your foreign countries to the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Memorial, or to the new Hirshhorn Museum, or what have you.

We are also concerned about the older foreign visitors and on the Mall, again, is something in motion, Operation Big Wheel we call it, where those people who are 70 or 65 who cannot hassle with the younger folks on the Mall, they want to have a place to rest. Again, the Mayor of the District of Columbia is concerned about this and we are moving along this line. We will have wheelchairs, possibly operated by the U.S. Jaycess, as a voluntary project during the Bicentennial. Mr. Chairman, these are just a number of the things that the other Federal agencies and the District of Columbia are concerned about in accommodating problems of foreign visitors.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other members of the panel that wish to make any special comments about the services that they have to offer as we conclude our proceedings here?

U.S. CITIZENSHIP

Mr. McKAY. Mr. Chairman, I think it might be appropriate to say something about acquisition of citizenship by the children of your personnel when they are born here in the United States.

Under the 14th amendment to our Constitution, the children born to diplomatic personnel, persons with full diplomatic immunity, are not born subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore these children do not acquire U.S. citizenship.

However, the children of personnel who are not on the diplomatic list, the Blue List, do acquire U.S. citizenship and as U.S. citizens they are subject to, with some exception, a requirement to be documented as U.S. citizens for entry and departure into the United States.

Now, there is an exemption for children, up to the age of 12, of persons coming in on their-check me on this, Ed, travel control is not my forte-who can come in on their parents' foreign passport, and, I believe, on diplomatic personnel up to the age of 21.

Mr. O'CONNOR. Yes.

Mr. McKAY. If you have any problems concerning your children who were born here and whether or not you are on the diplomatic list, or not on the diplomatic list, or if there are any questions about whether the children have acquired U.S. citizenship and what problems they may face as dual nationals if they did acquire U.S. citizenship, please feel free to contact me at the Passport Office or Mr. Dugan, our Deputy Director, and we will be happy to help you out in any way. The CHAIRMAN. Any others?

Well, I think that concludes our proceedings. We are

Ms. MCCLOSKEY. Mr. Chairman, pardon me for interrupting.
May I say a word?

The CHAIRMAN. Go right ahead.

Ms. MCCLOSKEY. Thank you.

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS SERVICE COUNCIL

Our organization, the International Visitors' Service Council, has been involved in helping international visitors in Washington since 1961. One of the areas in which we have always wanted to become

more involved and have had not too much success is that of working with the individuals listed in not the Blue Book but the White Book, in helping them to become familiar with services available to them in Washington, D.C.

I think, addressing you this afternoon will be a lot better than my writing a letter and you receiving it and saying, what is this IVIS on our green letterhead?

We stand ready to assist your staff with any kinds of problems or questions that they might have in helping them become familiar, as I said, with what is available for them."

In addition to that, when you have visitors who arrive in Washington and come to your Embassies and say: Please help me. I need maps. I need information. Where is the hotel that I can stay in? Where is it inexpensive for me to eat? What are the best things for me to see? Where are the places that I can walk to? Where must I take a bus? I could go on for quite awhile this afternoon.

We are also there or here in Washington to help you in these kinds of situations. Our office is at the corner of 19th and Pennsylvania Avenue. We have brochures on virtually every area of interest in the metropolitan area; we have a volunteer corps of some 786 people who stand ready in 40 languages to help you out.

As Mr. Cleveland said earlier, we have a language bank of volunteers who are available during the day, and any time, and 24 hours a day if it is an emergency situation. We oftentimes, in fact just this morning before I left the office, had a telephone call from the Prince George's County Police concerning a Korean who is living in Prince George's County and they needed assistance. They called IVIS first and we called a volunteer and then finally called the Korean Embassy to help us out.

That is the kind of assistance that we can perform in Washington and we do stand ready to help you with any kind of question that you might have.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. I see two more hands, three more with the Ambassador from Botswana, and then we will conclude our proceedings.

Mr. VIDOURIS. The Department of State does not issue diplomatic identification cards for the children of the diplomatic personnel of the missions in Washington, D.C. I would like to ask you whether another kind of some paper or document of identification could be issued by the Department of State, so that the above-mentioned persons can prove their identity, when needed, because now they have to carry their passports with them.

TAXES

In view of the fact that the diplomatic personnel of the missions in Washington, D.C., is tax exempted, I would like to ask why we have to pay tax on air fares when we travel within the United States? Mr. DAVIS. It hinges on a determination by the Department of the Treasury who is responsible for this kind of determination that that is not a general sales tax, but that is a—I think it is called a―use tax, I believe. At any rate, it is classified by the Treasury Department as other than a sales tax as to cover certain specific expenses of the operation of airports throughout the country, and, consequently,

it does not qualify for exemption under the general eligibility or sales tax exemption.

The CHAIRMAN. This gentleman right here, and then I will recognize this gentleman.

IDENTIFICATION CARDS

Mr. CERVINO. I am the Minister Counselor, Embassy of Spain. Our colleague from Greece has a problem which is going to concern me within a very few days. I do not know how American citizens identify themselves after being 18 years old. I have a young lady, I have a daughter, who is already 18 and she is not yet in the United States, I am concerned about her future. Since it seems that the Department of State does not issue identifying documents for the daughter of a diplomat, I wonder how she will identify herself here because Mr. Davis talked about driving permits. I must say that I have been astonished how big the importance of the driving permit is in the United States. For many, many years I have traveled around the world, and I have never had to show my driver permit to anyone, and here I use it every day, I think.

[General laughter.]

There is still something else. One may not be a driver at 18 or at 15. Without having a license, that is a question and for people in between 18 and 21, I think modern life already gives them enough freedom of movement around the country to be in a position to need some identity card to show to authorities or any one else. Thank you.

Mrs. BRASKO. I have a nondriving daughter, and in the Virginia jurisdiction the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will give you a document with a photograph very similar to driver's license, or identical. I am not sure about the District of Columbia situation. I do not live in the District of Columbia, but perhaps someone in the District of Columbia could answer to that.

Mr. MACKAY. Maryland and Virginia both do. I do not think the District does as yet. More and more States-there are 22 States now around the country that are issuing nondriver's identity cards to nondrivers.

The CHAIRMAN. On a voluntary basis. The question of ID in the District of Columbia is a subject of considerable controversy.

Mr. SAMII. Mr. Chairman, my name is Samii, representing the Embassy of Iran, and I have two questions: one, Ms. McCloskey mentioned about-IVIS services to foreign visitors. I had one person yesterday in my office. He said he has 2 months' time and he likes to see the United States on land, not on air, so I try the last 2 days. I could not really find any way to put him in some sort of bus in this country, to take him around and see the country, and he does not know the language either. That is one question.

The second is during this 1976 that you are expecting 13-14 million visitors in Washington, what months of the year would be the peak months for the visitors to come?

Mr. HARRIS. I should make it clear that one of the things our subcommittee has determined is how little we know about how many will actually come. The normal experience in Washington is that the April-May-June period is the peak months because the various

Bicentennial celebrations programs, we would suspect that those, that July and August are going to be much higher next year than they have in the past.

Normally, in Washington the peak months for tourist infusion is the April-May, early June months.

The CHAIRMAN. The Ambassador from Botswana.

VISITORS' ITINERARIES

Ambassador DAMBE. Mr. Chairman, I have a question. It is a simple one. Pecple who come here sponsored by different organizations or the Department of State are usually allowed to travel around, but as we represent them, we never know where they are. They are given an itinerary, and no copies are sent to us. One question arises as to where they are as sometimes a question will come from home to find out where these people are. We pass the word to them; we never get to know where they are. I was wondering whether it is appropriate to raise this question now, here.

Mr. CLEVELAND. One of the Meridian House organizations that I did not mention because it, normally, would not be pertinent to this gathering, is our visitor program service, which, in fact, organizes travel for sponsored foreign visitors to this country and publishes, in fact, an itinerary for those people, and I was very glad to have that piece of information. I see no reason why we should not. We do this. We do not do it for all of them, but we do it for over a thousand every year, and I do not see why we should not send a copy of an individual's itinerary to the Embassy. I think it is a very good idea; in fact, I am surprised it is not being done. I appreciate that piece of information. I cannot say that I speak for all the sponsoring agencies. All I can do is speak for ourselves.

The CHAIRMAN. We could pass that piece of information on to the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. I think that they would be in a central spot as far as Government sponsorship, or at least State Department sponsorship, put into it.

The gentleman in the center there has a question.

TEMPORARY VISITORS

My name is Kartomo Wirosuhardjo; I am from Indonesia. We have some people who are sponsored by our government, sent here to study, and when they finish, some of them are willing to go home, and we try to locate them. Sometimes for reasons of confidentiality we cannot obtain the name. Maybe the immigration would help us in locating these people and help send them back, because they have contracts with the government.

[General laughter.]

Mr. O'CONNOR. Yes, sir; we would be very happy to cooperate with you if you will just-many of these programs are not-some of the people come under Immigration, but they possibly would be State Department programs; but, sir, if you have a problem locating any of your nationals, you let me know. I will do my best if you will promise me you will send them home.

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman in the back there.

TRAVEL FOR MEDICAL PATIENTS

Mr. GEORGE. My name is George and I represent the Embassy of Nigeria. There is a Nigerian who is mentally sick. Unfortunately his request for assistance from the State Department has come to naught. Our government has given us directives to make sure that he is protected at all costs; but our hosts in this way seem to be gaining. He is in a coma-which we think the program reflects on Nigeria. I do not know if something concrete, sort of a statement, could be made to me right now and which I can take over.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there someone prepared to answer that?

Mr. O'CONNOR. Good afternoon, Mr. George. I am not familiar myself with this particular case. Have you taken it up with the Di-trict Director, a Mr. Drummond.

Mr. GEORGE. I have.

Mr. O'CONNOR. I gather from what you said that it does not involve finances or money. It involves some other technical legal question about transporting him home because of his sickness?

Mr. GEORGE. Yes.

Mr. O'CONNOR. Okay.

I will be most happy to find out what the problem is, and I will call you at the embassy and try to come to some agreement with you. I am not aware of it, but I will make myself aware of it and do my best to solve it for you.

The CHAIRMAN. I think there was one other hand that I saw here in the center.

Well, I think that we have had about 1%1⁄2 hours of very useful exchanges. I think that all of you can go away from this meeting having identified sources of information in connection with problems that have been brought up here, and others that come to mind as we have this kind of discussion.

We have been very pleased with the response. There were over 60 countries that responded to our invitation.

I might add that the transcript of these proceedings will be converted into a report which will be distributed to representatives of the countries of the international community so that you will have a record of these proceedings, in addition to the hearings that have been passed out from our 1973 meeting. These should represent a pretty broad base of source of information for all of these matters.

In conclusion, I want to again thank the Dean who just came in a few moments ago for his cooperation, and also to renew our pledge to be available in connection with problems from the diplomatic community, and from the international community that have been discussed here today.

Thank you very much.

The meeting stands adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m., the meeting was adjourned.]