22 U.S.C. § 4171 — Model foreign language competence posts

Page 1557 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 4171 may not be retired under section 4008 of this title until 10 years after February 15, 1981, or when such individual first becomes eligible for an immediate annuity under subchapter VIII of this chapter, whichever occurs first. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2106, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2151.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 96–465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, known as the Foreign Service Act of 1980, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3901 of this title and Tables. Section 633(a)(2) of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, referred to in subsec. (e)(2), which was classified to sec- tion 1003(a)(2) of this title, was repealed by Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2205(1), Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2159. CODIFICATION In subsecs. (d) and (e), ‘‘February 15, 1981’’ substituted for ‘‘the effective date of this Act’’ pursuant to section 2403 of Pub. L. 96–465, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3901 of this title. § 4157. Regulations Under the direction of the President, the Sec- retary shall prescribe regulations for the imple- mentation of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2107, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2152.) Executive Documents DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS Authority of President under this section to extent necessary to implement provisions of section 4151 of this title, relating to pay and benefits pending conver- sion, delegated to Secretary of State, see section 5 of Ex. Ord. No. 12293, Feb. 23, 1981, 46 F.R. 13969, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title. § 4158. Authority of other agencies The heads of agencies other than the Depart- ment of State which utilize the Foreign Service personnel system shall perform functions under this subchapter in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State under sec- tion 4157 of this title. Such agency heads shall consult with the Secretary of State in the exer- cise of such functions. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2108, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2152.) § 4159. Survivor benefits for certain former spouses (a) Eligible participants; election of benefits Any participant or former participant in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Sys- tem who on February 15, 1981, has a former spouse may, by a spousal agreement, elect to re- ceive a reduced annuity and provide a survivor annuity for such former spouse under section 4054(b) of this title. (b) Time of election (1) If the participant or former participant has not retired under such system on or before Feb- ruary 15, 1981, an election under this section may be made at any time before retirement. (2) If the participant or former participant has retired under such system on or before February 15, 1981, an election under this section may be made within such period after February 15, 1981, as the Secretary of State may prescribe. (3) For purposes of applying subchapter VIII of this chapter, any such election shall be treated the same as if it were a spousal agreement under section 4060(b)(1) of this title. (c) Portion of annuity as basis for benefits An election under this section may provide for a survivor benefit based on all or any portion of that part of the annuity of the participant which is not designated or committed as a base for survivor benefits for a spouse or any other former spouse of the participant. The partici- pant and his or her spouse may make an election under section 4046(b)(1)(B) of this title prior to the time of retirement for the purpose of allow- ing an election to be made under this section. (d) Amount of reduction; effective date The amount of the reduction in the partici- pant’s annuity shall be determined in accord- ance with section 4046(b)(2) of this title. Such re- duction shall be effective as of— (1) the commencing date of the participant’s annuity, in the case of an election under sub- section (b)(1), or (2) February 15, 1981, in the case of an elec- tion under subsection (b)(2). (e) Definitions For purposes of this section, the terms ‘‘former spouse’’, ‘‘participant’’, and ‘‘spousal agreement’’ have the meanings given such terms in sections 4043 and 4044 of this title. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2109, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2152.) SUBCHAPTER XIII—MISCELLANEOUS § 4171. Model foreign language competence posts (a) Designation of posts; time of designation and implementation; determination of com- petency standards In order to carry out the purposes of section 4022 of this title and to help ascertain the rela- tionship between foreign language competence and the effectiveness of representation of the United States abroad, the Secretary of State shall designate as model foreign language com- petence posts at least two Foreign Service posts in countries where English is not the common language. Such designation shall be made no later than October 1, 1981, and shall be imple- mented so that no later than October 1, 1983, each Government employee permanently as- signed to those posts shall possess an appro- priate level of competence in the language com- mon to the country where the post is located. The Secretary of State shall determine appro- priate levels of language competence for em- ployees assigned to those posts by reference to the nature of their functions and the standards employed by the George P. Shultz National For- eign Affairs Training Center. Page 1558 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 4172 (b) Continuation; report to Congress concerning operation of posts and advantages of meeting competency requirements The posts designated under subsection (a) shall continue as model foreign language com- petence posts at least until September 30, 1985. The Secretary of State shall submit no later than January 31, 1986, a report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate de- scribing the operation of such posts and the costs, advantages and disadvantages associated with meeting the foreign language competence requirements of this section. (c) Exceptions; report to Congress The Secretary of State may authorize excep- tions to the requirements of this section if he determines that unanticipated exigencies so re- quire. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2207, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2163; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 139(7), (25), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 398, 399; Pub. L. 107–132, § 1(b), Jan. 16, 2002, 115 Stat. 2412.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–132 substituted ‘‘George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center’’ for ‘‘Foreign Service Institute’’. 1994—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–236, § 139(7), (25), amend- ed subsec. (c) identically, striking out at end ‘‘Such ex- ceptions shall be annually reported to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EXPANSION OF MODEL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCE POSTS Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 161, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 46, as amended by Pub. L. 101–302, title III, § 320(b)(3), May 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 247; Pub. L. 105–277, div. G, subdiv. A, title XXII, § 2219(a)(1), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–817; Pub. L. 107–132, § 1(b), Jan. 16, 2002, 115 Stat. 2412, pro- vided that: ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION OF POSTS.—In order to carry out the purposes of section 702 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 4022], and in light of the positive report issued on March 28, 1986, by the Department of State, as required by section 2207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 4171], the Secretary of State shall des- ignate as model foreign language competence posts a minimum of six Foreign Service posts, representing the Department of State’s five geographic bureaus, in countries where English is not the common language. Such designation shall be made not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 16, 1990], and shall be implemented so that not later than Octo- ber 1, 1991, in the case of non-hard language posts, and October 1, 1992, in the case of hard language posts, each Government employee permanently assigned to those posts shall possess an appropriate level of competence in the language common to the country where the post is located. The Secretary of State shall determine ap- propriate levels of language competence for employees assigned to those posts by reference to the nature of their functions and the standards employed by the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. ‘‘(b) ‘HARD LANGUAGE COUNTRY’ POST TO BE DES- IGNATED.—At least one of the posts designated under subsection (a) shall be in a ‘hard language’ country, as identified in the report to the Under Secretary of State for Management of May 12, 1986, entitled ‘Hard Lan- guage Proficiency in the Foreign Service’. Such post shall be in one of the countries where the official or principal language is Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian. ‘‘(c) TERMINATION DATE.—The posts designated under subsection (a) shall continue as model foreign language posts at least until September 30, 1993, in the case of non-hard language posts, and September 30, 1994, in the case of hard language posts. ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of State may authorize exceptions to the requirements of this section if— ‘‘(1) he determines that unanticipated exigencies so require; and ‘‘(2) he immediately reports such exceptions to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. ‘‘(e) EXCLUDED POSTS.—The posts designated under subsection (a) may not include Dakar, Senegal, or Mon- tevideo, Uruguay. The report required under subsection (c) shall include progress made in these posts in main- taining the high foreign language standards achieved under the initial pilot program. ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec- essary to carry out this section.’’ § 4172. Savings provisions (a) Determinations, authorizations, etc., under authority of Foreign Service Act of 1946 and grievances, claims, or appeals filed and pend- ing on effective date of this chapter All determinations, authorizations, regula- tions, orders, agreements, exclusive recognition of an organization or other actions made, issued, undertaken, entered into, or taken under the au- thority of the Foreign Service Act of 1946 or any other law repealed, modified, or affected by this chapter shall continue in full force and effect until modified, revoked, or superseded by appro- priate authority. Any grievances, claims, or ap- peals which were filed or made under any such law and are pending resolution on February 15, 1981, shall continue to be governed by the provi- sions repealed, modified, or affected by this chapter. (b) Increase in annuity or other right to benefits This chapter shall not affect any increase in annuity or other right to benefits, which was provided by any provision amended or repealed by this chapter, with respect to any individual who became entitled to such benefit prior to February 15, 1981. (c) Cross references References in law to provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946 or other law superseded by this chapter shall be deemed to include ref- erence to the corresponding provisions of this chapter. (Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2401, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2168.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Foreign Service Act of 1946, referred to in sub- secs. (a) and (c), is act Aug. 13, 1946, ch. 957, titles I to X, 60 Stat. 999, which was classified principally to chap- ter 14 (§ 801 et seq.) of this title, and was repealed by Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2205(1), Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2159.