
40. Representation Allowance
For Employee
For Family
41. Representational Travel for Family
42. Rest and Recuperation Travel
43. Retirement at Age 50
44. Sabbaticals for Senior Foreign Service Officers
45. Sale of Personal Property
46. Separate Maintenance Allowance
47. Special Compensatory Time Off
At Certain Designated Posts
At Isolated Posts
For Religious Observances
When Officially Ordered
48. Special Differential, also known as
Special Allowance for Substantial Amounts of Extra Work
Special Allowance in Lieu of Overtime
49, Special Incentive Differential
50. Standby Duty Pay
51. Sunday Pay
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APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
52. Supplementary Post Allowance
53. Tax Exemption for Federal Manufacturers' Excise Tax
54. Tax Exemption for Foreign Income Taxes
55. Temporary Lodging Allowance
56. Training of Family Members
57. Transfer Allowance-Foreign
Miscellaneous Expenses
Predeparture Subsistence
Wardrobe Expenses
58. Transfer Allowance-Home Service
Miscellaneous Expenses
Subsistence Expenses
59. Transfer Travel
60. Transportation of Auto
First Auto
Replacement Auto
61. Travel for Children of Separated Parents
62. Travel Per Diem
Actual Subsistence
Flat Rate
For Dependents
63. Travel to Accompany Medically Evacuated Parent or Family
Member
64. Unhealthful Post Retirement Credit
65. Use of U.S. Government Vehicles
Personal
School Children
Travel To and From Work
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APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
DESCRIPTIONS OF BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES
The following descriptions of benefits and allowances
provided to Foreign Service officers overseas were prepared
using the U.S. Code (U.S.C.), the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM),
the Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government
Civilians, Foreign Areas) (SR), and various publications. The
benefits and allowances are arranged in alphabetical order.
Citations where additional information may be found are included
in each description. The descriptions are generalized summaries
of the various regulations and laws and therefore should be used
in conjunction with the actual authority for a complete
understanding of the benefit or allowance and applicability to
specific cases.
ADVANCE OF PAY
Up to 3 months' advance pay may be provided upon the
assignment of the employee to a post in a foreign area. This
advance pay is intended to ease the transition period and insure
that funds are available to meet required expenses and
emergencies. The advance can be repaid over a period of time
through payroll deductions. (5 U.S.C. 5927, SR 850)
CLAIMS FOR LOST OR DAMAGED PROPERTY
Loss of or damage to an employee's personal property is
covered by the U.S. government. The Military Personnel and
Civilian Employees Claims Act of 1964 (31 U.S.C. 3721) provides
the authority for settlement of claims incident to employees'
service. (6 FAM 310.1)
The maximum amount payable for any loss or damage arising
from a single incident is limited to $25,000. In certain cases,
including losses resulting from acts of violence directed
against the U.S. government, the maximum amount is $40,000. (6
FAM 310.2.b)
COMMISSARY/POST EXCHANGE PRIVILEGES
The principal officer at each post can authorize and assist
in the establishment of services and facilities at posts abroad
(6 FAM 511, 513.1), such as commissaries and exchanges (6 FAM
525.1). The services and facilities provided at post are
available to American employees of all civilian and military
agencies of the U.S. government,and their dependents. (22
U.S.C. 2703(a), 6 FAM 524.4-1)
CONSUMABLES SHIPMENTS
Conditions at some posts make it difficult to obtain some
required consumables (e.g., food stuffs and expendable supplies)
locally. For those cases, a separate allowance for shipping
such consumables may be authorized not to exceed 2500 pounds for
each employee. Consumables shipments may be authorized during
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APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
the first and second tours at post. There is no specific
authority for consumables shipments in the U.S. Code. The
Department of State believes such shipments may be made under
its general authority to ship household effects. (22 U.S.C.
4081(11), 6 FAM 162.3, 162.5)
CUSTOMS PRIVILEGES ABROAD
The United States extends customs courtesies and free entry
privileges to foreign diplomatic and consular officers and
employees on a reciprocal basis. American representatives
abroad receive similar customs exemptions as well as any
extended by treaty provisions, local laws, and regulations. (2
FAM 240)
DANGER PAY
Danger pay is granted to employees serving at a post where
civil insurrection, civil war, or warlike conditions exist. It
is usually linked to conditions where departure or evacuation of
dependents and nonessential personnel has been authorized (3 FAM
330.2.a). Danger pay cannot exceed 25 percent of basic salary.
It is available to employees on temporary detail for 1 full day
or longer. (5 U.S.C. 5928, SR 650 and 900)
DEATH BENEFITS
The government will pay expenses incurred for the
preparation, casket, and transportation of a deceased employee
and for the transportation of the immediate family and household
goods of a deceased employee. These provisions apply to
employees while they are on official travel, on temporary duty,
or at official duty stations outside the conterminous United
States.
Income taxes are forgiven for U.S. government employees who
die as a result of terrorist action outside the United States
and directed against the United States or its allies, beginning
with the year immediately before the year of injury. (5 U.S.C.
5742, 8134, 22 U.S.C. 4081(10); 6 FAM Chap. 100, FTR Supplement
3, part I, 3-1.1).
DENTAL CARE TRAVEL
Travel for employees and their families who require dental
care unavailable at posts is authorized for one round trip
during a treatment year exclusive of any required dental care
done in conjunction with any other travel. Per diem not to
exceed one day per treatment year is also authorized, except in
extraordinary cases. (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), 3 FAM 686.1-5)
DEPENDENT CARE GRANTS
Grants are provided to family members attending approved'
programs of study to facilitate training. The grants are
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APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
intended to cover the cost of caring for dependent children
while an employee's spouse studies at the Foreign Service
Institute. (22 U.S.C. 4025, 3 FAM 824.6)
DUTY FREE GOODS
U.S. government employees stationed overseas may be
authorized by treaty to purchase certain goods and services in
the host country duty free. Exemptions from paying local taxes
are accorded on the basis of reciprocity.
EDUCATION ALLOWANCE
This allowance assists parents in providing children with
educational services which are ordinarily provided without
charge by U.S. public schools. The maximum allowance is
intended to cover the cost of the least expensive adequate
school at post. If adequate schools are not available at post,
a separate and higher "away from post" allowance maximum is
provided to assist with the cost of tuition, room and board, and
periodic transportation between post and adequate schools. The
education allowance covers services for handicapped children,
home study instruction, supplementary instruction, and also
provides for non-refundable deposits. (5 U.S.C. 5924(4)(A), SR
270 and 900)
EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL
The cost of one round trip each 12-month period for
full-time undergraduate students (under age 23) attending a
college or university in the United States is authorized.
Annual educational travel is also available for U.S. high school
students in lieu of an education allowance. (5 U.S.C.
5924(4)(B), SR 280)
EMERGENCY VISITATION
TRAVEL FROM ABROAD
In instances of serious illness, injury, death, or certain
exceptional situations, a member of the Foreign Service, spouse,
or child located abroad is authorized one round trip for each
serious illness or injury or for the death of each immediate
family member. Emergency visitation travel may also be
authorized for accompanying the remains of a family member who
dies abroad to the place of interment (in the United States or
abroad). Ordinarily only one member of a family may travel at
government expense. Under exceptional circumstances additional
members may be authorized travel expenses. Serious illness or
injury is when death is imminent or likely to occur (based on
competent medical opinion) or when the absence of the member or
dependent would result in great personal hardship. Time away
from post must be charged to annual leave, sick leave,
compensatory time off, or leave without pay. No per diem or
other expenses are authorized. (22 U.S.C. 4081(9); 3 FAM 699.5,
699.6)
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EVACUATION PAYMENTS
When conditions abroad require an emergency evacuation,
certain allowances may continue to be paid for up to 180 days,
but regulations provide for terminating or reducing post
differential and most allowances after various periods of
absence in varying conditions. Salary and travel advances may
be granted. In addition to travel expenses and special foreign
education allowances, a subsistence expense allowance may be
paid to offset the direct-added expense incident to the
evacuation for lodging, meals, and laundry. (5 U.S.C. 5521-
5527; SR 600)
FAMILY TRAVEL ON
EXTENDED TEMPORARY DUTY
Travel expenses are authorized for family members who
accompany a member of the Foreign Service on extended temporary
duty. Neither the law nor the regulations define the period of
time which must elapse before family members are eligible for
this allowance. (22 U.S.C. 4081(3), 6 FAM 126.4)
FAMILY VISITATION TRAVEL
FROM IMMINENT DANGER AREAS
This travel grant permits a member of the Foreign Service
stationed at a post within a hostile area at which family
members cannot reside to visit his or her family away from
post. Not more than two round trips to the United States may be
authorized during each 1-year period. If the family members are
located abroad, more than two visits may be authorized during
each 1-year period provided the cost does not exceed the cost of
two round trips to the District of Columbia.
Time away from post is charged to annual or sick leave,
earned compensatory time off, or leave without pay. Per diem
and other expenses are not authorized. Official travel orders
are not used for family visitation travel, and hence the
employee's post differential continues even though the employee
is absent from post. (22 U.S.C. 4081(8), SR 532, 3 FAM 699.4)
GOVERNMENT HOUSING
Under regulations prescribed by the head of the agency
concerned and approved by the President, an employee who is a
citizen of the United States permanently stationed in a foreign
country may be furnished, without cost, living quarters
including heat, fuel, and light in a government owned or rented
building (6 FAM 712). Furniture and equipment are provided for
these living quarters. The number and type of items provided
vary by country according to the policy of a joint State, AID,
and USIA committee. The government also provides repair and
maintenance, garage space rentals, guards and gardeners, and
phone installation. (5 U.S.C. 5912, 6 FAM 760)
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HEALTH CARE AT POST
Physicians and nurses are assigned to those posts where
medical services and facilities may be inadequate or where
extensive medical counseling is required. They provide medical
care, counsel, and examinations for American employees and their
dependents at no cost. (22 U.S.C. 4084(c); 3 FAM 681.2, 682.2)
HOLIDAY PAY
Certain employees who perform work on a holiday designated
by federal statute or executive order are entitled to basic pay
plus premium pay at a rate equal to the rate of basic pay for
that holiday work. This benefit is available to certain
employees, such as secretaries, communicators, and doctors and
nurses. The benefit ie not available to such employees as
commissioned Foreign Service officers, Senior Foreign Service
members, chiefs of mission, and ambassadors. (5 U.S.C. 5546; 3
FAM 231.2, 233)
HOLIDAYS, LOCAL FOREIGN
U.S. citizen employees may be excused from duty on local
holidays if the post is closed to the public by administrative
order. (22 U.S.C. 3927, 3 FAM 465.3.j.(1))
HOME LEAVE
Foreign Service officers or employees who are citizens of
the United States can be granted home leave upon completion of
18 months of continuous service abroad or soon after completion
of 3 years of service, provided they have accumulated a minimum
of 45 days of (1) annual leave, (2) home leave, or (3) combined
home leave and annual leave. The home leave accrual rate varies
per 12-month period according to the condition of employment
(e.g., worldwide availability and post hardship) between 5, 10,
or 15 days (3 FAM 453.2, 453.4). Of this time, 20 days should
be spent in the United States (3 FAM 454.1-2). Travel expenses
incurred by the employee and family in connection with home
leave may be reimbursed by the government (3 FAM 452). In
addition, those traveling under this authority may be authorized
an unaccompanied baggage allowance(from 100 to 250 pounds each)
to and from the home leave address at government expense (6 FAM
147.2).
Home leave will be granted only when it is planned, that the
employee will complete another tour of duty abroad, either
immediately or upon completion of an assignment in the United
States. (5' U.S.C. 5728, 6305; 22 U.S.C. 4081(2), 4083; 3,FAM
454.5-4)
HOSPITALIZATION AND OUTPATIENT CARE
Hospitalization is part of the medical treatment provided
to employees and their dependents (3 FAM 685). To be eligible,
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an individual must be an American citizen employee of the U.S.
government or an eligible dependent. The illness or medical
condition must be sufficiently serious to require
hospitalization according to American standards (3 FAM 685.1).
Payment covers expenses for inpatient care (3 FAM 685.2.a) and
outpatient care prior or subsequent to hospitalization (3 FAM
685.2.a.(1)) provided that the costs are reasonable in relation
to local prevailing prices (3 FAM 685.2.a.(2)). Time limits are
imposed on services for employees and dependents; however,
waivers may be granted. (22 U.S.C. 4084(d), 3 FAM 685)
HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS, LOAN OF
As a means of eliminating transportation costs, members of
the Foreign Service may be loaned basic household furnishings
and equipment for use in personally owned or leased residences.
(22 U.S.C. 4082, 6 FAM 762.1)
HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS,
MOVING AND STORAGE OF
Combined shipment and storage of household effects is
limited to 18,000 pounds for each employee. When the post
provides adequate furnishings, the employee is entitled to a
limited shipment allowance--7,200 pounds for each employee and
12,000 pounds for chiefs of mission.
Expenses for storage include the cost of packing, moving,
and storing the household effects, as well as warehouse labor
charges. (5 U.S.C. 5724,.5726, 22 U.S.C. 4081(11) and (12); 6
FAM 171, 172, 173)
IMMUNIZATIONS
American employees and their dependents are provided
immunizations and booster doses at government expense (3 FAM
683.1) to protect them from contagious or infectious diseases.
(22 U.S.C. 4084(b), 3 FAM 681.6.g)
LANGUAGE INCENTIVE
Certain employees with demonstrated speaking and reading
competencies in "incentive languages" may be eligible for a
payment of 10 to 15 percent of their base salary. It is paid to
employees while at a post where the language is currently on the
Incentive Language List, for example, Arabic, Farsi, Japanese,
Russian, and Thai. The employee may have to fill a
language-designated position. (22 U.S.C. 4024, 3 FAM 873.5)
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Foreign Service officers who study and/or become proficient
in designated incentive langqages are paid additional
compensation. A Foreign Service officer who enters training in
an already designated incentive language receives one
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within-class salary increase after completing 16 continuous
weeks of full-time training. A Foreign Service officer who
demonstrates a specified level of reading and speaking
competence receives a total of three within-class step increases
(i.e., one after 16 weeks of training and two more after
demonstrating proficiency. (3 FAM 873.4).
Employees who enter the Foreign Service with certain
language proficiency in either Category A or B languages may be
paid from one to four within-class increases, depending on
language category and proficiency. French, German, Italian,
Spanish, and eight other languages comprise Category A while
Category B languages include the incentive languages as well as
others like Greek, Indonesian, and Somali. (22 U.S.C. 4024, 3
FAM 873.3)
LANGUAGE TRAINING
The Foreign Service Institute conducts language training in
Washington primarily through intensive full-time classes but
also through part-time early morning classes. Adult family
members, usually those 18 years of age or older, who are
expected to accompany the employee to post are eligible for
full-time intensive language training on the same basis as are
employees, to the extent that funds permit. Language training
may also be available at post for employees and adult family
members. (22 U.S.C. 4025; 3 FAM 877, 878)
LAYETTE SHIPMENT
Shipment of a newborn's clothing, equipment, and furniture
may be authorized in an amount not to exceed 250 pounds for a
dependent child of an employee if American or other suitable
layettes are unavailable at the post assigned. Food stuffs,
except milk, formula, and commercial baby food, may not be
shipped under this allowance. Layette shipment may commence 120
days before, but not later than 45 days after the birth of a
child.
There is no specific authority for layette shipments in the
U.S. Code. The Department of State believes such shipments may
be made under its general authority to ship household effects.
.(22 U.S.C. 4081(11), 6 FAM 147.3)
LIVING QUARTERS ALLOWANCE
?The living quarters allowance is a Foreign Service
incentive intended to cover the average cost of rent, heat,
light, and water for American civilian employees living in a
foreign area by reason of employment by the U.S. government.
The allowance may include the rental of garage space, furniture
rental, mandatory property insurance, mandatory agent's fees,
and initial repairs. The living quarters allowance is available
for these employees when government owned or leased quarters are
not provided without charge. Employees may also receive this
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allowance for personally owned quarters. A maximum living
quarters allowance is established for each post based upon the
employee's grade level and family size. (5 U.S.C. 5923; SR 130,
900, 932)
MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS
Eligible American employees and their dependents are
required to take the prescribed medical examinations (1) before
appointment to the Foreign Service (3 FAM 684.2.a); (2) prior to
departure for a post; (3) upon direct transfer to another post;
and (4) upon return to the United States for assignment,
separation, or home leave to be eligible for medical treatment
at government expense. (22 U.S.C. 4084(b), 3 FAM 684.2.b.)
MEDICAL SERVICES
Former employees may be authorized medical care after
separation from the Foreign Service when (1) an illness or
injury is discovered at the time of separation, (2) treatment
began or was needed on or before the date of separation, or (3)
latent illness is discovered after the separation date but was
clearly caused by the individual's presence abroad. Dependents
of former employees may also receive medical care for illnesses
occurring under the above conditions. In addition, dependents
are entitled to medical care after the employee's marriage has
been dissolved. (22 U.S.C. 4084(e); 3 PAM 688)
MEDICAL TRAVEL
When medical care (such as diagnosis, specialized
examination, special inoculations, emergency or required dental
care, hospitalization, or obstetrical care) is inadequate or
unavailable at post, or cannot be delayed until home leave,
employees and their dependents can be authorized to travel to
the nearest locality abroad where there is suitable medical
care. (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), 3 FAM 686.1-2)
MILITARY CLUB, MESS AND
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, USE OF
The commanding officer of a Department of Defense component
may authorize mess, commissary, and exchange privileges, and use
of general welfare and recreation facilities and activities to
government departments or agencies outside of the Department of
Defense. (DOD Directives 1330.9, 1330.17; DOD Instruction
1015.2)
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE EXPENSES
Expenses incurred to maintain official residences abroad,
to make possible the extension of official hospitality to
dignitaries, are substantially reimbursed. The residences of
the ambassador, the deputy chief of mission, and the principal
officer are examples of official residences. Claims not covered
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AeVLNU1A
due to insufficient funds may be tax deductible when expenses
are properly certified by appropriate authorizing officials. (5
U.S.C. 5913, SR 400, 3 FAM 350)
PHYSICIANS' COMPARABILITY ALLOWANCE
This allowance is intended to facilitate recruitment and
retention of physicians. Eligible physicians in covered
positions must execute a continued-service agreement with the
Department of State. For 24 months or less, the allowance
equals $7,000 per annum; for longer service, it equals $10,000.
