Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB40 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 40
5	5	To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of
6	6	slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between
7	7	1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider
8	8	a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of
9	9	slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimi-
10	10	nation against African Americans, and the impact of these forces on
11	11	living African Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress
12	12	on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.
13	13	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
14	14	JANUARY9, 2023
15	15	Ms. J
16	16	ACKSONLEE(for herself, Ms. KELLYof Illinois, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr.
17	17	M
18	18	FUME, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. DAVISof Illinois, Mr.
19	19	K
20	20	ILMER, Ms. WILSONof Florida, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. ADAMS, Mr.
21	21	T
22	22	ORRESof New York, Mr. CARSON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. LEE
23	23	of California, Mr. C
24	24	ARTERof Louisiana, Mr. JOHNSONof Georgia, Mr.
25	25	C
26	26	OSTA, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. CHU, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.
27	27	P
28	28	OCAN, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. LIEU, Mr.
29	29	B
30	30	OWMAN, Ms. MOOREof Wisconsin, Mr. CUELLAR, Mrs. WATSONCOLE-
31	31	MAN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. BOYLEof Pennsylvania,
32	32	Mr. K
33	33	EATING, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. BUSH, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr.
34	34	T
35	35	HANEDAR, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. WILLIAMSof Georgia, Mr. CASE, Ms.
36	36	T
37	37	LAIB, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr.
38	38	B
39	39	ISHOPof Georgia, Mr. CASTROof Texas, Mr. JACKSONof Illinois, Ms.
40	40	K
41	41	AMLAGER-DOVE, and Mr. HORSFORD) introduced the following bill;
42	42	which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
43	43	A BILL
44	44	To address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and
45	45	inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13
46	46	American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to estab-
47	47	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
48	48	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2
49	49	•HR 40 IH
50	50	lish a commission to study and consider a national apol-
51	51	ogy and proposal for reparations for the institution of
52	52	slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and
53	53	economic discrimination against African Americans, and
54	54	the impact of these forces on living African Americans,
55	55	to make recommendations to the Congress on appro-
56	56	priate remedies, and for other purposes.
57	57	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
58	58	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
59	59	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
60	60	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study 4
61	61	and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans 5
62	62	Act’’. 6
63	63	SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 7
64	64	(a) F
65	65	INDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 8
66	66	(1) approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their 9
67	67	descendants were enslaved in the United States and 10
68	68	colonies that became the United States from 1619 to 11
69	69	1865; 12
70	70	(2) the institution of slavery was constitu-13
71	71	tionally and statutorily sanctioned by the Govern-14
72	72	ment of the United States from 1789 through 1865; 15
73	73	(3) the slavery that flourished in the United 16
74	74	States constituted an immoral and inhumane depri-17
75	75	vation of Africans’ life, liberty, African citizenship 18
76	76	rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the 19
77	77	fruits of their own labor; 20
78	78	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
79	79	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3
80	80	•HR 40 IH
81	81	(4) a preponderance of scholarly, legal, commu-1
82	82	nity evidentiary documentation and popular culture 2
83	83	markers constitute the basis for inquiry into the on- 3
84	84	going effects of the institution of slavery and its leg-4
85	85	acy of persistent systemic structures of discrimina-5
86	86	tion on living African Americans and society in the 6
87	87	United States; 7
88	88	(5) the brutal overthrow of Reconstruction, 8
89	89	which represented a significant but constrained mo-9
90	90	ment of advances for Black rights as epitomized by 10
91	91	the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Con-11
92	92	stitution, the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 12
93	93	and the Freedman’s Bureau, failed African Ameri-13
94	94	cans by failing to ensure their safety and security; 14
95	95	(6) following the abolition of slavery and end of 15
