Foreign Service Act Amendment of 1980
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Foreign Service Act Amendments of 1980 - Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1946 to establish a Foreign Service Schedule which shall apply to all members of the Foreign Service, who are U.S. citizens and whose salary is not otherwise specified (currently there are separate pay schedules for Foreign Service officers, reserve officers, staff officers, and employees). Provides for additional compensation to be paid to such members in a specified lump sum which shall be exempt from income taxation. Directs the Secretary of State to designate and classify positions in the Department, the Agency for International Development, the International Communication Agency (ICA), and positions at Foreign Service posts. Considers such positions to be subject to the civil service provisions. Requires the Secretary to assign diplomats to appropriate positions. Sets forth the qualifications to each one of the 13 salary classes established by this Act. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to list Foreign Service appointees on the registers of persons eligible for civil service employment. Makes such individuals eligible for civil service employment if their Foreign Service employment is terminated. Makes the civil service labor-management provision applicable to the Foreign Service. Authorizes certain members of the Foreign Service to join or refrain from joining labor organizations. Places the employees of the Department, the International Development Cooperation Agency, and the ICA in a single worldwide bargaining unit. Places members of the Foreign Service who are employees of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Treasury in a separate worldwide bargaining unit. Permits other civil service employees to merge with such units, if such units accept the merger. Increases the annuities of participants in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System. Provides additional annuity increases for participants who were held hostage.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 29, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 29, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JESSE HELMS (R-NC) introduced it on July 29, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 29, 1980, 16844 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16844 days ago, on July 29, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers