[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 548 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 548
To establish a Congressional Trade Office.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 18, 2007
Mr. DeFazio (for himself, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Allen, Ms. Lee, Ms. Jackson-
Lee of Texas, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Welch of Vermont, Mr.
Costello, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. Lipinski,
Mr. Melancon, Mr. Wu, and Mrs. Tauscher) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Congressional Trade Office.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Congress has responsibility under the Constitution for
international commerce.
(2) Congressional oversight of trade policy has often been
hampered by a lack of resources.
(3) The United States has entered into numerous trade
agreements with foreign trading partners, including bilateral,
regional, and multilateral agreements.
(4) Foreign country performance under certain agreements
has been less than contemplated, and in some cases rises to the
level of noncompliance.
(5) The credibility of, and support for, the United States
Government's trade policy is, to a significant extent, a
function of the belief that trade agreements made are trade
agreements enforced.
(6) The accession of the People's Republic of China to the
World Trade Organization will create unprecedented challenges
and it is important to the world trading system that China
comply with the numerous and significant commitments China
makes as part of the accession process. Congress must play a
key role in ensuring full and continuous monitoring of the
People's Republic of China's compliance with its commitments.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.
(a) In General.--There is established an office in Congress to be
known as the Congressional Trade Office (in this Act referred to as the
``Office'').
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Office are as follows:
(1) To reassert the constitutional responsibility of
Congress with respect to international trade.
(2) To provide Congress with additional independent,
nonpartisan, neutral trade expertise.
(3) To assist Congress in providing more effective and
active oversight of trade policy.
(4) To assist Congress in providing to the executive branch
more effective direction on trade policy.
(5) To provide Congress with long-term, institutional
memory on trade issues.
(6) To provide Congress with more analytical capability on
trade issues.
(7) To advise relevant committees on the impact of trade
negotiations, including past, ongoing, and future negotiations,
with respect to the areas of jurisdiction of the respective
committees.
(c) Functions.--The functions of the Office are as follows:
(1) Assistance to congress.--To provide the appropriate
committees of Congress or joint committees of Congress
information which will assist the committees in the discharge
of the matters within their jurisdiction.
(2) Monitor compliance.--To monitor compliance with major
bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade agreements by--
(A) consulting with the affected industries and
interested parties;
(B) analyzing the success of those agreements based
on the effect of the agreements on specific industries
and the economy;
(C) recommending actions, including legislative
action, necessary to ensure that foreign countries that
have made commitments through those agreements with the
United States fully abide by their commitments;
(D) annually assessing the extent to which those
agreements comply with environmental goals; and
(E) annually assessing the extent to which those
agreements comply with labor goals.
(3) Analyses.--
(A) In general.--To perform the following analyses:
(i) By not later than 60 days after the
date the national trade policy agenda is
delivered to Congress each year under section
163(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2213(a)), to analyze that agenda, including
alternative goals, strategies, and tactics, as
appropriate.
(ii) By not later than 60 days after the
date the National Trade Estimate report is
delivered to Congress each year under section
181(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2241(b)), to analyze the major outstanding
trade barriers based on cost to the United
States economy.
(iii) To analyze the overall trade balance
of the United States and the trade balances of
the United States with the major trading
partners of the United States.
(B) Analyses requested by committee.--To perform
analyses relating to trade as directed by any committee
which will assist the committee in the discharge of the
matters within the committee's jurisdiction, including,
but not limited to--
(i) analyzing proposed trade legislation;
(ii) analyzing proposed trade agreements,
including agreements that do not require
implementing legislation; and
(iii) analyzing the impact of the trade
policy and actions of the executive branch,
including assessing the decisions not to accept
unfair trade practices cases.
(4) Dispute settlement deliberations.--To perform the
following functions with respect to dispute resolution:
(A) Participate as observers on the United States
delegation at dispute settlement panel meetings of the
World Trade Organization.
(B) Evaluate the results obtained by the United
States in dispute settlement proceedings at the World
Trade Organization, under the North American Free Trade
Agreement, and under any trade agreement entered into
after the enactment of this Act, including the effect
of the outcome of the proceedings on specific
industries and the economy.
(5) Participation in trade negotiations.--To participate as
observers in bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade
negotiations.
(6) Other functions of the office.--
(A) To provide Congress with quarterly reports
regarding the activities of the Office.
(B) To be available for consultation with
congressional committees on trade-related legislation.
(C) To perform such other functions relating to
trade as the chairman and ranking member of the
Committee on Finance of the Senate and the chairman and
ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives may request.
(d) Additional Authorities.--In carrying out its functions, the
Office may--
(1) receive and review classified information and
participate in classified briefings in the same manner as the
staff of the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives;
and
(2) consult nongovernmental experts and use nongovernmental
resources.
(e) Director and Staff.--
(1) Director.--
(A) In general.--There shall be at the head of the
Office a Director. The Director shall be appointed by
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President pro tempore of the Senate after considering
the recommendations of the chairman and ranking member
of the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the
chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives. The Director
shall be chosen without regard to political affiliation
and solely on the basis of the Director's expertise and
fitness to perform the duties of the Director.
(B) Term.--The term of office of the Director shall
be 5 years and the Director may be reappointed for
subsequent terms.
(C) Vacancy.--Any individual appointed as Director
to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of
the term for which the individual's predecessor was
appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of
that term.
(D) Removal.--The Director may be removed by either
House of Congress by resolution.
(E) Compensation.--The Director shall receive
compensation at the annual rate of pay in effect for
level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314
of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Staff.--
(A) In general.--The Director shall appoint and fix
the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary
to carry out the duties and functions of the Office.
All personnel shall be appointed without regard to
political affiliation and solely on the basis of their
fitness to perform their duties. The personnel of the
Office shall consist of individuals with expertise in
international trade, including expertise in economics,
trade law, various industrial sectors, and various
geographical regions.
(B) Benefits.--For purposes of pay (other than the
pay of the Director) and employment, benefits, rights,
and privileges, all personnel of the Office shall be
treated as if they were employees of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Experts and consultants.--In carrying out the duties
and functions of the Office, the Director may procure the
temporary (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services of
experts or consultants or organizations thereof by contract as
independent contractors, or, in the case of individual experts
or consultants, by employment at rates of pay not in excess of
the daily equivalent of the highest rate of basic pay payable
under the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5,
United States Code.
(4) Relationship to executive branch.--The Director may
secure information, data, estimates, and statistics directly
from any department, agency, or establishment of the executive
branch of Government and any regulatory agency or commission of
the Government. All such departments, agencies, establishments,
and regulatory agencies and commissions shall furnish the
Director any available material which the Director determines
to be necessary in the performance of his or her duties and
functions (other than material the disclosure of which would be
a violation of law). The Director may, upon agreement with the
head of any such department, agency, establishment, or
regulatory agency or commission, use its services and
facilities with or without reimbursement; and the head of each
such department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or
commission may provide such services and facilities to the
Office.
(5) Relationship to other agencies of congress.--In
carrying out the duties and functions of the Office, and for
the purpose of coordinating the operations of the Office with
those of other congressional agencies in order to use most
effectively the information, services, and capabilities of all
such agencies in carrying out the responsibilities assigned to
each, the Director may obtain information, data, estimates, and
statistics developed by the Government Accountability Office,
the Library of Congress, and other offices of Congress, and
(upon agreement with them) may utilize their services and
facilities with or without reimbursement. The Comptroller
General, the Librarian of Congress, and the head of such other
offices of Congress are authorized to provide the Office with
the information, data, estimates, statistics, services, and
facilities referred to in the preceding sentence.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the
Director--
(1) shall post on an Office website all information, data,
estimates, and statistics obtained under this Act;
(2) shall make such information, data, estimates, and
statistics available for public copying during normal business
hours, subject to reasonable rules and regulations; and
(3) shall to the extent practicable, at the request of any
person, furnish a copy of any such information, data,
estimates, or statistics upon payment by such person of the
cost of making and furnishing such copy.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) Basis for withholding information.--Information, data,
estimates, and statistics may be withheld from disclosure under
subsection (a) only to the extent that such information, data,
estimates, or statistics (as the case may be)--
(A) are specifically exempted from disclosure by
law; or
(B) as determined by the Director, will disclose--
(i) matters necessary to be kept secret in
the interests of national defense or the
confidential conduct of the foreign relations
of the United States;
(ii) information relating to trade secrets
or financial or commercial information
pertaining specifically to a given person if
the information has been obtained by the
Government on a confidential basis, other than
through an application by such person for a
specific financial or other benefit, and is
required to be kept secret in order to prevent
undue injury to the competitive position of
such person; or
(iii) personnel or medical data or similar
data the disclosure of which would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy.
(2) Notice of withheld information.--The Director shall
provide notice to the public of each instance in which
information has been withheld from disclosure under paragraph
(1), including a description of the information, and shall
provide an opportunity for the public to petition the Director
to reconsider the determination to withhold disclosure of the
information.
(c) Information Obtained for Committees and Members.--Subsection
(a) of this section shall apply to any information, data, estimates,
and statistics obtained at the request of any committee, joint
committee, or Member except to the extent that such committee, joint
committee, or Member has instructed the Director not to make such
information, data, estimates, or statistics available for public
copying.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office for each
fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to enable the Office to carry
out its duties and functions. Until sums are first appropriated
pursuant to the preceding sentence, for a period not to exceed 12
months following the effective date of this section, the expenses of
the Office shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate, in
accordance with the provisions of the paragraph relating to contingent
funds under the heading ``UNDER LEGISLATIVE'' in the Act of October 2,
1888 (25 Stat. 546; 2 U.S.C. 68), and upon vouchers approved by the
Director.
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