(5 U.S.C. 5948, 3 FAM 380)
POST (COST OF LIVING) ALLOWANCE
A "cost of living" allowance is provided to employees who
serve at posts where the cost of goods and services are
significantly higher than in Washington, D.C. Allowance
payments are based on family size and the amount of spendable
income available at various salary levels. (5 U.S.C. 5924(1);
SR 220, 900, and 941.1)
POST (HARDSHIP) DIFFERENTIAL
Employees at posts with unusually difficult or unhealthful
conditions or severe physical hardships are authorized a post
differential. It is provided only to American employees whose
foreign residence is attributable directly to their employment
by the U.S. government. This benefit may be from 10 percent to
25 percent of basic pay and it is subject to federal income
tax. The post differential may be paid to employees on
temporary detail to one or more hardship posts after the 42nd
day of such detail. (5 U.S.C. 5925; SR 031.3, 500, and 900)
RELOCATION INCOME TAX ALLOWANCE
Eligible employees are reimbursed a relocation income tax
allowance when additional federal, state, and local income taxes
are incurred as a result of being reimbursed for certain travel
and transportation expenses and relocation allowances. (5
U.S.C. 5724(b) as amended; 6 FAM, Chap. 100, FTR Supplement,
ch. 2, part 11)
REPRESENTATION ALLOWANCE
The representation allowance helps employees cover costs of
entertainment and customary gifts or gratuities which
appropriately further U.S. interests abroad. Adult family
members may also receive a reimbursement for expenses incurred
for official entertainment even if the employee is not present
at the event. Claims not covered due to insufficient funds may
be tax deductible when expenses are properly certified by
appropriate authorizing officials. Specific guidelines exist on
the use of representation funds at each post (including
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ttrenNulA 11
limitations on entertaining Americans). (22 U.S.C. 4085, SR
300, 3 FAM 340)
REPRESENTATIONAL TRAVEL FOR FAMILY
The chief of mission may, if the post travel funds are
available, authorize travel of family for representational
purposes within the country of assignment (6 FAM 127.1-1a). The
chief of mission may also authorize travel of family members
outside the country of assignment provided advance approval is
obtained from the Department regional bureau (6 FAM 127.1-2a).
This type of travel is generally restricted to family members of
high level officers and authorized only when a clear need for
dual representation exists. (22 U.S.C. 4081(4), 6 FAM 127.2-2)
REST AND RECUPERATION TRAVEL
Travel expenses for an employee and the employee's family
from specifically designated locations to the United States or
to other locations abroad having different social, climatic, or
other environmental conditions are authorized. One round trip
during any continuous 2-year tour unbroken by home leave, and
two round trips during any continuous 3-year tour unbroken by
home leave, are authorized. The employee's absence from post is
charged to annual leave, earned compensatory time off, or leave.
without pay. Per diem and miscellaneous expenses are not paid.
Conditions at the post must present distinct and
significant difficulties of sufficient severity to justify
temporary relief. These conditions include unfavorable climate,
isolation, lack of adequate recreation facilities, unsuitable
housing and sanitary conditions, lack of essential services,
prevalence of communicable diseases, lack of medical or dental
care, and unusual personal hazards. Furthermore, the cost of
travel from the post to a suitable relief area must be so great
as to make it unreasonable to expect that the employee could
finance the family's travel. (22 U.S.C. 4081(6), 3 FAM 698)
RETIREMENT AT AGE 50
Any participant in the retirement system who is at least 50
years old and has 20 years of creditable service may retire with
the approval of the Secretary of State and receive retirement
benefits. (22 U.S.C. 4051)
SABBATICALS FOR SENIOR
FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS
A career member of the Foreign Service may be granted
sabbatical leave not to exceed 11 months in order to permit the
member to engage in study or uncompensated work experience which
will contribute to the development and effectiveness of the
member. A.career appointee may be granted a sabbatical only
if the appointee agrees, as a condition of accepting the
sabbatical, to remain in government service upon the completion
Loom=
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APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
of the sabbatical for a period of two consecutive years. A
sabbatical may not be granted more than once in any 10-year
period. (5 U.S.C. 3396)
SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY
Personal property imported into host countries by U.S.
citizen employees under diplomatic privileges and immunities
must be for their bona fide personal use. Subsequent sales of
such property are permitted provided such sales are in
compliance with bilateral agreements, international treaties,
and host government laws. (2 FAM 225.3)
SEPARATE MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE
Employees who choose or are forced to maintain families
elsewhere than at post of assignment for any reason other than
legal separation or divorce are authorized to receive a separate
maintenance allowance. If granted, the payments are in lieu of
other allowances and benefits on behalf of those family
members. (5 U.S.C. 5924(3); SR 077.32a, 260, and 943; 3 FAM
315.4)
SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR SUB-
STANTIAL AMOUNTS OF EXTRA WORK
See special differential.
SPECIAL ALLOWANCE IN
LIEU OF OVERTIME
See special differential.
SPECIAL COMPENSATORY TIME OFF
Employees may earn special compensatory time off for an
equal amount of time spent in regularly scheduled overtime work
under the following conditions (5 U.S.C. 5550(a), 5926(1)(2)):
-- when the standard workweek at certain designated posts
makes it desirable to schedule the workweek of U.S.
government employees on other than the usual five 8-hour
days (3 FAM 232.6-2),
-- to allow employees stationed at isolated posts to
accumulate additional leave to travel to places which
offer relief from the harsh conditions at post (3 FAM
232.6-2),
-- when overtime or holiday work is officially ordered (3
FAM 232.6-3)c and
-- for religious observances (3 FAM 232.6-4).
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SPECIAL DIFFERENTIAL
Foreign Service officers in classes 4 through 8 who are
required by their supervisors to perform additional work on a
regular continuing basis in substantial excess of normal
requirements are authorized a special allowance. The positions
must have been certified as eligible for the allowance. The
amount ranges from 10 to 18 percent of the basic compensation.
This allowance is sometimes referred to as the special allowance
for substantial amounts of extra work or the special allowance
in lieu of overtime. (22 U.S.C. 3972, 3 FAM 238)
SPECIAL INCENTIVE DIFFERENTIAL
The special incentive differential allows an employee to
receive up to 15 percent of his or her basic pay as additional
compensation for accepting a difficult-to-fill position at posts
where environmental conditions are adverse. The Department of
State had not incorporated regulations into the Foreign Affairs
Manual as of March 1986. (5 U.S.C. 5925(b))
STANDBY DUTY PAY
Certain full-time members of the Foreign Service abroad who
are officially ordered to remain at the duty station or in the
living quarters to answer a call to work are authorized standby
duty pay. The employee may not leave and arrange to be
contacted by phone, radio, or electronic beeper system. The
standby duty must be associated with, and in addition to, the
employee's regularly assigned full-time duties.
This benefit is available only to certain employees, such
as secretaries, communicators, and doctors and nurses.
From 15 to 25 percent of basic pay, depending upon amount
of standby duty and when performed, not to exceed the minimum
rate of basic pay for GS-10 (about $24,000 as of January 1985)
may be paid. (5 U.S.C. 5545, 3 FAM 231.2, 236.2)
SUNDAY PAY
Certain employees whose basic workweek includes worktime on
Sunday are authorized Sunday pay. This benefit is available to
certain employees, such as secretaries, communicators, and
doctors and nurses. Depending on local custom, it may also
apply to local employees.
Twenty-five percent of basic pay for each hour of Sunday
work which is not overtime, and which is not in excess of 8
hours for each regularly scheduled tour of duty beginning or
ending on Sunday, may be paid. (5 U.S.C. 5546, 3 FAM 231.2,
235)
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SUPPLEMENTARY POST ALLOWANCE
This allowance is available to help offset extraordinary
meal expenses which may be incurred upon arrival at a new post
or before final departure from a post abroad. It is paid only
when the employee is compelled to occupy temporary
nonhousekeeping quarters because of the unavailability of
temporary quarters with suitable kitchen facilities. The
maximum daily amount per person may be paid for the first 3
months following arrival at a post abroad and for the last month
before final departure. (5 U.S.C. 5924 (1), (2), SR 230 and
941.2)
TAX EXEMPTION FOR FEDERAL
MANUFACTURERS' EXCISE TAX
Certain articles which are ordinarily subject to the
Federal manufacturers' excise tax may be free from such a tax if
an American Foreign Service employee located in, but not a
permanent resident of, a foreign country furnishes the
manufacturer with a declaration of intention to export. The
declaration affirms that the article will ultimately be sold or
otherwise disposed of abroad and that there is no intention of
returning it to the United States at any time. Articles which
may be exempted include automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles;
firearms, shells, and cartridges; gasoline and lubricating oils;
sporting goods (fishing equipment); and tires and inner tubes.
(22 U.S.C. 4221(a)(2), 2 FAM 264.1, 264.2)
TAX EXEMPTION FOR
FOREIGN INCOME TAXES
Diplomatic representatives of the United States are
generally exempt from the payment of local income taxes, except
on personally owned property or businesses. Exemptions are
largely administered and regulated on the basis of reciprocity.
(26 U.S.C. 893(a)(3), 2 FAM 260)
TEMPORARY LODGING ALLOWANCE
The temporary lodging allowance is to help employees abroad
defray the cost of hotel rooms while locating residence quarters
and awaiting arrival of furniture, and while awaiting
transportation from a post abroad after relinquishing residence
quarters. The allowance varies according to the number and ages
of the employee's dependents occupying the temporary lodging,
but a maximum daily rate is set. This allowance is available
only up to 3 months after first arrival at a post abroad and
during the last month prior to departure. (5 U.S.C. 5923; SR
110, 120, and 900)
TRAINING OF FAMILY MEMBERS
Orientation and other training may be provided to family
members (18 years and over) in anticipation of the employee's
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HYVE,NU1A 11
assignment abroad or while abroad. For the most part, the
Foreign Service Institute provides the training. Under certain
circumstances, the cost of training provided by other
institutions may also be paid. (22 U.S.C. 4024(c), 3 FAM 824)
TRANSFER ALLOWANCE--FOREIGN
This allowance reimburses employees for three types of
relocation expenses (5 U.S.C. 5924(2); SR 240, 900, and 942.1):
Predeparture subsistence expenses for lodging, meals,
and laundry for up to 10 days after moving out of
residence quarters before departing from a post of
assignment in the United States to a post overseas. The
maximum allowance is based on family size and the
applicable U.S. per diem or designated high rate
geographical area rate. (This portion of the foreign
transfer allowance is not available to employees
transferred from a "temporary duty station" in the
United States to a foreign area.)
Miscellaneous expenses for converting household
appliances and obtacning auto registration and drivers
license. This may be paid as a flat dollar amount or on
the basis of actual expenses up to a higher maximum
dollar amount.
Wardrobe expenses when a relocation involves a transfer
between tropical and frigid zones (never paid on
transfers to or from the conterminous United States).
The amount paid is a flat dollar amount based on family
size.
TRANSFER ALLOWANCE--HOME SERVICE
This allowance is to assist with relocation expenses
related to the transfer from a foreign area to the United
States. Foreign Service employees must agree to complete 12
additional months of U.S. government service after the date of
transfer. It is available to Civil Service employees only when
the employee and agency are both able to certify that the
employee will serve an additional tour of duty abroad.
(5 U.S.C. 5924(2); SR 077.32c, 250, and 942.2)
This allowance consists of two portions:
The miscellaneous expense portion is intended to cover
the costs of converting household appliances and
obtaining automobile registration and drivers license.
The subsistence expense portion is intended to offset
costs of hotel lodging, meals, drycleaning, and laundry
for up to 60 days after arrival in the United States.
Actual expenses are reimbursed up to a predetermined
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maximum rate for each 30-day period depending on the per
diem allowance and the number and ages of family members
occupying temporary lodging.
TRANSFER TRAVEL
Official travel and transportation may be authorized for
American and Foreign Service national employees and their
families and effects from the old post (or anyplace where
presence is due to government orders) to a new post or point of
storage. (22 U.S.C. 4081(1), 6 FAM 125.i)
TRANSPORTATION OF AUTO
Transportation of privately owned vehicles is authorized
only in connection with a transfer or assignment to an official
station outside of the conterminous United States, including a
transfer between such stations, if in the best interest of the
U.S. government. When no longer needed abroad, the vehicle may
also be transported to the United States.
A replacement vehicle may be shipped at government expense
to a post of duty outside the United States in two instances:
(1) if the vehicle is stolen, seriously damaged, destroyed, or
requires emergency replacement for other reasons beyond the
employee's control or (2) if more than 4 years have elapsed
since the initial vehicle was shipped and the employee has been
continuously assigned to posts outside the conterminous United
States. In both cases, it must be determined that it will be in
the government's interest for the employee to have the
replacement vehicle. (22 U.S.C. 4081(13); 6 FAM ch. 100; FTR
Supplement, ch. 2, part 10, 2-10.1a, 10.2a)
TRAVEL FOR CHILDREN
OF SEPARATED PARENTS
Each child (below age 21) of a Foreign Service member
stationed abroad is allowed one round trip per year to visit
either of the child's separated parents. The child must not
regularly reside with the member, and the member must not
receive an educational allowance or educational travel allowance
for the child. (22 U.S.C. 4081(15), 3 FAM 699.8)
TRAVEL PER DIEM
A flat rate per diem is paid to the employee and his or her
dependents when traveling in connection with relocation or home
leave. The per diem allowance is intended to cover expenses
such as lodging, meals, laundry, and dry cleaning (6 FAM 142.1).
The maximum rate permitted by law is paid unless the travel
authorization specifies a lower per diem rate (6 FAM 151). In
cases where necessary subsistence costs are unusually high or
the cost of lodging (exclusive of meals) absorbs practically all
of the statutory maximum per diem allowance, an allowance of
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APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
actual subsistence will be authorized. Authority to receive
reimbursement of actual subsistence expenses must be included in
the travel authorization. (5 U.S.C. 5702(a), (c), 5724a(1), 22
U.S.C. 4081(1); 6 FAM 157.1, ch. 100, FTR Supplement, ch. 1,
part 2, 2-2.2.b)
TRAVEL TO ACCOMPANY MEDICALLY
EVACUATED PARENT OR FAMILY MEMBER
When an employee is evacuated for medical purposes, the
family member remaining at post, if not capable of caring for
himself/herself, may be authorized to travel with the patient
and may be included in the medical travel order (3 FAM 686.2c).
Also, when it is determined by competent medical authority
that a patient is too ill or too young to travel unattended, the
services of an attendant to accompany an employee or dependent
to a locality where suitable medical care can be obtained may be
authorized (3 FAM 686.2). When a nonemployee medical attendant
is authorized to accompany a patient, transportation, incidental
expenses exclusive of subsistence, and compensation may also be
authorized (3 FAM 686.2a). A member of the family may be
authorized to accompany a patient as a medical attendant and be
included in the travel order. (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), 3 FAM 686.2b)
UNHEALTHFUL POST
RETIREMENT CREDIT
Instead of post differential, an employee may elect to
receive extra service credit toward retirement in an amount
equal to one-half of the time actually spent at an unhealthful
post. (22 U.S.C. 4057, 3 FAM 671.5-14)
USE OF U.S. GOVERN-
MENT VEHICLES
Approval to use government owned or leased vehicles may be
granted under certain conditions to transport employees to and
from work, dependents to and from school, and for personal use.
Conditions justifying the need for using government
vehicles must be documented together with a schedule of
charges. The charge may be waived under unique circumstances
for employees using government vehicle transportation between
residence and office. Taxicabs may also be used in lieu of
chauffer-driven official vehicles if less expensive. (22
U.S.Q. 2700; 6 FAM 237.2-1, 237.2-2a, 237.2-2b)
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON
SELECTED BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES
As arranged with your office, we compiled additional
information, primarily legislative histories, on the more
significant benefits and allowances. To the extent that costs
were made available to us, we have included them at the end of
every section; for a complete discussion on the cost of all of
the benefits and allowances, see Appendix IV. The descriptions
are arranged in alphabetical order.
DANGER PAY
Danger pay is granted to employees serving at a post where
civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or warlike conditions
exist. It is usually linked to conditions where there has been
an authorized departure or evacuation of dependents and
nonessential personnel. Danger pay is available to employees on
temporary detail for 1 full day or longer. As of March 1, 1986,
employees in five countries were eligible for danger
pay--Afghanistan, Colombia, El Salvador, Lebanon, and Uganda.
Legislative history
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 (Public Law 94-465 of
October 17, 1980) authorized a danger pay allowance in an amount
not to exceed 25 percent of an employee's basic pay. The act
said it may be granted
"on the basis of civil insurrection, civil war,
terrorism, or wartime conditions which threaten
physical harm or imminent danger to the health or
well-being of the employee."
However, all three of the congressional committees involved
(House Foreign Affairs, Senate Foreign Relations, and House Post
Office and Civil Service) cautioned against extensive use of the
allowance. House Report No. 96-992, Part 1, for example,
explained that the allowance was meant for employees:
"who are required to remain at a post after
dependents, or nonessential personnel, or both have
been evacuated or to employees who are serving at
posts at which dependents are not permitted because of
unsettled conditions. A danger pay allowance will be
granted during the period when the threat of physical
harm or imminent danger to health or well-being
exists."
The three committees recognized that the conditions which
justify danger pay at a post could possibly also result in
payment of post differential. Accordingly, the law limits the
combined allowances, if applicable, to an amount not to exceed
25 percent of the basic pay of the employee.
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The Congressional Budget Office cost analysis for the
Foreign Service Act of 1980 estimated that dahger pay would
apply to approximately 110 employees at three dangerous posts.
Its 5-year projections foresaw as much as $700,000 in fiscal
year 1985.
The Department of State's Authorization of Fiscal Years
1984 and 1985 (Public Law 98-164 of November 22, 1983) broadened
the scope of danger pay by providing that "The presence of
nonessential personnel or dependents shall not preclude payment
of an allowance under this section." This was done "in
recognition of the current epidemic of worldwide terrorist
activity and the courage and sacrifice of employees of United
States agencies overseas, civilian as well as military."
Conference Report No. 98-563 said
"The conferees note that danger pay was terminated at
certain posts beginning November 1, 1982, due to the
earlier language of the Act and its accompanying
report language. This provision modifies the
unintentionally stringent language enacted by the
Foreign Service Act. Given the legislative change now
being made, the committee of conference urges the
Department of State to pay danger pay retroactively to
November 1, 1982, and notes that the net costs are
approximately $330,000."
