' 4 / O / 7

mh

t 2/9/ SUPPLEME NTAL AUTHORIZATIONS F O R ^ < ^

THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE

n n n \

774

government

Storage

T^F— U M E N 1 0

R 2 ? 1974

T H £ U J ^ a S Y

K A N S A S S T A T t U N IV E R S IT Y

H E A R I N G

BEFORE T H E

SUBCOMMITTEE ON STATE DEPARTMENT 

ORGANIZATION AND FOREIGN OPERATIONS

OF TH E

COMMITTEE ON FO RE IGN AF FA IRS 

HOUSE OF RE PR ES EN TA TIVE S

NINE TY -THIRD CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION

ON

H.R. 12341

To authorize sale of a pr ope rty in 

Venice to Wake Fore st University 

H.R. 12465

Foreign Service Buildings Supplem ental 

Authorization

H.R. 12466

Department of S tate Supplemental 

Authorization

FEBR UA RY 5, 1974

Pr inted for the u se of t he Committee on Fo reign Affairs

29-067

U.S. GO VE RN MEN T PR IN TI NG OF FICE 

WAS HING TO N : 1974
' .& * ' 1 .

. » \

CO MMIT TE E ON FOREIG N A FFA IR S

TH OM AS E. MORGAN, Pen ns ylv an ia , C hair m an

CL EM EN T .7. ZA BLOC KI, W isc on sin 

WAYNE L. HAYS, Ohio 

L. II. FO UN TA IN , N or th Car olina 

DA NT E B. FA SC EL L, Flo ri da 

CH ARL ES C. DIGG S, .In., Mi chiga n 

RO BE RT N. C. NI X, Pen ns yl va ni a 

DON ALD M. FR AS ER , M inne so ta 

BE NJA M IN S. RO SE NT HA L, New York 

JO HN C. CU LV ER , Iowa 

LE E IL HA MILTO N, In di an a 

ABRAHAM KA ZEN, JR., Te xa s 

LES TE R L. W OLF F, New York 

JO NA TH AN B. BING HA M, New York 

GUS YA TRON , Pen ns yl va ni a 

ROY A. TA YLOR , Nor th Car ol in a 

JO HN W. DA VIS , Ge orgia 

OGDEN R. REID . New York 

MIC HAE L HA RR IN GT ON , M as sa ch us et ts 

LEO J. RYA N, Cal ifor ni a 

CH ARL ES WILSO N, Te xa s 

DONA LD W. RI EGLE , J r., Michig an

W ILLI AM S. MAILLIAR D, Cal ifor ni a 

PET ER H. B. FRE LI NGHUYSE N, New Jersey 

W IL LI AM S. BR OO MFIEL D, M ichig an 

H. R. GRO SS, Iowa

ED WA RD J. D ERW IN SK I, Illino is 

VERNON W. TH OM SON, W isc on sin 

PA UL FI NDLE Y, Illino is 

JO HN II. BU CH AN AN , J r.. Al abam a 

J. HERBERT BU RK E, Flo rida 

GUY VAND ER JA GT , Michiga n 

RO BE RT H. ST EELE, Con ne ct ic ut 

PIE R R E S. DU PO NT , Delaw are 

CH AR LE S W. WHA LE N, J r., Ohio 

RO BE RT B. (BOB ) MATH IA S, Cal ifor ni a 

ED WA RD G. BIE ST ER , J r., Pen ns yl va ni a 

LARRY WIN N, J r., K an sa s 

BE NJA M IN A. GILM AN , New York 

TENN YS ON GU YER, Oh io

Marian A. Cza rnec ki, C hie f o f S ta ff

Sub comm itt ee on State Depa rtm ent Organ ization and F oreign Oper ations

WA YN E L. HA YS, Ohio, C hair m an

VE RN ON W. TH OM SON, W isco ns in 

JO HN II. BUCH AN AN , JR., Al ab am a 

PETER H. B. F RELI NGHUYSE N, New Jers ey 

ED WA RD J. D ERW IN SK I, Illin oi s 

TENN YS ON GU YE R, Oh io

CL EM EN T J. ZA BLOCKI, W isc on sin 

DO NALD M. FR ASE R, M inne so ta 

DA NT E B. FA SC EL L, Flo ri da 

AB RA HA M KA ZE N, JR., Te xa s 

JO HN C. CU LV ER , Iowa 

CH ARL ES C. DIGG S, J r., Mi chiga n

Alber t C. F. Westph a l, S en io r S ta ff C o n su lt a n t

P aula P ea k, S ta ff A s s is ta n t

(ID
C O N T E N T S

LI ST OF WITNE SS ES

Tue sd ay , F ebru ary 5, 1974:

M ur ra y, R ic har d W., D ep ut y A ss is ta nt Sec re ta ry fo r Bud ge t an d

Fin an ce , D ep art m ent of S ta te ____________________________________ 9

Ral ston , O rlan C,, D irec to r, Office of Fo re ig n Build ings , D ep ar tm en t 

of S ta te __________________________________________________________ 2

Scale s, Dr . Ja m es It., Pre si den t, W ak e F ore st Uni ve rs ity , W inston -

Salem, N.C ______________________________________________________ 3

Tho m as lion. Jo hn M.. A ss is ta nt Sec re ta ry of S ta te fo r A dm in is tr atio n, D ep ar tm en t of S ta te ________________________________________ 11

ME MO RA ND UM SU BM IT TE D FO R T II E RE CO RD

M em or an du m from S ta te D ep ar tm en t on re pr og ra m in g of fu nds an d po sition s from Uga nd a E m bas sy ________________________________________ 15

A PPEN D IX

L ett ers su bm itte d fo r th e re co rd to lion . W ay ne L. Hay s, ch ai rm an . Su bco mm itt ee on S ta te D ep ar tm en t O rg an iz at io n and Fo re ig n Ope ratio ns , 

in su pp or t of legi slat io n to pe rm it th e sa le of fo rm er U.S. Con su late 

pro per ty in Venice, It aly , to W ak e Fore st U ni ve rs ity :

Fro m Hon. Ik e And rews, a R ep re se nta tive in Con gress fro m th e S ta te

of N or th C ar ol in a, F ebru ary 4, 1974_____________________________ 19

Fro m Ho n. Ja m es T. Bro yliil l, a R ep re se nta tive in Co ng ress fro m the

Sta te of N or th C ar ol in a, F ebru ary 4, 1974______________________ 19

Fro m Hon. Ric ha rd so n I’rey er . a R ep re se nta tive in Con gress from th e

S ta te of N or th C ar olina, F ebru ary 13, 1974____________________ 20

Fr om Sir Ashley Clark e, G.C.M .G., G.C.V.O., vic e ch ai rm an , Th e Ven 

ice in Per il Fu nd , Ven ice, It aly , De cembe r 29, 1973______________ 20

Fr om Hon. Giorgio Longo , may or , ci ty of Ven ice. It aly , Jan u arv 3,

1974 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21

Fr om Dr. Fra nco Pilla , P re si dent of Ve nezia Is ola de gli St ud i, Venice?

It al y, De cembe r 20, 1973________________________ _______________ ? 21

Fr om His Ex ce lle nc y Egidi o O rto na , A m ba ss ad or of It a ly to th e

United Sta te s, Dec em be r 12, 1973_________________________________ 22

Fr om Cou ntes s Ann a M ar ia Cicogn a Volpi, Venice, It aly , Oc tobe r 30,

1973, an d Dec em be r 24, 1973_______________________ ____________ ? oo

L ett er fro m S ta te D epar tm en t su pp or ting a n in cr ea se in th e au th ori zati on 

fo r th e U.S. co nt ri but io n to th e In te rn ati o n al Com mitt ee of th e Re d 

Cr oss w ith en clos ur e from th e IC RC , “N ote on IC RC F in an ci ng”____ 24

( i l l )

SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

TUESD AY, FEB R U A R Y 5, 19 74

H ouse of R epr e se n t a t iv e s.

C o m m it t e e on F oreig n A f fa ir s,

S u b c o m m it t e e on S ta te D e p a r t m e n t O r g a n iz a tio n

and F ore ig n O pera tio n s,

~Washington, D.C

Th e subcom mittee met at 10 a.m. in room 2200, Ra yb urn House 

Office Bu ild ing , Ho n, AVayne L. Ha ys (cha irm an of the sub com mittee) pre sid ing .

Mr. H ays. Lad ies an d g ent lem en, the su bcomm ittee meets this morning to con sider three bills. Th e firs t two hav e to do with the Fo reign 

Bu ild ings pro gra m. Th e th ir d is a sup ple me nta l requ est of the Depa rtm en t of S tat e.

AATe will tak e up first TI.R. 12341, a bill to autho riz e the sale of 

pr op er ty in Venice to W ak e Fo re st U nive rsi ty. Th en we will consider 

H.R . 12465, a supp lem en tal req uest de aling with the Fo reign Bui ld ­

ing s prog ram . I h ope we can dispose of both of these quickly.

A ft er th at we will tak e up H.R. 12466, the Dep artm en t’s supp leme nta l request.

Our witn ess on the first two bills will be Mr. Orlan C. Ralston, D irec tor. Office of F or eign B uilding s, and on the AVake Forest bill we are 

very fo rtun ate to have with u s also Dr . Scales, the p res ide nt of AVake 

Fo re st U niv ers ity .

W ou ld you come up an d joi n Mr. Ra lston , Dr. Scales.

Le t me say by way o f intro du ction we have this pr op erty in V enice. 

Mr. Ra lston will ex plain it. Wake Fo rest ha s been using it fo r some 

time. Th ey hav e m ade us an offer to pu rch ase it.

Th ere are many orga niza tio ns which hav e been co nta cti ng me fo r a 

long time about com ing to Ven ice with some members of the com mittee or however it wou ld be hand led and seeing how th is prop erty 

could fit in with the resto ratio n o f Venice.

I th in k you might be inter ested to know—a nd I am not going to 

rea d the m in detai l—th at I have a lette r fro m Sir Ashle y Clark , the 

form er British Am bassa dor to Ital y, who is now vice chairma n of 

Th e Ar enice in Pe ril Fu nd . He endorse s wh ole heart edly the sale of the 

bu ild ing to Wake Fo rest, as does the Cou ntess Ann a'M ar ia Cico gna 

Vo lpi who is ch air man of an It al ia n orga nizatio n to save Venice. 

Also a letter fro m Dr. Fr an co Pilla , Presiden t of V enezia Isol a degli 

Stud i. I am not sure how to tran slat e th at , bu t I have a gen eral idea. 

Also it is a n o rganizati on w hich is in terest ed in the pres erv ation of the 

city of Venice.

(D
9

I prop ose to make these pa rt of the record , as well as a letter fro m 

Congressman Br oy hill from No rth Ca rolin a and a lette r from Congressm an Ike And rews. (See append ix, pp. 19-23.)

STATEMENT OF ORLAN C. RALSTON, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF 

FOREIGN BUILDINGS, DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mr. Ralston. Mr. Ch airm an an d mem bers of the com mittee.

I appre cia te this op po rtu nity to discuss Fo reign Bu ild ing s matters 

with thi s comm ittee. 1 fully recognize th at the re are ma ny dem and s 

upon Members’ time.