96	96	Reconstruction the United States Government, 16
97	97	through laws enacted at the Federal, State, and 17
98	98	local level, continued to perpetuate, condone and 18
99	99	profit from practices that continued to brutalize and 19
100	100	disadvantage African Americans, including share 20
101	101	cropping, convict leasing, Jim Crow, redlining, un-21
102	102	equal education, and disproportionate treatment at 22
103	103	the hands of the criminal justice system, resulting in 23
104	104	stolen labor and ultimately forestalling landmark 24
105	105	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
106	106	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4
107	107	•HR 40 IH
108	108	contributions in science, arts, commerce and public 1
109	109	service; 2
110	110	(7) the civil rights movement, and other efforts 3
111	111	to redress grievances arising from systemic inequi-4
112	112	ties, were sabotaged, both intentionally and uninten-5
113	113	tionally, thus rendering the accomplishments of 6
114	114	those efforts transitory and unsustainable, and fur-7
115	115	ther embedding racial inequality in society; 8
116	116	(8) examples of discriminatory Federal Govern-9
117	117	ment actions directed against African Americans in-10
118	118	clude— 11
119	119	(A) the creation of the Federal Housing 12
120	120	Administration, which adopted specific policies 13
121	121	designed to incentivize residential segregation; 14
122	122	(B) the enactment of legislation creating 15
123	123	the Social Security program, for which most Af-16
124	124	rican Americans were purposely rendered ineli-17
125	125	gible during its first two decades; 18
126	126	(C) the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 19
127	127	1944 (commonly known as the GI Bill of 20
128	128	Rights; 58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), which left 21
129	129	administration of its programs to the States, 22
130	130	thus enabling discrimination against African- 23
131	131	American veterans; and 24
132	132	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
133	133	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5
134	134	•HR 40 IH
135	135	(D) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1
136	136	1938, which allowed labor unions to discrimi-2
137	137	nate based on race; and 3
138	138	(9) as a result of the historic and continued dis-4
139	139	crimination, African Americans continue to suffer 5
140	140	debilitating economic, educational, and health hard-6
141	141	ships including but not limited to having nearly 7
142	142	1,000,000 Black people incarcerated; an unemploy-8
143	143	ment rate more than twice the current White unem-9
144	144	ployment rate; and an average of less than
145	145	1
146	146	⁄16of 10
147	147	the wealth of White families, a disparity which has 11
148	148	worsened, not improved over time. 12
149	149	(b) P
150	150	URPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-13
151	151	lish a commission to study and develop Reparation pro-14
152	152	posals for African Americans as a result of— 15
153	153	(1) the institution of slavery, including both the 16
154	154	Trans-Atlantic and the domestic ‘‘trade’’ which ex-17
155	155	isted from 1565 in colonial Florida and from 1619 18
156	156	through 1865 within the other colonies that became 19
157	157	the United States, and which included the Federal 20
158	158	and State governments which constitutionally and 21
159	159	statutorily supported the institution of slavery; 22
160	160	(2) the de jure and de facto discrimination 23
161	161	against freed slaves and their descendants from the 24
162	162	end of the Civil War to the present, including eco-25
163	163	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
164	164	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6
165	165	•HR 40 IH
166	166	nomic, political, educational, and social discrimina-1
167	167	tion; 2
168	168	(3) the lingering negative effects of the institu-3
169	169	tion of slavery and the discrimination described in 4
170	170	paragraphs (1) and (2) on living African Americans 5
171	171	and on society in the United States; 6
172	172	(4) the manner in which textual and digital in-7
173	173	structional resources and technologies are being used 8
174	174	to deny the inhumanity of slavery and the crime 9
175	175	against humanity of people of African descent in the 10
176	176	United States; 11
177	177	(5) the role of Northern complicity in the 12
178	178	Southern based institution of slavery; 13
179	179	(6) the direct benefits to societal institutions, 14
180	180	public and private, including higher education, cor-15
181	181	porations, religious, and associational; 16
182	182	(7) and thus, recommend appropriate ways to 17
183	183	educate the American public of the Commission’s 18
184	184	findings to advance racial healing, understanding, 19
185	185	and transformation; 20
186	186	(8) and thus, recommend appropriate remedies 21
187	187	in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the 22
188	188	matters described in paragraphs (1) through (7); 23
189	189	and 24
