II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1001

To establish the National Youth Violence Commission, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 11, 1999

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. BYRD, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr.

CONRAD, Mr. KOHL, Mr. CLELAND, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. BRYAN, Mr.

REED, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To establish the National Youth Violence Commission, 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 ‘‘National Youth Vio5 lence Commission Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL YOUTH VIOLENCE COMMISSION.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is es8 tablished a commission to be known as the National Youth

9 Violence Commission (hereinafter referred to in this Act

10 as the ‘‘Commission’’). The Commission shall—
2

•S 1001 IS

1 (1) be composed of 16 members appointed in

2 accordance with subsection (b); and

3 (2) conduct its business in accordance with the

4 provisions of this Act.

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

6 (1) PERSONS ELIGIBLE.—Except for those

7 members who hold the offices described under para8 graph (2)(A), and those members appointed under

9 paragraph (2) (C)(ii) and (D)(iv), the members of

10 the Commission shall be individuals who have exper11 tise, by both experience and training, in matters to

12 be studied by the Commission under section 3. The

13 members of the Commission shall be well-known and

14 respected among their peers in their respective fields

15 of expertise.

16 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The members of the

17 Commission shall be appointed for the life of the

18 Commission as follows:

19 (A) Four shall be appointed by the Presi20 dent of the United States, including—

21 (i) the Surgeon General of the United

22 States;

23 (ii) the Attorney General of the

24 United States;
3

•S 1001 IS

1 (iii) the Secretary of the Department

2 of Health and Human Services; and

3 (iv) the Secretary of the Department

4 of Education.

5 (B) Four shall be appointed by the Speak6 er of the House of Representatives, including—

7 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

8 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

9 of law enforcement;

10 (ii) 1 member who meets the criteria

11 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

12 of school administration, teaching, or coun13 seling;

14 (iii) 1 member who meets the criteria

15 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

16 of parenting and family studies; and

17 (iv) 1 member who meets the criteria

18 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

19 of child or adolescent psychology.

20 (C) Two shall be appointed by the Minority

21 Leader of the House of Representatives,

22 including—

23 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

24 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

25 of law enforcement; and
4

•S 1001 IS

1 (ii) 1 member who is a recognized re2 ligious leader.

3 (D) Four shall be appointed by the Major4 ity Leader of the Senate, including—

5 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

6 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

7 of law enforcement;

8 (ii) 1 member who meets the criteria

9 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

10 of school administration, teaching, or coun11 seling;

12 (iii) 1 member who meets the criteria

13 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the social

14 sciences; and

15 (iv) 1 member who is a recognized re16 ligious leader.

17 (E) Two shall be appointed by the Minor18 ity Leader of the Senate, including—

19 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

20 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

21 of school administration, teaching, or coun22 seling; and

23 (ii) 1 member who meets the criteria

24 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

25 of parenting and family studies.
5

•S 1001 IS

1 (3) COMPLETION OF APPOINTMENTS; VACAN2 CIES.—Not later than 30 days after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the appointing authorities under

4 paragraph (2) shall each make their respective ap5 pointments. Any vacancy that occurs during the life

6 of the Commission shall not affect the powers of the

7 Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner

8 as the original appointment not later than 30 days

9 after the vacancy occurs.

10 (4) OPERATION OF THE COMMISSION.—

11 (A) CHAIRMANSHIP.—The appointing au12 thorities under paragraph (2) shall jointly des13 ignate 1 member as the Chairman of the Com14 mission. In the event of a disagreement among

15 the appointing authorities, the Chairman shall

16 be determined by a majority vote of the ap17 pointing authorities. The determination of

18 which member shall be Chairman shall be made

19 not later than 15 days after the appointment of

20 the last member of the Commission, but in no

21 case later than 45 days after the date of enact22 ment of this Act.

23 (B) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall

24 meet at the call of the Chairman. The initial
6

•S 1001 IS

1 meeting of the Commission shall be conducted

2 not later than 30 days after the later of—

3 (i) the date of the appointment of the

4 last member of the Commission; or

5 (ii) the date on which appropriated

6 funds are available for the Commission.

7 (C) QUORUM; VOTING; RULES.—A majority

8 of the members of the Commission shall con9 stitute a quorum to conduct business, but the

10 Commission may establish a lesser quorum for

11 conducting hearings scheduled by the Commis12 sion. Each member of the Commission shall

13 have 1 vote, and the vote of each member shall

14 be accorded the same weight. The Commission

15 may establish by majority vote any other rules

16 for the conduct of the Commission’s business, if

17 such rules are not inconsistent with this Act or

18 other applicable law.