We have two issues to br in g to your att en tio n at this time. 4 he first 

matter rela tes to the sale of ou r con sular prop erty in Venice. I he second is co ngressional leg islation requeste d by the De partm ent to amend 

the Fo rei gn Service Bu ild ing s Act to autho rize ad ditio na l ap pr op ri ations to cover increased costs stemm ing from the 1973 devalua tion of 

the d ollar.

The con sular prop erty in Venice was a cqu ired by the De partm ent in 

1952 at a cost of about $77,000 for use as an office bu ild ing and the 

consul’s residence. It has been improved over the years a t costs totalin g 

$60,000.

Th e c onsulate was closed in 1903. F or several yea rs m oves were mad e 

to reopen the consulate, but the Departm ent now sees no like lihood of 

reopen ing the post in the foreseeable future. Co nsula r officers from 

Milan visit Venice periodic ally and use office space in thi s buildi ng, bu t 

there is no need to ret ain the prop erty fo r this lim ited use.

Wa ke Fores t Un iversity has ren ted the prop erty since Fe br ua ry 

1971 for educational purposes. When the De partm ent advised it in ­

ten ded to sell the prope rty , < he un ive rsity ottered $250,000, which w ould 

pro vid e a pro fit to the Government of $113,000.

The Depar tment endorses this sale under the ter ms proposed in the 

bill before t his com mittee.

Th e request fo r addit ion al au tho riz ati on in fiscal years 1974 and 

1975 is due to the 1973 dev alu ation of the do lla r an d its imm ediate 

effect on the Foreign Service Building s pro gra m. De valua tion has 

prec ipita ted a sh arp increase in the cost of our Ope ra tin g Acc ount, 

which provides the fu nd ing for op era tin g, mainte nan ce and fu rn is hings costs of office and res ide nti al properties , as well as m ino r imp rov emen ts and long-te rm rental costs.

The Congress has alr eady autho rized and ap pr op riated fund s for 

fiscal yeai- 1*974 to cover sim ila r increased costs for othe r De partm ent 

approp ria tio ns .

The requ ested amend ment to the Fo reign Ser vice Bu ilding s Act 

Acc ount. T his sum covers both Fo rei gn Building s a pp ro pr iatio ns —the 

include s $1,366,000 in each of these 2 fiscal years fo r the Ope ratin g 

regu lar do lla r program an d the Public Law 480 excess currency 

pro gra m.

We do not require an increase in the amoun t cu rre ntly autho riz ed 

fo r the 2-year period fo r th e Ca pital Acc ount program . Inste ad, we 

are seeking an adjus tm ent between the 2 y ears to provide an increase 

of $154,000 in fiscal year 1974 and a corre spondin g decrease in fiscal 

ye ar 1975.
3

This transfer is needed to cover minor cost increases in several capital projects in the Public Law 480 program, as a result of the devaluation of the dollar.

Mr. Chairman, I than k you and the committee members for your 

time. If you have further questions on these matters, I—or one of my 

colleagues—will be pleased to answer them.

Mr. H ays. T hank you, Mr. Ralston.

I)o you have anything to add. Dr. Scales, before we have questions?

STATEMENT OF JAMES R. SCALES, PRES IDENT, WAKE FOREST 

UNIVER SITY, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

Mr. Scales. I have a statement I furnished in advance to the office.

Mr. Hays. It is brief. Go ahead.

Mi-. Scales. I want to thank you, sir, and the members of the committee, Congressman Broyhill and Congressman Andrews, who represents the district where we originated 140 years ago today.

My name is James IL Scales. I am President of Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Since June 1,1971, my university has maintained an overseas study program at 699 Dorsoduro on the Grand 

Canal in Venice.

The house was used as the U.S. Consulate until 1963, when the State 

Department's consular functions were transferred to Milan. The old 

consulate remained unoccupied until the university began using it in 

1971. The Smithsonian crew “camped out” there a few months in 1970 

preparing for the Biennale. It was during this period that I first 

inspected the house with a view toward Wake Forest's possible use 

of it.

The building lease was negotiated with Ambassador Graham Martin 

at a nominal cost for 2 years with an option to renew until May 31, 

1976. This lease contained a 60-day revocation clause upon expiration of the original 2-year lease. In December 1973 the university received the 60-day notice of revocation in writing, as required by the 

lease.

Given the immense value of the program to Wake Forest plus the 

significant contributions the Wake Forest presence in Venice has made 

to Italo-American relations, the university urgently seeks to continue 

its program and to purchase the facility through a negotiated sale.

Since the inception of the Venice program. Wake Forest has operated 

a regular two-semester academic term, concentrating on art history 

and criticism, international relations, and Renaissance history. Venice, 

as a city of pivotal historical significance for more than a millennium, 

presents an incredible living museum of the Western heritage in which 

students and faculty can pursue their studies.

We have had a total of 97 students and 5 faculty to participate in 

this phase of the program through the spring of 1974. In addition, 

students from four other colleges and universities have been enrolled 

in the regular program. The university also maintains a summer study 

program for faculty members at the Venice House, and 75 of our 

faculty have taken advantage of this.

The value of the program to Wake Forest students and faculty 

is incalculable. Few places on the European Continent offer the riches
4

in culture t hat Venice does today both in the city itself and its immediate environs. Our residents there have returned to their regular 

studies here a t Wake Forest with a tremendously heightened cultural 

awareness and a profounder sense of Western civilization.

A major part of the significance of the program to us and a critical 

factor in evaluating the overall impact of the program upon ItaloAmerican relations is our involvement with the cultural community of 

Venice. .

Through the cooperation of Prof. Vittore Branca of the Giorgio 

Cini Foundation, our faculty and students have access to the foundation's magnificent library. The foundation has also facilitated contact 

for us with other foreign university extensions in Venice, notably 

Greek, German, and British. Professor Branca is a frequent visitor and 

lecturer at the Wake Forest House.

Prof. Terisio Pignatti, the leading living authority on Renaissance 

Venice and professor of art history at the University of Padua, regularly teaches a course in the Wake Forest House. Senora Anna-A era 

Calimani, an expert in the history of the Italian language, teaches 

conversational Italian to our students. Mrs. Bianca Artom, widow of 

our own renowned biochemist, Dr. Camillo Artom, and a native of 

Venice, is in charge of the house and provides contacts for us throughout Venice.

The presence of these native Venetians in our program enhances its 

value for our own students. More importantly, it enables Wake Forest 

to insure broader cultural and educational contacts with Venice in a 

way tha t enables us to make meaningful contributions to improved 

Italo-American relations.

In the course of the 3 years the university has occupied the house 

in Venice, a total of $42,000 in Wake Forest funds had been invested 

in improvements and furnishings.

We request the opportunity of making permanent the Wake Forest 

University program in Venice.

I may say, Mr. Chairman, we accept the stipulations of II.R . 12341.

Mr. Hays. Thank you, Dr. Scales.

Mr. Ralston and members of the committee, I think we ought to 

make it perfectly clear tha t this bill which I introduced was prepared at my suggestion by the State Department and has a provision to protect the U.S. Government, tha t if after Wake Forest 

gets this property and they decide they don’t want it, they first have 

to offer it to the United States at the price they paid phis whatever 

improvement they have made in it, to be evaluated by the Department 

of State. Also, they will provide suitable office space for Government employees on official business in Venice at any time.

Now, the reason I chose to handle the matter in this way rather 

than have the committee meet and suggest to go ahead and sell it, 

is it may be that somebody would say, “Well, I would have paid more 

for tha t,” some private person or some corporation. I thought we 

ought to do it by legislation, and I think the U.S. Government is 

thoroughly protected.

You have seen the statistics. We are going to make a nice profit on 

the investment, and I thought, even though we might be able to get a 

few thousand more or even maybe $100,000 or maybe even more than
5

tha t we had some kind of obligation to let an American university continue this unique educational opportunity there, especially since it 

will not cost the taxpayers anything and it will make a profit for them.

I thought tha t should be in the record and the members should be 

apprised of it, in case anybody says, “You could sell it for more 

money." We don't know if we could or not. There is that possibility 

but, as I outlined, I think the interest of the public will be well served 

by this legislation. I think that i t will be a unique contribution to the 

educational scene in this country to let this great university go ahead 

and pu t up what money they have.

I might just say, too, tha t under the direction of Mr. Ralston and 

his predecessor and one or two predecessors before that, the Buildings 

Division has been very successful in disposing of American surplus 

property abroad at a considerable profit to the taxpayers, so I think 

we can have some confidence in our recommendation in this instance.

Do you have any questions ?

Mr. Thomson. I would like to ask Mr. Ralston about para graph 

(c) on page 2 of the bill, which refers to the use of office space by U.S. 

Government employees when they are on official business in Venice. 

What do they use now?

Mr. Ralston. They use the present building, the one which Wake 

Forest occupies. They go there about twice a month for consular 

business. They have agreed to continue with this arrangement.

Mr. Hats. Do they have a room or two set aside ?

Mr. Ralston. Office space. Yes, sir. Whatever room is necessary for 

them.

Mr. Thomson. This paragraph would indicate to me th at the university agrees to provide maybe some different office space.

Mr. Ralston. We talked to Dr. Scales and Wake Forest University 

officials, and they agreed to be most cooperative in this area. N aturally, 

we are not going to occupy the entire building. However, I am certain 

sufficient space will be made available.

We are not in there as f ar as the Department is concerned on a large 

scale. That is why the post was closed. But we do need people over 

from Milan or Rome occasionally, to transact business.

Mr. T homson. I f they want to rent different space and have you out 

of this building, that will be a subject for negotiation ?

Mr. Ralston. I believe they enjoy having our people there. It adds 

a certain prestige and a certain value to their program.

Mr. Scales. The young vice consuls who come in a couple of times 

a month talk about the Foreign Service informally with our students, 

and I am sure a good many of the Wake Forest students who have 

been in attendance were excited to take up careers in the Foreign Service because of these contacts with the young vice consuls who come 

out from Milan.

Mr. Zablocki. I note that both Mr. Ralston and Dr. Scales stated 

tha t the Wake Forest University has rented the property since 1971. 

Neither one of you stated what the amount of the rental was. I think 

it would be advisable to have the rental agreement as par t of the record.

Wha t is the nominal rental agreement ?

Mr. Scales. $1 a year, sir.

We did have to renovate the property in order to make it usable for 

our purposes.

29 -067—74- 2
6

Mr. Z \blocki. Under the provision on page 2, section (c ), that Governor Thomson has asked the question on, what rental will be requested 

of the Department ?

Mr. Ralston. I did not get the question. I am sorry.

Mr. Zablocki. He did not ask the question. I am ask ing : What rental 

would be requested of the U.S. Government for use of the partial——

Mr. Ralston. I t is my understanding there is to be no rental charge.

Mr. Zablocki. $1 a year!

Mr. R alston. Yes, sir.

Mr. Scales. I am in agreement with that.

Mr. H ays. Mr. Kazen ?

Mr. Kazen. No questions.

Mr. Derwinski. Wake Forest is a private institution, isn t it ?

Mr. Scales. Yes, sir.

Mr. Derwinski. In your testimony you indicated other colleges and 

universities are enrolling students in your program. M hat has tha t 

number been running?

Mr. Scales. It is usually one or two each semester. There are 22 students each semester. Always capacity number. Students have come 

from Duke, from Meredith, from the University of No rth Carolina at 

Chapel H ill—I guess all of North Carolina institutions—to join us. In 

other words, we are not exclusive about using this property.

