22 U.S.C. § 2671: Emergency expenditures

Summary

The Secretary of State can spend money that Congress specifically sets aside for sudden emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service. The Secretary can also let lower officials sign off on those expense certifications under the government accounting rule at 31 U.S.C. 3526(e). The spending only may be used if it furthers U.S. foreign policy, must be urgent, may need to be kept secret for foreign policy reasons, and is not illegal. Examples include evacuating U.S. government employees and their families and, when practical, privately evacuating U.S. citizens or third‑country nationals (those people should reimburse the cost, the refunds go back into the State Department’s appropriation and stay available until spent, and no reimbursement can be more than the reasonable commercial airfare charged just before the event), loans to destitute U.S. citizens abroad to return home, visits by foreign chiefs of state, official travel and representational events for U.S. leaders and diplomats, investigations of passport or visa fraud, and small official gifts. The State Department Inspector General must audit these emergency expenses and send an annual report to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee saying whether the rules were followed. For the repatriation loan program, the Secretary must require a verifiable address and Social Security number when someone applies and a written loan agreement with a repayment schedule. The Secretary must block passports for people who default, send loans more than one year past due to the Department of Justice for litigation, get addresses from the IRS for delinquent accounts with Social Security numbers, and report defaults to commercial credit bureaus as in 31 U.S.C. 3711(e). The Department may pay to use private collection agencies even if another law limits that. Interest is charged on all loans as of May 1, 1983 at the rate in 31 U.S.C. 3717(a). The Department may also add processing and handling charges starting May 1, 1983, and a 6 percent per year penalty on any amount more than 90 days past due. Those interest and penalty rules apply to all current and future loans, no matter when the debt began.

Title 22, §2671

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Delegation of authority pertaining to certification of expenditures

The Secretary of State is authorized to—

(1)subject to subsection (b), make expenditures, from such amounts as may be specifically appropriated therefor, for unforeseen emergencies arising in the diplomatic and consular service and, to the extent authorized in appropriation Acts, funds expended for such purposes may be accounted for in accordance with section 3526(e) of title 31; and

(2)delegate to subordinate officials the authority vested in him by section 3526(e) of title 31 pertaining to certification of expenditures.

(b)Activities subject to expenditures

(1)Expenditures described under subsection (a) shall be made only for such activities as—

(A)serve to further the realization of foreign policy objectives;

(B)are a matter of urgency to implement;

(C)with respect to activities the expenditures for which are required to be certified under subsection (a), require confidentiality in the best interests of the conduct of foreign policy by the United States; and

(D)are not otherwise prohibited by law.

(2)Activities described in paragraph (1) include—

(A)the evacuation when their lives are endangered by war, civil unrest, or natural disaster of—

(i)United States Government employees and their dependents; and

(ii)private United States citizens or third-country nationals, on a reimbursable basis to the maximum extent practicable, with such reimbursements to be credited to the applicable Department of State appropriation and to remain available until expended, except that no reimbursement under this clause shall be paid that is greater than the amount the person evacuated would have been charged for a reasonable commercial air fare immediately prior to the events giving rise to the evacuation;

(B)loans made to destitute citizens of the United States who are outside the United States and made to provide for the return to the United States of its citizens;

(C)visits by foreign chiefs of state or heads of government to the United States;

(D)travel of delegations representing the President at any inauguration or funeral of a foreign dignitary;

(E)travel of the President, the Vice President, or a Member of Congress to a foreign country, including advance arrangements, escort, and official entertainment;

(F)travel of the Secretary of State within the United States and outside the United States, including official entertainment;

(G)official representational functions of the Secretary of State and other principal officers of the Department of State;

(H)official functions outside the United States the expenses for which are not otherwise covered by amounts appropriated for representation allowances;

(I)investigations and apprehension of groups or individuals involved in fraudulent issuance of United States passports and visas; and

(J)gifts of nominal value given by the President, Vice President, or Secretary of State to a foreign dignitary.

(c)Annual confidential audit and report

The Inspector General of the Department of State shall conduct a periodic audit of the Department of State’s emergency expenditures and prepare and transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate an annual report indicating whether such expenditures were made in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

(d)Repatriation loan program

With regard to the repatriation loan program, the Secretary of State shall—

(1)require the borrower to provide a verifiable address and social security number at the time of application;

(2)require a written loan agreement which includes a repayment schedule;

(3)bar passports from being issued or renewed for those individuals who are in default;

(4)refer any loan more than one year past due to the Department of Justice for litigation;

(5)obtain addresses from the Internal Revenue Service for all delinquent accounts which have social security numbers;

(6)report defaults to commercial credit bureaus as provided in section 3711(e) of title 31;

(7)be permitted to use any funds necessary to contract with commercial collection agencies, notwithstanding section 3718(c) of title 31;

(8)charge interest on all loans as of May 1, 1983, with the rate of interest to be that set forth in section 3717(a) of title 31;

(9)assess charges, in addition to the interest provided for in paragraph (8), to cover the costs of processing and handling delinquent claims, as of May 1, 1983;

(10)assess a penalty charge, in addition to the interest provided for in paragraphs (8) and (9), of 6 per centum per year for failure to pay any portion of a debt more than ninety days past due; and

(11)implement the interest and penalty provisions in paragraphs (8), (9), and (10) for all current and future loans, regardless of whether the debts were incurred before or after May 1, 1983.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 3718(c) of title 31, referred to in subsec. (d)(7), was renumbered section 3718(e) of title 31 by Pub. L. 99–578, § 1(1), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3305. Codification In subsec. (a), “section 3526(e) of title 31” substituted for “section 291 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 107)” on authority of Pub. L. 97–258, § 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance. Section was formerly classified to section 170i of Title 5 prior to the general revision and enactment of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, by Pub. L. 89–554, § 1, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 378.

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 107–228 amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: “the evacuation of United States Government employees and their dependents and private United States citizens when their lives are endangered by war, civil unrest, or natural disaster;”. 1996—Subsec. (d)(6). Pub. L. 104–316 substituted “section 3711(e)” for “section 3711(f)”. 1994—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–236 struck out “and the Foreign Service” after “Department of State” and substituted “a periodic” for “an annual confidential”. 1983—Pub. L. 98–164 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), redesignated former pars. (a) and (b) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, in par. (1) inserted reference to subsec. (b), and added subsecs. (b) to (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Termination of Reporting RequirementsFor termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (c) of this section relating to transmitting an annual report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 131 of House Document No. 103–7.

§2671 Emergency Expenditures