Cost
The costs provided by the Department of State and USIA for
fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below; AID did not provide
us a cost because its accounting system does not capture a cost
for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
State
USIA
Total
$ 804 $ 960
34 50
$ 838 $1,010
EDUCATION ALLOWANCE
Education allowances are granted for dependents in grades
K-12 at those posts where the cost of adequate schooling is in
excess of the cost which would be incurred for a dependent in a
U.S. public school. Rates of the education allowance vary
according to whether adequate schooling is found at post, away
from post, or provided at home. The allowance also varies by
school grade and average education costs at a given post. The
education allowance was created to ensure that the dependents of
foreign service officers stationed overseas received an adequate
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX III
education and was viewed as a means to improve the morale of
foreign service officers.
Legislative history
The education allowance was established in 1955 to
alleviate what was viewed as a major financial and morale
problem confronting foreign service officers overseas.
According to a House Foreign Affairs Committee report (No. 229),
elementary and secondary school-age dependents were unable to
receive suitable education at many posts either because no
American community school was established in the area or because
local schools did not satisfy American standards. Under such
conditions, foreign service officers were faced with the choice
of enrolling their children in local schools regardless of the
quality of the education provided or sending them to a third
country or to the United States for schooling often at
considerable expense to the employees. The report also pointed
out that employees of the Department of Defense and other
civilians living under similar conditions received an education
allowance.
In hearings on the subject, the Department made clear that
it did not intend to assume the total cost of educating foreign
service dependents overseas, but favored establishing the
allowance as a means to equalize the education costs incurred by
employees in the United States and employees stationed
overseas. At the same time, the Department did not want to
limit employees' freedom to educate their dependents as they
pleased. Accordingly, the Department envisioned that an
allowance covering about 75 percent of foreign service education
expenses would relieve the financial hardship associated with
providing adequate schooling while not giving employees overseas
a financial advantage over employees stationed in the United
States who must incur some education costs indirectly through
the payment of property taxes. In addition, in order that
foreign service parents would be able to apply the education
allowance to accommodate a variety of circumstances, the
Department established three allowance rates for home study
(private instruction or correspondence courses), local
schooling, or for schooling at the nearest facility considered
adequate.
Congress also expressed concern about the prospect that a
foreign service employee might make a profit by selecting a
lower-cost type of education while he or she received the
maximum allowance authorized for the post. Apparently
reflecting this concern, the legislation established that if an
. employee employs a less expensive method of providing
such education, any allowance paid to him shall be reduced
accordingly." The Department assured the Committee on Foreign
Affairs that the employee would be required to certify in
writing the type of facility used in educating the child and a
representative at the post would be required to confirm the
statement before granting the employee an education allowance.
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The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960 rephrased
this section by stating that ". . . the amount of the allowance
granted would be determined on the basis of the educational
facility used."
During the 1960's, the Department's efforts to assist its
employees overseas in providing an adequate education for their
dependents continued. For example, the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1963 supplemented the existing channels of education
assistance by allowing the Department to establish, maintain,
and operate primary school facilities in those areas where such
facilities were inadequate and where no alternatives existed. A
House Foreign Affairs Committee report (No. 646) stated that
this authorization was not intended to duplicate any benefits
provided by the education allowance, but only to permit
additional assistance to officers to whom the existing benefits
did not apply.
In 1966, the Department of State sought authority to pay
allowances to cover the costs of kindergarten education.
Specifically, the Department asked us if we concurred with the
Department's legal opinion that the provision to grant an
allowance for adequate elementary education included
kindergarten. We concluded that the existing legislation did
not authorize nor contemplate the inclusion of kindergarten.
However, he noted that the Department of State viewed
kindergarten as vital for children overseas as for children of
parents stationed in the United States. In 1973, Congress
amended the Foreign Assistance Act of 1963 to give the
Department the legal authority to provide such an allowance.
Cost
The costs provided by AID, the Department of State, and
USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below.
FY 1984 FY 1985
-(thousands)7 - -
AID $ 4,238 $ 4,732
State 14,275 14,539
USIA 2,032
2,121
-.-
Total -$20,545 $21,392
EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL
The educational travel benefit provides one round trip each
12-month period for full-time undergraduate students attending a
college or university in the United States. Educational travel
is also available for U.S. high school students in lieu of an
education allowance. Dependents who have arrived in the United
States under the educational travel authority are not eligible
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for an education allowance for the 12 months immediately
following such travel.
Legislative history
The educational travel grant was established in 1955 in
conjunction with the education allowance. Specifically, the law
authorized the Secretary of State to pay the travel expenses
incurred by a Foreign Service employee stationed overseas to
transport dependents to and from U.S. ports of entry to obtain
an American secondary or undergraduate education. Under this
provision, each dependent would receive a travel grant for one
round trip while attending high school, and another while
attending college in the United States. The travel grant would
not be authorized to dependents receiving an education
allowance.
According to information provided by the Department of
State to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, this benefit was
intended to assist those employees who chose to educate their
dependents in secondary schools or colleges in the United
States. The Department envisioned two types of educational
travel grants--one to be offered to high school age dependents
of employees with more than 5 years of service abroad, as an
alternative to the education allowance, and the other to be
offered to all officers to cover one round trip for their
dependents attending undergraduate colleges in the United
States. In regards to the travel grant for high school age
dependents, the Department believed that an American high school
education was important in "rehabilitating" children who had
been out of the United States for an extended period of time. A
travel allowance would assist those employees who favored a
reimbursement of travel expenses over receiving an actual
allowance for education costs. The travel grant for
undergraduate students, for whom no education allowance was
available, was intended to compensate employees for the added
expense of sending their children long distances in order to
enroll them in American colleges. By granting them an allowance
to the nearest U.S. port of entry, the Department sought to put
the Foreign Service officer overseas in no better, but in no
worse, a financial position than that of parents in the United
States who send their children to nearby schools or across the
country to attend college.
The report from the Committee on Foreign Affairs (No. 229)
did not indicate that one of the grants would be available to
some employees and not others. Instead, the Committee
authorized a travel allowance for employees, irrespective of
time abroad, for secondary schooling, in lieu of an education
allowance, and for all undergraduate dependents in the United
States. Furthermore, the authorization was characterized not
only as a way to relieve financial hardship, but to help the
dependent maintain ties with his or her family abroad.
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The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960
continued this authority and extended it to non-foreign affairs
agencies. In addition, this legislation made two substantive
changes to the existing authority. First, the 1.960 amendments
limited the existing prohibition against dependents who were
transported to the United States on a travel grant to receive an
education allowance by providing that allowances could be paid
after 12 months following the dependent's arrival in the United
States. In addition, the language was changed to permit travel
to the actual school or college of the dependent rather than to
the nearest port of entry. A report from the Committee on Post
Office and Civil Service (No. 902) noted that the present
legislation was unfair to dependents of employees stationed in
Europe, for example, who attended schools in the western United
States, but whose travel grant took them only as far as the East
Coast.
The Department of State/USIA Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1975 amended the U.S. Code to expand the use of the
educational travel grant. Instead of covering the cost of one
trip during high school and another during college, the
amendment granted government travel on an annual basis for
dependent students in the United States. According to a Senate
Foreign Relations report (No. 93-838), the American Foreign
Service Association testified in hearings that studies had
indicated that special strains and hardships were imposed on
Foreign Service children because of the constant moving, lack of
ties to their American cultural roots, and the separation from
their families. The U.S. government could solve the problem, as
other governments had, by permitting dependent students a
minimum of one annual trip to visit parents stationed overseas.
In 1979, the International Development Cooperation Act
amended the U.S. Code to grant travel funds for two annual trips
for dependents receiving undergraduate education in the United
States and continued the allowance for one trip for dependents
attending high school. Committee reports on this legislation
did not address this provision. The following year the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 reduced the number of trips to one annual
trip each year for each dependent receiving either secondary or
college education in the United States, as before.
Cost
The costs provided by AID, the Department of State, and
USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
AID $ 472 $ 455
State 1,099 1,045
USIA 282 311
Total $1,853 $1,811
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EMERGENCY VISITATION TRAVEL
This benefit authorizes the payment of travel expenses
incurred by Foreign Service personnel for purposes of family
visitation in emergency situations involving personal hardship.
Emergency visitation travel is intended to mitigate the personal
hardship created when great distances separate families because
of an assignment by the government, as is the case when members
are assigned abroad and have a personal emergency in the United
States.
In instances of serious illness, injury, death, or certain
exceptional situations, a member of the Foreign Service, spouse,
or child located abroad is authorized one round trip for each
serious illness or injury or for the death of each immediate
family member. Emergency visitation travel may also be
authorized to accompany-the remains of a family member who dies
abroad to the place of interment. Ordinarily only one member of
a family may travel at government expense. Under exceptional
circumstances additional members may be authorized to travel.
Serious illness or injury is one in which death is imminent
or likely to occur (based on competent medical opinion) or one
in which the absence of the member or dependent would result in
great personal hardship. Time away from post must be charged to
annual leave, sick leave, compensatory time off, or leave
without pay. No per diem or other expenses are authorized.
Legislative History
Public Law 90-221 of December 23, 1967, created emergency
visitation travel and several other benefits for civilians in
wartime situations. Southeast Asia was the wartime situation at
that time, and the benefits were all discussed in terms of
Vietnam. To underscore the wartime aspects of this act,
President Johnson signed the bill at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam
during his 1967 Christmas visit.
Senate Report No. 235 said "the main purpose of the bill is
to authorize additional employee benefits (1) for all U.S.
Government personnel serving in hostile areas abroad, such as
Vietnam, and (2) for Foreign Service personnel and their
dependents in certain emergency or extraordinary situations"
regardless of location. The report mentioned emergencies "such
as the serious illness or death of a member of the officer or
employee's immediate family." No mention was made of a
deductible or employee contribution, nor was the term "travel
expense" defined.
House Report No. 993 said: "The immediate need for this
amendment arises from the situation in Vietnam from which
dependents have been excluded . . ." It cautioned, however,
that this grant of authority would be needed only in "the few
occasions when emergency travel becomes necessary."
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h.r.rmNIJIA III
APPENDIX III
Both the Senate and House, "in order to keep the cost to a
minimum," included a requirement that travel under the authority
of this section should be by Military Airlift Command aircraft
wherever possible. The cost to State, USIA, and AID in the
first year of application of this amendment was estimated to be
$48,750.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 retained this benefit but
dropped the requirement to use military aircraft.
Cost
The costs provided by the Department of State and USIA for
fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below; AID did not provide
us a cost because its accounting system does not capture a cost
for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- -(thousands)- - -
State
USIA
Total
$ 539
93
$ 530
100
$ 632 630
FAMILY TRAVEL ON EXTENDED
TEMPORARY DUTY
Travel expenses may be paid to family members who
accompany, precede, or follow a Foreign Service employee who is
assigned to extended temporary duty. However, the legislation
does not define the period of time which must elapse before
family members are eligible for this allowance. This allowance
is intended to reduce prolonged family separation by assisting
the employee with travel expenses incurred in connection with
the family living at the temporary duty station.
Legislative history
In 1960, the Department of State suggested that Congress
authorize the Secretary of State to pay travel expenses (not to
exceed one round trip) of the spouse and dependents of an
employee when accompanying him/her to an international meeting
or conference, and the furnishing of quarters to any such
employee and his family if authorized in advance by the
Secretary.
During hearings, the Department warned the committee that
the Department's ability to assign the best qualified
representatives to such conferences might be hampered if the
conferees were not allowed to take their families along at
government expense. Por example, when conferences last three
months or more, a representative may not be willing to be
separated from his or her family for an extended period and may
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX III
not be wealthy enough to take the family along at personal
expense, according to the Department of State.
Congress did not grant the Secretary this authority,
however, until 1961. Attached to the Act for International
Development of 1961, the provision allowed the Secretary of
State to pay travel expenses of members of the family
accompanying, preceding, or following an employee, if, while the
employee is en route to his or her post of assignment, the
employee is ordered elsewhere temporarily for orientation and
training, or is given other temporary duty. A House Committee
on Foreign Affairs report stated that the allowance would defray
travel expenses for families of employees who reside for a short
period elsewhere than at the post of assignment when it is
required in connection with travel to or from a post of
assignment.
In 1975, Congress debated expanding the use of this
authority to pay travel expenses for family members of employees
assigned to temporary duty in connection with any change of
assignment. In hearings regarding the Department of State's
authorization for fiscal year 1976, a Department spokesman noted
that family travel and partial per diem was particularly
necessary in cases where the family goes on home leave between
assignments. For example, if, following home leave, the
employee was assigned to extended temporary duty in Washington,
the family would not be authorized travel to the temporary duty
station or to the new post. In such cases, the family would be
forced to remain at the home leave address, or the employee
might have to undergo financial hardship to maintain his or her
family at the place of temporary duty.
This change was incorporated into the Foreign Relations
Authorization Act of 1979. The Conference Committee stated that
the provision was only to apply to temporary duty ordered in
connection with transfers involving family travel, and
emphasized that it did not include temporary duty where the
employee simply travels to another city to perform the duty and
then returns home.
In 1980, the law was broadened to allow families to
accompany employees on any kind of extended temporary duty. A
Senate Foreign Relations report noted that the provision would
permit families to avoid being separated for as long as 6 months
when members are sent, for example, to Washington for
consultations, to international conferences, or other temporary
assignments expected to last an unusually long period of time.
House and Senate committees agreed that it was unreasonable to
order employees to distant posts for extraordinarily long
periods without the opportunity for their families to accompany
them. It was also argued that it would be cheaper to authorize
family members to accompany an employee than to assign the
employee to the location and ship effects.
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APPENDIX III
Cost
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not provide us
costs for this item in fiscal years 1984 and 1985 because their
accounting systems do not capture the cost of this item in such
a way that it is readily available.
FAMILY VISITATION TRAVEL
This travel permits a member of the Foreign Service to
visit that member's family which would reside with the member if
the post were not within a hostile area at which family members
cannot reside. Not more than two round trips to the United
States may be authorized during each 1 year period. If the
family members are located abroad, more than two visits may be
authorized during each 1 year period provided the cost does not
exceed the cost of two round trips to the District of Columbia.
Time away from post is charged to annual or sick leave,
earned compensatory time off, or leave without pay. Per diem
and other expenses are not authorized. Official travel orders
are not used for family visitation travel and hence the
employee's post differential continues even though the employee
is absent from post.
Legislative history
AID's authority to grant family visitation travel first
appeared in Section 114(d) of the Economic Cooperation Act of
1948 which created the Economic Cooperation Administration, a
predecessor agency. This was the United States' first major
foreign aid program and there was considerable congressional
debate regarding, among other things, how the program should be
organized and administered in order to obtain effective results
in an efficient manner.
President Truman, in his Message to the Congress of
December 19, 1947, said the following concerning administrative
arrangements:
"In keeping with the importance and nature of its
task, the new agency should have flexibility in the
determination of operating methods, the use of
funds, and the hiring of key personnel."
The Senate and House agreed that considerable leeway should
be given to the new agency due to the program's uniqueness.
Senate Report No. 935, for example, said the act "permits the
disregard of certain laws that would unduly hamper the type of
operation that will be necessary in an unusual program of this
type." Section 114(d) of the act reflected this thinking when
it said that funds made available for expenditures outside the
United States may be spent
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APPENDIX III
APPENDIX III
"without regard to such laws and regulations
governing the obligation and expenditure of
government funds, as the Administrator shall
specify in the interest of the accomplishment of
the purposes of this title."
The Mutual Security Act of 1954 and later the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 revised the wording but the authority remains the
same. Thus, AID's authority to grant family visitation travel
comes from a general provision which allows AID to disregard a
wide range of statutory prohibitions so long as the expenditure
is made outside the United States. USIA and the Department of
State, on the other hand, received specific authority to grant
family visitation travel. It was authorized by Public Law
90-221 of December 23, 1967, and justified in terms of the
conditions in Vietnam. The act permits the government to pay
for up to two round trips a year for family visitation purposes
of Department of State and USIA personnel who are separated from
their families. Senate Report No. 235 explained the need for
this benefit as follows:
"The Agency for International Development now has
this travel authority for their personnel under
section 636(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961, as amended. AID officials have, under that
provision, authorized one round trip each 6 months
to enable married personnel in Vietnam to visit
their families. The General Accounting Office has
questioned the Department of State's authority to
provide similar benefits for other Foreign Service
personnel and the specific authority of this bill
will clear up that question."
The Report also quotes a January 31, 1967 message to Congress
from President Johnson:
"Among those engaged in the effort to preserve
freedom in Southeast Asia are civilian employees of
agencies such as the Department of Defense,
Department of State, Agency for International
Development, and U.S. Information Agency.
"There are no frontlines in Vietnam. These
employees are frequently exposed to hazardous
conditions. They have suffered terrorist attacks
in hamlets, villages, and even in larger cities.
Despite their status as civilians, many have been
killed, seriously wounded, or reported missing.
"The laws now governing Federal civilian employment
in overseas areas have not kept pace with the
times. Civilians who risk their lives in the
service of their country are entitled to special
benefits.
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX III
"I recommend that the Congress enact legislation to
Increase the salary differential for service at
hazardous duty posts.
Allow medical benefits to continue beyond the
date of his separation for employees who has
been injured or become ill while serving in a
hostile area.
Extend similar medical benefits to the
employee's family after his separation or death.
Allow special travel expenses for employees
after long service in hazardous areas, so they
can be reunited with their families.
Authorize up to 1 year's absence without charge
to leave as a result of injury or illness due to
hostile action."
The Senate report estimated that first year direct costs for
family visitation travel would be $149,000 for the Department of
State and USIA. (AID was funded out of another authorization.)
The provision is still on the books. The Foreign Service
Act of 1980 revised the wording but the authority remains the
same.
Cost
The costs provided by the Department of State and USIA for
fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below; AID did not provide
us a cost because its accounting system does not capture a cost
for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
State $ 63 $ 67
USIA 3
Total
$ 66 $ 67
GOVERNMENT HOUSING
The provision of government housing or a living quarters
allowance is intended to relieve Foreign Service officers
overseas of most housing costs at their post of assignment. A
U.S. government employee who is a citizen of the United States
Permanently stationed in a foreign country may be furnished,
without cost to him/her, living quarters including heat, fuel,
and light in a government-owned or rented building. Furniture
and equipment are provided for these living quarters. The
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX III
number and type of items provided vary by country according to
the policy of a joint Department of State, AID, and USIA
committee.