Mr. Derwinski. Thank you. Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Kazen. I would like to know how large is this property. What 

does it consist of ?

Mr. Ralston. TIm* property is about 11.000 gross square feet, on just 

about twenty-four hundredths of an acre.

Mr. Kazen. It does not have a campus of anv kind ?

Mr. Ralston. No. sir. It is just a building. We have a picture here.

M r. Scales. The campus is the Grand Canal.

Mr. K azen. Do you use it for classroom instruction?

Mr. Scales. Yes. sir.

Mr. Kazen. Do the students have dormitory space somewhere else?

Mr. Scales. No. There are accommodations for 22 students and the 

director and his family.

Mr. Kazen. In the building itself ?

Mr. Scales. Yes. sir.

Mr. Ralston. The photograph is a little bit flattering.

Mr. Kazen. Thank you. I have no further questions.

Mr. H ays. If there are no furth er questions, thank you very much, 

gentlemen.

I would propose in accordance with the recommendation of Dr. 

Westphal that we amend the title and text and. instead of making this 

part of the Foreign Service Buildings Act. Dr. Westphal thinks it 

should be an act just to stand on its own two feet. I agreed with him.

Mr. Buchanan. Do we know what the market value of the property 

is?

Mr. Ralston. We have had various informal appraisals which go to 

more than $250,000, but they varied tremendously. We had figures 

going from $250,000 up to maybe $375,000. These are informal 

appraisals.

Mr. Buciianan. This is not a lease-purchase kind of a thin g; the 

lease was separate?
Mr. Ralston. The lease is com pletely sep ara te. Th is is a stra ig ht 

sale.

Mr. H ays. There was some m ovem ent— I want to be ca ndid with the 

committee—there is some movem ent on foo t f or some in div idu al Ital ia n, 

as I un de rst an d it, who wa nte d to buy the pr op erty, and our p eople in 

Ita ly said , “I t is surplus, a nd why don 't we sell it .”

Of course, Wake Fores t got qui te concerned, which is un de rstand ­

able. and I)r . Scales came to see me, and I suggested, “ Wh y do n’t you 

make an oiler for it ?” And the offer was $250,000. And I said, well, 

cou ldn't he go hi gh er; and he went back to his tru ste es and he said, 

“T his is a ll the money we hav e.”

So in orde r to make sure t here was no crit icism later on of Mr. Ralston and his staff, we thou gh t a bill sho uld be introd uced w hich w ould 

show i hat the co mm ittee had a hearing on it and t he Congress voted.

I would p re fe r to ta ke $50,000 or $100,000 less an d see it go to th is institutio n, tha n I would fo r it to be lost and become a p riv ate residence, 

because we hav e the op po rtu ni ty to get it back if the y ever want to 

sell it.

An d if you noticed on the othe r page of the b ill, the Government is 

com pletely and thorou gh ly pro tec ted , th at the y must offer it to the 

Government first so they won 't be in the business of makin g a profit, 

and it seems to me to be the way to wor k it out all the way around .

Mr. Buchan an. Tha t sounds good to me, Mr. Ch airma n. It would 

ap pe ar to have some forei gn policy valu e to the Un ited State s as well.

Mr. Hays. Since I have a quo rum here , can I get a motion to move 

the bill out with the am end me nts pr opo sed ?

Mr. Zablocki. I so move.

Mr. T homson. Secon ded.

Mr. H ays. All in favo r signify by sa yin g “Aye.*’

[Chorus o f “A yes.”]

Mr. Hays. Opposed, “N o.”

[Xo response.]

Mr. Hays. Th e “A yes" have it. It will be referre d to the full 

committee.

Mr. Zablocki, will you tak e over fo r a few minutes on the supplemental ap prop riation Mr. Ralston has?

Mr. Zablocki. Mr. Ralston, as I un de rst an d yo ur statem ent also 

covered H.R. 12465.

Mr. Ralston. Y es ,sir; both issues.

Mr. Zablocki. Are there any q uestion s on the s tatem ent of Di rec tor 

Ralsto n or any question s on the pro vision s of the Foreign Service 

Bu ilding s Act ad dit ion al ap pr op riations sup ple me nta l for fiscal year 

1974?

Gover nor Thomson.

Mr. T homson. Mr. Ch air man , I do n't find any sta tem ent before me.

W ha t does th is tota l ?

Mr. Ralston. T he total amount requested fo r each yea r. $1,366,000. 

Th at makes up both Pu blic Law 480 an d the do lla r account.

Mr. T homson. Wha t do you do w ith 480?

Mr. Ralston. We hav e In di a, Pa ki stan , Tu nis ia, Bu rm a, Guinea, 

Po lan d, ami the Arab Repub lic of Eg yp t. The local currency is excess 

in the Public Law 480 p rogra m. Tha t is used to tak e care o f the build-
8

in g costs and so f orth t hat we have there. W e a re c onstructin g a b uilding in its en tirety in New Delh i w ith Pub lic Law 480 fun ds.

Mr. T homson. You ha ve just given th at to t he Ind ians , hav en 't yo u ? 

Mr. Ralston. I don’t th in k th at pro posal has passed quite yet , bu t 

wo stil l have a few fun ds rema ining.

Mr. T homson. Th e bu ild ing is going to be par t of th at gif t to the 

In dian s, isn 't it?

Mr. Ralston. No, sir; no t the bu ild ing I am r ef er ring to. Tha t is an 

A ID b uil din g, I believe; I am n ot quite sure. O urs is a U SIA cente r in 

New Delhi.

Mr. Zablocki. May I ask, Mr. Ralsto n, in your sta tem ent you are 

see kin g adjus tm ent betw een the 2 yea rs to pro vide for an increase of 

$154,000 which will be tak en fr om ‘the 1975 autho riz ation. Wo uld you 

expla in fro m your ch art th e areas you inten d to tra ns fer. I see an 

increase of $41,000 in one a re a; in Eu rope, $44,000. Wo uld you expla in 

the reasons for th e increas es in 1974?

Mr. Ralston. The $154,000 is th e am ount we are short in the P ub lic 

Law 480 cou ntries on ongoin g projects d ue to the devalua tion. We hav e 

sufficient au tho riz ati on in 1975 th at we can pull back and pu t int o the 

1974. As you know, we rece ive 2-year autho rizations.

Now in some cases we wou ld have been in the position to have in a 

sense borrow ed the 1975 au thority , bu t in the case we have at the 

presen t tim e we are lim ite d and it will req uir e th is re tu rn or taki ng 

fro m the 1975 pro gra m. Th is in no way increases ou r overall bill, 

which is for 2 years.

Mr. Zablocki. W ha t is the $41,000? I presum e th at is in Afri ca?

Mr. Ralston. T ha t is fo r Tu nis ia. We have a sta tf housing p rojec t 

going on in Tunis ia. We are sho rt $41,000 to com plete the pro jec t 

because of the devalua tion. I t is an acquisition of staff ho usin g.

Mr. Zablocki. In Europ e, $44,000 ?

Mr. Ralston. In Eu rope , the money is fo r Be lgr ade, Yugos lavia, 

mid Wa rsaw, Po land —Belg rad e is $31,000 and Wars aw , Po land , is 

fo r a nav al attache residence whi ch is $13,000 short .

Mr. Zablocki. The $69,000?

Mr. Ralston. $59,000 is in In dia : Ca lcu tta, Madras , Bom bay, and 

New De lhi f or ge nerat ors fo r staff hou sin g and office build ing s. $10,000 

is for acquisition of a residence in Pa kista n.

Mr. Zablocki. In some of the cou ntries you mentioned we do have 

Pu blic Law 480 money in local currency. Are those local currency or 

dollars?

Mr. R alston. Local cu rre nc y; yes, sir.

Mr. Zablocki. In 1975 do you an tic ipa te you will be coming back for 

replacement of the moneys you borrow ed in 1974 ?

Mr. R alston. No, sir.

Mr. Zablocki. Y ou don’t an tic ipa te any need?

Mr. R alston. No, sir. W e will be doing ou r p rogram , t ha t is, c apital 

program in 1975, from proceeds of sales, which do no t utilize any of 

the amoun ts authorized.

Air. Zablocki. M r. Kazen.

Mr. K azen. Mr. Ra lston, let me see if I und erstan d you. In th e c ountri es where we have excess currencies, th is ap pr op riation wou ld just 

be yo ur autho riz ati on t o use those local curr enc ies. It is n ot an outlay 

of A merica n dollars, is it?
9

Mr. R alston. No, sir.

Mr. Kazen. In other words, your authorization to use local currencies that are now available in those countries?

Mr. Ralston. Th at is correct, sir.

Mr. K azen. And it is not going to cost the taxpayer any additional 

dollars ?

Mr. Ralston. No, sir. They have already been generated. This proposed legislation would give us the authority to actually ask appropriations.

Mr. Kazen. To appropriate the foreign currencies to you and not 

dollars from u s?

Mr. Ralston. Th at is basically correct, sir.

Mi-. Zablocki. Any questions?

Mr. Derwinski. I am not clear on exactly how you will be using 

these funds in India. U nder the proposed agreement that we are working out with them, aren 't we in effect waiving all of our claims to 

Public Law 480 funds there?

Mr. R alston. I would like for Mr. Thomas or Mr. Murray to speak 

to that, because I am really not acquainted with the agreement they 

have in India.

STATEMENT OF RICHARD W. MURRAY, DEPUTY ASSISTANT

SECRETARY FOR BUDGET AND FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF

STATE

Mr. Murray. I am Richard Murray, the Department’s Budget Officer. I am not an expert on the Indian agreement, but I think I can 

answer the question you asked.

Fir st of all, the excess rupee holdings tha t are being returned to 

the Indian Government do not include all of the rupee holdings of 

the United States. There is approximately $000 million that has been 

reserved for U.S. uses. Included in tha t are some of the Public Law 

480 funds.

Actually, the projects we are talking about here have been funded 

for the most part prio r to tha t agreement even beginning. And the 

funds have been reserved in the Treasury’s accounts for this program. 

Additional funds will be reserved for the maintenance of the foreign 

building program in the immediate future years.

Mr. Derwinski. Basically, to pick up the point Mr. Kazen made, 

you are really asking for authority to use funds fo r which you already 

have a standby appropriation?

Mr. Ralston. That is essentially correct, sir. Treasury holds these 

funds.

Mr. II ays [presiding]. Mr. Diggs.

Mr. Diggs. Mr. Ralston, could you tell us what is meant by “other 

services” in the object classification.

Mr. Ralston. Ib is is the Operating Account you are referring to at 

the bottom of the page, and the other services, building operating expenses, which means the cleaning, utility costs, light bulbs, janitor 

seiv ice, salaries of locals, various and sundry items that make up just 

the operation of the post. E or example, in London, this woidd cover 

the light bulbs, the sweeping, the cleaning, utility costs, and so forth.
10

Mr. Diggs. I noticed in the budget, tha t was submitted a couple of 

days ago, that for the first time the White House eliminated the contingency fund ; but they put 14-and-some-odd percent in a category 

called “rent, communication and utilities.” Some people suspect there 

was some shifting going on there, because the contingency fund was 

a fund out of which some improvements were made to the President's 

property and so on.