190	190	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
191	191	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7
192	192	•HR 40 IH
193	193	(9) submit to the Congress the results of such 1
194	194	examination, together with such recommendations. 2
195	195	SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 3
196	196	(a) E
197	197	STABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 4
198	198	legislative branch the Commission to Study and Develop 5
199	199	Reparation Proposals for African Americans (hereinafter 6
200	200	in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 7
201	201	(b) D
202	202	UTIES.—The Commission shall perform the fol-8
203	203	lowing duties: 9
204	204	(1) Identify, compile, and synthesize the rel-10
205	205	evant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the in-11
206	206	stitution of slavery which existed within the United 12
207	207	States and the colonies that became the United 13
208	208	States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission’s 14
209	209	documentation and examination shall include facts 15
210	210	related to— 16
211	211	(A) the capture and procurement of Afri-17
212	212	cans; 18
213	213	(B) the transport of Africans to the United 19
214	214	States and the colonies that became the United 20
215	215	States for the purpose of enslavement, including 21
216	216	their treatment during transport; 22
217	217	(C) the sale and acquisition of Africans 23
218	218	and their descendants as chattel property in 24
219	219	interstate and intrastate commerce; 25
220	220	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
221	221	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8
222	222	•HR 40 IH
223	223	(D) the treatment of African slaves and 1
224	224	their descendants in the colonies and the 2
225	225	United States, including the deprivation of their 3
226	226	freedom, exploitation of their labor, and de-4
227	227	struction of their culture, language, religion, 5
228	228	and families; and 6
229	229	(E) the extensive denial of humanity, sex-7
230	230	ual abuse, and the chatellization of persons. 8
231	231	(2) Study and analyze the role which the Fed-9
232	232	eral and State governments of the United States 10
233	233	supported the institution of slavery in constitutional 11
234	234	and statutory provisions, including the extent to 12
235	235	which such governments prevented, opposed, or re-13
236	236	stricted efforts of formerly enslaved Africans and 14
237	237	their descendants to repatriate to their homeland. 15
238	238	(3) Study and analyze the effects of laws en-16
239	239	acted by the Federal Government and State govern-17
240	240	ments with discriminatory intent or discriminatory 18
241	241	effect on the formerly enslaved Africans and their 19
242	242	descendants following the overdue recognition of 20
243	243	such persons as United States citizens beginning in 21
244	244	1868. 22
245	245	(4) Study and analyze the other forms of dis-23
246	246	crimination in the public and private sectors against 24
247	247	freed African slaves and their descendants who were 25
248	248	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
249	249	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9
250	250	•HR 40 IH
251	251	belatedly accorded their rightful status as United 1
252	252	States citizens from 1868 to the present, including 2
253	253	redlining, educational funding discrepancies, and 3
254	254	predatory financial practices. 4
255	255	(5) Study and analyze the lingering negative ef-5
256	256	fects of the institution of slavery and the matters de-6
257	257	scribed in paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 2(b) 7
258	258	on living African Americans and on society in the 8
259	259	United States. 9
260	260	(6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate 10
261	261	the American public of the Commission’s findings to 11
262	262	advance racial healing, understanding, and trans-12
263	263	formation. 13
264	264	(7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consid-14
265	265	eration of the Commission’s findings on the matters 15
266	266	described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and 16
267	267	(6). In making such recommendations, the Commis-17
268	268	sion shall address, among other issues, the following 18
269	269	questions: 19
270	270	(A) How such recommendations comport 20
271	271	with international standards of remedy for 21
272	272	wrongs and injuries caused by the State, that 22
273	273	include full reparations and special measures, 23
274	274	as understood by various relevant international 24
275	275	protocols, laws, and findings. 25
276	276	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
277	277	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10
278	278	•HR 40 IH
279	279	(B) How the Government of the United 1
280	280	States will offer a formal apology on behalf of 2
281	281	the people of the United States for the per-3
282	282	petration of gross human rights violations and 4
283	283	crimes against humanity on African slaves and 5
284	284	their descendants. 6