Legislative history
As early as 1901, Congress appropriated funds to cover the
purchase of grounds and rent of buildings for government use in
China, Japan, and Thailand. By 1908, the U.S. government had
acquired buildings in Turkey and Morocco as well. During House
debate on the Diplomatic and Consular Service appropriations
bill for fiscal year 1909, members cited several reasons why
diplomats were provided government quarters in those locations
and not elsewhere. In regards to the Far East, members of
Congress argued that diplomats from the West found it difficult
to obtain housing, at any price, which suited their style of
living. As an alternative, legislators suggested the government
purchase suitable buildings for use as residences, which, by
government standards, could be bought inexpensively. Second, it
was argued that the residences of American diplomats in these
countries should-reflect the importance of the United States now
that it was among the great trading nations of the world.
Although members of Congress favored providing government
quarters to diplomats serving in difficult posts, not all agreed
that those stationed in Europe and elsewhere should receive the
same benefit. For example, in debate concerning the
Department's request for funds to purchase a building in,Paris
for the ambassador in 1908, Congress discussed the issue of
providing housing to all American diplomats overseas. Unlike
posts in the Far East, suitable residences were available for
rent in Europe; however, members of Congress remarked that the
cost of living in many capitals caused financial hardship for
even the most wealthy members of the Service. Those who
supported the provision of housing argued that it was unfair to
force American representatives to expend nearly their entire
salaries for housing, particularly when representatives of
foreign governments not only received housing, but higher
salaries as well. In addition, it was argued that if
ambassadors were relieved of their housing expenses, men of
merit who were not wealthy could take up positions in the more
expensive capitals.
Despite these discussions, Congress did not provide housing
to American diplomats on a large scale until the mid-1920s.
Specifically, the Foreign Service Buildings Act of 1926 enabled
the Secretary of State to acquire buildings and grounds for use
as government offices or residences. In House discussions on
the subject, legislators remarked that housing had been
inadequate for years for many members of the Foreign Service.
Congressmen recounted their own experiences visiting American
diplomats in foreign countries who were living in "dingy rooms"
or in places where an American visitor would be humiliated to
find his country's representative.
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In 1929 the Secretary of State was authorized to furnish
housing, without cost, to his employees. The fiscal year 1930
appropriations act for the Department stated that "The Secretary
of State may lease or rent. . . such buildings and grounds for
the use of the Foreign Service as may be necessary; and he may,
in accordance with existing practice, without cost to them
furnish the officers and employees of the Foreign Service with
living quarters, heat, light, and household equipment in
government-owned or rented buildings, at places where, in his
judgement, it would be in the public interest to do so."
In 1930, statutory legislation allowed the Secretary of
State to continue to furnish quarters to overseas employees
according to the terms of the legislation of the previous year,
but added a provision for an allowance to be paid in lieu
thereof, if such quarters were not available. Hearings during
this time period echoed those concerning similar legislation in
previous years. For instance, supporters of the proposal viewed
this provision of housing as essential to (1) diminish the
disparities among American diplomats and between Americans and
representatives of other countries, (2) provide the officers who
meet with representatives of the host country with decent
quarters befitting representatives of the United States, and
(3)boost the morale of employees who were serving the government
under difficult conditions overseas.
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 and the Overseas
Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960 continued the
Department's authority to provide housing at no cost to the
employee either in government quarters or by means of a
reimbursement of rental costs.
Cost
The costs provided by AID, the Department of State, and
USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below. Not all of
the agencies were able to provide us costs for all of the
categories because their accounting systems do not capture the
costs in such a way that they are readily available.
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APPENDIX III
Furniture and equipment
FY 1984
APPENDIX III
FY 1985
- - - thousands - - -
AID
$ 5,760
$ 6,390
Guards
AID
2,818
3,000
Rent or lease payments
AID
15,519
14,707
State
a
68,197b
USIA
6,975
8,311
Repair and maintenance
AID
1,721
1,982
Transportation and freight
AID
1,880
1,713
Utilities
AID
3,350
3,764
USIA
1,533
1,818
Various
USIA
4,334
4,230
Total
$43,890
$114,112
allot readily available.
bAnnualized cost of rent or lease agreements in effect as of
December 31, 1985; fiscal year 1985 not readily available.
HOLIDAY PAY
U.S. employees serving abroad observe American holidays
with pay. Specific employees who work on a holiday are entitled
to basic pay plus premium pay at a rate equal to the rate of
basic pay for that holiday work. This benefit is available to
certain employees, such as secretaries, communicators, and
doctors and nurses. This benefit is not available to such
employees as commissioned Foreign Service officers, Senior
Foreign Service members, chiefs of mission, and ambassadors.
Legislative history
American employees are not specifically excused from work
on designated public holidays. Instead, federal law provides
that annual leave will not be charged for absences on such
holidays, and employees required to work on holidays are
authorized premium pay.
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX III
Section 6103 of title 5, United States Code, establishes
ten days as legal public holidays: New Year's Day, Martin
Luther King, Jr's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day,
Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
The Federal Employees Pay Act of 1945, as amended and
codified in 5 U.S.C. 5546 provides that:
"An employee who performs work on a holiday
designated by federal statute, [or] executive order
* * * is entitled to pay at the rate of his basic
pay, plus premium pay at a rate equal to the rate
of basic pay * *
There is no exception from the statutory provisions for
U.S. employees assigned to federal positions overseas. As a
result, even if the holidays are not normally observed in the
country of employment, employees are entitled to be absent from
work on those holidays without charge to leave or, if required
to work, are entitled to premium pay if they are in the eligible
positions described above. Additional nonworkdays may be
established by executive or administrative order to meet the
needs and convenience of the government.
Foreign employees are excluded from the leave system that
applies to U.S. citizen employees; however, agency heads have
discretion to grant them leave of absence with pay not to exceed
the amount of sick and annual leave allowable to citizen
employees (5 U.S.C. 6301, 6310). They are also excluded from
the provisions of law entitling U.S. citizen employees to
premium pay for working on American holidays (5 U.S.C. 5541).
Cost
The costs provided by USIA for the premium portion of
holiday pay for fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are $9,000 and
$17,000, respectively. USIA did not provide us a cost for
granting employees the holidays off and AID and the Department
of State did not provide us costs for either item because their
accounting systems do not capture costs in such a way that the
costs for these items are readily available.
HOME LEAVE
This benefit allows Foreign Service officers and employees
to take leave in the United States between tours of duty
abroad. Home leave is given to ensure that employees return to
the United States and renew their American culture, thereby
becoming better representatives of the United States.
An employee who is a U.S. citizen and has 3 years of
continuous service abroad (sometimes 18 months) is eligible to
travel at government expense (transportation and subsistence) to
the United States, its territories, or the Commonwealth of
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Puerto Rico. However, home leave will be granted only when it
is planned that the employee will complete another tour of duty
abroad, either immediately or upon completion of an assignment
in the United States.
The employee must spend at least 20 days in the United
States. If the employee spends less than 20 days, or takes home
leave at a foreign location, the time is charged to the
employee's annual leave and the per diem must be returned to the
government; in effect, making the trip rest and recuperation
travel. Home leave accrues at the rate of one week earned for
each four months served overseas. There is no limit on how much
home leave may be accrued or how long the leave may be saved.
Legislative history
Home leave travel was originally authorized in the Rogers
Act of May 24, 1924. The Secretary was authorized "whenever he
deems it to be in the public interest" to grant home leave to
any Foreign Service officer who has performed 3 years or more
of continuous service abroad. The purpose given during hearings
was to "put more Americanism" into alienated consuls and
secretaries, and also make Foreign Service personnel available
for "trade conferences." Regarding Americanism, there was
considerable discussion in the hearings about employees who were
becoming "abject followers" of the ideology of the host country,
and the congressmen did not want others to also forget their
heritage. Representative Rogers said:
"When a man gets older, more experienced, and
level-headed, the danger of losing his head and his
Americanism is not so extreme. But I have seen some
of these young secretaries, who have had exceptional
social opportunities and advantages in the capitals
abroad, become the most abject followers of the social
regime in the foreign capital...[I hope the effect of
this bill] will be to bring these younger men, and
perhaps the older men, back to the United States as
often as possible so that they may not lose their
Americanism, which is the biggest asset they have and
the biggest asset to the country."
Trade and commerce also received attention. In fact, the
bill as first proposed was aimed at promoting trade, not
Americanization. An example was given "...where a man has been
3 years in a post, let us say Johannesburg, has information
which a trade conference in the United States might find very
useful to have explained to them." A Department of State
spokesman summed up both viewpoints by saying "I want to see
every diplomatic and consular officer in the Foreign Service
thorough going Americans in touch with business affairs and
responsive to the aspirations of the people of the United
States."
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The congressmen also noted that the expense of home leave
is very large. An example was given of "one of our consuls
general who has not been home for several years. He wants to
come home, but he has a family to look after and cannot scrape
the money together to do it." Accordingly, the Congress made
home leave transportation and subsistence at the government's
expense and it remains so today.
The act of March 17, 1941, extended the benefit of home
leave to all overseas employees, not just Foreign Service
officers.
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 reduced the required time
abroad from 3 to 2 years. House Report No. 2508 said "Such a
change is consistent with one of the prime objectives of the
act, which is to insure that the officers and employees of the
Service shall return more often to the United States to renew
touch with the American way of life and so become better
representatives of this country abroad." No mention was made of
trade conferences. The report continued "...personnel stationed
at tropical or unhealthful posts should be granted home leave
after 2 rather than 3 years," and noted the British provide home
leave for their personnel after 18 months at such posts. The
1946 act also provided that the Secretary "shall" order home
leave after the required 2-year period of overseas service; the
1924 act allowed the Secretary to grant leave at his discretion.
The Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951 (Public Law 233 of
October 30, 1951) consolidated all leave legislation for U.S.
civilian employees and established home leave on an accrual
basis as we know it today. (Originally, government officers,
including the Foreign Service, were regarded as having a legal
entitlement to their full statutory pay or salary whether or not
they performed any duties. The early leave laws were,
therefore, limitations placed on their pay entitlements during
periods when they were absent from duty.) The 1951 act granted
one week of home leave for each 4 months of overseas service.
There was no limit on how much home leave could be accumulated.
However, unused home leave could not be used as the basis for
any terminal leave or lump sum payment. These features are
still in effect.
In 1953 the Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951 was amended
(Public Law 102 of July 2, 1953) to remove chiefs of mission
from home leave. The amendment said "...the President may, in
his discretion, authorize leaves of absence" to such persons,
and noted that such absences are not part of any "leave system."
This too is still on the books.
The Mutual Security Act of 1956 amended the Foreign Service
Act of 1946 to allow employees to go to "territories and
possessions" in addition to the United States. (Alaska and
Hawaii were not yet states in 1956.)
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The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act (Public Law
86-707 of September 6, 1960) made two changes. The act
established that home leave "may be granted. . . upon completion
of 24 months of overseas service." Neither provision was really
new. The 1946 Act contained the 24-month provision, but it was
removed by the Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951 which had no
time provision. Also, the 1946 Act had changed "may" to
"shall." Other provisions remained the same.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, in addition to creating
rest and recuperation travel, further broadened the use of home
leave by providing that the Secretary "may" order personnel home
after 18 months, and "shall" order home leave "as soon as
possible after completion of 3 years service." The Senate was
silent on this change, but the House Foreign Affairs Committee
(Report No. 851) was quite clear that the existing 2-year
requirement was "too rigid." The report quoted Department of
State as saying that approximately 25 percent of its posts would
qualify as 18 month posts, "or, alternatively, the officer would
be eligible for two rest and recuperation trips during a 3 year
tour." The same report said "This provision is particularly
important to the AID agency, nearly 50 percent of whose
personnel serve at posts with a hardship differential of 20 or
25 percent."
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 made no material changes in
home leave.
Cost
The following costs were provided by AID and USIA for home
leave travel and transportation charges for fiscal years 1984
and 1985. Neither AID nor USIA provided us costs for the time
authorized for home leave and the Department of State did not
provide any costs because their accounting systems do not
capture the costs for these items in such a way that they are
readily available.
FY 1984
FY 1985 ?
- - -(thousands)- - -
AID $4,377 $4,887
USIA 3 353 3,273
Total
$7,730 $8,160
LANGUAGE INCENTIVE AND PROFICIENCY
Incentives are granted to Foreign Service officers who
become proficient in foreign languages or acquire special
abilities. Three types of payments are authorized to develop a
cadre of Foreign Service officers skilled in the more difficult
languages.
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Foreign Service officers may receive a language
proficiency salary increase if they study and/or
become proficient in designated incentive
languages, for example, Arabic, Farsi, Japanese,
Russian, and Thai. A Foreign Service officer who
studies an incentive language receives one
within-class salary increase after completing 16
continuous weeks of full-time training. An officer
who demonstrates a specified level of reading and
speaking competence receives a total of three
within-class step increases (i.e., one after 16
weeks of training and two more after demonstrating
proficiency).
-- Certain employees with demonstrated speaking and
reading competencies in incentive languages may be
eligible ?for language incentive payments of 10 to
15 percent of base salary. The language incentive
is paid while at a post where that language is
currently on the Incentive Language List.
-- Employees who enter the Foreign Service with a
certain level of language proficiency in either
Category A languages (French, German, Italian,
Spanish, and eight other languages) or Category A
languages (the incentive languages as well as
others, e.g., Greek, Indonesian, and Somali) may be
eligible for one to four within-class increases,
depending on the language category and proficiency.
Legislative history
This incentive was first introduced by the 1960 amendments
to the Foreign Service Act of 1946 (Public Law 86-723 of
September 8, 1960). Concern about the low level of language
competency in the Foreign Service surfaced in the Senate during
the late 1950s and resulted in a series of bills and hearings
aimed at correcting the deficiency. Extensive and lengthy
hearings in the House and the Senate (but mainly in the Senate)
led to S. 2633, the bill that became Public Law 86-723. Section
7 of that act contains the following policy statement:
"It is the policy of the Congress that chiefs of
mission and Foreign Service officers appointed or
assigned to serve the United States in foreign
countries shall have, to the maximum practicable
extent, among their qualifications, a useful
knowledge of the principal language or dialect of
the country in which they are to serve, and
knowledge and understanding of the history, the
culture, the economic and political institutions,
and the interests of such country and its people."
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Senate Report No. 880 of September 2, 1959, concluded that
"Language competence in the Foreign Service is
primarily a function of money and people. With
adequate appropriations and adequate numbers of
intelligent officers, any desired level of language
competence can be obtained. The committee intends
that foreign language competence be raised
substantially--not for its own sake--but based on
actual needs in U.S. missions overseas. The
committee expects that the designation of Foreign
Service officer positions abroad requiring language
competence shall be based largely on the
recommendations of the mission chief without regard
to current budgetary targets. The Department of
State estimates that the implementation of the
language program will cost about $250,000 per year
over a 5-year period. This would seem to be a
small price when measured against the urgent need."
Accordingly, several sections of the act are concerned with
foreign language competency.
-- Section 16 made foreign language knowledge prerequisite
to designated positions.
-- Section 17 authorized within-class salary increases
"based upon especially meritorious service." The Senate
report gave as an example "the learning of unusual
foreign languages on an officer's own initiative."
-- Section 18 dealt with the relationship between
promotions and functional and geographic area
specialization. The Senate report recommended the
Foreign Service officers careers "be devoted to one of
the larger geographic areas [where] they could then
concentrate on the languages, culture, and problems of
the area and develop outstanding excellence."
-- Section 29 instructed the Secretary to provide
"orientation and language training to spouses and
employees of the government in anticipation of [their]
assignment abroad. . ."
-- Section 30(b) authorized the Secretary to hire staff for
the Foreign Service Institute who are not U.S. citizens
"in the absence of suitably qualified United States
citizens." Lao teachers were mentioned as an example.
Section 30(b) also authorized the incentive payments:
"The Secretary may . . . provide special monetary
or other incentives not inconsistent with this Act
to encourage Foreign Service personnel to acquire
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or retain proficiency in esoteric foreign languages
or special abilities needed in the Service."
The legislative history does not discuss what incentives may be
"inconsistent with the act," nor does it define "esoteric" or
"special abilities." However, the Senate report discusses what
they are not:
"The committee believes this new authority is
necessary but desires that it be employed very
cautiously. The term "esoteric foreign languages"
certainly does not include such languages as
French, German, Spanish, and Italian which many
Americans have an opportunity to learn. In the
administration of a language incentives program
language proficiency must be tested frequently and
standards of competency must be kept high.
"The "special abilities" which are to be encouraged
are not the traditional skills expected of Foreign
Service officers nor the ordinary academic
disciplines which reasonably well educated officers
bring with them into the Service."
This section of the Foreign Service Act is still on the
books. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 reworded and renumbered
the provision, but the meaning remains the same, as does
congressional interest. House Conference Report No. 96-1432
said the following about language competence:
"The House bill contained provisions describing the
following:
1) the characteristics that should be found in the
Senior Foreign Service;
2) the types of examinations which may be presented
for appointment to the Foreign Service;
3) the criteria under which a career candidate can
be initially appointed to a class higher than
class 4; and
4) the records of ability and performance which may
be examined by selection boards.
"The Senate amendment added an explicit reference to
foreign language competence in each of the above described
provisions."
Cost
The costs provided by USIA for language incentive for
fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are $306,000 and $347,000,
respectively. USIA did not provide us costs for language
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proficiency and AID and the Department of State did not provide
costs for either item because their accounting systems do not
capture costs in such a way that the costs for these items are
readily available.
LIVING QUARTERS ALLOWANCE
According to the legislative history, this allowance is
intended to ensure employees are able to afford adequate and
suitable housing. The allowance reimburses a U.S. government
employee for certain housing costs, including rent, heat, light,
and water when government quarters are not provided. Maximum
allowances are established based upon the employee's grade
level, family size, and location.
Providing housing was seen as essential to diminish
disparities between American and other diplomats, provide
appropriate quarters for employees required to entertain foreign
dignitaries and businessmen, and boost the morale of employees
serving overseas. When it became apparent that the State
Department was not able to meet its goal of providing government
housing to all Foreign Service employees overseas, the
Department asked the Congress to approve a living quarters
allowance in order to compensate all members of the Foreign
Service under more equitable terms.
Legislative history
The Foreign Service Buildings Act was passed in 1926 with
the long view of furnishing government housing to employees of
all U.S. government agencies, including members of the Foreign
Service, in certain parts of the world. However, by 1930, the
government was providing housing to only 20 percent of the
Foreign Service personnel overseas. Consequently, while some
employees lived in government residences without charge, the
majority of officers were still required to use personal income
to pay rental fees for quarters.