Therefore. 1 am just a little sensitive about this category and increases in it. 1 am wondering whether or not this reflected some kind 

of shift here from some other sensitive area.

Mr. Ralston. No, sir, that is not so in this particular case.

Mr. Diggs. You used the same kind of definition tha t the White 

House uses with respect to “rent, communications and utilities.”

Mr. Ralston. I am not completely knowledgeable about what the 

White House uses, but in regard to building operating expenses, we 

make our contribution to it. It is shared by people that occupy the 

buildings, and the Si ate Department occupies or shares about 49 percent of the total buildings overseas. They are Government-owned 

buildings 1 am referring to. Whenever we do any work on the building, if it is an addition it is called a minor improvement. We cannot 

do minor improvements larger than a $40,000 project without clearing 

it here with this committee. So tha t pretty well controls anything that 

should not be done.

Mr. Hays. Would you yield to me, Mr. Diggs?

Your building funds are handled completely separately from the 

rest of the Government in the fact that GSA does not do yours?

Mr. Ralston. That is correct, sir.

Mr. H ays. The State Department Buildings Division does it itself.

Mr. Ralston. Yes, sir, we do.

Mr. H ays. And all your money is spent on foreign buildings, that 

is, buildings outside the United States?

Mr. Ralston. That is correct, on Government-owned buildings outside the United States.

Mr. Hays. Then as I understand it, the cost is charged around to 

the various agencies who occupy percentages of the buildings. Is that 

the way, or does the State Department pay it all ?

Mr. Ralston. T hat is for strictly building operating expenses. If 

it is a minor improvement, we fund that. Or if it is painting the building outside, we do it, but if it is sweeping, cleaning, and so on, this is 

a shared cost.

Mr. Hays. Does that clarify your question ?

Mr. Diggs. Yes, sir, thank you very much.

Nfr. H ays. Are there any other questions?

Mr. Buckanan. I just want to understand the figures here, because 

1 don't at this moment. I have a yellow booklet entitled, “Acquisition, 

Operation, and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad, Special Foreign 

Currency Program.” On the last page of that, under “Object Classification,” 1 see a figure which I assume is tha t to which Mr. Diggs 

referred a few moments ago. Is that correct?

Mr. Ralston. Yes, sir.

Air. Buchanan. I would suggest since that is one of the larger figures in the column th at some sort of breakdown might be helpful for 

future reference.
11

Second, th e total ob ligation o f $324,000, would you relate th at f or me 

to the $1,366,000?

Mr. Ralston. T his $324,000 include s $154,000 in capital fund s plu s 

the ad dit ion al th at we want in th e operat ion s account, which is $170,000 

in Publi c Law 480 currency . Th is is the Public Law 480 side of the 

budget. You a dd $170,000 to the do lla r side which is $1,196 million, fo r 

a tot al of $1,366,000.

Mr. H ays. Any o ther que stions?

If th ere are no more questio ns, can we ha ve a m otion to re p jr t this?

Mr. Zablocki. Mr. Ch airm an , I so move to repo rt the bill H.R . 

12465.

Air. H ays. I s there a second ?

Mr. T homson. Seconded.

Mr. Hays. All in favo r, signify by s ay ing “A ye.’’

[Chorus o f Aye s.” ]

Air. H ays. “No,” opposed.

[No response .]

Mr. H ays. The “A yes" have it. AAY will rep ort it to the full 

committee.

AVe ha ve lef t one othe r matter, H.R . 12466, to aut horize ad dit ion al 

ap prop ria tio ns for the Dep artm en t of State . Yet, it winds up ask ing 

fo r red uct ion s o f au tho riz ati on .

It sounds a lit tle like the new math my da ug hter had which I nev er 

could com prehen d. I wou ld ask th is question. AVe w ill he ar fro m the 

State De pa rtm en t on this, as to why they want it, and Air. Thomas, 

the Assist an t Se cretary of St ate fo r Adm inist ratio n is here to tell us 

of the whys an d wherefores.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN M. THOMAS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY 

OF STATE FOR ADMINISTRATION

Air. T homas. Air. C ha irm an and mem bers of the com mittee, I a pp re ­

ciate the op po rtu ni ty to ap pe ar before your committee today in su ppo rt of ou r requested a mendme nt to the De partm ent of St at e’s Ap pr opriatio ns Autho riz ation Act of 1973, Public Law 93-126.

Th e amend ments r equ ested provide fo r increases o f $6.4 millio n for 

the ad minist ratio n of forei gn affairs ; $1.5 millio n for internationa l 

organiz ations an d confe ren ces ; and $7.4 millio n fo r the 1974 costs of 

the Federal salar y incr eases au tho riz ed in Ja nuar y and October 1973.

The Pr esiden t's initiatives in forei gn affairs have opened vit al op ­

po rtu nitie s for fu rthe ring mutua lly advanta geous relati ons amo ng 

nations. Our propo sed autho riz ation a me ndme nt o f $6.4 million for ad ­

mi nis tra tio n of foreign affairs will allow us to increase our rep resentation abroa d by op ening new posts in Eas t Be rlin, G erm an D emocratic 

Republic; I laan ba atar , Alongolian Pe ople’s Re publi c; and Port 

Aloresbv, New Gu ine a, and will enable us to pro vid e ade quately fo r 

addit ion al su pp ort costs of our opera tions in AVashington an d overseas w hich hav e occurred in the la st sever al m onth s.

These estimates to ta l $7 million; however, as there is $597,000 of 

unused au thorization avail able only $6.4 m illion a dd ition al au thor ization is requested.

Air. Ch air man, in ad ditio n to the requ ested amend ment before you, 

the re is an add ition al increase of $15.6 million in the ca teg ory “Adm in-
12

istration of Fo reign Affairs.” Tha t will be forw ard ed fo r con gression al con sidera tion along wi th a supplem ental a pp ro pr iatio n request 

in the imm ediate fut ure.

Th is increase is to com ply with the law requ iri ng paym ents to the 

Fo reign Service Re tirem ent and Di sabil ity Fu nd over a 30-year period to cover the u nfun ded lia bility caused by tran sfer s of new grou ps 

of employees into the Foreig n Serv ice ret ire me nt system.

Pu blic Law 93-189, whi ch became law on December 19, 1973, pr ovid ed fo r th e t ra ns fe r of a pprox im ate ly 2,500 employees o f th e Age ncy 

for In te rn at io na l Dev elop men t into the Fo reign Service ret ire me nt 

system.

Th e a mount of $15.6 million was calcula ted by the T reasur y D ep ar tment ac tuary as th at necessary for the firs t of 30 equal annu al pa ymen ts required by law.

Th e incr ease of $1.5 millio n requested fo r the cat egory “I nte rn atio na l Or ga niz ati on s and Con ferenc es” will allow u s to re quest a s up ­

pleme ntal ap pr op riation of $2.3 m illion f or the rem ain de r of th e U.S . 

contribution to the International Labor Organization (IL O) .

Th e fiscal ye ar 1974 A pp ro pr iatio n Ac t was nearl y $2.5 m illion less 

th an th e autho riz ati on in Publi c L aw 93-126. H owever, $1.7 m illion of 

th at au thor ity was used fo r an u rg en t sup ple me nta l ap pr op riatio n to 

pro vid e fo r t he Middle Eas t P eace C onferen ce and c on tin ua tio n of the 

Conference on Security a nd Co opera tion in E uro pe.

Cou pled wi th the rem ain ing unu sed au tho riz ation of $789,000, the 

ad dit ion al $1.5 million requ ested will be used to su pp ort th e supp lemental ap pr op riation req uir ed to f ulf ill ou r assessment t o th e IL O.

The final item of increase in authoriza tio n for $7.4 millio n concern s the Ci vilian Pa y Act, Ex ecutive Ord er 11739 which was im ple ­

mented in October 1973. Our present authorization act (P ub lic Law 

93-126) pro vid es only f or the Jan uar y 1973 pay raise.

Mr. Ch air man, th at concludes my prep ared sta tem ent. I will be 

pleased to answer any questio ns th at y ou o r o the r members of th e committee m ay have.

Mr. H ays. Than k you, Mr. T hom as.

As I re call i t, the com mittee auth orize d and Congress au thorized las t 

year $682,037,000 for th e De partm ent . Tha t is exclu sive of th e Fo reign 

Bu ild ing prog ram which we did in a separate bill.

How m uch was ap prop ria ted a ga inst t his auth oriza tio n ?

Mr. T homas. $618,559,000, sir.

Mr. H ays. Tha t is a conside rable cut. About $64 millio n rou ghly. 

As I rec all it, we autho rized $12,307,000 f or devalua tion adjus tm ent, 

and ye t yo ur tab le shows th at th is is in excess of $2,402,000, but 

you are askin g fo r $669,000 fo r pos t allowanc e cost due to do lla r 

deval uat ion .

Tha t is con fusing, and I th in k it would confuse me if I tri ed to 

ans wer the question on th e floor, so can you str aigh ten me out and tell 

me what al l this is about?

Mr. Murray. I hope so, Mr. C hairm an.

The difference between the $12,307,000 th at was autho riz ed by this 

committee fo r do lla r devalua tio n and the amount ap pr op riated of 

$9,905,000 is the dir ect resu lt of the allowance th at the Office of Ma nagement an d Bu dget prov ide d th e De partm ent at the tim e we went
13

forward with the budget amendment for dollar devaluation and 

congressional Appropriations Committee action.

The OMB reduction, the most significant was in the cost of living 

allowance or post allowance. T hat was reduced by the Office of Management and Budget on the assumption tha t a preliminary study 

they were making would result in an overall reduction, and it was 

offset against what we asked for in dollar devaluation.

They have now concluded their study was not valid, and have 

agreed to let us come and ask for the appro priation and the authorization to cover it.

Mr. Hays. In other words, this fourth branch of Government which 

is not elected by anybody and may not even be appointed by anybody— 

some days I think they just walk in off the street and sit at a desk 

and get their name on a payroll—to use the vernacular, have so screwed 

up this process that the Congress appropriating money and the Executive asking for it and you spending it, tha t we are back here this 

morning wasting our time over the idiocy—if I can use the word, and 

I thin k tha t is a mild term—of the Bureau of the Budget.

In other words, if they had not sidetracked us in the first place, 

you would not have to be back her e; would you ?

Mr. Murray. If they had not made the erroneous assumption about 

the cost of living allowances, we would not be back here requesting it.

Mr. Hays. That is mild language to make it, an erroneous 

assumption.

Mr. Buchanan. I have to take issue with what you said, Mr. C hairman. It was due to the idiocy of the Office of Management and Budget.

Mr. Hays. I forget about their fancy titles there. I appreciate the 

correction.

Mr. Derwinski, did you want to add a nickel’s worth to that ?

Mr. Derwinski. Am I allowed to do something other than take a 

shot at the Office of Management and Budget?

Mr. Hays. We prefer you to do tha t first.

Mr. Derwinski. May I direct a question to Mr. Thomas about the 

new posts tha t were planned to open in Eas t Berlin and Mongolian 

Peoples Republic?

Just how far have we gone in the case of Mongolian People’s 

Republic? Are we at a stage where we expect to exchange an 

ambassador ?

Mr. T homas. Yes, sir.

Mr. Derwinski. And this is in anticipation of it?

Air. Thomas. Yes, sir. Negotiations were authorized by the President and the Secretary authorized our staff to commence discussions 

with their representatives at the United Nations.

