Collapse to view only § 2451. Congressional statement of purpose
- § 2451. Congressional statement of purpose
- § 2451a. Repealed.
- § 2452. Authorization of activities
- § 2452a. Exchange program with countries in transition from totalitarianism to democracy
- § 2452b. International expositions
- § 2452c. Program to provide grants to American-sponsored schools in predominantly Muslim countries to provide scholarships
- § 2453. Agreements with foreign governments and international organizations
- § 2454. Administration
- § 2455. Appropriations
- § 2456. J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
- § 2457. Reports by Board
- § 2458. Authority of President
- § 2458a. Federal employee participation in cultural exchange programs
- § 2459. Immunity from seizure under judicial process of cultural objects imported for temporary exhibition or display
- § 2460. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
- § 2461. Exchanges between United States and independent states of the former Soviet Union
- § 2462. Establishment of grant program for foreign study by American college students of limited financial means
- § 2463. Allocation of funds transferred to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
- § 2464. Ethical issues in international health research
- § 2465. John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program
The purpose of this chapter is to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations, and the contributions being made toward a peaceful and more fruitful life for people throughout the world; to promote international cooperation for educational and cultural advancement; and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world.
The President is authorized to transfer to the appropriate appropriations account of the Department of State such sums as the President shall determine to be necessary out of the travel accounts of the departments and agencies of the United States, except for the Department of State, as the President shall designate. Such transfers shall be subject to the approval of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. In addition, the President is authorized to accept such gifts or cost-sharing arrangements as may be proffered to sustain the program under this section.
Except as provided in subsection (b) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of State may not obligate or expend any funds appropriated to the Department of State for a United States pavilion or other major exhibit at any international exposition or world’s fair registered by the Bureau of International Expositions in excess of amounts expressly authorized and appropriated for such purpose.
No funds made available to the Department of State by any Federal agency to be used for a United States pavilion or other major exhibit at any international exposition or world’s fair registered by the Bureau of International Expositions may be obligated or expended unless the appropriate congressional committees are notified not less than 15 days prior to such obligation or expenditure.
The Commissioner General of a United States pavilion or other major exhibit at any international exposition or world’s fair registered by the Bureau of International Expositions shall submit to the Secretary of State and the appropriate congressional committees a report concerning activities relating to such pavilion or exhibit every 180 days while serving as Commissioner General and shall submit a final report summarizing all such activities not later than 1 year after the closure of the pavilion or exhibit.
The Secretary of State, acting through the Director of the Office of Overseas Schools of the Department of State, may conduct a program to make grants to United States-sponsored elementary and secondary schools in countries with predominantly Muslim populations for the purpose of providing full or partial merit-based scholarships to students from lower-income and middle-income families of such countries to attend such schools.
For purposes of the program, a United States-sponsored elementary and secondary school that receives a grant under the program may establish criteria to be implemented by such school to determine what constitutes lower-income and middle-income families in the country (or region of the country, if regional variations in income levels in the country are significant) in which such school is located.
Amounts appropriated to the Secretary of State pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (h) shall be used for the sole purpose of making grants under this section, and may not be used for the administration of the Office of Overseas Schools of the Department of State or for any other activity of the Office.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require participation in the program by a United States-sponsored elementary or secondary school in a predominantly Muslim country.
Not later than April 15, 2006, and April 15, 2008, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the program. The report shall assess the success of the program, examine any obstacles encountered in its implementation, and address whether it should be continued, and if so, provide recommendations to increase its effectiveness.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008, unless otherwise authorized by Congress, such sums as necessary to implement the program under this section.
The Director of the United States Information Agency is authorized to enter into agreements with foreign governments and international organizations, in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter. In such agreements the Director of the United States Information Agency is authorized, when he deems it in the public interest, to seek the agreement of the other governments concerned to cooperate and assist, including making use of funds placed in special accounts pursuant to agreements concluded in accordance with section 1513(b)(6) 1
Such agreements may also provide for the creation or continuation of binational or multinational educational and cultural foundations and commissions for the purpose of administering programs in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
In such agreements with international organizations, the Director of the United States Information Agency may provide for equitable United States participation in and support for, including a reasonable share of the cost of, educational and cultural programs to be administered by such organizations.
The President may delegate, to such officers of the Government as he determines to be appropriate, any of the powers conferred upon him by this chapter to the extent that he finds such delegation to be in the interest of the purposes expressed in this chapter and the efficient administration of the programs undertaken pursuant to this chapter: Provided, That where the President has delegated any of such powers to any officer, before the President implements any proposal for the delegation of any of such powers to another officer, that proposal shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and thereafter a period of not less than sixty days shall have elapsed while Congress is in session. In computing such sixty days, there shall be excluded the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days.