In order to redress the inequitable housing practices
overseas, the Department of State sought the authority to
provide government quarters or a quarters allowance for members
of the Foreign Service overseas. First, the Department's
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1930 authorized the Secretary
of State to furnish employees of the Foreign Service, without
cost to them, living quarters and utilities in government-owned
or rented buildings. A year later, Congress authorized the
Secretary to provide employees a housing allowance where
government quarters were unavailable. Specifically, the act of
June 26, 1930, stated that ". . . employees of the government
having permanent station in a foreign country may be furnished,
without cost to them, living quarters, including heat, fuel, and
light in government-owned or rented buildings, and where such
quarters are not available, may be granted an allowance for
living quarters, including heat, fuel, and light. . . ."
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During hearings before the House Foreign Affairs Committee
on the 1930 legislation, the Secretary of State noted several
reasons why Congress should endorse this proposal. First, the
Secretary reminded the Committee that only a limited number of
employees resided in government-provided quarters; at most
posts, no such quarters were available. Consequently, granting
a quarters allowance would provide means to compensate all
employees on similar terms. Second, foreign diplomats stationed
in the United States received a housing allowance from their
governments as did employees of American companies stationed
overseas. Third, the Secretary argued that providing housing or
an allowance would boost the morale of current officers who were
still without government housing as well as serve as an
important recruitment incentive for prospective officers.
In 1945, an amendment to the Act for the Grading and
Classification of Foreign Service Clerks of 1931 made clerks
eligible for government quarters or a living quarters
allowance. In addition, this act added gas and electricity to
the list of utilities covered under the living quarters
allowance.
The most significant changes to the living quarters
allowance were incorporated into the Foreign Service Act of
1946. Specifically, the act clarified the conditions under
which officers were authorized such an allowance, namely (1)
whenever government-owned or rented quarters were not available
and (2) for the cost of lodging at temporary quarters upon first
arrival at a new post, for a period not in excess of 3 months or
until occupation of residence quarters. A report from the
Committee of Foreign Affairs (No. 2508) indicated that the
provision of a temporary lodging allowance upon first arrival
was implicit in the existing statute. The new legislation
merely specified that quarters allowances given an officer who
must stay in a hotel until he finds permanent quarters may be
paid in amounts higher than the established living quarters
allowance rate.
In 1956, a minor refinement was made to the basic
legislation to include water among the utilities covered by the
allowance. Senate Report No. 1175 and House Report No. 2508
indicated it was approved without debate on the assumption that
it was overlooked by the composers of the Foreign Service Act of
1946.
The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960,
authorized an additional temporary lodging allowance for a
period not to exceed 1 month prior to final departure and
authorized funds to cover the expenses of initial repairs,
alterations, and improvements to an employee's privately-leased
residence at a foreign post of assignment. In Senate
subcommittee hearings on the subject, the Chief of the
Department's Allowance Division endorsed the temporary lodging
allowance prior to departure because employees were transferred
at the convenience of the government, and hence were unable to
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AP..-?? APPENDIX III
control the timing of-their departure. It was argued that the
officers should not have to bear the extra expense of hotel
accommodations when they vacated their privately leased quarters
just prior to leaving the post. The allowance to cover the
initial repairs on an employee's residence was intended to
alleviate the financial burden of making substandard dwellings
suitable for occupancy. The Department spokesman cited the
installation of plumbing as an example of a repair whose cost
would be reimbursed to the employee under this provision.
Cost
The costs provided by AID, the Department of State, and
USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
AID $ 2,527 $2,266
State 8,054 6,994
USIA 713 679
Total
$11,294 $9,939
LOCAL FOREIGN HOLIDAYS
U.S. citizen employees may be excused from duty on local
holidays if the post is closed to the public by administrative
order.
Legislative history
Section 205 of the Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951 (5
U.S.C. 6302(a)) provides that annual leave will not be charged
for absences such as holidays.
"The days of leave provided by this subchapter are
days on which an employee would otherwise work and
receive pay and are exclusive of holidays and
nonworkdays established by Federal statute,
executive order, or administrative order."
Executive Order 10893 of November 8, 1960, delegated
authority to chiefs of diplomatic missions to exercise
supervision over all government agencies operating in their
respective countries:
"Section 201. Functions of Chiefs of United States
Diplomatic Missions. The several Chiefs of the
United States Diplomatic Missions in foreign
countries, as the representatives of the President
and acting on his behalf, shall have and exercise,
to the extent permitted by law and in accordance
with such instructions as the President may from
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX 111
time to time promulgate, affirmative responsibility
for the coordination and supervision over the
carrying out by agencies of their functions in the
respective countries."
This delegation included the authority for U.S. employees to
observe another country's holidays. The essence of this
executive order was enacted, with some modifications, in section
12 of the Department of State Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
1975. Public Law 93-475 of October 26, 1974, amended State's
Basic Authorities Act to read:
"Section 16. Under the direction of the
President--
"(1) the United States Ambassador to a foreign
country shall have full responsibility for the
direction, coordination, and supervision of all
United States Government officers and employees in
that country, except for personnel under the
command of a United States area military commander;
"(2) the Ambassador shall keep himself fully and
currently informed with respect to all activities
and operations of the United States Government
within that country, and shall insure that all
Government officers and employees in that country,
except for personnel under the command of a United
States area military commander, comply fully with
his directives; and
"(3) any department or agency having officers or
employees in a country shall keep the United States
Ambassador to that country fully and currently
informed with respect to all activities and
operations of its officers and employees in that
country, and shall insure that all of its officers
and employees, except for personnel under the
command of a United States area military commander,
comply fully with all applicable directives of the
Ambassador."
This provision originated in the Senate when, on March 28,
1974, Senator Muskie submitted the section as Amendment No.
1117. He cited incidents of CIA meddling in Thailand's internal
affairs and the FBI bugging columnist Joseph Kraft's telephone
in Paris--both without knowledge of the Ambassador--as the
justification of this formal statement of in-country command and
control. Senator Muskie also noted that this amendment would
give the force of law to what Presidents Kennedy and Nixon had
already said in letters to their ambassadors.
This provision gives U.S. ambassadors full responsibility
for the direction and supervision of all civilian employees in
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? AYYENVIA
their respective countries, including the authority to declare
local holidays as "nonworkdays."
The Department of State Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
1979 (Public Law 95-426 of October 7, 1978) amended the
provision by substituting "chief of mission" for "ambassador."
Cost
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not provide us
costs for this item in fiscal years 1984 and 1985 because their
accounting systems do not capture the cost of this in such a way
that it is readily available.
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE EXPENSES
The official residence expenses allowance defrays the
unusual housekeeping expenses incurred to maintain the official
government residences of the principal officers at post, whose
duties require they entertain dignitaries at their homes. The
residences of the ambassador, the deputy chief of mission, and
senior officials of non-foreign affairs agencies are examples of
official residences.
Legislative history
As early as 1908, legislators discussed the advantages of
housing ambassadors and giving them an allowance to cover the
necessary expenses of furnishing and maintaining the residence.
Legislators remarked, for example, that some representatives of
the American government had the financial resources to maintain
lavish residences, while others, without private means, were
compelled to live more modestly. They argued that housing and
an allowance for incidental expenses might facilitate the
stationing of intelligent individuals of modest means to the
larger, more expensive capitals. In addition, legislators
argued that the U.S. government lagged behind several European
countries, including Great Britain, France, Germany, and
Austria, in providing both housing and an allowance to principal
representatives.
Despite these discussions, no residence expense allowance
was authorized until the passage of the Foreign Service Act of
1946. Specifically, the act provided that "the Secretary may
. . . make an allotment of funds to any post to defray the
unusual expenses incident to the operation and maintenance of an
official residence suitable for the chief representative of the
United States at the post." According to a House Foreign
Affairs report (No. 2508), the allowance would reimburse the
chief representative for the extra and unusual expenses incurred
in maintaining a residence commensurate with the position. Such
expenses might include salaries for household servants and other
miscellaneous operating expenses which, until then, fell
directly upon the principal officer. As their colleagues argued
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nearly 40 years earlier, some committee members held that such
an allowance would allow representatives without private means
to serve at certain overseas posts and would reduce the
disparity between the salaries paid to American representatives
and the salaries paid representatives of foreign governments.
In 1956 the authorization was extended to include all
principal representatives at post. In hearings held before a
Senate subcommittee, legislators repeated the argument that some
posts were still beyond the reach of high-ranking career
officials because they could not afford to maintain and operate
the residence at their current level of salaries and
allowances. The Department insisted that at some posts the
responsibilities assigned to the deputy chief of mission were
,like those of the ambassador and required the deputy to reside
in more lavish housing than might be found at other posts.
Whereas the existing legislation granted the chief
representative a reimbursement for residence expenses, the
deputy chiefs of mission were compelled to cover costs, such as
the salaries of extra servants and additional housekeeping
expenses, out of their own pocket. Although a Department
spokesperson at one point spoke of only four to six posts where
deputy chiefs of mission would benefit from such an allowance,
the same spokesperson indicated in later hearings that no more
than 20 posts would be granted this allowance.
The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960
amended the provision to grant a reimbursement for such expenses
incurred by "chief representatives . . .and such other senior
officials of the Government of foreign countries as the
President may designate." In information provided to a Senate
subcommittee, the Department of State explained that this
addition was intended to extend to non-foreign affairs agencies
the authority to pay costs of unusual housekeeping for their
principal officers. The subcommittee was assured that the
authority would continue to be used sparingly with the
Department of State as the principal user, but would also assist
senior officials of other government agencies who must maintain
residences which are larger and more elaborate than otherwise
would be required.
Cost
The following costs were provided by AID, the Department of
State, and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - -(thousands)- - -
AID $ 65 $ 70
State 7,892 7,877
USIA - 206 209
Total
$8,163, $8,156
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POST ALLOWANCE
The post allowance supplements the salary of an employee
assigned to a foreign post where the cost of living is higher
than in Washington, D.C. by at least 3 percent. The allowance
is intended to ensure that an employee is able to purchase goods
and services comparable to those the employee could purchase in
the Washington area with salary alone. The post allowance,
which is reviewed annually, is a flat payment received by the
employee from the time of arrival at a high-cost post until
departure. The actual amount of the allowance varies by salary
level and family size.
Legislative history
Congress first appropriated funds for post allowances to
supplement the salaries of diplomatic and consular officers in
1917. Viewed as a temporary measure to offset consumer price
increases resulting from the war, the monies were reserved for
officers in "belligerent countries and countries contiguous
thereto." In discussions on appropriating funds for this
purpose in 1916, some members of congress suggested that once
such an allowance was provided, it would be difficult to rescind
and would likely grow larger each year. These skeptics were
assured, however, that once the war was over and economic
conditions returned to normal, there would be no need for such
an allowance.
In fiscal year 1918, the amount appropriated rose from the
fiscal year 1917 level of $150,000 to $200,000; in fiscal year
1919, the fund jumped to $700,000. Supporters of the 1919 bill
attributed the sudden increase to worsening inflationary
conditions worldwide, which translated into larger allowances
for a greater number of officers. As before, the allowance was
packaged as temporary assistance to lower-salaried officers who
could not otherwise afford to live at their posts of assignment,
as well as an economical alternative to permanent salary
increases. While Congress appreciated the need for allowances
and supported the funding increases, it also reemphasized the
extraordinary nature of the provision by limiting it to "during
pendency of existing war and for 6 months after its
termination."
At the war's end, however, Congress concurred with the
Department of State that the need for additional compensation
still existed. In particular, the Department maintained that
prices were as high or higher than they were during the war and
would not likely return to pre-war levels for several years.
Furthermore, even though employees were receiving allowances
equivalent to 50 percent to 100 percent of their salaries, the
Department pressed for more liberal legislative language in
order to stem the tide of resignations by officers protesting
inadequate salaries. The appropriation bill for fiscal year
1920 lifted the geographical and temporal limitations on the
applicability of the allowance.
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The amounts appropriated for the post allowance continued
to decline through fiscal year 1928 when Congress appropriated
only $24,000. In subsequent years, however, the amount rose to
$100,000 by reason of unusually high living expenses and adverse
conditions of foreign exchange.
In 1931, Congress sought to clarify who should receive the
post allowance. Since its inception, the allowance had been
authorized to diplomatic and consular officers. Congressional
discussions revealed, however, that the Department of State
interpreted the authorization more liberally than was intended
and included among its recipients clerks, who were not
technically foreign service officers, and, in some cases,
ambassadors, who, while members of the diplomatic corps, were
not suffering financial hardships similar to those of lower
salaried officers. The 1931 act for the grading and
classification of clerks explicitly authorized post allowances
for clerks and continued the allowance for "ambassadors;
ministers; diplomatic, consular, and foreign service officers
. . .wherever the cost of living may be proportionately so high
that . . .allowances are necessary to enable such . . .officers
to carry on their work efficiently." The legislative reports
regarding this provision did not elaborate on the meaning of the
phrase "proportionately so high that . . .such allowances are
necessary." However, a committee report on the Foreign Service
Act of 1946 (No. 2508), which continued this authority, seemed
to define the term when it noted that the allowance was intended
for American personnel at posts where the cost of living is
ascertained to be higher than in Washington, D.C.
Finally, the Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of
1960 stated the provision substantially in its existing form,
namely, that a post allowance may be granted to an employee in a
foreign area ". . .to offset the difference between the cost of
living at a post of assignment . . .and the cost of living in
Washington, District of Columbia." House Report No. 902 stated
that this allowance was intended to compensate for higher living
costs and not as a recruitment and retention incentive.
Cost
The following costs were provided by AID, the Department of
State, and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - -(thousands)- - -
AID $ 742 $ 569
State 2,764 2,371
USIA 463 390
Total
$3,969 $3,330
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POST DIFFERENTIAL
Post differential is intended to serve as an incentive in
recruiting and retaining personnel for locations where unusual
hardship conditions exist. Employees of AID, the Department of
State, and USIA permanently stationed or on extended temporary
duty at 221 designated locations (as of December 1985) receive
10, 15, 20, or 25 percent of their basic pay as post
differential depending on the nature and severity of hardships
at the given post. The differential may be reduced if a danger
pay allowance is granted, to avoid dual crediting for dangerous
living conditions.
Legislative history
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 authorized the Secretary of
State to grant a salary differential, not to exceed 25 percent,
to certain officers at posts where extraordinarily difficult
living conditions, excessive physical hardships, or notably
unhealthful conditions existed. House Foreign Affairs Committee
Report No. 2508 indicated that this allowance was to be used to
attract lower-salaried employees to difficult posts. Foreign
Service officers in higher positions would not receive the
differential. Instead, these officers received extra credit
towards retirement for service at unhealthful posts, which were
essentially the same as those listed in the hardship category.
In 1955, Congress amended the 1946 act by making all
Foreign Service employees at designated posts eligible for the
differential, regardless of salary. Department regulations
nevertheless prohibited chiefs of mission from receiving this
allowance. The 1955 amendment also provided that those
employees receiving a salary differential could not earn extra
credit for service at unhealthful posts.
The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960
liberalized the existing authority by removing the requirement
that the differential be made available only at posts where
extraordinary hardship conditions existed. Instead, the 1960
act allowed the Secretary to grant the differential if the
conditions of environment differed substantially from those in
the continental United States. In addition, the differential
was made available to all U.S. government employees officially
stationed or on extended detail at a designated hardship post.
In September 1981, the Department modified its regulations
to pay the post differential to chiefs of mission as long as
their combined salary plus post differential did not exceed $100
less than the Executive Level II salary. In August 1985, the
ceiling was raised to allow chiefs of mission to earn a salary
plus differential up to $100 less than the Executive Level I
salary Of $86,200.
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Cost
The costs provided by the Department of State and USIA for
fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are shown below; AID did not provide
us a cost because its accounting system does not capture a cost
for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
State $13,162 $15,137
USIA 2,143 2,473
Total
$15,305 $17,610
REPRESENTATION ALLOWANCE
The representation allowance helps to defray the costs of
official entertainment and customary gifts which appropriately
further U.S. interests abroad. Adult family members may also
receive this allowance for official entertainment even if the
employee is not present at the event. Claims not covered due to
insufficient funds may be tax deductible when expenses are
properly certified by appropriate authorizing officials.
Legislative history
The Roger's Act of 1924 established a representation
allowance to be paid ". . .to diplomatic missions and to
consular offices . . .out of any money which may be appropriated
for such a purpose from time to time by Congress. . . ."
Committee hearings on the subject revealed that the Department
of State expected the representation allowance to cover such
diverse items as furnishings for the official residence, rent
for officers' residences, entertainment, and Fourth of July
receptions. Moreover, the Department suggested that the
representation allowance be combined with a post allowance,
which at the time was authorized at only a few posts. The
representation allowance could be used to defray the costs of
entertaining on the government's behalf as well as serve as an
allowance to compensate officers for other extraordinary
expenses incurred while overseas.
Despite reference to a possible dual-purpose allowance, the
Department advocated the representation allowance substantially
as a means to recompense officers the cost of entertaining
officials. For instance, a Department spokesperson remarked
that diplomatic and consular officers were encouraged, even
obliged, to entertain foreign officials as well as Americans
visiting the post, the expenses for which were borne by the
individuals. By doing so, the spokesperson insisted, officers
were able to display their enthusiasm for work while serving
government interests. However, for those officers who had no
source of income other than their Foreign Service salaries, the
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costs of entertaining constituted a significant drain on their
personal finances. Consequently, the Department believed the
government should reimburse officers these costs.
Additional reasons cited to justify appropriating funds for
representational expenses were that (1) for some years, the
British and French governments, among others, had given their
officials a representation allowance to cover a variety of
representational expenses, and (2) such an allowance could serve
as a tool to recruit competent, but not necessarily wealthy,
officers into the Foreign Service.
Between 1924 and 1980, no substantive changes were made to
the basic law. For instance, 1931 legislation concerning the
classification of Foreign Service clerks made specific reference
to positions at posts which would be authorized a representation
allowance, namely, "ambassadors, diplomatic, consular, and
Foreign Service officers." The Foreign Service Act of 1946
generalized the wording by providing for ". . .the proper
representation of. the United States by officers or employees of
the Service." In 1960, the Overseas Differentials and
Allowances Act provided that such allowances would be granted to
"any employee of the Service who is a citizen of the United
States."
In 1980, however, the authorization for representation
allowances was expanded to include the family members of
officers and employees. Specifically, the Foreign Service Act
of 1980 provided that ". . .the Secretary may provide for
official receptions and may pay entertainment and
representational expenses (including expenses of family members)
to enable the Department and the Foreign Service to provide for
the proper representation of the United States and its
interests." Subcommittee hearings on the Foreign Service Act of
1980 contained only few discussions on this subject.
Nevertheless, hearings before the Committee on Foreign Relations
indicated that the Department's Undersecretary for Management
believed the existing representation allowance was adequate. He
stated that the representation allowance covered .an estimated 96
percent to 97 percent of the officers' out-of-pocket expenses
and characterized the present sum as a fair reimbursement. In
response to questions concerning spouse access to such funds,
the Undersecretary stated that spouses were permitted a
representation allowance under special circumstances, such as
when the Foreign Service officer cannot attend the official
function. At least at that time, the Department made no appeal
to have its authorization expanded or its appropriation for this
allowance increased.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee (Report No. 96-992)
supported the addition of family members based on its
recognition that family members, and particularly spouses, play
an important role at official functions. The Committee believed
that liberalizing the use of representational funds would
alleviate the financial burden placed on Foreign Service
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families who were forced to use their personal income for
representational expenses.
In addition, having lifted the requirement that an employee
receiving such an allowance must be a United States citizen, the
Department opened up the provision to foreign nationals who are
occasionally called upon to perform representational duties.
Cost
The following costs were provided by AID, the Department of
State, and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - -(thousands)- - -
AID $ 93 $ 97
State 4,170 4,531
USIA 604 669
Total
$4,867 $5,297
REPRESENTATIONAL TRAVEL FOR FAMILY
The Secretary is authorized to pay travel and related
expenses incurred by members of the Foreign Service and their
families for representational purposes. This type of travel is
generally restricted to family members of high level officers
and authorized only when a clear need for dual representation
exists.
Legislative history
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1963 (Public Law 88-205 of
December 16, 1963) amended the Foreign Service Act to allow a
dependent of an employee to accompany the employee on authorized
representational travel within the country of assignment.
Travel outside the country of assignment was authorized only "at
the discretion of the Secretary . . . but in no case to exceed
one member of his family." The term "travel expenses" was not
defined.
House Report No. 646 of August 8, 1963 said the bill
(HR7885) was needed because
"experience has shown that representation is
frequently conducted more successfully by a
man-and-wife team than by an officer alone, and in the
case of a single or widowed officer, when accompanied
by a sister or other relative who normally acts as
hostess. There may be occasions when an ambassador
may be accompanied by a son or daughter to a meeting
of local youth groups."
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nrrEami.J.LA iii. APPENDIX III
The Report continued:
"Customarily our ambassador accompanies a chief of
state when the latter visits the United States. On
such occasions the wife of the chief of state often
accompanies her husband. This section will authorize
the Secretary to include the wife of an ambassador or
any other dependent serving as his hostess in the
official party."
We found no other discussion or analysis of the provision.
Nothing was found in the hearings or in discussion on the floors
of the Senate and House. Neither Senate Report No. 588, which
also reported on H.R. 7885, nor the President's original bill
mentioned representational travel. Such travel is mentioned in
the conference report (House Report No. 1006) but not discussed.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 revised the wording but the
authority remains the same. The Senate and House reports
accompanying the 1980 Act did not discuss the continiled need for
such a provision. The benefit was not mentioned in either House
or Senate hearings.
Cost
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not provide us
costs for this item in fiscal years 1984 and 1985 because their
accounting systems do not capture the cost of this item in such
a way that it is readily available.
REST AND RECUPERATION
This benefit provides travel expenses (but not subsistence)
for an employee and the employee's family from locations abroad
specifically designated by the Secretary of State to other
locations abroad having different 'social, climatic, or other
environmental conditions. The cost of travel from the post to a
suitable relief area must be so great as to make it unreasonable
to expect that the employee could finance the family's travel.
The purpose of rest and recuperation travel is to make
assignments at certain hardship posts more acceptable.
One round trip during any continuous 2-year tour unbroken
by home leave, and two round trips during any continuous 3-year
tour unbroken by home leave, are authorized. The employee's
absence from post is charged to annual leave, earned
compensatory time off, or leave without pay.
Legislative History
The Act for International Development of 1961 (Public Law
87-195 of September 4, 1961) created the benefit of rest and
recuperation travel "to other locations abroad having different
environmental conditions" than those at the post at which the
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MI-.CDIAL1A J.J.J. rirrnow?n
person serves. There was no discussion of this benefit in
committee hearings or on the floors of the House and Senate
during final passage. However, House Report No. 851 of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs said this benefit "is of particular
importance to the AID agency, many of whose personnel are
stationed in unhealthful posts isolated from modern civilization
and climatically difficult." ,The report said that an employee
in Yemen or Khartoum "might wish to take his family, to Asmara or
Cairo, respectively, but would be unable to do so because of the
high cost of transportation."
The 1961 act authorized travel expenses for one round trip
during any continuous 2-year tour unbroken by home leave and two
round trips during any continuous 3-year tour unbroken by home
leave, but was silent as regards per diem and authorized time.
Report No. 851 said "travel time and the period spent in rest
and recuperation will be charged to annual leave" but also was
silent regarding per diem.
This benefit originated in the House of Representatives.
Nothing was found in the Senate documents nor in the President's
original transmittal to Congress.
The Fiscal Year 1979 Department of State Authorization Act
(Public Law 95-426 of October 7, 1978) expanded the benefit by
allowing travel to the United States as an alternate to
loca?ions abroad. Senate Report No. 95-842 gives three reasons
for this change:
"First, rapid and profound developments in
American life make it desirable for employees to
return more than once every two or three years, as
is the case with home leave. The change will have
the practical effect of making a yearly trip
possible for persons eligible for rest and
recuperation, while the original purpose for rest
and recuperation--to enable employees and
dependents to take an annual sojourn away from a
difficult environment--will continue to be served.
"Second, the opportunity to spend rest and
recuperation in the United States will be of
special and needed help to the many Foreign
Service families whose children are in college...
"Third, such a change offers certain favorable
economic benefits, both to employees and to the
United States in general. International economic
conditions have altered profoundly since passage
of the Mutual Security Act of 1961, and the cost
of living in the United States is now lower than
in most designated relief areas. . . At the same
time, such travel would benefit the United States
balance of payments. Vacations in the United
States mean dollars spent in the United States,
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arenNulA 111
and families returning to the United States would
travel on American carriers."
The same report acknowledged that this could increase costs;
perhaps to as much as $5.6 million. However, House Conference
Report No. 95-1535 said
"the Secretary should give appropriate
consideration to the benefits to employee morale
to be derived from this provision as well as to
the budgetary impact the provision may have on
other agency programs and activities."_
Both reports instructed the Department to "whenever possible"
use U.S. carriers and take advantage of discount fares and
add-on features of airline tickets. The Senate report said:
"These new discount fares, which the committee
expects the Department to use wherever possible,
together with the certainty that only a fraction
of rest and recuperation leave would be taken in
the United States, mean that the actual costs
associated with this provision will probably be
far less that [sic] $5.6 million."
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-465 of
October 17, 1980) expanded the benefit two ways. First, the
criteria was changed to "different social, climatic, or other
environmental conditions." Second, the Secretary was authorized
to grant additional trips "in extraordinary circumstances." The
legislative history does not provide very much information as to
why these changes were made. The changes were in the original
bill as submitted by the president and introduced in the Senate,
but nothing was discussed during the Senate hearings.
Senate Report No. 96-913 and House Report No. 96-992, Part
1, contained identical paragraphs about rest and recuperation,
and addressed only the second change:
"The authority for the Secretary to permit additional
trips in extraordinary cases is added because there are
a few posts at which members of the Service encounter
such isolation and difficult conditions that more
frequent trips for rest and recuperation are essential
to the well being of individuals and the efficiency of
operations."
The specific countries were not named in either report. During
the House hearings, however, Saudi Arabia and China were
mentioned as examples.
Cost
The following costs were provided by AID, the Department of
State, and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985.
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FY 1984 FY 1985
- - -(thousands)- - -
AID $ 1,340 $ 1,384
State 3,490 3,539
USIA 427 514
Total
$ 5,257 $ 5,437
RETIREMENT AT AGE 50
A Foreign Service officer may retire when at least 50 years
of age and after 20 years of creditable service (excluding
military service). After the officer's agency approves his/her
application, the officer is entitled to an immediate annuity.
This option was offered in recognition of the special conditions
encountered in the Foreign Service.
Legislative history
As of 1920, there was no distinction between Foreign
Service and other federal civilian employees. The act of May
22, 1920, generally established an age requirement of 70 years
and at least 15 years of service for most civilian employees
from the government to retire.
The Rogers Act of May 24, 1924, created a separate
retirement system for Foreign Service officers and provided that
"when any Foreign Service officer has reached the age of 65
years and rendered at least 15 years of service, he shall be
retired." There was no provision for voluntary retirement. The
Rogers Act also created the unhealthful post retirement credit.
The act of February 23, 1931, provided for voluntary
retirement before age 65 if the officer had at least 30 years of
service.
The 1939 amendment to the 1931 act (Public Law 40 of April
24, 1939) lowered the retirement age (1) to 60 if unhealthful
post retirement credit was used and (2) below 60 with 30 years
of service if the unhealthful post retirement credit was not
used.
Retirement at age 50 first appeared in the 1941 amendment
(Public Law 69 of May 13, 1941) to the 1931 act. It provided
for retirement at age 50 with at least 30 years service at the
discretion of the Secretary. Also, the officer could retire at
age 50 with at least 15 but less than 30 years of service
"exclusive of unhealthful post credit."
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 created the benefit as we
know it today: "Any Foreign Service officer who is at least 50
years of age and has rendered 20 years of service, including
service within the meaning of section 853 [unhealthful post
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retirement credit], may on his own application and with the
consent of the Secretary be retired from the Service. . ."
Also, the normal retirement age was lowered from 65 to 60.
This act also began the "promotion-up or selection-out"
system for Foreign Service officers, and the 50-20 retirement
option was considered necessary for operation of the up-or-out
system according to House Report No. 2508. The same report
continued, "It is furthermore in accordance with the general
trend in the armed forces and in private businesses, especially
those which operate foreign services, to reduce retirement
ages." The report did not specify which private businesses
operated their own foreign service.
The 50-20 retirement option has not changed since 1946.
Senate Foreign Relations hearings in 1979 and 1983 reiterated
approval of this benefit. Senate Report No. 98-143 of May 23,
1983, says "the unique, difficult, and often dangerous
conditions under which Foreign Service officers serve. . . and
the 'up-or-out' mandatory retirement features of the Foreign
Service personnel system are the primary reasons for the
existing early voluntary retirement age. . ."
Cost
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not provide us
costs for this item in fiscal years 1984 and 1985 because their
accounting systems do not capture the cost of- this item in such
a way that it is readily available.
SEPARATE MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE
The separate maintenance allowance reimburses employees for
some of the added costs of maintaining a separate residence away
from post. The major expense considered is housing, plus
certain other costs due to the diseconomies of living apart.
The rates vary by the number of dependents of the employee
Legislative history
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 enabled the Secretary of
State to grant an allowance to assist an officer who was
compelled or authorized because of dangerous, notably
unhealthful, or excessively adverse conditions at the post of
assignment or for the convenience of the government to meet the
additional expense of maintaining the employee's dependents
elsewhere. A committee report stated that a so-called
separation allowance had been paid with the approval of Congress
since 1941 to American employees stationed at posts in war-torn
areas where dependents were not allowed to reside. The
allowance was intended to assist in meeting the extra expenses
incurred to maintain a residence at the post and another in the
United States. According to the report, the Department
established the amounts of its allowances on the basis of those
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provided to employees of American corporations under similar
circumstances abroad.
By the end of the war, the number of posts eligible for the
allowance had been reduced, but the need for such an allowance
was still believed to exist at some posts. The 1946 legislation
perpetuated the authority and made one significant change.
Under the amended terms, employees were permitted to maintain
their families in a country near the employee's country of
assignment rather than in the United States and still receive
the separate maintenance allowance.
The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960
continued this authority with one important change.
Specifically, Congress removed the requirement that the family
must reside elsewhere than the employee's country of assignment
and allowed the family to remain at a different location within
the country. Department of State information provided to a
Senate subcommittee noted that employees stationed in large
countries, such as India, would benefit greatly from such an
amendment.. For example, strife could occur at one post, such as
Bombay, while Delhi remained quiet and safe. In such a case,
the family could receive the allowance while remaining closer to
the employee than existing legislation would permit. In
addition, the Department would be relieved of the large expense
of sending the spouse and dependents to another country.
Finally, the Foreign Service Act of 1980 broadened the
authorization of the allowance by removing the condition that
the employee must be compelled to maintain a second household
because of particular circumstances at post. Instead, an
officer could elect to maintain two households. Specifically,
the amended provision stated that a separate maintenance
allowance may be granted to an officer who requests such an
allowance because of special needs or hardships involving the
employee's spouse or dependents'. The provision was designed to
make the service more responsive to family needs, which required
more flexibility than was deemed necessary at the time the first
Foreign Service Act or even the 1960 legislation was passed.
According to Senate Report No. 96-913, the legislation would
serve two purposes: (1) to provide financial assistance to
families who chose to live apart to allow the non-Foreign
Service spouse and dependents to pursue career or educational
goals elsewhere than at post and (2) to save the government the
cost of transferring families to, and maintaining them at, the
post of assignment.
Cost
The following costs were provided by the Department of
State and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985; AID did not
provide us a cost because its accounting system does not capture
a cost for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
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FY 1984 FY 1985
- - -(thousands)- - -
State 1,129 1,472
USIA 153 197
Total
SPECIAL DIFFERENTIAL
$1,282 $1,669
The special differential is additional compensation paid to
certain Foreign Service officers who, because of the nature of
their assignments, are required to perform additional work on a
regular basis in substantial excess of normal requirements.
This allowance is paid to employees whose work does not lend
itself to a 5-day, 40-hour work week. Department regulations
limit the special differential to Foreign Service officers in
classes 4 through 8.
Legislative history
The Foreign Relations Authorizations Act of 1979 provided
that the Secretary may pay special allowances, as the
differential was then called, in addition to compensation
otherwise authorized, to Foreign Service officers who are
required to perform additional work on a regular basis in
substantial excess of normal requirements.
The House Committee on International Relations report
stated that Foreign Service officers are often called upon to
work long hours because foreign policy crises and American
citizens in trouble abroad do not observe a 5-day, 40-hour
week. The committee also stated that the U.S. government cannot
expect the employees to spend a career in the service of their
country without adequate compensation. This allowance would
ensure that such additional compensation would be available when
the Secretary deemed the extra duty in the interest of the
Foreign Service. In addition, the Committee of Conference
specified that the grades of the positions eligible for the
differential would be limited to classes 4 through 8.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 continued this authority
and added that if the Department wanted to limit either the
number of Foreign Service officers who may receive a special
differential or the amount of such differentials, the Secretary
must submit a proposal to congressional committees. In
addition, the amended provision stated that the act contained
nothing to preclude granting members of the Foreign Service
compensatory time off.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee supported the
amendments in recognition of the unique character of work
requirements of the Foreign Service. Therefore, the committee
held that no limit should be set on the number of individuals
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who can receive the special differential in a given year.
Instead, compensation would be provided to any employee who
meets the criteria set by the Department, subject only to
budgetary considerations. The report also noted that additional
pay was not intended for members of the Senior Foreign Service,
nor was it to be offered in conjunction with another form of
additional compensation, such as compensatory time. In
addition, the Committee made At clear that the special
differential was not to compensate employees on stand-by duty or
on call for long periods of time outside normal duty hours.
Cost
The following costs were provided by the Department of
State and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985; AID did not
provide us a cost because its accounting system does not capture
a cost for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
State $ 43 $ 57
USIA 2 3
Total
$ 45 $ 60
SPECIAL INCENTIVE DIFFERENTIAL
The special incentive differential is similar to the post
differential in that it grants additional pay to employees
assigned to posts where conditions are extremely difficult.
This additional payment, however, is specifically designed to be
used as a recruitment and retention incentive for filling
certain positions at designated posts. Under this provision, an
employee could receive up to 15 percent of his or her basic pay
as additional compensation. Although authority to grant the
allowance has existed since 1980, no one has received this
differential because the foreign affairs agencies have not been
able to agree on the types of positions or the particular posts
that would merit this incentive pay.
Legislative history
The special incentive differential was established under
the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The new provision explicitly
stated that an employee could be granted an additional
differential ". . .for an assignment to a post, determined to
have especially adverse conditions of environment which warrant
additional pay as a recruitment and retention incentive for the
filling of positions at that post." According to House Foreign
Affairs Report No. 96-992, the existing differential of 25
percent of basic pay had proven insufficient to attract good
employees and their families to accept certain assignments.
Instead, positions at posts where living conditions were
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particularly adverse were often left open for many months until
a willing employee could be found to accept the assignment. The
Committee also noted that private industry offered up to a 80
percent differential to lure employees to certain sites, as did
other diplomatic services.
Although the Department would be responsible for
designating special incentive posts, the Committee envisioned
some of the determining factors to include weather, health
conditions, isolation, violent social or political unrest, and
difficulty in assigning personnel. In addition, in cases where
both a special incentive differential and danger pay were
warranted, the special incentive would be reduced accordingly.
The Committee estimated that about 52 posts could be
characterized by excessively adverse environments, but a Senate
Committee estimated that only 18 posts would be eligible for the
incentive pay in fiscal years 1980 through 1985.
Cost
Regulations for this benefit have not been promulgated and
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not incur costs for
this item in fiscal years 1984 and 1985.
TRANSFER ALLOWANCE
The transfer allowance reimburses employees for
subsistence, wardrobe, and miscellaneous expenses incurred upon
transfer from the United States or a post in a foreign area.
The subsistence expense portion is applied to costs incurred for
temporary lodging and related expenses before departure from the
United States to an overseas post of assignment and after return
from an assignment abroad for a tour in the United States. (The
temporary lodging allowance discussed in the section "living
quarters allowance" covers similar expenses incurred in a
foreign country prior to departure to another post of
assignment.) The miscellaneous expense portion partially
reimburses the employee for additional expenses peculiar to
moving from country to country, such as purchasing new
appliances, equipment, and furniture. The wardrobe expense
portion, which applies to a limited number of foreign transfers,
assists with costs of changing types of clothing essential in
the transfer between tropical and frigid climatic zones.