I hose are now in process, and will lead to full diplomatic recognition and exchange of ambassadors.

Air. Derwinski. There will be an embassy in Eas t Berlin then? 

Air. Thomas. Yes. sir.

Mr. Derwinski. That will be a fully integrated embassy with all 

the facilities you would expect to find, the consular officer and everythin g else.

Air. Thomas. It will be sir. As a matter of fact, the consular section will play a very important role in East Berlin.
14

Mr. Derwinski. One other question, Mr. Chairman. I notice that 

here again Mr. Thomas, you are referring to funds for the Int ernational Labor Organization. Just out of curiosity, is the dispute between the A FL-CIO and ILO so involved ?

I thought the AFL-C IO was withholding its contributions to 

the ILO.

Mr. Murray. I don't know if this action is related to anything 

the AF L-CIO may be doing. The history on this is tha t first this 

committee and the Congress authorized the full amount that the 

Department requested for the contributions for that international 

organization.

The House Appropriations Committee passed their act, their bill 

authorizing the full amount requested. Action on the Senate floor 

reduced the amount that had been requested by the Department by 

some $17 million on a floor amendment which was intended to hold 

the contributions at last year's level without regard to the legal or 

treaty requirement that the U.S. Government has to make the 

payments.

When the bill went to conference, it came out of conference with 

what I would call a roundoff, $200 million as compared to the 

$202,287,000 that was requested. The conference report specifically 

identified the reduction against the International Labor Organization.

We are asking now for the authority to come back, seek that supplemental appropriation so tha t the U.S. legal commitment can be 

honored.

Mr. Hays. Mr. Zablocki ?

Mr. Zablockt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is my understanding tha t the International Red Cross, because 

of its activities in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, must have an increased contribution from the United States.

Our contribution is $50,000, and I understand it will be necessary to 

authorize an appropriation of $500,000. Why is it not possible to include the increase of the International Red Cross into the appropriation authorization for international conferences and contingencies?

Mr. Murray. I don’t know the exact status of that pending legislation. It is my understanding that there is under consideration an increase in the contribution to the Internatio nal Red Cross of $500,000.

The current U.S. contribution is $50,000 and is contained in the 

Department’s refugee and migration appropriation. The $500,000 

could be a p art of this authorization because the authorization for the 

refugee programs are carried in this bill.

Mr. Zablockt. But why is it not, or why would it not, be reflected 

in the $1.5 million that you are requesting in the increased authorization ?

Mr. Murray. It is not in that p artic ular category. The refugee program is a separate category within the authorization bill, so it would 

not be appropriate to carry it there with contributions to international 

organization because of the appropriations structure and how it is 

divided.

Mr. Zablocki. Could it have been included in the authorization 

of Public Law 93-126 ?

Mr. Murray. Yes, sir. It could be,
15

Mr. Zablocki. Ts there any amount in surplus that could be tran sferred without new legislation?

Mr. Murray. There is a surplus in the total authorization that we 

are now requesting of some $12 million which the chairman referred 

to as possibly being new arithmetic.

That authorization—if we did not take out everything that we do 

not now sec a use for—would cover it by trans fer to the refugee appropriation category.

It is not carried in our request here because the administration’s 

bill to increase this had not been processed at the time we came up 

here. I don’t know the present status of tha t proposed legislation.

Mr. Zablocki. It is my understanding that the Senate acted favorably on the increase for the International Red Cross, and I intend to 

introduce legislation providing for an increased U.S. contribution 

from $50,000 to $500,000.

But my question is, if new legislation is necessary—there certainly 

is a basic authorization. It is a matter of issuing an amount—why 

could it not be included in this request?

Mi-. Murray. It could be.

Mr. Zablocki. If it is a valid request in separate legislation. I 

imagine you could find an additional $450,000 somewhere in this bill.

Air. Murray. I believe there is that flexibility if this committee and 

the Congress adjusts the figures between categories.

Mr. IIays. You can offer an amendment ?

Mr. Zablockt. An amendment instead of a separate bill.

Thank you. Air. Chairman.

Mr. II ays. Mr. Fraser.

Mr. Fraser. Xo questions.

Mr. Hays. Governor Thomson.

Mr. T homson. Xo questions.

Mr. Diggs. Are there any other new diplomatic missions, other th an 

those listed, or are there any restorations of diplomatic missions, other 

than those listed that are in the pipeline?

Mr. Thomas. Other than those listed, no, sir. We are augmenting 

Cairo, and we are establishing an interests section in Damascus. Other 

than that. no. 1 don’t know of any others at this time.

Mr. Diggs. Cuba?

Mr. T iiomas. Xot at this time, sir.

Air. Diggs. The Congo, Brazzaville, Nigeria?

Mr. T iiomas. Xot at this time.

Air. Diggs. AVhere does the money we save from the Uganda mission 

show up in the budget figures here. Tha t mission has been almost 

phased out. I think we just have sort of a housekeeping operation left. 

Is that correct ?

A1 r. T homas. That is correct, and honestly, what we do is to program 

those funds to other posts.

Air. Diggs. II ow much money was involved in the reduction of th at 

mission.

Air. T iiomas. I don't have that total. I will provide it for the record.

[The information follows:]

Of the 7 direct American positions in Uganda a t the time of our withdrawal, 

3 were reprogramed in the area to cover Uganda developments, and the remain-
16

ing 4 were returned to th e Depa rtment. All 10 dire ct local positions were returned 

to the Depa rtment. The positions return ed were reprogramed to meet needs 

elsewhere in the world.

As a res ult of our with draw al, approximately $80,000 of operating funds will 

he return ed from Embassy Uganda’s a llocation. The bulk of these fund s will he 

required to defray expenses of the German Embassy in Kampala acting as our 

protectin g power.

Mr. Diggs. You don’t need any further authorizations from the committee to reprogram. There is no limit.

Mr. Thomas. No, sir.

Mr. Hays. There is a limit.

Mr. Murray. The limitation under the authorization bill; the limitations would be the categories tha t the bill covers. U nder the Appropriations Act it would be the appropriation which carries the funds 

because the Department does not have any authority to reprogram 

funds between appropriations or between categories in the authorization.

Mr. Derwinski. Mr. Chairman. There is one point Mr. Diggs raised 

which I am not sure I understand the answer.

Are you telling us that the personnel that were transferre d out of 

Uganda have basically been resettled in adjacent states or at least in 

other African states ?

Mr. Thomas. T hat is possible, or they may have been transferred 

back here, and we moved someone from here into those other posts.

It depends on their tour of duty, their qualifications, their language 

qualifications, their skills.

Mr. Derwinski. What I was ge tting to—perhaps I was anticipating 

too much imagination in the Department—do you have a contingency 

plan whereby if the situation in Uganda would suddenly readjust in 

the proper fashion, tha t the personnel would be readily available to 

restore a normal operation ?

Mr. T homas. Yes, sir, we could. I assure you of that.

Mr. H ays. I have another question. Air. Thomas, you are asking for 

$164,000 for office space and $178,000 for apartments in Moscow. 

Shouldn’t tha t be under the Foreign Building program?

Mr. Thomas. No, sir. The Soviet Government will not entertain 

anything other than a short-term lease, sir, and the FBO, Foreign 

Building Office does not handle short-term leases, only long-term 

leases.

Mr. Murray. May I add to that, Mr. Chairman ?

The lease arrangement would be a 3-year lease and it is limited to 

tha t because of our contemplation in the next authorization to request 

authority to begin something in Moscow where we would be taking 

care of this under the FB O program.

Air. Hays. You mean you finally get the Soviets to agree that you 

can go ahead and build there now ?

Air. Thomas. The architects are going to the Soviet Union within 

the next few days with an outstanding plan.

Air. Hays. Don't forget the mandate of this committee—everytime 

there is a brick laid over here, there has to be a brick laid over there. 

I don’t want their building here finished, and then them shutting the 

door. I hat is a condition I placed when I visited there 5 or 6 years 

ago.
17

Why do we need four Consuls General in Vietnam? Do you have 

three left over you don't know what to do with ?

Mr. Tiiomas. We have established and had historically the four consular districts in Vietnam. At the present time, as our justification indictates, we are staffing those.

Mr. Hays. What are they doing out there? They tell me you could 

not get a visa to bring a Vietnamese orphan in here, and there are not 

many civilians there. So, what do they find to do ?

Mr. Tiiomas. Reporting on the developments in the consular districts in both political and economic terms. They are maintaining 

liaison with the International Commssion, the ICCS. And, yes, sir, 

we do have some consular people. We have to get people into the fielcl 

to overcome the objection that you have just raised, sir.

Mr. H ays. Last year you asked for $40 million. In fact, you asked 

for $50 million and then the Senate—in the Conference Committee I 

fought to get you what you needed—we compromised on $40 million.

Now, you are saying you can get along on $20 million. How did we 

get so far off base on the figures last year ?

Mr. Murray. Mr. Chairman, let’s go back. At the time this committee agreed to entertain the request for these funds we had an estimate 

that was being developed.

We thought it would range between $40 and $50 million. The 

committee, as you say, did give us $50 million on the House side. 

It came out ultimately at $40 million.

Our estimates were in the neighborhood of $35 million to $36 million 

required for this protection. Included in tha t were large sums which 

were directly related to communication’s requirements for some 22 

posts in the African area to assure us th at we had immediate and continuing communications capability with those posts and for other facilities protection.

The Offi ce of Management and Budget did not feel th at these were a 

proper part of our efforts for protection from terrorist activists, and 

they were deleted from our request.

Mr. Hays. It was appropriated, but how did they delete it ?

Mr. Murray. It was not appropriated. I t wras before the amendment 

came to the Appropriations Committee for action.

Mr. Hays. Tha t is another instance of them being more powerful 

than anybody else. Is there money in this bill to take care of the salary 

increases of local employees ?

Air. Murray. No, sir, not in this amendment.

Mr. H ays. W hat are you going to do about it? Inflation is rampant. 

I called it to the attention of the Under Secretary, about the situation 

in London. I understand you granted a sizable increase to the locals, 

18 percent or 19 percent.

Mr. Murray. It was in th at magnitude.

Mr. Hays. How are you getting the money ?

Mr. Murray. We are programing the funds we have in the regional 

bureaus.

Mr. Hays. But you are going to take care of it ?

Mr. Murray. We are taking care of it.

Air. Hays. I know in London you were about to lose some very 

valuable local employees, who have been with the embassy a long time.
18

because the cost of living lias gone up 19 percen t and th ei r salaries 

have stayed the same.

An y other questions ?

Mr. Zablocki. M ay I just ask advice of counsel and the bud get d i ­ rec tor on how tlie proposal of an increase for the In tern ationa l Red 

Cross could lie includ ed in th e hill.

W ha t section would it ap ply to? Th e hill would amend Pu blic Law 

89-230 as an autho riz ati on fo r a l ar ge r amou nt.

Mr. Tiiomas. Sir, i f you have no o bjectio n, we can get toge ther with 

the com mittee a nd wo rk this o ut. . . Mr. H ays. If Mr. Zablocki offers such an amend ment and it is 

ado pted, you can work it out.

Is tha t what y ou are tellin g me ?

Mr. T homas. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hays. An y oth er questions?

