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Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-102

§4225 Fiscal Districts; Establishment; District Accounting and Disbursing Offices; Personnel; Duties

Title 22 › CHAPTER 52 — FOREIGN SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER XIV — POWERS, DUTIES AND LIABILITIES OF CONSULAR OFFICERS GENERALLY › § 4225

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allows the President to create fiscal districts and set up district accounting and disbursing offices inside the Department of State to save money in how accounts are handled. Each district office will control the books and money for all U.S. diplomatic missions and consular offices in that area. One accountable officer will run each district office and must collect fees and other official money from diplomats under rules set by the Secretary of State. After paying salaries, allowances, and current expenses, any leftover fees and money must be paid into the U.S. Treasury. District accounting officers may give money to other officers to spend as their agents, but both the giver and the agent are financially responsible to the United States. Diplomats and consular staff in the district must report their spending to the district officer so it can be included in the district accounts. The Secretary of State may hire these district officers and their assistants the same way clerks in missions and consular offices are hired. Section 3522 of title 31, and any other laws that conflict, are amended to match this.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §4225

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The President is authorized, whenever the necessity for such offices with a view to effecting economies in accounting procedure is apparent, to prescribe certain fiscal districts or areas and to establish within each such district as a part of the Department of State service, a district accounting and disbursing office to exercise control over the accounts and returns of all diplomatic missions and consular offices within the district in such manner as the President may direct. To each such office may be assigned the administrative accounting responsibility for receipts and expenditures of the diplomatic missions and consular offices within the district. Each district office shall be in charge of an accountable officer, to whom all fees, and other official monies, received by any diplomatic, consular, or Foreign Service officer may be accounted for, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State, all such fees and monies, or the residue thereof after the payment of salaries, allowances, and current expenses of the diplomatic missions and consular offices within the district, to be paid by the district accounting and disbursing officer into the Treasury of the United States. Such district accounting and disbursing officers accountable for public monies may entrust monies to other officers for the purpose of having them make disbursements as his agent, and the officer to whom the monies are entrusted, as well as the officer who entrusts the monies to him, shall be held pecuniarily responsible therefor to the United States. All diplomatic, consular or Foreign Service officers on duty within the area covered by such district offices may be required to render accounts of their disbursements to the officer in charge of such district office to be included in his accounts. Provided further, That the Secretary of State is authorized to appoint such district accounting and disbursing officers and their assistants in the same manner as clerks in diplomatic missions and consular offices are appointed. Section 3522 of title 31, and any other existing statutes, in so far as they conflict with this section are hereby amended.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification “Section 3522 of title 31” substituted in text for “section 3622 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (U.S.C., title 31, sec. 496)”, 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 not enacted as part of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 which comprises this chapter. Section was formerly classified to section 813 of this title, and prior thereto to section 23k of this title.

Amendments

1972—Pub. L. 92–310 struck out provisions which required district accounting and disbursing officers and their agents to be bonded.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective July 1, 1931, see section 7 of act Feb. 23, 1931, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1931 Amendment note under section 4224 of this title.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

Function of disbursement of moneys of the United States of any agency (with certain exceptions) transferred to Treasury Department by Ex. Ord. No. 6166, § 4, June 10, 1933, set out as a note under section 901 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. section 4 of Ex. Ord. No. 6166 was repealed by Pub. L. 97–258, § 5(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1086, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance. See section 3321 of Title 31.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 4225

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102