The President is authorized to employ such other personnel as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions and purposes of this chapter, and of such personnel not to exceed ten may be compensated without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, but not in excess of the highest rate of grade 18 of the General Schedule. Such positions shall be in addition to the number authorized by section 5108 of title 5.
For the purpose of performing functions under this chapter outside the United States, the Director of the United States Information Agency is authorized to provide that any person employed or assigned by a United States Government agency shall be entitled, except to the extent that the Director of the United States Information Agency may specify otherwise in cases in which the period of employment or assignment exceeds thirty months, to the same benefits as are provided by section 3950 of this title for individuals appointed to the Foreign Service.
Amounts appropriated to carry out the purposes of this chapter are authorized to be made available until expended.
Funds appropriated for programs under this chapter may, without regard to section 3651 1
Moneys appropriated to any department or agency of the Government in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter for research, technical aid, and educational and cultural programs, may be transferred by the President to any other appropriation available for like purposes, but no appropriation authorized by this chapter shall be increased or decreased by more than 10 per centum by reason of transfers pursuant to this subsection.
The Director of the United States Information Agency is further authorized to reserve and use for educational and cultural exchange programs and other activities authorized in subsections (a) and (b) of section 2452 of this title, in relation to Finland and the people of Finland, all sums due or paid on and after August 24, 1949, by the Republic of Finland to the United States as interest on or in retirement of the principal of the debt incurred under the Act of February 25, 1919, as refunded by the agreement dated May 1, 1923, pursuant to the authority contained in the Act of February 9, 1922, or of any other indebtedness incurred by that Republic and owing to the United States as a result of World War I.
Foreign governments, international organizations and private individuals, firms, associations, agencies, and other groups shall be encouraged to participate to the maximum extent feasible in carrying out this chapter and to make contributions of funds, property, and services which the President is authorized to accept, to be utilized to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Funds made available for the purposes of this chapter may be used to contribute toward meeting the expenses of activities carried out through normal private channels, by private means, and through foreign governments and international organizations.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, there are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of making currency exchanges under section 2452(b)(10) of this title, not to exceed $10,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, and not to exceed $15,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969.
The President is authorized to create such interagency and other advisory committees as in his judgment may be of assistance in carrying out the purposes of this chapter, and from time to time to convene conferences of persons interested in educational and cultural affairs to consider matters relating to the purposes of this chapter.
The provisions of section 1346(b) of title 31 shall be applicable to any interagency committee created pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Members of the committees provided for in this section shall be entitled (i) to transportation expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence at the rate prescribed by or established pursuant to section 5703 of title 5 while away from home in connection with attendance at meetings or in consultation with officials of the Government or otherwise carrying out duties as authorized, and (ii) if not otherwise in the employ of the United States Government, to compensation at rates not in excess of $50 per diem while performing services for such committees. Members of the Board shall be entitled to such expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence as provided for under clause (i) of the preceding sentence and, while performing services for the Board, to compensation at a rate, prescribed by the Director of the United States Information Agency, not in excess of the daily rate for the first step of GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5.
The President is authorized to provide for necessary secretarial and staff assistance for the Board and such committees as may be created under this section.
The Board shall submit annual reports to the Congress and such other reports to the Congress as it deems appropriate, and shall make reports to the public in the United States and abroad to develop a better understanding of and support for the programs authorized by this chapter.
The President shall submit periodic reports to the Congress of activities carried on and expenditures made in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter and of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, as amended [22 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.].
In connection with activities authorized by section 2452(a)(2) and (3) of this title, the President is authorized to provide for all necessary expenditures involved in the selection, purchase, rental, construction, or other acquisition of exhibits and materials and equipment therefor, and the actual display thereof, including but not limited to costs of transportation, insurance, installation, safekeeping and storage, maintenance and operation, rental of space, and dismantling.
The President is authorized to utilize the provisions of title VIII of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, as amended [22 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.], to the extent he deems necessary in carrying out the provisions and purposes of this chapter.
The grants and other forms of assistance with respect to which the consent of Congress is given in subsection (a) of this section shall not constitute gifts for purposes of section 7342 of title 5.
The Secretary of State is authorized to promulgate regulations for purposes of this section.