If not, 1 would like to have the s ubcomm ittee go into executive session. We will tr y to rep ort this bill out. Bu t, I hav e a com municatio n 

to give th em th at I wa nt to do in executive session.

| Whe reupon , at 11 :10 a.m., the subcom mittee proceed ed in executive 

session.]
A P P E N P I X

L etters S u b m it t e d fo r t h e R eco rd to I [o x . W a y n e L . H ays. C h a ir ­

m a n , S u b c o m m it tee on S tate D e p a r t m e n t O r g a n iz a tio n and

F orei gn O per a tio n s, in S u ppo rt of L egis la tio n T o P e r m it t h e

S ale of F or mer U n it e d S ta te s C o n su la te P rope rt y in V e n ic e, 

I t a l y , to W a k e F or es t U n iv ersi ty

Congress of th e Unit ed States,

H ouse of Repr esen tativ es.

Washington, D.C., February 4, 197 Jf.

li o n . W ay ne L. H ay s,

Chairman, Subcommittee on Sta te Department Organization and Foreign Operations, Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Cha ir man : I t is my under st an din g th a t on F ebru ary 5, 1974 yo ur 

co m m ittee will be ho ldin g heari ngs on H.R. 12341, a hil l to fa cil it ate th e sa le of 

th e fo rm er U.S. Con su late bui ld in g in Venice to W ak e For es t U ni ve rs ity .

I wo uld like to lend my fu ll su ppo rt to th is re so lu tion , an d I hope yo u will 

sh are my view s w ith th e o th er di st in gu ishe d mem be rs of yo ur co mmittee .

W ith ev er y ho pe fo r a fa vora ble de cis ion fr om th e co mmitt ee , I am 

Sinc erely ,

I ke Andrew s,

Member of Congress.

Congr ess of th e Unit ed S tates,

House of Represen tativ es.

Washington, D.C., February Jf

. 197 4.

Hon . Way ne L. H ay s,

Chairman, Subeommittee on Sta te Department Organization and Foreign Operations, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Ch a ir m a n : I wou ld like to ex pr es s my su pp or t fo r H.R. 12341, to 

auth ori ze sa le of a pro per ty in Ve nic e to W ak e F ore st U ni ve rs ity . I am plea sed 

th a t th e Su bc om mitt ee has sc he du led hear in gs on th is m ea su re on F eb ru ar y 5.

Thi s bil l wo uld be of g re a t be ne fit to th e U ni ted S ta te s go ve rnmen t, as we ll as 

to W ak e Fore st U ni ve rs ity . T he U ni ve rs ity has us ed an d m ai nt ai ne d th is fa ci lity 

fo r a nu m be r of ye ar s an d h as ad de d su bst anti al im pr ov em en ts to th e pro pe rty. 

I feel it is appro pri ate to allo w’ th e sa le of th e pr ope rt y to th e U niv er si ty under 

th e te rm s st at ed in th e hil l. By th is ac tio n, th e in te re st s of th e U.S. go ve rn m en t 

wou ld he m ai nt ai ne d, as th e go ve rn m en t wo uld ha ve firs t ri ght of re fu sa l shou ld 

W ak e F ore st de cide to sel l th e pro pe rty. In ad di tion , th e U niv er si ty wou ld he 

re qu ired to p ro vi de office sp ac e fo r U.S. go ve rn m en t em ploy ees on official bu sine ss 

as needed.

I am mo st fa m il ia r w ith th e high ac ad em ic st an din g an d ed uc at io na l ac hi ev em en ts o f W ak e F ore st U niv er si ty an d it s Ve nice pr og ra m . I fee l th e U ni ted S ta te s 

h as been w’ell re pr es en te d in It aly by W ak e Fore st st udents an d fa cu lty. Pas sa ge 

of H.R. 12341 wo uld allo w th is fine re la tionsh ip to co ntin ue , an d I urg e its 

fa vora ble co ns id er at io n.

I wo uld ve ry mu ch appre cia te you r incl ud in g th is le tt e r in th e re co rd of h earin gs on H.R. 12341.

You rs ve ry tr uly ,

J am es T. Broytiti.l.

Member of Congress.

(19)
20

Congress of the United States,

House of Representa tives,

Washington, D.C., February IS, 197 If.

Hon. Wayne L. Hays,

Chairman, State Department Organisation and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Hear Mr. Chair man : I am writin g to expre ss my intere st in and endorsement 

of the resolution to fac ilitat e the sale of the form er U.S. Con sula te buildi ng in 

Venice to W ake For est University.

The Venice program has been an outstan din g success and a trem endo us boost 

to the enri chm ent of the studen ts of thi s excelle nt university. In addition , it has 

also afforde d an oppo rtuni ty to stu den ts from othe r colleges and univer sities to 

par ticipa te in a most rewarding cultu ral experience. Since the ini tia l leasing 

of the buildi ng by Wake For est some $42,000 in Univ ersity fun ds has been expended for improvements and furn ishing s to the building. For many reasons it 

app ears to me th at thi s buildi ng should be m ade available to the Univ ersity on 

a per man ent basis and I hea rtil y commend you for taking the neces sary actio n 

in th is ma tter.

It is my und erst and ing th at the Subcommittee repo rted th is resolution to 

the full Committe e last week and it is certain ly my hope th at th e Committee will 

take prom pt action on the measure. If I can be of any ass ista nce to you in this 

regard. I certain ly hope you will le t me know.

Cordially,

Richardson Preyer. 

Member of Congress.

T he Venice in P eril F und,

Venice, December 29,1973.

Hon. Wayne Hays,

House of Representatives,

Wash ington-, D.C.

Dear Mr. Hays : We late ly had news th at you would sho rtly be considering 

disposa l of the form er Unite d Sta tes Consulate-General on the Gra nd Cana l 

here. Had your dutie s not prevented you from visiting Venice in person, I was 

hoping to make your acq uaintance and I trus t you will not tak e it amiss if I 

write to you briefly w hat I w anted to say.

I am a former Ambassador of Great Brita in to Italy and at present ViceChairma n of the above-named Fun d, which is concerned with the conse rvation 

and res tora tion of Venice within the general conte xt of the Unesco campaign 

for thi s city. The campaign, as you will know, covers a wide are a of act ivity 

including both the physica l problems (subsidence, pollution etc .) and wh at 

Unesco calls “cul tur al a nim atio n”.

Under thi s la tte r heading come academic exchanges of all kind s rang ing from 

vis its by groups of under gra dua tes as pa rt of their curr icul um to ins titu tio ns 

which acade mics of all kinds can use as a base for advanced studies, writin g 

books or par ticipation in local rese arch programmes. Altho ugh thi s Fun d is 

not empowered to promote dire ctly such activ ities, we all reg ard them as a most 

valuable stim ulus to the life of the city and one way in which, wit h its wea lth 

of libr arie s, its histori cal associati ons and its unique urb an struct ure , Venice 

can richly repay the att ent ion it has received from the U.S. and other countrie s 

in recen t years.

All thi s is directly rele van t to the use to which the forme r Consular build ing 

has been put of late and which we hope will continue. If, as I und erstand it, 

Wak e For est Univ ersity (o r indeed some other comparable United States 

academ ic body havin g similar aims and experience in brin ging young Americ ans 

to stud y he re) are in the ma rke t for it, I would hope th at the United Sta tes 

au tho rities would extend to them some degree of prefe rence in view of the out ­

stan ding two-way adva ntag es from so doing.

With renewed apologies fo r butting in I remain,

Yours v ery sincerely,

Ashl ey Clarke.

(S ir Ashl ey Clarke, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O.).
21

T h e Lib ra ry of Cong re ss, 

Cong re ss io nal R es ea rch Ser vi ce ,

Ve nice , January 3, 1974-

[T ra nsl ati on— It ali an ]

R ep re se nta tive W a yn e H a y s,

U.S. Hou se of R ep re se nt ative s,

W as hi ng to n, D.C.

D ea r Si r : T wo years ago tli e W ak e F ore st U ni ver si ty (W in ston -S alem , Nor th 

C ar ol in a) op ened a “Stu dy Y ea r A br oa d” in Ve nic e, which has fu nc tion ed w ith 

g re at suc cess. In de ed , aro und som e tw en ty st udents as well as a te acher ha ve 

been ac co mmod ated a t th e fo rm er U ni ted S ta te s C on su la te in Venice, which is 

re nte d to th e U niv er si ty by th e S ta te D ep ar tm en t. T he re m ai nin g te ac her s are 

bilin gu al It a li a n s and hav e ta u g h t re gula r univ ers it y co ur se s th a t ha ve been 

ac cr ed ited i n th e st u d en ts ’ cu rr ic ulu m .

Tl ie City of Ve nic e has rece ived w ith mu ch em pat hy th e in it ia ti ve wh ich , 

alon gs id e ot he rs , contr ib ute s in a no ta bl e m an ner to th e cult ura l an d socia l 

re vitali zati on pr om ot ed by our co m m un ity: and th e pr es en ce of th e yo un g st u ­

de nt s, wh o re ad ily became a p a rt of th e cit y’s univ er si ty life, has show n th e 

su cc es s of the in it ia ti ve.

Now it tu rn s out th a t W ak e F ore st U ni ver si ty m ig ht in te nd to purc has e th e 

fo rm er co ns ul at e bu ildi ng f ro m th e S ta te D ep ar tm en t. In th is re gard I wo uld lik e 

to in fo rm th e Amer ican au th o ri ti es th a t th e City of Ve nic e loo ks w ith ve ry gre at 

in te re st up on th e po sitive ou tcom e of th is ope ra tion , sinc e th e d ef in itiv e pr es en ce 

of th e U ni ve rs ity won ’t fa il to co nt ri but e to se ns iti zi ng Ven ice 's prob lem whic h 

all t he c ivili ze d wor ld h as a t heart .

I ask yo u then . Sir, to do ev er yth in g po ss ible so th e purc has e app lica tion on 

th e p a rt of th e W ak e F o re st U ni ve rs ity is su cc es sful , an d unti l then , I ex tend 

my th an k s on beh al f of th e City of Ve nice fo r ev er yth in g yo u do.

Very co rd ia lly yo ur s,

Gior gio L ong o. 

May or , C ity of Ve nic e. It aly .

Ven ezia I sola degli Stu d i,

Ve nic e, Dec em be r 20, 1973.

H o n . W a yne H a y s,

H ou se of R ep re se nt ative s, The Ca pit ol,

W ash in yto n D.C.

Sinc e tw o years th e W ak e F ore st U ni ver si ty (W in st on Salem , N.C .) has bee n 

or ga ni zi ng a Stu dy Y ea r A br oa d in Venice, lh a t h as pr ov ed to be a re w ar din g 

an d su cc es sful ex pe rie nc e. E ach se m es ter, in th e fo rm er U.S. co nsu la te bu ild ing, 

le as ed by th e S ta te D epart m ent to th e W ak e F o re st U ni ve rs ity , some 22 /24 

st udents an d a re si dent pro fe ss or ha ve be en ab le to es ta blish th e ir ca mpu s. Th e 

F acult y has be en in addit io n co mplete d by bi lingu al It a li a n pr of es so rs , wh o 

he ld re gula r le ctu re co ur se s, ac cr ed ited fu lly in th e W ak e F ore st cu rr ic ulu m .

