II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 119

To establish a Northern Border States-Canada Trade Council, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To establish a Northern Border States-Canada Trade

Council, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Border

5 States Council Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a council

8 to be known as the Northern Border States-Canada Trade

9 Council (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Council’’).

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—
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1 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com2 posed of 24 members consisting of 2 members from

3 each of the following States:

4 (A) Maine.

5 (B) New Hampshire.

6 (C) Vermont.

7 (D) New York.

8 (E) Michigan.

9 (F) Minnesota.

10 (G) Wisconsin.

11 (H) North Dakota.

12 (I) Montana.

13 (J) Idaho.

14 (K) Washington.

15 (L) Alaska.

16 (2) APPOINTMENT BY STATE GOVERNORS.—Not

17 later than 6 months after the date of enactment of

18 this Act, the Secretary of Commerce (in this Act re19 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall appoint two

20 members from each of the States described in para21 graph (1) to serve on the Council. The appointments

22 shall be made from a list of nominees submitted by

23 the Governor of each such State.

24 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem25 bers shall be appointed for terms that are coterminous
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1 with the term of the Governor of the State who nominated

2 the member. Any vacancy in the Council shall not affect

3 its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the

4 original appointment.

5 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after

6 the date on which all members of the Council have been

7 appointed, the Council shall hold its first meeting.

8 (e) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the call

9 of the Chairperson.

10 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

11 Council shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number

12 of members may hold hearings.

13 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

14 Council shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson

15 from among its members. The Chairperson and Vice

16 Chairperson shall each serve in their respective positions

17 for a period of 2 years, unless such member’s term is ter18 minated before the end of the 2-year period.

19 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The duties and responsibilities of

21 the Council shall include—

22 (1) advising the President, the Congress, the

23 United States Trade Representative, the Secretary,

24 and other appropriate Federal and State officials,

25 with respect to—
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1 (A) the development and administration of

2 United States-Canada trade policies, practices,

3 and relations,

4 (B) taxation and regulation of cross-border

5 wholesale and retail trade in goods and services

6 between the United States and Canada,

7 (C) taxation, regulation, and subsidization

8 of agricultural products, energy products, and

9 forest products, and

10 (D) the potential for any United States or

11 Canadian customs or immigration law or policy

12 to result in a barrier to trade between the

13 United States and Canada;

14 (2) monitoring the nature and cause of trade

15 issues and disputes that involve one of the Council16 member States and either the Canadian Government

17 or one of the provincial governments of Canada; and

18 (3) if the Council determines that a Council19 member State is involved in a trade issue or dispute

20 with the Government of Canada or one of the pro21 vincial governments of Canada, making rec22 ommendations to the President, the Congress, the

23 United States Trade Representative, and the Sec24 retary concerning how to resolve the issue or dis25 pute.
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1 (b) RESPONSE TO REQUESTS BY CERTAIN PEO2 PLE.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the

4 United States Trade Representative, the Secretary,

5 a Member of Congress who represents a Council6 member State, or the Governor of a Council-member

7 State, the Council shall review and comment on—

8 (A) reports of the Federal Government and

9 reports of a Council-member State government

10 concerning United States-Canada trade;

11 (B) reports of a binational panel or review

12 established pursuant to chapter 19 of the North

13 American Free Trade Agreement concerning

14 the settlement of a dispute between the United

15 States and Canada;

16 (C) reports of an arbitral panel established

17 pursuant to chapter 20 of the North American

18 Free Trade Agreement concerning the settle19 ment of a dispute between the United States

20 and Canada; and

21 (D) reports of a panel or Appellate Body

22 established pursuant to the General Agreement

23 on Tariffs and Trade concerning the settlement

24 of a dispute between the United States and

25 Canada.
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1 (2) DETERMINATION OF SCOPE.—Among other

2 issues, the Council shall determine whether a trade

3 dispute between the United States and Canada is

4 the result of action or inaction on the part of the

5 Federal Government of Canada or a provincial gov6 ernment of Canada.

7 (c) COUNCIL-MEMBER STATE.—For purposes of this

8 section, the term ‘‘Council-member State’’ means a State

9 described in section 2(b)(1) which is represented on the

10 Council established under section 2(a).

11 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

12 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment

13 of this Act and at the end of each 2-year period thereafter,

14 the Council shall submit a report to the President and the

15 Congress which contains a detailed statement of the find16 ings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Council.

17 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL.

18 (a) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold such hear19 ings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testi20 mony, and receive such evidence as the Council considers

21 advisable to carry out the provisions of this Act. Notice

22 of Council hearings shall be published in the Federal Reg23 ister in a timely manner.

24 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

25 Council may secure directly from any Federal department
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1 or agency such information as the Council considers nec2 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Upon the

3 request of the Chairperson of the Council, the head of such

4 department or agency shall furnish such information to

5 the Council.

6 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use the

7 United States mails in the same manner and under the

8 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

9 Federal Government.

10 (d) GIFTS.—The Council may accept, use, and dis11 pose of gifts or donations of services or property.

12 SEC. 6. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS.

13 (a) MEMBERS TO SERVE WITHOUT COMPENSA14 TION.—Except as provided in subsection (b), members of

15 the Council shall receive no compensation, allowances, or

16 benefits by reason of service to the Council.

17 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Coun18 cil shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in

19 lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of

20 agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,

21 United States Code, while away from their homes or regu22 lar places of business in the performance of services for

23 the Council.

24 (c) STAFF.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

2 Council may, without regard to the civil service laws,

3 appoint and terminate an executive director and

4 such other additional personnel as may be necessary

5 to enable the Council to perform its duties. The em6 ployment of an executive director shall be subject to

7 confirmation by the Council and the Secretary.

8 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the

9 Council may fix the compensation of the executive

10 director and other personnel without regard to the

11 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap12 ter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to

13 classification of positions and General Schedule pay

14 rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive

15 director and other personnel may not exceed the rate

16 payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under

17 section 5316 of such title.

18 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any

19 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

20 Council without reimbursement, and such detail shall be

21 without interruption or loss of civil service status or privi22 lege.

23 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT24 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Council may

25 procure temporary and intermittent services under section
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1 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ2 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

3 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive

4 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

5 (f) OFFICE SPACE.—The Secretary shall provide of6 fice space for Council activities and for Council personnel.

7 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COUNCIL.

8 The Council shall terminate on the date that is 54

9 months after the date of enactment of this Act and shall

10 submit a final report to the President and the Congress

11 under section 4 at least 90 days before such termination.

12 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated an amount not to exceed $250,000 for fiscal year

15 2000 and for each fiscal year thereafter to the Council

16 to carry out the provisions of this Act.

17 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated pursu18 ant to this section shall remain available, without fiscal

19 year limitation, until expended.

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