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MISCELLANEOUS PERSONAL SERVICES

The costs of these various items are predicated on the personal-service estimates for the staff and are at level consistent with those estimates. This represents a reduction over similar costs in fiscal year 1954.

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The staff travel estimates are based on both domestic and foreign requirements. This Service has arranged contracts or working fund agreements with especially well qualified public and private organizations in the United States for the selection and placement of grantees, and supervision of their program. In order to insure compliance with the terms of the contracts, it is necessary that the Service supervise the activities of these organizations, including auditing the accounts to ascertain if funds were properly disbursed. This requires consultations with officers of the agencies, university and college administrators, the campus foreign student advisers, and interviews with the grantees. The Service is contantly striving to enlist the assistance of universities, colleges, private organizations such as Rotary International, Kiwanis, women's clubs, chambers of commerce, and similar public-spirited organizations to extend and improve the programs available to grantees. Such activities are best accomplished by visiting these organizations and public spirited citizens and discussing problems of mutual interest. In order to carry out such a program effectively, it is estimated that 80 such trips at a cost of $13,933 will be required for the fiscal year.

As a result of Reorganization Plan No. 8, the Department decided to make use of USIA overseas personnel in carrying out the overseas phase of the educationalexchange program.

It is necessary to visit posts to supervise the overseas operations of the personnel assigned by USIA to the educational-exchange function. Joint regional conferences of such personnel together with personnel from the binational foundations/commissions in the area are necessary to insure that the overseas responsibilities are properly carried out and guidance provided to increase the effectiveness of these activities. The fiscal records and accounts of the binational foundations/commissions must be audited to ascertain if the funds of the foundations/commissions were properly disbursed. It is estimated that 6 such trips will be required at a cost of $15,931 for the fiscal year.

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Incoming prominent persons often do not have sufficient English language facility in order to gain the greatest value of the visit. In these cases interpreters are provided to accompany the visitor on his tour in this country so that he can gain the most out of his visit. This service will be provided by the Division of Translating Services, Department of State. The increase in 1954 is due to the increased number of leaders who require such service, particularly Italians and Japanese. The reduction in 1955 is attributable to the decreased program for this category.

Program assistance centers:

1954.
1955.

Increase or decrease (-) 1955 over 1954.

$18, 950

39, 000 20, 050

During 1953 and a portion of 1954, Foreign Service officers were detailed to three regional offices of the Institute of International Education to assist in programing foreign leaders in the Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles areas. The services of these officers can no longer be made available and the Department must pay for such services at approximately $13,000 at each regional office. use of these particular regional offices are vital to the carrying out of the foreignleader program.

The

Clearinghouse of information on United States Government exchanges:

1953__

1954

1955

$5, 500 31, 932 31, 932

This estimate is to continue a centralizing service for gathering, maintaining, and utilizing statistical records of persons entering or leaving the United States for education and technical purposes under programs sponsored in whole or in part by the United States Government. The Bureau of the Budget placed the responsibility in this service of estimating the full cost of participation by all Federal agencies in this program. The program is carried out by the Office of Education under a working-fund agreement with the Department of State. The establishment of this service is one of several recommendations of the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations (Subcommittee on Overseas Information Programs of the United States).

Reception center activities:

1953 1954

1955.

$6, 440 7,000 7,000

Four such centers are maintained at the principal ports of entry into the United States (New York, Miami, New Orleans, and San Francisco). Prominent persons from overseas coming to this country on tours of observation and consultation are met at these points and programs developed to take advantage of the facilities in these areas. The amount requested is to provide chartered transportation, publications of interest for use in the centers and similar activities for the benefit of the visitors.

Entertainment:

1953 1954

1955

$2, 703

1, 800 1, 800

Official recognition in the form of luncheons and receptions is tendered only to foreign visitors whose prominence in their own countries and influence on public opinion justify such hospitality by the Department in the light of their potential contribution to the objectives of this program. Out-of-pocket expenses incurred at the reception centers in meeting foreign nationals and providing for incidental expenses are also chargeable to the entertainment fund.

Security investigations:

1953

1954

1955

$7, 590

7, 130

7, 130

Public Law 402 prescribes that employees assigned to duties under the act must have a full field investigation prior to entry on duty. Based on a 16-percent turnover in personnel or 31 positions, and applying the unit cost of $230 per investigation, the amount estimated for such investigation is $7,130.

