years to take on and deal with all these new responsibilities. We have some 19 new positions and we are essentially in the same space. We are really too crowded to get the most efficient use of our people, and this is why we are making an effort to improve our office space situation, to make the best use of the people we now have. Mr. HACKETT. I can be a little more specific, Mr. Chairman. We had a major reconstruction project in the main State Department building planned for last fiscal year, and had $50,000 set aside for that purpose, which would have covered part of it. The GSA problems intervened, and we weren't able to get the construction started because GSA terminated the contractor. We had serious delays, but it now looks as though the work is about to be done, and it is going to cost $105,000. We would like to get it done right away. We had planned to do it last year, and we are already a year late, but I believe GSA is now ready to do the work. Mr. SLACK. How much of your 1979 budget has already been allocated for payment to GSA for space? Mr. HACKETT. The figure is $419,000 in fiscal year 1979, so what we are talking about here is not to pay rent to GSA but to pay for a construction project. That is, most of the funds would be used for that purpose. NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTAL Mr. SLACK. If this supplemental were not enacted or passed by both bodies and signed by the administration until July or August, how much of the request would you then need? Mr. KEENY. I didn't quite understand the question, Mr. Chairman. Mr. SLACK. Suppose this supplemental doesn't go through the gamut and become law until July or August of this year. Obviously you won't need the amount that you are now asking for. We are trying to arrive at a figure that you would need if this supplemental became reality or became enacted by July or August. Mr. KEENY. If it is enacted late in the year, we would try to delay some of our payments that we can defer for a while, but we can't defer them out of the fiscal year. Mr. SLACK. Then are you saying the requirement will be the same? Mr. KEENY. I think it would be the same, as far as the timing is concerned. If the supplemental is not passed at all, we will obviously have some very serious problems. These are critical items to the operation of the Agency, and we would just have to find out what we could cancel under the law to pay these bills because we have to keep our delegations going. OBJECT CLASS BREAKDOWN Mr. SLACK. Mr. Keeny, since we don't have too much detail on this supplemental request, would you please provide for the record a breakdown of the current appropriation by object class and show the supplemental amounts by object class as well? The full request as well as the supplementals are not in enough detail for us to appropriate the funds or make an argument on the floor of the House, so we would appreciate your giving us more detail with regard to the appropriation request. Mr. KEENY. Yes, sir, we will certainly do that. [The information follows:] U.S. ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT AGENCY BREAKOUT OF INCREASES BY OBJECT CLASS FY-1979 SUPPLEMENTAL 772 $+ 400 (a) $1,172 Geneva Rent, Communications & Utilities 955 $+ 300 (b) $1,255 Washington Rent $ 419 $ 419 Printing & Reproduction $ 60 60 Other Services $ 771 $+ 213 (c) External Research $3,681 Services of Other Agencies $1,884 $+ 92 (d) $ 984 $3,681 $1,976 Supplies & Equipment $ 32 $+ 5(e) $ 37 $300,000 for travel & per diem to staff negotiations abroad; $100,000 to support the nuclear safeguards program of the IAEA. To cover increased costs for facilities for ACDA delegations in Geneva, including SALT, SCC, ASAT and CTB. Increases in costs of supplies and equipment for Geneva operations $108,000; and construction of office space in Washington $105,000. (d) Increases in reimbursable agreements with the State Department for staff support Geneva operations. (e) Materials for Washington office construction. (c) Mr. SLACK. Are there further questions? Thank you very much, Mr. Keeny, and gentlemen. THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1979. BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING WITNESSES DR. JOHN A. GRONOUSKI, CHAIRMAN, BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING JOHN T. MURPHY, MEMBER, BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING WALTER R. ROBERTS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING GLENN W. FERGUSON, PRESIDENT, RFE/RL, INC. ARTHUR D. LEVIN, BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, COMPTROLLER, FISCAL YEAR 1979 SUPPLEMENTAL REQUEST Mr. SLACK. Mr. Hightower, will you take the Chair for the supplementals? Mr. HIGHTOWER. The fiscal year 1979 supplemental request for the Board for International Broadcasting is in the amount of $3 million. At this point we will insert the justifications for the supplemental into the record. [The justification material follows:] 44-119 - 79 - 25 RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY: FY 1979 SUPPLEMENTAL NEEDS FY 1979 authorization and appropriation legislation for B.I.B. grants to RFE/RL were based on an estimated exchange rate of 2.1075 West German marks = One Dollar. At that level of operations, the legislation provided $78,013,000 for operations and capital construction (transmitter installations in Germany and Portugal). In addition, continuing the practice of recent years, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979 (P.L. 95-426) provided $5,000,000 to be available, under the authority of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to compensate for downward fluctuations in foreign-currency exchange rates. Of the $5,000,000 currency reserve authorized, the appropriations act (P.L. 95-431) provided $2,000,000. An additional $69,200 remained from prior appropriations. In setting budgetary exchange rates for FY 1980, including a new rate of 1.93 marks to the dollar, the Administration has also recommended appropriation of the remaining $3,000,000 in foreign-currency reserve funds authorized for FY 1979. During the first quarter of FY 1979, actual RFE/RL purchases were at an average exchange rate of 1.8975 marks to the dollar. The following estimates of possible average exchange rates for the three final quarters of FY 1979 demonstrate that maintenance of the authorized level of operations will require expeditious appropriation of the remaining reserve funds authorized for this purpose. |