285	285	(C) How Federal laws and policies that 7
286	286	continue to disproportionately and negatively 8
287	287	affect African Americans as a group, and those 9
288	288	that perpetuate the lingering effects, materially 10
289	289	and psycho-social, can be eliminated. 11
290	290	(D) How the injuries resulting from mat-12
291	291	ters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), 13
292	292	(5), and (6) can be reversed and provide appro-14
293	293	priate policies, programs, projects, and rec-15
294	294	ommendations for the purpose of reversing the 16
295	295	injuries. 17
296	296	(E) How, in consideration of the Commis-18
297	297	sion’s findings, any form of compensation to the 19
298	298	descendants of enslaved Africans is calculated. 20
299	299	(F) What form of compensation should be 21
300	300	awarded, through what instrumentalities, and 22
301	301	who should be eligible for such compensation. 23
302	302	(G) How, in consideration of the Commis-24
303	303	sion’s finding, what forms of satisfaction, in ad-25
304	304	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
305	305	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11
306	306	•HR 40 IH
307	307	dition to apology, should be implemented in an 1
308	308	effort toward return of dignity and racial heal-2
309	309	ing, and reconciliation. 3
310	310	(H) How, in consideration of the Commis-4
311	311	sion’s findings, any other forms of rehabilita-5
312	312	tion or restitution to African descendants is 6
313	313	warranted and what the form and scope of 7
314	314	those measures should take. 8
315	315	(c) R
316	316	EPORT TOCONGRESS.—The Commission shall 9
317	317	submit a written report of its findings and recommenda-10
318	318	tions to the Congress not later than the date which is 18 11
319	319	months after the date of the first meeting of the full Com-12
320	320	mission held pursuant to section 4(f). 13
321	321	SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 14
322	322	(a) N
323	323	UMBER ANDAPPOINTMENT.— 15
324	324	(1) M
325	325	EMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be 16
326	326	composed of 15 members, who shall be appointed as 17
327	327	follows: 18
328	328	(A) P
329	329	OLITICALLY APPOINTED MEMBERS .— 19
330	330	Not later than 60 days after the date of enact-20
331	331	ment of this Act: 21
332	332	(i) Three members shall be appointed 22
333	333	by the President. 23
334	334	(ii) Three members shall be appointed 24
335	335	by the Speaker of the House of Represent-25
336	336	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
337	337	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12
338	338	•HR 40 IH
339	339	atives, in consultation with the committee 1
340	340	of jurisdiction of the House. 2
341	341	(iii) Three members shall be ap-3
342	342	pointed by the President pro tempore of 4
343	343	the Senate, in consultation with the com-5
344	344	mittee of jurisdiction of the Senate. 6
345	345	(B) S
346	346	UBJECT MATTER EXPERTS .—Not 7
347	347	later than 60 days after the appointment of the 8
348	348	Director under section 6(a), six members, who 9
349	349	shall be individuals appointed by the Director, 10
350	350	and approved by a majority of the members ap-11
351	351	pointed under subparagraph (A). Such individ-12
352	352	uals shall be from the major civil society and 13
353	353	reparations organizations that have historically 14
354	354	championed the cause of reparatory justice. 15
355	355	(2) Q
356	356	UALIFICATIONS.—All members of the 16
357	357	Commission shall be persons who are especially 17
358	358	qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of 18
359	359	their education, training, activism or experience, 19
360	360	particularly in the field of African-American studies 20
361	361	and reparatory justice. 21
362	362	(3) L
363	363	IMITATION.—No person who is a member 22
364	364	of Congress or an officer or employee of the Federal 23
365	365	Government or any State or local government may 24
366	366	serve as a member of the Commission. 25
367	367	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
368	368	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13
369	369	•HR 40 IH
370	370	(b) TERMS.—The term of office for members shall 1
371	371	be for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Com-2
372	372	mission shall not affect the powers of the Commission and 3
373	373	shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 4
374	374	appointment was made. 5
375	375	(c) Q
376	376	UORUM.—Seven members of the Commission 6
377	377	shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 7
378	378	hearings. 8
379	379	(d) V
380	380	ACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission 9
381	381	shall— 10
382	382	(1) not affect the powers of the Commission; 11
383	383	and 12
384	384	(2) be filled in the same manner in which the 13
385	385	original appointment was made. 14
386	386	(e) C
387	387	HAIR ANDVICE-CHAIR.—There shall be a Chair 15
388	388	and a Vice Chair of the Commission selected jointly by 16
389	389	the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the 17