Grants, subsidies, and contributions

Orientation and language refresher activities:

1953.

1954.
1955

Increase, 1955 over 1954_.

$10, 804

25, 238

25, 500

262

The American Language Center and the Washington International Center are operated through grants-in-aid made to two private nonprofit organizations. Other Federal agencies participate in this program and bear their prorated share of the operating expenses as well as exchange programs under "Government in Occupied Areas, State."

Evaluation studies:

1953_

1954

1955

$60,000 40, 000 40, 000

The amount of $40,000 in both 1954 and 1955 is for the following types of evaluation contracts:

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Census of influence on worldwide basis concerning activities of foreign grantees.

Intensive study of effect of program on former grantees to measure attitude changes.

Analysis of articles published in foreign papers by former grantees participating in the cooperative journalist project

Comparison of effectiveness of orientation programs held at centers with those of grantees who lived with American families during their orientation period. Mail surveys among former grantees in countries where the program is small. Evaluating attitude scales of foreign students on arrival and on departure to measure change..

Total.

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1 The $307,101 indicated for 1953 represents the pro rata share of the entire domestic support service of the International Information Administration.

The amount requested herein is to cover the cost of domestic administrative support services to the International Educational Exchange Service. Work in connection with support services is handled by regular servicing elements of the Department of State. Cost factors used in the estimates for administrative support are developed and applied by the Department with respect to services rendered and supplies and equipment furnished.

The request for 1955 is relatively the same as 1954 since it supports approximately the same size program. The increase is chiefly accounted for by the payments for penalty mail.

Pursuant to the provisions of Public Law 286, 83d Congress, which requires agencies to pay to the Post Office Department the equivalent amount of postage for penalty mailings, the estimates of $1,696 for 1954 and $1,938 for 1955 for the educational exchange program were prepared on the basis of utilization of penalty envelopes in 1953 (40,000 envelopes at 3 cents and 8,200 envelopes at 9 cents). Since the estimate for 1954 only covers the period from August 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954, it is slightly smaller than 1955.

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The United States Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange was created in accordance with section 601, Public Law 402, 80th Congress to formulate and recommend to the Secretary of State policies and programs for the carrying out of the educational exchange provisions of that act. The members. serve without compensation. Section 602 (h) of that act authorizes the Department to provide necessary assistance for the Commission. Accordingly a Secretariat was established to provide such services. This Secretariat informs the Commission members on program matters in order that the Commission may be able to appraise the effectiveness of the operation and make recommendations to the Secretary of State and the Congress. The Secretariat also assists in the preparation of the quarterly reports of the Commission to the Secretary of State and the semiannual reports to Congress, which are required by Public Law 402; and maintains liaison between the Department and the Commission, and between the Commission and private groups and organizations working with it: It provides services at meetings of the Commission, which are held approximately every 2 months.

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Positions..

Deduct lapse...

Pay in excess of 52 weeks..

Increase or decrease (-)

1955 over 1954

Amount

$3,380732

4, 112 14

4, 126.

The work of the Secretariat consists of (a) identifying anticipated and existing. policy problems and recommending appropriate action to the members of the Commission, (b) analyzing major policy and program trends to insure that the policies and programs of the Commission are consistent with major foreign policy decisions, (c) ascertaining attitudes toward the programs and recommending suitable action to the commission, (d) designing, developing and preparing reports required by Public Law 402, 80th Congress. Five persons are required to carry out properly these functions at a cost of $26,891. This is an increase of one posi-tion (GS-4 clerk-stenographer). This is required since reports to the Commission members, preparation of required reports to the Congress and the Secretary of State, gathering of information for the benefit of the Commission members and maintaining contact with more than 60 major organizations interested in the exchange of persons program cannot be effectively carried out with the existing

staff.

1953.

1954.

1955.

Travel

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Increase, 1955 over 1954

4,370

Domestic travel.-Four regular meetings and two special meetings are contemplaled by the Commission for 1955. Two additional trips are provided for the chairman for consultation with Department officials. Four trips are provided for visiting educational institutions and foundations in the interests of the program. is a total of 36 trips at a cost of $4,519.

This

Foreign travel. It is necessary that the Commission obtain firsthand knowledge of operations in the field and analyze the potential effectiveness of the programs overseas. It is estimated that there will be 2 such trips made by the members of the Commission, 1 visiting Latin America and 1 the Far East, at a cost of $3,851.

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