22 U.S.C. § 2581 — General authority of Secretary of State

In addition to any authorities otherwise available, the Secretary of State in the performance of functions under this chapter is authorized to— (a) Utilization of other Federal agencies; transfers of supplies, equipment, and surplus property use or employ the services, personnel, equipment, or facilities of any other Government agency, with the consent of the agency concerned, to perform such functions on behalf of the Department of State as may appear desirable. Any Government agency is authorized, Despite any other law, to transfer to or to receive from the Secretary of State, without reimbursement, supplies and equipment other than administrative supplies or equipment. Transfer or receipt of excess property is under the provisions of chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41; (b) Employment of personnel appoint and fix the compensation of employees possessing specialized technical expertise without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service and the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, if the Secretary of State ensures that— (1) any employee who is appointed under this subsection is not paid at a rate— (A) more than the rate payable for positions of equivalent difficulty or responsibility, or (B) exceeding the maximum rate payable for grade 15 of the General Schedule; and (2) the number of employees appointed under this subsection must not exceed 10 percent of the Department of State’s full-time-equivalent positions allocated to carry out the purpose of this chapter. 1 (c) Detail of other agency personnel without prejudice to status or advancement enter into agreements with other Government agencies, including the military departments through the Secretary of Defense, under which officers or employees of such agencies can be detailed to the Department of State for the performance of service under this chapter without prejudice to the status or advancement of such officers or employees within their own agencies; (d) Experts and consultants; stenographic reporting services; compensation and travel expenses; limitation on period of employment; renewal of employment contracts procure services of experts and consultants or organizations of it, including stenographic reporting services, as authorized by section 3109 of title 5 and to pay in connection therewith travel expenses of individuals, including transportation and per diem instead of subsistence while away from their homes or regular places of business, as authorized by section 5703 of such title: Provided , That no such individual is employed for more than 130 days in any fiscal year unless the President certifies that employment of such individual more than such number of days is necessary in the national interest: And provided further , That such contracts can be renewed annually; (e) Employment of outstanding personnel employ individuals of outstanding ability without compensation under the provisions of section 4560(b) of title 50 and regulations issued under it; (f) Establishment of scientific and policy advisory board; compensation and expenses establish a scientific and policy advisory board to advise with and make recommendations to the Secretary of State on United States arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policy and activities. A majority of the board is composed of individuals who have a demonstrated knowledge and technical expertise about arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament matters and who have distinguished themselves in any of the fields of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, or engineering, including weapons engineering. The members of the board may receive the compensation and reimbursement for expenses specified for consultants by subsection (d) of this section; (g) Oaths and sworn statements administer oaths and take sworn statements in the course of an investigation made under the Secretary of State’s responsibilities under this chapter; (h) Delegation of functions delegate, as appropriate, to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security or other officers of the Department of State, any authority conferred upon the Secretary of State by the provisions of this chapter; and (i) Rules and regulations make, promulgate, issue, rescind, and amend such rules and regulations as can be necessary or desirable to the exercise of any authority conferred upon the Secretary of State by the provisions of this chapter.