390	390	House of Representatives, in consultation with the com-18
391	391	mittees of jurisdiction. The term of office of each shall 19
392	392	be for the life of the Commission. 20
393	393	(f) I
394	394	NITIALMEETING OFFULLCOMMISSION.—The 21
395	395	Chair shall call an initial meeting of the full Commission 22
396	396	not later than 45 days after the appointment of all mem-23
397	397	bers under subsection (a)(1)(B). 24
398	398	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
399	399	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14
400	400	•HR 40 IH
401	401	SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 1
402	402	(a) H
403	403	EARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 2
404	404	may, for purposes of carrying out this Act— 3
405	405	(1) hold hearings, sit and act at times and 4
406	406	places, take testimony, receive evidence, and admin-5
407	407	ister oaths; and 6
408	408	(2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at-7
409	409	tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc-8
410	410	tion of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 9
411	411	papers, and documents. 10
412	412	(b) S
413	413	UBPOENAS.— 11
414	414	(1) S
415	415	ERVICE.—Subpoenas issued under this 12
416	416	section may be served by any person designated by 13
417	417	the Commission. 14
418	418	(2) E
419	419	NFORCEMENT.— 15
420	420	(A) I
421	421	N GENERAL.—In the case of contu-16
422	422	macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 17
423	423	under this section, the United States district 18
424	424	court for the judicial district in which the sub-19
425	425	poenaed person resides, is served, or may be 20
426	426	found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 21
427	427	may issue an order requiring such person to ap-22
428	428	pear at any designated place to testify or to 23
429	429	produce documentary or other evidence. Any 24
430	430	failure to obey the order of the court may be 25
431	431	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
432	432	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 15
433	433	•HR 40 IH
434	434	punished by the court as a contempt of that 1
435	435	court. 2
436	436	(B) A
437	437	DDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT .—Sec-3
438	438	tions 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 4
439	439	of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 5
440	440	194) shall apply in the case of any failure of 6
441	441	any witness to comply with any subpoena or to 7
442	442	testify when summoned under the authority of 8
443	443	this section. 9
444	444	(C) I
445	445	SSUANCE.—A subpoena may be issued 10
446	446	under this section only— 11
447	447	(i) by the agreement of the Chair and 12
448	448	the Vice Chair; or 13
449	449	(ii) by the affirmative vote of a major-14
450	450	ity of the Commission, a majority being 15
451	451	present. 16
452	452	(c) C
453	453	ONTRACTING.—To the extent or in amounts pro-17
454	454	vided in Appropriations acts, and subject to the applicable 18
455	455	laws and regulations, the Commission may enter into con-19
456	456	tracts with government entities, private entities, or per-20
457	457	sons for goods or services, including for conducting re-21
458	458	search or surveys, the preparation of reports, and other 22
459	459	activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the 23
460	460	Commission. 24
461	461	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
462	462	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 16
463	463	•HR 40 IH
464	464	(d) INFORMATIONFROMFEDERALAGENCIES AND 1
465	465	O
466	466	THERENTITIES.—The Commission may secure directly 2
467	467	from any department, agency, bureau, board, commission, 3
468	468	office, independent establishment, or instrumentality of 4
469	469	the United States any information related to any inquiry 5
470	470	of the Commission conducted under this Act, including in-6
471	471	formation of a confidential nature (which the Commission 7
472	472	shall maintain in a secure manner). Each such depart-8
473	473	ment, agency, bureau, board, commission, office, inde-9
474	474	pendent establishment, or instrumentality shall furnish 10
475	475	such information directly to the Commission upon request. 11
476	476	(e) A
477	477	DMINISTRATIVE SUPPORTSERVICES.—Upon 12
478	478	the request of the Commission— 13
479	479	(1) the Administrator of General Services shall 14
480	480	provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, 15
481	481	the administrative support services necessary for the 16
482	482	Commission to carry out its responsibilities under 17
483	483	this Act; and 18
484	484	(2) other Federal departments and agencies 19
485	485	may pro vide to the Commission any administrative 20
486	486	support services as may be determined by the head 21
487	487	of such department or agency to be advisable and 22
488	488	authorized by law. 23
489	489	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
490	490	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 17
491	491	•HR 40 IH
492	492	(f) DONATIONS OF GOODS AND SERVICES.—The 1