Whenever any work of art or other object of cultural significance is imported into the United States from any foreign country, pursuant to an agreement entered into between the foreign owner or custodian thereof and the United States or one or more cultural, educational, or religious institutions with the capacity to appropriately curate such object within the United States providing for temporary storage, conservation, scientific research, exhibition, or display within the United States at any cultural exhibition, assembly, activity, or festival administered, operated, or sponsored, without profit, by any such cultural, educational, or religious institution with the capacity to appropriately curate such object, no court of the United States, any State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the United States may issue or enforce any judicial process, or enter any judgment, decree, or order, for the purpose or having the effect of depriving such institution, or any carrier engaged in transporting such work or object within the United States, of custody or control of such object if before the importation of such object the President or his designee has determined that such object is of cultural significance and that temporary storage, conservation, scientific research, exhibition, or display within the United States is in the national interest, and a notice to that effect has been published in the Federal Register.
If in any judicial proceeding in any such court any such process, judgment, decree, or order is sought, issued, or entered, the United States attorney for the judicial district within which such proceeding is pending shall be entitled as of right to intervene as a party to that proceeding, and upon request made by either the institution adversely affected, or upon direction by the Attorney General if the United States is adversely affected, shall apply to such court for the denial, quashing, or vacating thereof.
Nothing contained in this section shall preclude (1) any judicial action for or in aid of the enforcement of the terms of any such agreement or the enforcement of the obligation of any carrier under any contract for the transportation of any such object of cultural significance; or (2) the institution or prosecution by or on behalf of any such institution or the United States of any action for or in aid of the fulfillment of any obligation assumed by such institution or the United States pursuant to any such agreement.
For purposes of this section, the terms “imported” and “importation” include a transfer from a mission of a foreign country located within the United States to a cultural, educational, or religious institution located within the United States.
The President shall insure that all programs under the authority of the Bureau shall maintain their nonpolitical character and shall be balanced and representative of the diversity of American political, social, and cultural life. The President shall insure that academic and cultural programs under the authority of the Bureau shall maintain their scholarly integrity and shall meet the highest standards of academic excellence or artistic achievement.
There is established in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs an Office of Citizen Exchanges. The Office shall support private not-for-profit organizations engaged in the exchange of persons between the United States and other countries.
The President is authorized to negotiate and implement agreements with the independent states of the former Soviet Union under which repayments made by the independent states on Lend-Lease debts to the United States would be used to finance the exchange of persons between the United States and the independent states for educational, cultural, and artistic purposes. Exchanges authorized pursuant to this section shall be administered subject to the provisions of this chapter. Part of the funds repaid to the United States shall be in convertible currency for the purpose of paying the expenses associated with study and other exchange activities in the United States by citizens of the independent states.
Funds made available for the purposes of this section shall be available only to the extent and in the amounts provided for in an appropriation Act.
Subject to the availability of appropriations and under the authorities of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.], the Secretary of State shall establish and carry out a program in each fiscal year to award grants of up to $5,000, to individuals who meet the requirements of subsection (b), toward the cost of up to one academic year of undergraduate study abroad. Grants under this Act shall be known as the “Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships”.
Of each amount transferred to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs out of appropriations other than appropriations under the span “Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs” for support of an educational or cultural exchange program, notwithstanding any other provision of law, not more than 7.5 percent shall be made available to cover administrative expenses incurred in connection with support of the program. Amounts made available to cover administrative expenses shall be credited to the appropriations under the span “Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs” and shall remain available until expended.
The Secretary shall make available funds for international exchanges to provide opportunities to researchers in developing countries to participate in activities related to ethical issues in human subject research, as described in subsection (c).
The Secretary shall coordinate programs conducted pursuant to this section with similar programs that may be conducted by the United States Agency for International Development and other Federal agencies as part of United States international health programs, particularly with respect to research and treatment of infectious diseases.
For purposes of subsection (a), the phrase “activities related to ethical issues in human subject research” includes courses of study, conferences, and fora on development of and compliance with international ethical standards for clinical trials involving human subjects, particularly with respect to responsibilities of researchers to individuals and local communities participating in such trials, and on management and monitoring of such trials based on such international ethical standards.
There is established the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program (referred to in this section as the “Fellowship Program”) within the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (referred to in this section as the “Bureau”) shall administer the Fellowship Program in accordance with policy guidelines established by the Board, in consultation with the binational Fulbright Commissions and United States Embassies.
The Board shall annually select qualified individuals to participate in the Fellowship Program. The Bureau may determine the number of fellows selected each year, which, whenever feasible, shall be not fewer than 25.
The term “historically Black college and university” has the meaning given the term “part B institution” in section 1061 of title 20.
The term “minority-serving institution” means an eligible institution under section 1067q(a) of title 20.
Each fellowship under this section shall continue for a period determined by the Bureau, which, whenever feasible, shall be not fewer than 10 months.