Legislative history
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 established a foreign
transfer allowance to reimburse personnel for extraordinary and
necessary expenses, not otherwise compensated for, incident to
establishing a residence at the post of assignment. The House
Foreign Affairs Committee justified this allowance on the basis
that an employee's initial outlays for new furniture,
appliances, and wardrobes, under certain conditions, at foreign
posts often resulted in financial hardship for the Foreign
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Service personnel and their families. In addition, such an
allowance was justified because officers of the British and
other foreign services, and representatives of American
corporations abroad, were being compensated for these expenses.
In 1955, the provision for a foreign transfer allowance was
amended to authorize a similar transfer allowance to an employee
assigned to a post in the United States between assignments to
posts abroad. Referred to as the home service transfer
allowance, it would cover the particular expenses connected with
establishing a residence in the United States, which the
Department claimed were as great or greater than those incurred
at posts abroad. A House Foreign Affairs Committee report
indicated that the home service transfer allowance would be a
combination of two payments: (1) a reimbursement for hotel room
expenses in the United States during the time the employee is
looking for permanent residence quarters and (2) a lump sum
payment to help offset miscellaneous expenses like those covered
by the existing transfer allowance. The report also stated that
the allowance was intended for officers who, after the tour of
duty in the United States, would be returning to duty abroad.
While the Committee did not envision that such payments would be
repaid if an employee, for some reason, could not return to
service abroad, it favored requiring the employee to reimburse
the government if he or she refused to return overseas for
reasons unacceptable to the Secretary.
In 1956, the Department exercised these authorities to
grant a supplementary post allowance. Specifically, the
Department promulgated regulations to reimburse the cost of
restaurant meals for employees who were compelled to occupy
non-housekeeping quarters upon first arrival at, or prior to
final departure from, a post. Originally, only employees with
dependents were reimbursed for these costs. In 1974, however,
this allowance was made available to all employees regardless of
family size.
In 1960, the Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act
continued the existing authority to government agencies to pay
transfer allowances. In 1975, however, the 1960 legislation was
amended to permit an allowance to cover cost incurred in the
United States prior to departure for a foreign post. Whereas
civil service personnel had been receiving such an allowance for
some years, foreign service officers were reimbursed only for
expenses incurred at the post of assignment. This amendment
would make universal the types of transfer allowances granted to
government employees.
Cost
The following costs were provided by the Department of
State and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985; AID did not
provide us a cost because its accounting system does not capture
a cost for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
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FY 1984 FY 1985
- - (thousands) - -
Transfer Allowance - Foreign
State $ 527 $ 570
USIA 138 121
Transfer Allowance - Home Service
State $ 269 $ 394
USIA 72 95
Total
$1,006 $1,180
TRANSPORTATION OF AUTO
The private automobile of a member of the Foreign Service
will be shipped by water, rail, or air transportation if the
Secretary decides such transportation is necessary.
Transportation of privately owned vehicles is only authorized in
connection with a transfer or assignment to an official station
outside of the conterminous United States, including a transfer
between such stations, if in the interest of the U.S.
government. When no longer needed abroad, the vehicle may also
be transported to the United States.
Legislative history
The act of June 30, 1932, prohibited transporting an
automobile at government expense. It was amended by the act of
April 30, 1940, to allow the Department to pay for that part of
the transportation necessary for ocean shipment. The officer
paid transportation costs to and from the ship.
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 extended the Department's
share to include rail and air transportation. House Report No.
2508 said the restriction to water transportation
"has frequently caused hardship, inconvenience, and
expense to the officer or employee concerned. The
existing legislation has, therefore, been amended
to permit the Secretary to authorize shipment of
automobiles by rail, water, or air. The latter
method of shipment will not, at present, be used
but, if air cargo transportation is developed to
the degree that now seems probable, it is not
unlikely that air transportation may prove to be in
certain instances the cheapest method of
transportation."
The report warned, however, that the transportation of a private
automobile was not to be granted automatically.
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"All payments made under the authority of this
section will be discretionary on the part of the
Secretary and the Secretary may refuse to transport
any automobile whenever he considers that the
interests of the government would not be advanced
by such transportation."
Senate Report No. 1731 did not discuss the benefit. The
Senate and the House both held hearings, but they were not
printed.
The Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act (Public Law
86-707 of September 6, 1960) extended to non-foreign affairs
agencies the authority to ship private automobiles, but there
were several qualifications. Senate Report No. 1647 said
"H.R. 7758 would authorize the shipment of
employees' vehicles by government transportation or
commercial means when the transportation is
considered by the head of the agency to be in the
interest of the government for the employees to
have the use of the motor vehicle at his post of
duty. . .
"Assurances have been given that this authority for
the transportation of privately owned motor
vehicles would be strictly administered to insure
that such transportation will be authorized only
where it is clear that the use of an employee's
motor vehicle will contribute to effectiveness in
the performance of official duties, is desirable
and suitable under local conditions, is in the
interest of the government, and is not solely for
the personal convenience of the employee.
"The agencies concerned state that the automobile
shipment allowance will be austerely administered.
For example, it is not contemplated that
automobiles will be shipped to any U.S. employees
stationed in Europe. The reason for this is that
European automobiles, which are available to U.S.
employees, are usually entirely adequate.
Furthermore, the larger U.S. cars are not suitable
to many narrow European roads and, because of their
size, they tend to have a.poor psychological effect
upon Europeans who see Americans driving them."
"In other countries where domestic cars are not
available, however, the authority for this
allowance is seen as essential so that employees
who need cars as part of their jobs will have
them."
The act also provided for transportation costs of a
replacement automobile under certain conditions:
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-- Replacement could be made only after 4 years in-country,
and then only after the Secretary had approved it in
advance.
The Secretary had to make a determination, in advance,
that such "replacement is necessary for reasons beyond
the control of the officer or employee and is in the
interest of the government."
House Report No. 902 also stressed that this authority "would be
strictly administered." The same authority was given to State,
AID, USIA, CIA, and the Foreign Agricultural Service of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture in order to attain uniformity
throughout the government.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 kept the provision
basically the same but added one additional rule to the 1960
rules. Under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, a replacement
vehicle may be transported incident to a reassignment within the
4-year period if the cost of transportation is less than or
equal to the cost of transporting the employee's present
vehicle. House Report No. 96-992, Part 1, said this added
provision "should avoid the unnecessary expense of transporting
older vehicles which are about to be replaced, often because
they cannot meet the inspection requirements of the country in
which the member is serving."
Cost
The cost provided by USIA for shipping replacement
automobiles in fiscal years 1984 and 1985 are $12,000 and
$15,000, respectively. USIA did not provide us costs for
shipping the initial vehicles and AID and the Department of
State did not report costs for either item because their
accounting systems do not capture costs in such a way that cost
for these items are readily available.
TRAVEL FOR CHILDREN
OF SEPARATED PARENTS
Foreign Service officers' children below age 21 may receive
annual transportation to visit the employee abroad if the
children do not regularly reside with the employee. If the
children reside with the employee, the children may visit the
other parent if he or she resides in a country other than the
member's post of assignment. No travel is authorized for
children receiving an education allowance or educational
travel. In addition, payment may not exceed the cost of round
trip travel between the post to which the member is assigned and
the port of entry in the conterminous United States which is
nearest to the post.
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Legislative history
The allowance was established under the Foreign Service Act
of 1980 as a means to deal with the fact that divorce, post
conditions, and the demands of a spouse's career have
increasingly led to separation of members of the Foreign Service
from their children. House and Senate committees agreed that
the government should assist Foreign Service employees who wish
to maintain contact with their children while stationed
overseas, but find the travel costs to be prohibitive. House
Foreign Affairs Report No. 96-992 stated that the policies of
government should not force a Foreign Service member to choose
between his or her career and the family. Providing a dependent
travel allowance for employees who nevertheless find themselves
divided from their children would permit the families to lead as
nearly a normal life as possible under the circumstances.
Cost
The following costs were provided by the Department of
State and USIA for fiscal years 1984 and 1985; AID did not
provide us a cost because its accounting system does not capture
a cost for this item in such a way that it is readily available.
FY 1984 FY 1985
-
- - -(thousands)- -
State
$287
$305
USIA
43
39
Total
$330
$344
UNHEALTHFUL POST RETIREMENT CREDIT
Instead of post differential, a foreign service employee
may elect to receive extra service credit toward retirement in
an amount equal to one-half of the time actually spent at an
unhealthful post. The credit is meant to provide additional
incentive to serve at unhealthful posts.
Legislative history
The credit originated in the Rogers Act of May 24, 1924.
As proposed by the Department of State, the credit would have
been 2 years for each year actually served. Congressman Rogers
had misgivings about the credit and asked if (1) the provision
would be difficult to administer, (2) there would be tremendous
pressure to increase the classification of localities as
unhealthful, and (3) could some language be inserted in that
provision to the effect that the number of such posts should not
exceed 6 or 8 or 10. However, the provision was passed,
although the law established a credit of 1 1/2 years, not 2.
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The act of February 23, 1931, expanded the benefit by
making it retroactive to January 1, 1900, and allowing officers
who had already retired to have their pensions recomputed. The
1931 act also removed the qualification that unhealthful posts
must be "in tropical countries." The conference report (House
Report No. 2702) referred to this change (and other changes to
the retirement system) as "not material." No reason was given
for the change.
The Foreign Service Act of 1946 made no change in the
credit.
The April 5, 1955, amendment to the Foreign Service Act of
1946 rewrote the law to allow Foreign Service officers to elect
either the unhealthful post retirement credit or the monetary
post hardship differential. Up until that time, Foreign Service
officers could not receive the monetary post hardship
differential (the legislative history of that allowance is in
the section "post differential"). The act provided that Foreign
Service officers should have the option to elect the benefit
they preferred.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 made no changes to the
credit.
Cost
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not provide us
costs for this item in fiscal years 1984 or 1985 because their
accounting systems do not capture the cost of this item in such
a way that it is readily available.
USE OF U.S. GOVERN-
MENT VEHICLES
U.S. employees and dependents overseas may use U.S.
government vehicles for personal transportation when public
transportation is unsafe or not available.
The chief of mission is authorized to approve the use of
government-owned or -leased vehicles for official and other
authorized purposes. The transportation of United States
employees from their residence to and from the office, when
public transportation is unsafe or not available, is considered
to be an official purpose. Other authorized purposes include
providing transportation to and from recreational facilities,
medical facilities, and school. There is usually a charge for
use of a government vehicle; however, it may be waived.
Additional vehicles may not be acquired to satisfy demands
for personal transportation. The use of government-owned or
-leased vehicles for other authorized purposes shall not
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APPENDIX III APPENDIX III
interfere with their availability for official use. Also, such
use is considered to be for the good of the Foreign Service and
does not constitute a right or entitlement of any officer or
employee.
Legislative history
The Foreign Service Act Amendments of 1946 (Public Law 828
of July 29, 1956) made several amendments to the Department's
authority to operate commissary and mess services and recreation
facilities abroad. Subsection 13(d) said "the Secretary may
authorize any principal officer to approve the use of
government-owned vehicles located at his post for transportation
of United States government employees who are American citizens,
and their dependents, to and from recreation facilities when
public transportation is unsafe or is not available."
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1963 (Public Law 88-205 of
December 16, 1963) broadened this authority in three ways:
-- Use of leased vehicles was allowed as well as owned
vehicles.
-- Destinations other than recreational facilities were
authorized.
-- Both American and local employees and their dependents
were included.
House Report No. 646 justified the new authority as follows:
"There are many instances where in the interest of
the safety of the adult and minor dependents of
Foreign Service personnel, government
transportation must be used. In many of the newly
opened posts in Africa, in certain Asian posts, and
in the Iron Curtain countries, public
transportation facilities, if they exist at all,
cannot be considered a safe means of travel for
women and children. In some areas it is not
considered safe for an unescorted woman to drive
herself or her children on the public
thoroughfares, whatever may be the purpose of the
travel. In addition to the absence of safe public
transportation, there is the further fact that in
many cities, privately owned vehicles cannot be
left unattended on the streets."
The report cautioned, however, that
"the committee expects that the authority conferred
by this section will be rigidly controlled by the
principal officer and checked by the appropriate
officials of the Department."
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The provision is currently contained in section 2201(a) of
the Foreign Service Act of 1980.
Cost
AID, the Department of State, and USIA did not provide us
costs for this item in fiscal years 1984 and 1985 because their
accounting systems do not capture the cost of this item in such
a way that it is readily available.
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COST INFORMATION ON
BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES
AID, the Department of State, and USIA were not able to
identify the cost for each of the benefits and allowances listed
in appendix I. The fiscal year 1984 and 1985 costs they were
able to provide are shown in the three following tables. Agency
officials explained that, for the most part, their accounting
systems do not accumulate costs for each benefit and allowance
separately. AID's system, for example, accumulates the cost of
all salary differential payments in one account. Thus, the
agency cannot tell how much was spent on post differential
because it is included in the same account with language and
other differentials. Costs for other benefits and allowances
cannot be reported because they are accumulated with other agency
costs. For example, the Department of State's accounting system
records utility costs for U.S. government housing as well as
nonresidential (office, warehouse, and other) buildings in the
same account. Also, some of the benefits and allowances listed
in appendix I are difficult to quantify; for example, the cost of
Foreign Service employees retiring at age 50. Finally, a few
benefits and allowances may not result in a direct cost to the
agencies, as in the case of exempting Foreign Service officers
from paying the federal manufacturers' excise tax.
The data were provided by the three agencies from their
accounting systems. We have not verified the accuracy of the
information provided because to do so would have substantially
delayed the issuance of this report.
Table IV.1: Cost of Benefits and Allowances
Provided Foreign Service Employees Overseas
Agency for International Development
Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985
Benefit/allowance
Fiscal years
1984 1985
=TiTiousand-g-r=
Claims for Lost or Damaged Property
Commissary/Post Exchange Privileges
Consumables Shipment
Consumables Shipment: First Tour
Consumables Shipment: Second Tour
Custam Privileges Abroad
Danger Paya
Death Benefits
Death Benefits: Casket and Preparation
Death Benefits: Transportation
Death Benefits: U.S. Income Tax Exclusion
Dental Care Travel
Dependent Care Grants
Duty Free Goods
Education Allowanceb $ 4,238 $ 4,732
Education Allowance: At Post
Education Allowance: Away From Post
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A._ 16 y rvr Li./ A iV
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Educational Travel
Emergency Visitation
Evacuation
Evacuation
Evacuation
Evacuation
Evacuation
Payments
Payments:
Payments:
Payments:
Payments:
Family Travel on Extended Temporary Duty
Family Visitation Travel From Imminent Danger Areas
Government Housing
Government Housing: Furniture and Equipment
Government Housing: Garage Space Rental
Government Housing: Guards and Gardeners
Handicapped Child
Home Study Instruction
Non-refundable Deposits
Supplementary Instruction
Travel From Abroadc
Advance Compensation
Special Education
Subsistence Expense
Travel Advance
Government Housing:
Government Housing:
Government Housing:
Government Housing:
Government Housing:
Health Care at Post
Holiday Pay
Holidays, Local Foreign
Home Leave
Phone Installation
Rent
Repair and Maintenance
Transportation and Freight
Utilities
$ 472
455
5,760 6,390
2,818 ,3,000
15,519 14,707
1,721 1,982
1,880 1,713
3,350 3,764
Home Leave: Freight 2,050
Home Leave: Time
Home Leave: Travel 2,327
Hospitalization
Household Effects, Loan of
Household Effects, Moving and Storage of 6,202 7,386
Immunizations
Language Incentivea
Language Proficiency: Employees
Language Proficiency: Entrants
Language Training
Layette Shipment
Living Quarters Allowanceb 2,527 2,266
Living Quarters Allowance: Electricity, Gas, Water
Living Quarters Allowance: Furniture Rental
Living Quarters Allowance: Garage Space Rental
Living Quarters Allowance: Initial Repairs
Living Quarters Allowance: Mandatory Agent's Fees
Living Quarters Allowance: Mandatory Property Insurance
Living Quarters Allowance: Personally Owned Quarters
Living Quarters Allowance: Rent
Medical, Emergency Visitation, and Other Travel 1,180 1,299
Medical Examinations
Medical Services
Medical Services: Postemployment
Medical Services: For Dependents
Medical Travelc
Military Club, Mess, and Recreational Facilities, Use of
Official Residence Expenses 65
2,246
2,641
74
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Other Benefits: e.g., Foreign Service Transfer Allowance.
and Temporary Living Allowance
$ 707
$1,103
Outpatient Care
Physicians' Comparability Allowance
Post and Language Differentials and Danger Pay
6,780
7,407
Post (Cost of Living) Allowance
742
569
Post (Hardship) Differentiala
Relocation Income Tax Allowance
Representation Allowance
93
97
Representation Allowance: For Employee
Representation Allowance: For Family
Representational Travel for Family
Rest and Recuperation Travel
1,340
1,384
Retirement at Age 50
Sabbaticals for Senior Foreign Service Officers
Sale of Personal Property
Separate Maintenance Allowance
Special Compensatory Time Off
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Differential
Special Incentive Differential
Standby Duty Pay
Sunday Pay
Supplementary Post Allowance
Tax Exemptions for Federal Manufacturers' Excise Tax
Tax Exemptions for Foreign Income Taxes
Temporary Lodging Allowanced
Training of Family Members
Transfer Allowance-Foreignd
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Miscellaneous Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Predeparture Subsistence
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Wardrobe Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Home Service
Transfer Allowance-Home Service: Miscellaneous Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Home Service: Subsistence Expenses
Transfer Travel 1,603? 1,629
Transportation of Auto
Transportation of Auto: First Auto
Transportation of Auto: Replacement Auto
Travel for Children of Separated Parents
Travel Per Diem
Travel Per Diem: Actual Subsistence
Travel Per Diem: Flat Rate
Travel Per Diem: For Dependents
Travel to Accompany Medically Evacuated Parent or
Family Member
Unhealthful Post Retirement Credit
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: Personal
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: School Children
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: Travel To and From Work
At Certain Designated Posts
At Isolated Posts
For Religious Observances
When Officially Ordered
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Total $66,374 $64,840
Advances of Pay, Balance at FY end . . . . $651 $849
aThe cost for this allowance is accumulated with the costs of other benefits
and allowances. See Post and Language Differentials and Danger Pay.
bAJD was able to report only a total amount for this item. Its accounting
system does not break the total amount into the subcategories listed.
?The cost for this allowance is accumulated with the costs of other benefits
and allowances. See Medical, Emergency Visitation, and Other Travel.
dThe cost for this allowance is accumulated with the costs of other benefits
and allowances. See Other Benefits: Transfer Allowance-Foreign and
Temporary Living Allowance.