493	493	Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or dona-2
494	494	tions of services or property. 3
495	495	(g) P
496	496	OSTALSERVICES.—The Commission may use 4
497	497	the United States mails in the same manner and under 5
498	498	the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 6
499	499	United States. 7
500	500	(h) P
501	501	OWERS OFSUBCOMMITTEES, MEMBERS, AND 8
502	502	A
503	503	GENTS.—Any subcommittee, member, or agent of the 9
504	504	Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 10
505	505	any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 11
506	506	this section. 12
507	507	SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 13
508	508	(a) D
509	509	IRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc-14
510	510	tor who shall be, not later than 60 days after the appoint-15
511	511	ment of all members appointed under section 4(a)(1)(A), 16
512	512	jointly selected by the Chair and Vice Chair, subject to 17
513	513	approval by a majority vote of such members. 18
514	514	(b) S
515	515	TAFF.—The Chair and the Vice Chair may joint-19
516	516	ly appoint additional personnel, as may be necessary, to 20
517	517	enable the Commission to carry out its functions. 21
518	518	(c) A
519	519	PPLICABILITY OF CERTAINCIVILSERVICE 22
520	520	L
521	521	AWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may 23
522	522	be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, 24
523	523	United States Code, governing appointments in the com-25
524	524	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
525	525	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 18
526	526	•HR 40 IH
527	527	petitive service, and may be paid with out regard to the 1
528	528	provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 2
529	529	of such title relating to classification and General Schedule 3
530	530	pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this para-4
531	531	graph may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a po-5
532	532	sition at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 6
533	533	5316 of title 5, United States Code. Any individual ap-7
534	534	pointed under this section shall be treated as an employee 8
535	535	for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 89A, 9
536	536	89B, and 90 of that title. 10
537	537	(d) D
538	538	ETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 11
539	539	may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 12
540	540	from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 13
541	541	rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ-14
542	542	ment without interruption. 15
543	543	(e) C
544	544	ONSULTANTSERVICES.—The Commission is au-16
545	545	thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 17
546	546	in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 18
547	547	Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per-19
548	548	son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 20
549	549	Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 21
550	550	Code. 22
551	551	(f) C
552	552	OMPENSATION AND TRAVELEXPENSES.— 23
553	553	(1) C
554	554	OMPENSATION.—Each member of the 24
555	555	Commission may be compensated at a rate not to 25
556	556	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
557	557	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 19
558	558	•HR 40 IH
559	559	exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of 1
560	560	basic pay in effect for a position at level IV of the 2
561	561	Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 3
562	562	United States Code, for each day during which that 4
563	563	member is engaged in the actual performance of the 5
564	564	duties of the Commission. 6
565	565	(2) T
566	566	RAVEL EXPENSES .—While away from 7
567	567	their homes or regular places of business in the per-8
568	568	formance of services for the Commission, members 9
569	569	of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 10
570	570	including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 11
571	571	same manner as persons employed intermittently in 12
572	572	the Government service are allowed expenses under 13
573	573	section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 14
574	574	(g) N
575	575	ONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERALADVISORY 15
576	576	C
577	577	OMMITTEEACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 16
578	578	(5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 17
579	579	SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 18
580	580	The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 19
581	581	date on which the Commission submits its report to the 20
582	582	Congress under section 3(c). 21
583	583	SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 22
584	584	To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are au-23
585	585	thorized to be appropriated $20,000,000. 24
586	586	Æ
587	587	VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H40.IH H40
588	588	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS