The State Department will swallow the U.S. Information Agency and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, following President Clinton's approval Wednesday of the omnibus 1999 spending package.
The massive spending package included the foreign affairs reorganization, which the Clinton Administration proposed in April 1997. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, R-N.C., had pressured the administration for a revamping of the foreign affairs establishment in return for his approval of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Under the reorganization, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency will officially become part of the State Department by April 1, 1999. The United States Information Agency will fold into the State Department by October 1, 1999. The Agency for International Development will remain independent, but the agency's chief will report to the Secretary of State.
Clinton Administration officials have said the merger will not lead to layoffs or major savings. The merger will streamline operations and consolidate command and control of U.S. foreign policy under the Secretary of State, officials say.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told employees in April 1997 that the coming changes are a product of the end of the Cold War.
"The current structure of our foreign affairs agencies reflects the needs of an era that no longer exists," she said. "We have to show zero tolerance for waste and we have to welcome accountability."
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