Th e Ci ty of Ve nic e has we lco med th is es ta bl is hm en t w ith g re at en th usi as m , 

al so in co ns id er at io n of th e fa ct th a t th is is in per fe ct ac co rd an ce w ith th e 

pla ns of cult ura l an d so ci al re viv al pr om ot ed by th is Com mittee . In ad ditio n, 

th e pr es en ce in Ve nic e of yo un g A m er ic an st udents , who by now ha ve bec ome 

p a rt of th e cult ura l and univ ers it y lif e of th e city , re pre se nts a use fu l contr ib u ti o n to th e ex pa ns io n of cu lture .

Sinc e we no w unders ta nd th a t W ak e F ore st U niv er si ty w’ould like to purc ha se 

th e fo rm er U.S. co nsu la te bui ld in g from th e S ta te D ep ar tm en t, we feel it to 

be ou r re sp on sibi lity to le t yo u kn ow th a t th e City of Ve nic e loo ks w ith gre at 

in te re st to a po sitive re su lt of th is op er at io n, th a t is co ns id er ed to be a su bsta n ti a l co nt ri bu tion to w ard th e sa vi ng of Ve nice, an effo rt, th is one, th a t is 

m ad e in th e in te re st an d ac co rd in g to th e w ishe s of th e who le wo rld .

We ta ke th e libe rt y, th ere fo r, H on or ab le W ay ne H ay s, to ap pe al to you. as ki ng 

yo u to do al l w ha t is in your po w er in ord er t o ensu re th a t th e purc has e by W ak e 

F ore st m ay be m ad e p ossib le.

In th e na me of th e City of Ve nice an d of th is Com mittee , we th ank vo u fo r 

al l yo u will be able to do i n th is in stan ce .

Most cordially,

Dr. F ranco P i i.i.a, 

Pre side nt , Ven ez ia I so la d eg li Stu di.
I / A m b ASCIAT OR E d ' I t ALI A, 

Washington, D.C., December 12,1973.

Hon. Wayne IIays,

House of Representatives,

Washington D.C.

Dear Congressman Hays : Countess Cicogna has just written again to me to 

let me know liow distressed they were in Venice to learn that you had been prevented to pay your visit there.

In fact they had gathered quite an imposing members of Venetian and out of 

Venice personalities to greet you and discuss with you the problem that they 

have at hea rt.

They now hope very much tha t, as announced in the telephone call of your 

people from London, you might he able to bring yourself to Venice in the coming 

spring.

My frie nd Anna Maria Cicogna hopes ferve ntly that no decision he taken witli 

rega rd to the premises of the former Consulate before your visit and it is to 

convey to you this hope that I have taken the liberty to write to you again on 

the matter.

Hoping th at you will he able to keep in abeyance any decision for the necessary length of time. I am

With my best C hristmas greetings,

Yours sincerely,

Egiijio Ortona.

Venice, October 30. 1973.

Congressman Wayne Hays,

House of Representatives,

Washington, D.C.

Mr. Chairman : This is an appeal on the part of one of the most passionately 

involved fighters for the defence of Venice and the revitalizatio n of this beau tiful city, sent to an ar t collector and man of culture who cannot ignore i t ; at 

least, so I hope and believe !

You certainly know a great deal about the Venice “cause”, this emblematic 

battle for survival which will he the most evident proof of o ur capacity to preserve the cultura l trea sures of the past despite the attack s of modern technological progress. Or else the most trag ic demonstration that the two cannot subsist in the same world. What you may not know is that you might greatly help 

our cause.

Your compatriots have been second to none in rushing to the rescue of Venetian works of art and monuments ever since the floods of November 1966. First 

CRIA. the Venice Committee of the Intern ationa l Fund for Monuments and 

Save Venice Inc., plus a few minor groups and private individuals, have worked 

wonders in restoring and preserving, while MIT and other univ ersities are actively collaborating with the Ita lia n Council for Natio nal Research here in 

Venice on the scientific aspects of our problem.

UNESCO is deeply involved in the bat tle: and will soon make a world-wide 

appeal to member nations for more aid, especially in the cultural level, for the 

revitalizatio n of the city.

One of the most important actions which can he taken is the creation of specialised Institu tes, such as the one which the Germans have alread y completed. 

Tf you have the patience to leaf through the UNESCO booklet “Venise res tauree ” 

which I am sending to you under sepa rate cover, you will find out all about w hat 

has been done in aid of Venice.

The German group had to buy p art of a palazzo as a first step towa rd the creation of an Institute. The United States alre ady own the ideal building. And tha t 

is why I am appealing to you. The building is a delightful house on the Grand 

Canal, that used to be the American Consulate in Venice.

T know (ha t there is serious talk of its being sold, since it no longer is used as 

a Consulate, and because i t needs a good deal of money to be spent on it for repair 

work and rehabilitatio n.

Ts it asking too much to beg you to wait, to do nothing until the UNESCO 

appeal goes out. until you yourself. Mr. Chairman, plan to come to Venice next 

summer to have a look at the place and talk to the Venetians who want to preserve it for future use?
23

Ma ny th in gs mig ht ha pp en , and of co urse I can no t forese e all th e po ss ibili tie s. 

But 1 do know on e th in g: if th e U.S. go ve rn m en t, or on e of th e gre at Fou ndatio ns . we re to resp on d to th e UN ES CO ap pe al an d de cid e to br in g an In sti tu te to 

\ enice, th e fa ct th a t an appro pri ate bu ildi ng alr ea dy is in th e han ds of yo ur 

go ve rn m en t wo uld mak e all th e d iff eren ce . In f av our of the In st it ute .

An d th e In st it ute , a liv e link betw ee n th e U ni ted S ta te s an d th e Se re ni ssiin a. 

is w ha t we all mo st wan t. R ath er th an anoth er— al th ough ad m irab le — work of 

re st ora tion. Th e In sti tu te m ea ns peo ple, it m ea ns lif e', an d Venice ca n giv e, to 

st udents an d sc ho lars, a t le ast as mu ch as it will ta ke th anks to th eir p resenc e.

The city mus t no t aim a t be ing sim ply a museu m, no m att er how b e a u ti fu l: 

we w an t it to be a liv in g co mmun ity , a world-w ide so ur ce of cu ltur e, a gre at 

centr e of st ud ie s an d in te ll ec tu al wo rk. It has al w ay s been an in sp irat io n to 

a rti sts of all C ountr ie s; pain te rs , w rite rs , po ets , m us icians . Our world of to da y 

ne ed s a ha ve n lik e Ve nic e m or e th an be fore, an d a rti sts are re al is in g th is mo re 

an d more.

A Fou nd at io n co uld even do th is : ac qu ire th e Con su la te a nd tu rn it in to a re si ­

de nc e fo r sc ho la rs who ha ve a Fulb ri ght or oth er "b ou rs e d'e tu des ”, an d who 

wish to spe nd th eir tim e on re se ar ch or cr ea tive work her e in Ven ice.

As I say , th e po ss ib ilitie s a re n um erou s.

The im port an t fa ct noi r is th at th e ne ce ss ar y bu ild in g shou ld be av aila bl e.

Pl ea se le t me ha ve a wor d of hope. Mr. C ha irm an , I am cert ain you wi ll no t 

re gre t yo ur d ecision.

W ith my th an ks fo r hav in g re ad th ro ug h th is leng th y ap pe al, I send you my 

be st wishe s an d ki nd es t re ga rd s.

Yo urs sinc erely,

Ann a Maria Cicogna Vol pi.

Ven ic e, December 24, 1913. Congressman Wayne IIay s,

House of Representatives,

Washington, D.C.

Mr. Cha irma n : It w as a g re at pi ty th at you could no t m an ag e to reac h Ve nice 

in De cemb er, fo r th e vis it th a t ha d been an no un ce d to us by A m ba ss ad or Orto na . 

In th e m ea nt im e th er e are ne w de ve lopm en ts re gar din g th e des tinat io n of th e 

Amer ican C on su la r bu ild ing, an d man y Ven etia n cult ura l gr ou ps h av e le arn t w ith 

g re a t pl ea su re th a t th e W ak e F ore st U ni ve rs ity has mad e an off er fo r th e ac qu isi tion of th e bu ild in g as a pe rm an en t ba sis fo r its co ur se s in Venice.

W ithou t se ar ch in g an y fu rt h e r we all wi sh to sa y th a t th e des tinat io n of th e 

Am er ic an Con su late as U ni ver si ty C en tre re pre se nts th e per fe ct so lu tion of th e 

prob lem ab ou t which I w ro te y ou o n Octo be r 30 tli.

Hop ing that, all may go well an d th a t we may soon co unt an American U ni ve rsi ty am on g th e bles sing s be stow ed upon Venice, th anks to in te rn ati onal ai d fo r 

th e fu tu re of ou r city , I se nd you my w ar m es t re gar ds and all be st wishe s fo r 

C hrist m as a nd th e Ne w Y ea r.

You rs sinc erely,

Ann a Maria Cicogna Vol pi.
L etter F ro m S tate D epa r t m e n t S u ppo r t in g a n I ncrea se in t h e

A u th o riz a tio n fo r t iie U .S . C o n t r ib u t io n to t h e I n t e r n a t io n a l

C o m m it t e e of t h e R ed Cross W it h E nclosu re F ro m t h e IC R C ,

“ N ot e on IC R C F in a n c in g ”

Department of State.

Washington, D.C., February 21, 1974-

lion. T ho ma s E. Morgan,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Cha irman : I am w riting in su pp ort of th e ne w Se ction 8 of II.R . 

12466 as am en de d by th e Su bc om mittee on S ta te D epar tm en t O rg an iz at io n an d 

For ei gn O pe ra tion s (S ub co m mitt ee P ri n t F eb ru ary 6, 197 4), which wo uld in ­

cr ea se th e au th ori zati on fo r the U.S. co nt ri but io n to th e In te rn ati o n al Co mmitt ee 

of th e li ed Cr oss (ICR C ) from $50,000 to $500 ,000 pe r an nu m, co mmen cin g 

in 1974.

Th e Exe cu tive B ra nch f ully en do rses t h is a m en dm en t.

Th e In te rn ati onal Co mmitt ee of th e Red Cro ss (I CR C ) con tr ib ute s dir ec tly 

an d in un ique fa sh io n to the re al iz at io n of U ni te d S ta te s fo re ig n polic y in te res ts, part ic ula rl y in th e ex tens ion of h u m an it ari an ass is ta nce to w ar vi ct im s 

an d oth er pe rson s in need. In re ce nt year s th e IC RC has bec ome in cr ea si ng ly 

ac tive in si tu ati ons of tens ions , unr es t, an d arm ed conflic t th ro ughout th e 

wo rld , as a re su lt of wh ich it s ex pe nses ha ve gre atl y in cr ea se d. The pr op os ed 

le gi slatio n, if en ac te d, wo uld en ab le th e U nite d S ta te s to mak e a mor e su b st an ­

ti al re gula r annual co ntrib ut io n to th is im port ant in te rn ati onal hu m an it ari an 

or ga ni za tio n.