Note: Not all agencies track costs using the same categories. Blanks,
therefore, do not necessarily indicate zero cost for that allowance,
but rather the accounting systems' inability to specify a cost, if
any, for just that allowance.
Table IV.2: Cost of Benefits and Allowances
Provided Foreign Service Employees Overseas
Department of State
Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985
Benefit/allowance
Fiscal years
1984 1985
-(thousands)-
Claims for Lost or Damaged Property
Commissary/Post Exchange Privileges
Consumables Shipment
Consumables Shipment: First Tour
Consumables Shipment: Second Tour
Custom Privileges Abroad
Danger Pay $ 804 $ 960
Death Benefits
Death Benefits:
Death Benefits:
Death Benefits:
Casket and Preparation
Transportation
U.S. Incare Tax Exclusion
Dental Care Travel
Dependent Care Grants
Duty Free Goods
Education Allowancea
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Education Allowance:
Educational Travel
At Post
Away From Post
Handicapped Child
Home Study Instruction
Non-refundable Deposits
Supplementary Instruction
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14,275 14,539
1,099 1,045
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Emergency Visitation Travel From Abroad
$ 539
$ 530
Evacuation Paymentsa
236
165
Evacuation Payments: Advance Compensation
Evacuation Payments: Special Education
Evacuation Payments: Subsistence Expense
Evacuation Payments: Travel Advance
Family Travel on Extended Temporary Duty
Family Visitation Travel From Imminent Danger Areas
Government Housing
. ?
?
? 63
67
Government Housing: Furniture and Equipment
Government Housing: Garage Space Rental
Government Housing: Guards and Gardeners
Government Housing: Phone Installation
Government Housing: Rentb
68,197
Government Housing: Repair and Maintenance
Government Housing: Transportation and Freight
Government Housing: Utilities
Health Care at Post
Holiday Pay
Holidays, Local Foreign
Home Leave
Flame Leave: Freight
Home Leave: Time
Hone Leave: Travel
Hospitalization
Household Effects, Loan of
Household Effects, Moving and Storage
Immunizations
Language Incentive
Language Proficiency: Employees
Language Proficiency: Entrants
Language Training
Layette Shipment
Living Quarters Allowancea
Living Quarters Allowance:
Living Quarters Allowance:
Living Quarters Allowance:
Living Quarters Allowance:
Living Quarters Allowance:
Living Quarters Allowance:
Living Quarters Allowance:
(Home Purchase)
Living Quarters Allowance: Rent
Medical Emergency Travel
Medical Examinations
Medical Services
of
Electricity, Gas, Water
Furniture Rental
Garage Space Rental
Initial Repairs
Mandatory Agent's Fees
Mandatory Property Insurance
Personally Owned Quarters
8,054 6,994
Medical Services: Postemployment
Medical Services: For Dependents
Military Club, Mess and Recreational Facilities, Use of
Non-Foreign Service Institute Tuition for Employees . .
?
?
56
65
Official Residence Expenses
Outpatient Care
7,892
7,877
Physicians' Comparability Allowance
Post (Cost of Living) Allowance
Post (Hardship) Differential
2,764
13,162
2,371
15,137
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APPENDIX IV AVI-JC;NUIA IV
Relocation Income Tax Allowance
Representation Allowance for Employee
Representation Allowance for Family
Representational Travel for Family
Rest and Recuperation Travel
Retirement at Age 50
Sabbaticals for Senior Foreign
Sale of Personal Property
Separate Maintenance Allowance
Special Compensatory Time Off
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Compensatory Time Off:
Special Campensatory Time Off:
Special Differential
Special Incentive Differential
Standby Duty Pay
Sunday Pay
Supplementary Post Allowance
Tax Exemptions for Federal Manufacturers' Excise Tax
Tax Exemptions for Foreign Income Taxes
Temporary Lodging Allowance
Training of Family Members
Transfer Allowance-Foreigna
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Miscellaneous Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Predeparture Subsistence
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Wardrobe Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Home Servicea
Transfer Allowance-Home Service: Miscellaneous Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Home Service: Subsistence Expenses
Transfer Travel
Transportation of Auto
Transportation of Auto: First Auto
Transportation of Auto: Replacement Auto
Travel for Children of Separated Parents
Travel Per Diem
Travel Per Diem: Actual Subsistence
Travel Per Diem: Flat Rate
Travel Per Diem: For Dependents
Travel to Accompany Medically Evacuated Parent or
Family Member
Unhealthful Post Retirement Credit
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: Personal
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: School Children
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: Travel To and From Work
Service Officers
At Certain Designated Posts
At Isolated Posts
For Religious Observances
When Officially Ordered
$4 170 $4,531
3,490 3,539
1,129 1,472
43 57
435 523
290 273
2,492 1,956
527 570
269 394
287
305
Total $62,076 $131,567
Advances of Pay, Balance at FY end
$4,374 $2,685
aThe Department of State was Able to report only a total amount for this
item. Its accounting system does not break the total amount into the sub-
categories listed.
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bAnnualized cost of rent or lease agreements in effect as of December 31,
1985; fiscal year 1985 not readily available.
Note: Not all agencies track costs using the same categories. Blanks,
therefore, do not necessarily indicate zero cost for that allowance,
but rather the accounting systems' inability to specify a cost, if
any, for just that allowance.
Table IV.3: Cost of Benefits and Allowances
Provided Foreign Service Employees Overseas
U.S. Information Agency
Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985
Benefit/allowance
Fiscal years
1984
1985
-(thousands)-
Claims for Lost or Damaged Property
90
$ 110
Commissary/Post Exchange Privileges
Consumables Shipment
Consumables Shipment: First Tour
Consumables Shipment: Second Tour
Custom Privileges Abroad
Danger Pay
34
50
Death Benefits
Death Benefits: Casket-and Preparation
Death Benefits: Transportation
Death Benefits: U.S. Income Tax Exclusion
Dental Care Travel
Dependent Care Grants
Duty Free Goods
Education Allowancea
Education Allowance: At Post
2,032
2,121
Education Allowance: Away From Post
Education Allowance: Handicapped Child
Education Allowance: Home Study Instruction
Education Allowance: Non-refundable Deposits
Education Allowance: Supplementary Instruction
Educational Travel
282
311
Emergency Visitation Travel From Abroad . . . .....
Evacuation Paymentsa
93
9
100
13
Evacuation Payments: Advance Compensation
Evacuation Payments: Special Education
Evacuation Payments: Subsistence Expense
Evacuation Payments: Travel Advance
Family Travel on Extended Temporary Duty
Family-Visitation Travel From Imminent Danger Areas
Government Housing
?
?
?
3
Government Housing: Furniture and Equipment
Government Housing: Garage Space Rental
Government Housing: Guards and Gardeners
Government Housing: Phone Installation
Government Housing: Rent
6,975
8,311
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APPENDIX IV
Government Housing: Repair and Maintenance
Government Housing: Transportation and Freight
Government Housing: Utilities
$1,533
$1,818
Government Housing: Various
4,334
4,230
Health Care at Post
Holiday Pay
9
17
Holidays, Local Foreign
Home Leave Onlya
1,004
1,085
Home Leave With Trans fera
2,349
2,188
Home Leave: Freight
Home Leave: Time
Home Leave: Travel
Hospitalization
197
207
Household Effects, Loan of
Household Effects, Moving and Storage of
309
326
Immunizations
Language Incentive
306
347
Language Proficiency: Employees
Language Proficiency: Entrants
Language Training
Layette Shipment
Living Quarters Allowancea
1,792
38
713
1,988
35
679
Living Quarters Allowance: Electricity, Gas, Water
Living Quarters Allowance: Furniture Rental
Living Quarters Allowance: Garage Space Rental
Living Quarters Allowance: Initial Repairs
Living Quarters Allowance: Mandatory Agent's Fees
Living Quarters Allowance: Mandatory Property Insurance
Living Quarters Allowance: Personally Owned Quarters
(Home Purchase)
Living Quarters Allowance: Rent
Medical Examinations
76
80
Medical Services
Medical Services: Postemployment
Medical Services: For Dependents
Medical Travel
217
241
Military Club, Mess and Recreational Facilities, Use of
Official Residence Expenses
206
209
Outpatient Care
266
272
Physicians' Comparability Allowance
Post (Cost of Living) Allowance
463
390
Post (Hardship) Differential
2,143
2,473
Relocation Income Tax Allowance
Representation Allowance for Employee
604
669
Representation Allowance for Family
Representational Travel for Family
Rest and Recuperation Travel
427
514
Retirement at Age 50
-Sabbaticals for Senior Foreign Service Officers
Sale of Personal Property
Separate Maintenance Allowance
153
197
Special Compensatory Time Off
Special Compensatory Time Off: At Certain Designated Posts
Special Compensatory Time Off: At Isolated Posts
Special Compensatory Time Off: For Religious Observances
RO
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APPENDIX IV APPENDIX IV
Special Compensatory Time Off: When Officially Ordered
Special Differential
$ 2
$ 3
Special Incentive Differential
Standby Duty Pay
2
3
Sunday Pay.
25
24
Supplementary Post Allowance
36
37
Tax Exemptions for Federal Manufacturers' Excise Tax
Tax Exemptions for Foreign Income Taxes
Temporary Lodging Allowance
313
428
Training of Family Members
Transfer Allowance-Foreigna
138
121
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Miscellaneous Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Predeparture Subsistence
Transfer Allowance-Foreign: Wardrobe Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Home Servicea
72
95
Transfer Allowance-Home Service: Miscellaneous Expenses
Transfer Allowance-Home Service: Subsistence Expenses
Transfer from Post to Post
791
900
Transfer from Post to US
700
720
Transfer from US to Post
2,002
2,087
Transportation of Auto
Transportation of Auto: First Auto
Transportation of Auto: Replacement Auto
12
15
Travel for Children of Separated Parents
43
39
Travel Per Diem
Travel Per Diem: Actual Subsistence
Travel Per Diem: Flat Rate
Travel Per Diem: For Dependents
Travel to Accompany Medically Evacuated Parent or
Family Member
Unhealthful Post Retirement Credit
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: Personal
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: School Children
Use of U.S. Government Vehicles: Travel To and From Work
Total $30,793 $33,453
1 Advances of Pay, Balance at FY end $480 $502
aUSIA was able to report only a total amount for this item Its accounting
system does not break the total amount into the sub-categories listed.
Note: Not all agencies track costs using the same categories. Blanks,
therefore, do not necessarily indicate zero cost for that allowance,
but rather the accounting systems' inability to specify a cost, if
any, for just that allowance.
81
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MrrLNUIA V
PRIVATE SECTOR PRACTICES
FOR COMPENSATING AMERICANS
WORKING OVERSEAS
This appendix discusses the allowances and benefits
provided by private sector employers to its employees serving
abroad. The data were compiled through discussions with the
Department of State Allowances Staff which furnishes
information on the cost-of-living index in foreign areas to
various private organizations. We also contacted several
private organizations to obtain information on private sector
overseas benefits and allowances. We examined numerous reports,
studies, and articles to obtain information on the diversified
range of allowances and benefits accorded overseas employees of
the private sector, including:
"Summary of Overseas Benefits and Allowances," the
Foreign Benefits Group;
"Innovations in International Compensation," the
Organization Resources Counselors, Inc.;
"1984 ORC Survey of International Personnel Compensation
and Practices," the Organization Resources Counselors,
Inc.;
"Compensating Foreign Service Personnel," the Conference
Board Record;
"The American Expatriate Manager" by Nadeem Shahead in
the Personnel Administrator;
"U.S. Expatriate Compensation," Price Waterhouse; and
"NFTC Quarterly Reports," published by the National
Foreign Trade Council.
PRIVATE SECTOR COMPENSA-
TION PLANS
Private organizations oenerally agreed that incentives must
be given to persuade employees and their families to leave their
homes and serve abroad. Hence, complex compensation packages
are often put together to enable the expatriates to keep their
standard of living, live as well as their counterparts overseas,
educate their children as they would at home, cope with the
unusual expenses and difficulties of living away from home, and
adapt to the new living conditions and special problems facing
them. The compensation schemes, therefore, take into adcount
the cost and multifaceted environmental differences arising from
overseas assignments.
American executives--domestic and expatriates--receive
essentially the same basic compensation package consisting of a
base salary, profit sharing, a pension plan, health and life
insurance plans, holidays, vacation and sick time, and a
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nrrDnuin v
retirement program. Companies may also grant a series of
amenities and perquisites, such as automobiles and membership in
private clubs.
The compensation package for employees overseas often
includes additional benefits or allowances, such as a hardship
premium, a post allowance, a scheme to ensure against the
effects of multiple taxation, and a housing allowance.
According to the 1982 survey "Compensating Foreign Service
Personnel" by the Conference Board, many companies are committed
to assuring that an employee's discretionary spendable income
(not taking allowances and benefits into consideration) is the
same after taxes, regardless of where the employee is assigned.
This survey of overall compensation practices for expatriates
covered 123 U.S. based corporations with significant operations
overseas. Sixty percent of the firms surveyed extend the
cost-of-living salary adjustments granted employees in the
United States to U.S. expatriates abroad. In addition, 8
percent of the companies grant local cost-of-living salary
adjustments to make up the difference in the cost of a typical
"market basket" in the host country and the United States.
In essence, increases in base salary cause further
increases in total compensation because many of the allowances
depend on the employee's base salary. Hence, the whole scale of
compensation increases.
BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES PRO-
VIDED BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR
TO AMERICANS WORKING OVERSEAS
Multinational companies provide different benefits and
allowances packages. According to the studies listed earlier,
some of the benefits and allowances include:
Air travel and lodging en route
Bonus, stock option, or profit sharing
Completion bonuses
Cost-of-living allowances
Cultural indoctrination
Early retirement and increased pension benefits
Education allowances
Emergency travel
Environmental hardship premiums
Excess baggage
Foreign holidays
Foreign relocation premitims
Foreign service premiums
Furniture allowances
Hazardous duty premium or danger pay
Home leave
Home sale expenses
Housing allowances upon repatriation
Language incentives -
Lease cancellation penalties, reimbursement for
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APPENDIX V Rek'nNUIA V
Living quarters or housing allowances
Loss of personal property abroad, reimbursement for
Medical care benefits
Packing and storage
Personal transportation
Post allowances
Post arrival meals and lodging
Predeparture meals, lodging, automobile
Qualified trust fund
Real estate and lease assistance
Rest and recuperation
Separation allowances
Shipment of household goods and personal effects
Stock purchase plan
Student visits
Tax protection or equalization
Transfer allowances
DIFFERENCES IN BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES
PROVIDED FOREIGN SERVICE AND PRIVATE
SECTOR EMPLOYEES
The allowances and benefits provided to federal government
and private sector employees have similarities and differences.
The U.S. government does not provide the following benefits to
any of its employees:
-- qualified trust fund,
-- foreign service premium,
-- stock purchase plan,
tax reimbursement program, ?amid
bonus, stock option, or profit sharing.
Conversely, according to the available studies we reviewed, we
found the following benefits or allowances may be provided by
the U.S. government only:
customs privileges,
commissary/post exchange privileges,
layette shipment,
use of military clubs,
use of mess facilities,
special compensatory time off,
special differential,
standby duty pay,
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ArrnNuiA v mrrnimulA v
-- Sunday pay,
-- unhealthful post retirement credit, and
-- dependent care grants.
The following section discusses three specific private
sector benefits: the foreign service premiums, the housing
assistance, and the tax program.
Foreign service premiums
Granting a premium in one form or another to American
expatriates who accept positions abroad is a fairly common
practice. The foreign service premium is not paid by the U.S.
government, but a Department of State official told us the U.S.
government housing allowance takes the place of both the foreign
service premium and the housing assistance offered by the
private sector.
According to a Conference Board report, the premium is
based on the assumption that some inducement is required to
compensate an employee for the intangible factors involved in
serving overseas. Companies generally set their foreign service
premium as a percent of base salary. According to the
Conference Board, there are many formulas for determining the
premium applicable to specific foreign areas. The Board's
studies have found that companies vary the premium from country
to country, pay a uniform premium, or follow either the
Department of State or Defense formulas.
According to the National Foreign Trade Council, Inc., the
Conference Board, and Organization Resources Counselors, Inc.,
the amount of the foreign service premium is, in some instances,
subject to a ceiling. While the typical foreign service premium
is 15 percent of base salary, it ranges from 0 to 50 percent.
The foreign service premium may also be reduced or eliminated
for assignments in countries where the expatriates can enjoy the
same standard of living as they would at home.
Housing assistance
According to the Conference Board, as a result of higher
housing costs abroad, the private sector compensates American
employees working overseas for the additional costs incurred in
renting. The U.S. government housing allowance covers housing
expenses in full. The housing assistance is paid not only
because the cost of living is sometimes higher overseas, but
also because the employees are interested in the short-term
market, which is usually more expensive. Additionally, the
employee's preference is typically for Western style housing,
which, in some areas, is scarce and exceptionally expensive.
Thus, housing assistance can be of financial significance to
overseas employees.
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APPENDIX V APPENDIX V
The housing assistance approach varies widely by company
and even by geographic areas within the same company. For
example, according to a 1985 Foreign Benefits Group study of 26
companies:
4 percent of the companies provide a flat amount,
11 percent of the companies provide free quarters,
19 percent of the companies use tables prepared by
consulting groups,
35 percent of the companies pay the rent in full and
charge the employees a percentage of their salary which
the company perceives as the normal percent employees in
that salary category pay for rent in the United States,
and
about 31 percent of the companies pay the difference
between the employees rent overseas and in the United
States.
To determine the amount of housing assistance to pay,
companies
-- use tables prepared by consulting companies, or
-- use the Department of State tables.
Tax program
According to the studies mentioned above, the reimbursement
program for increased taxes has become a very important element
of a total overseas compensation package. The tax rates on
foreign income have increased over the years and American
employees overseas have to comply with local tax laws. U.S.
government employees usually are not subject to foreign tax
laws. While some employers leave the responsibility for paying
all taxes to the employee, many employers try to reimburse the
employee for increased taxes in one way or another.
Sometimes the employee's tax treatment in the foreign
country is part of the contract between the U.S. employer and
the government of the country in which the project is located,
mostly in the developing world. Employers may also deal with
each employee's compensation and tax problems on an individual
basis. Thus, personal considerations and location play a role
in any reimbursement of taxes. Furthermore, an employer may
implement a tax protection policy to protect employees from
paying higher taxes than they would have incurred had they
remained in the United States.
(462545)
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