Th e ICRC , fo un de d in Ge neva in 1863, is th e m oth er org an iz at io n of al l Red 

Cr oss So cie tie s an d th e pr om ot er of Red Cr oss pr in cipl es . I t is fo rm al ly reco gnized in th e te xts of th e Ge ne va Con ve ntions of 1949 as th e ag en cy to su per vis e 

th e ap pl ic at io n of th e pr ov isions of th e Co nv en tio ns , to which th e U ni ted S ta te s 

is a par ty . Th e spe cific Con ve ntions a re : (1) Gen ev a Co nv en tio n fo r th e am el iora tion of th e co nd itio ns of th e wou nd ed an d sick in ar m ed fo rc es in th e fi eld ; 

(2 ) Ge neva Con ve ntion fo r th e am el io ra tion of th e co nd itio ns of th e wou nd ed , 

sic k an d sh ip wre ck ed mem be rs of ar m ed fo rc es a t se a; (3 ) Gen ev a Con ve ntio n 

re la ti ve to th e tr eatm en t of pri so ner s of w ar (P O W ’s) ; (4 ) Ge ne va Co nve ntio n re la ti ve to th e pr ot ec tion of ci vi lian pe rs ons in tim e of war.

Th e IC RC has ov er th e yea rs been of g re at ass is ta nce to th e U ni te d S ta te s 

Gov ernm en t, th e U nited S ta te s ar m ed forces and American civi lian s. IC RC 

mad e a m aj or ef fo rt to ai d an d pro te ct Amer ican PO W ’s an d ci vilia ns det ai ned 

by co mm un ist fo rc es in In do ch in a. W ith its es ta bl is he d re puta ti on fo r in dep en denc e an d neutr ali ty , th e ICRC is fr eq uen tly th e only ag en cy perm itte d to ente r 

an d pr ov id e tim ely re lief in po lit ically se ns itiv e are as . Thu s, th e IC RC has carried ou t pro te ct iv e an d re lief ac tivi ties in tr ouble sp ot s th ro ughout th e world, 

an d in th is re sp ec t has prov ided im port ant as si st ance in are as of tens io n such 

as th e Middle E ast , In dia -P ak is ta n, Cy prus, Jo rd an, th e Congo, an d fo r Tib et an 

refu ge es in Ne pal. I t was a m aj or pro vi de r of re lief as si st an ce in th e N ig er ia - 

B ia fr a confl ict an d is pr es en tly si m ilar ly en ga ge d in In do ch in a.

Am ong oth er cu rr en t ac tivi ties of IC RC are it s part ic ip ati on in th e re p a tr ia ­

tion of pe rs on s be tw ee n Ban gl ad es h an d P akis ta n, an d it s ef fo rts to en co ur ag e 

and a rr an g e the ex ch an ge priso ne rs o f w ar i n th e M iddle E as t.

The IC RC also m ai nta in s th e C en tral T ra cin g Ag ency in Gen ev a and op er at es 

th e In te rn ati o n al T ra ci ng Se rvice in Ger man y, bo th of which m ain ta in co ntinuing se ar ch es fo r PO W ’s an d missing pe rson s. T hro ugh th e C en tr al Tra ci ng Se rv ­

ice and i n co op er at ion w ith th e Am er ic an Red Cross, IC RC se ar ch es f o r mem be rs 

of American fa m ilie s wh o may be lo st in fo re ig n la nds or wh o m ay ha ve dis ap ­

pe ar ed in o ve rsea s dis ast er ar ea s.

(24)
25

The annual United Sta tes contribution to ICRC of .$50,000, authorized under 

Public Law 80-230, of October 1, 1965, has proven to be seriously inadequate 

in rela tion to ICRC needs and the e xten t to which the United States relies upon 

this independent huma nit ari an organization. On Ju ne 30, 1971, th e United States 

Government made a special contribution of $1 million to the ICRC from AID 

contingency funds to help the ICRC meet a budget deficit resulting in larg e measure from the ICRC’s operation s in Indochina. At th at time the ICRC informed 

us th at its expenses in Indochina alone had amounted to some $2.5 million. When 

we transm itted this special contribution we recommended to the ICRC th at it 

review its organiz ational and financial struc ture with a view to achieving the 

best possible utilization of its resources to car ry out its growing responsibilities 

throug hou t the world. The results of t ha t stud y are reflected in a “Note on ICRC 

Financing” tran sm itted to us by the ICRC, a copy of which is enclosed with this 

letter.

In th at note the ICRC projects an ann ual permanen t budget of 15 million 

Swiss fran cs funded by regular government contributions—approximately $5 

million at current exchange rates . This sum does not inclu de contributions from 

National Red Cross societies and other resources, nor does it cover special program s for which funds must be raised sepa rately. The note sta tes that the Swiss 

Government’s ann ual contribution now stands at $2.5 million, thus leaving an 

aggrega te amount of $2.5 million to be rais ed from reg ular contributions by 

oth er governments who are partie s to the Geneva Conventions. The ICRC 

recommends th at its permanen t budget expenses should be shared equally between the Swiss Government on the one hand and other governments on the 

oth er hand. The United Sta tes has told the ICRC th at it supports these efforts 

to w iden the ICRC’s base of in ternation al support.

In determining the level of contributions by o ther governments, the ICRC has 

suggested that governments should apply the same assessment scale provided 

for contributions to the reg ula r budgets of United Nations organizations. Although this is not a form al assessment, it suggests a figure for the United States 

contribution of approximately $625,000—tha t is, 25 perce nt of the $2.5 million. 

The increased author ization which the proposed legislation would provide is th us 

somewhat below the figure called for if the UN form ula were applied in full. 

The Swiss Government has sta ted tha t it intend s to continue to contribute at the 

ann ual ra te of $2.5 million, with the res ult that, even if all other governments 

increase to the e xte nt recommended by th e ICRC, these contributions would still 

amount to half or less of th e ICRC budget.

Because other governments determine their level of supp ort to the ICRC with 

reference to ours, the pre sen t authorize d ceiling has had the effect of limiting 

contributions from oth er governments. We have joined in consultation among 

governments in Geneva aime d at achieving a general increase in government 

contributions to the ICRC. Approval of this legislation would enable our representati ves to work with the ICRC in urging oth er governments to increase t he ir 

annual contributions. One government—West Germany—has alre ady set its 

annual contribution at nea rly twice the pre sen t United States level, and a 

number of others are contributing a t or nea r th at level.

In conclusion, it is our judgment th at it would be entirely appropriate, and 

commensurate with our continuing intere st in supp orting the work of the ICRC, 

for the United States to con tribute $500,000 a nnually to th at organization. The 

Executiv e Branch therefore strongly supp orts enactment of this amendment to 

II.R. 12466.

The Office of Management and Budget advises th at from the stand point of the 

Admin istr ation’s program there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely,

Stan ton D. Anderson,

Acting Assista nt Secretary fo r Congressional Relations.

Enclo sur e: “Note on ICRC Financ ing”.

Com ite I nt er na tio na l de la Croix-R ouge

NOTE ON ICRC FINA NC IN G

Tlie Intern ational Committee of the Red Cross is making a sustained effort to 

ensure increased control over its financing and to provide clea r accounts.

The requ irem ents which it has to meet are continuity in the financing of its 

reg ular activities and flexibility in i ts varying activities.
2G

To reco nc ile thes e tw o re qu irem en ts, th e ICRC has ad op ted a fina nc ial st ru ctu re which is subd ivided in to th re e p a rt s:

1. Per m an en t stru ct ur e, cons titu te d by th e pr of es sion al st af f ne ce ss ar y fo r th e 

dis ch ar ge of th e IC ItC ’s r egula r duti es an d th e eq uipm en t av ail able to th at staff. 

To be effective, th is st ru ctu re m us t be ke pt w ithin str ic t lim its an d shou ld be 

ot a high pr of es sion al st an dar d. It re quir es con tinu ity.

2. Tem po ra ry st ru ct ur e, co ns titu te d by su per nu m er ar y staf f, es se nt ia lly de lega te s an d loca l sta ff, re cr uited fo r a specific pe rio d of se rv ice w ith ICRC de lega tion s. The mo re or les s ra pi d re ne wal of su ch st af f en su re s som e de gr ee 

of fle xibility, an d he nc e av oids th e need fo r a la rg e pe rm an en t st ru ctu re .

3. Oc casio nal st ru ct ur es , such a s th os e se t up by th e I CR C w he n it ha s to mob iliz e co ns id er ab le reso ur ce s to mee t urg en t an d un ex pe cted ne ed s or to under ta ke 

duti es cl ea rly bey ond it s re gula r ac tivi ties . H ere flex ib ility is th e firs t 

co ns id er at io n.

Occ asiona l st ru ctu re s ha ve a bu dg et of th eir ow n, fin an ce d by spec ial fu ndra is in g ap pe als. Sin ce su ch ap pea ls re la te to specific ev en ts th a t te nd to ro us e 

pu blic opinion. Gov ernm en ts an d N at io na l So cie tie s can pr ov id e th e IC RC w ith 

th e re quis ite fund s.

F or th e sa ke of convenien ce, th e te m po ra ry st ru ctu re is a t pre se nt be ing 

fin an ce d by th e Sw iss G ov ernm en t alo ne.

Th e ICRC is ve ry mu ch co nc erne d ab ou t th e fin an cin g of th e per m an en t st ru ctu re . Des pi te the ar ra ngem en ts mad e to m ai nta in th e st ru ctu re w ithin str ic t 

lim its, in the di sc ha rg e of its re gula r du ties it re qu ires high ly qu ali fie d per m ane nt st af f ad eq ua te ly re m une ra te d an d prov id ed w ith th e re quis it e eq uipm en t. 

To en su re th e es se nt ia l co nt in ui ty in th e fin an cing of it s pe rm an en t st ru ctu re , 

th e IC RC is ap plyi ng it se lf to th e ta sk of clo sin g th e ga p which ex is ts be tw ee n 

th e co st of th at st ru ctu re and the a nnual co nt ribu tions r eceiv ed.

The Sw iss Gov ernm en t's annual co nt ribu tion , fo r in stan ce , ha s bee n ra is ed 

from 2.5 to 7.5 mill ion fran cs . The IC RC wou ld th er ef ore wish to receive an 

ag gre gat e eq ui va le nt sum from th e Gov ernm en ts of oth er S ta te s P art ie s to th e 

Gen ev a Co nv entio ns. A pa rt fro m th e fa ct th at re gula r go ve rn m en t co nt ribution s 

to ta ll in g 15 million Sw iss fr an cs , in ad ditio n to th e an nual co ntr ib utions from 

N at io na l Re d Cross So cie tie s and it s ot he r su nd ry annual reso ur ce s, wo uld 

en ab le it to cover th e co st of its per m an en t st ru ctu re , th e IC RC co ns id er s it an 

ob viou s ad va nta ge to ha ve th e bur de n of it s pr in ci pa l annual reso ur ce s sh ar ed 

eq ua lly betw ee n th e Sw iss Gov ernm en t on th e one han d an d oth er Gov ernm en ts 

on t h e o th er h an d.

Gov ernm en ts w ishi ng to fix th e ir ow n an nual co ntr ib ution in re la tion to th e 

co ntr ib ut io ns mad e by oth er Gov ernm en ts ca n find gu id an ce to th is eff ect by 

ap pl yi ng to th e 7.5 million fr an c ta rg et th e sa m e as se ss m en t as es ta bl is he d in 

th e U ni te d Natio ns scale , wh ich show s th e exte nt to wh ich th e va riou s Gov ernm en ts ag re e to bea r th e co st of or ga niz at io ns which se rv e th e in te rn ati onal 

co mmun ity .
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