19 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

20 (a) STUDY.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the

22 Commission to conduct a comprehensive factual

23 study of incidents of youth violence to determine the

24 root causes of such violence.
7

•S 1001 IS

1 (2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In determining

2 the root causes of incidents of youth violence, the

3 Commission shall study any matter that the Com4 mission determines relevant to meeting the require5 ments of paragraph (1), including at a minimum—

6 (A) the level of involvement and awareness

7 of teachers and school administrators in the

8 lives of their students and any impact of such

9 involvement and awareness on incidents of

10 youth violence;

11 (B) trends in family relationships, the level

12 of involvement and awareness of parents in the

13 lives of their children, and any impact of such

14 relationships, involvement, and awareness on in15 cidents of youth violence;

16 (C) the alienation of youth from their

17 schools, families, and peer groups, and any im18 pact of such alienation on incidents of youth vi19 olence;

20 (D) the availability of firearms to youth,

21 including the means by which they acquire such

22 firearms, and any impact of such availability on

23 incidents of youth violence;
8

•S 1001 IS

1 (E) the effect upon youth of depictions of

2 violence in the media and any impact of such

3 depictions on incidents of youth violence; and

4 (F) the availability to youth of information

5 regarding the construction of weapons, includ6 ing explosive devices, and any impact of such

7 information on incidents of youth violence.

8 (3) TESTIMONY OF PARENTS AND STUDENTS.—

9 In determining the root causes of incidents of youth

10 violence, the Commission shall, pursuant to section

11 4(a), take the testimony of parents and students to

12 learn and memorialize their views and experiences

13 regarding incidents of youth violence.

14 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the findings of

15 the study required under subsection (a), the Commission

16 shall make recommendations to the President and Con17 gress to address the causes of youth violence and reduce

18 incidents of youth violence. If the Surgeon General issues

19 any report on media and violence, the Commission shall

20 consider the findings and conclusions of such report in

21 making recommendations under this subsection.

22 (c) REPORT.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

24 the date on which the Commission first meets, the

25 Commission shall submit to the President and Con-
9

•S 1001 IS

1 gress a comprehensive report of the Commission’s

2 findings and conclusions, together with the rec3 ommendations of the Commission.

4 (2) SUMMARIES.—The report under this sub5 section shall include a summary of—

6 (A) the reports submitted to the Commis7 sion by any entity under contract for research

8 under section 4(e); and

9 (B) any other material relied on by the

10 Commission in the preparation of the Commis11 sion’s report.

12 SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

13 (a) HEARINGS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may hold

15 such hearings, sit and act at such times and places,

16 administer such oaths, take such testimony, and re17 ceive such evidence as the Commission considers ad18 visable to carry out its duties under section 3.

19 (2) WITNESS EXPENSES.—Witnesses requested

20 to appear before the Commission shall be paid the

21 same fees as are paid to witnesses under section

22 1821 of title 28, United States Code.

23 (b) SUBPOENAS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a person fails to supply

25 information requested by the Commission, the Com-
10

•S 1001 IS

1 mission may by majority vote request the Attorney

2 General of the United States to require by subpoena

3 the production of any written or recorded informa4 tion, document, report, answer, record, account,

5 paper, computer file, or other data or documentary

6 evidence necessary to carry out the Commission’s

7 duties under section 3. The Commission shall trans8 mit to the Attorney General a confidential, written

9 request for the issuance of any such subpoena. The

10 Attorney General shall issue the requested subpoena

11 if the request is reasonable and consistent with the

12 Commission’s duties under section 3. A subpoena

13 under this paragraph may require the production of

14 materials from any place within the United States.

15 (2) INTERROGATORIES.—The Commission may,

16 with respect only to information necessary to under17 stand any materials obtained through a subpoena

18 under paragraph (1), request the Attorney General

19 to issue a subpoena requiring the person producing

20 such materials to answer, either through a sworn

21 deposition or through written answers provided

22 under oath (at the election of the person upon whom

23 the subpoena is served), to interrogatories from the

24 Commission regarding such information. The Attor25 ney General shall issue the requested subpoena if the
11

•S 1001 IS

1 request is reasonable and consistent with the Com2 mission’s duties under section 3. A complete record3 ing or transcription shall be made of any deposition

4 made under this paragraph.

5 (3) CERTIFICATION.—Each person who submits

6 materials or information to the Attorney General

7 pursuant to a subpoena issued under paragraph (1)

8 or (2) shall certify to the Attorney General the au9 thenticity and completeness of all materials or infor10 mation submitted. The provisions of section 1001 of

11 title 18, United States Code, shall apply to any false

12 statements made with respect to the certification re13 quired under this paragraph.

14 (4) TREATMENT OF SUBPOENAS.—Any sub15 poena issued by the Attorney General under para16 graph (1) or (2) shall comply with the requirements

17 for subpoenas issued by a United States district

18 court under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

19 (5) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per20 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued by the Attor21 ney General under paragraph (1) or (2), the Attor22 ney General may apply to a United States district

23 court for an order requiring that person to comply

24 with such subpoena. The application may be made

25 within the judicial district in which that person is
12

•S 1001 IS

1 found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to

2 obey the order of the court may be punished by the

3 court as civil contempt.

4 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

5 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart6 ment or agency such information as the Commission con7 siders necessary to carry out its duties under section 3.

8 Upon the request of the Commission, the head of such

9 department or agency may furnish such information to the

10 Commission.

11 (d) INFORMATION TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be

13 considered an agency of the Federal Government for

14 purposes of section 1905 of title 18, United States

15 Code, and any individual employed by any individual

16 or entity under contract with the Commission under

17 subsection (e) shall be considered an employee of the

18 Commission for the purposes of section 1905 of title

19 18, United States Code.

20 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Information obtained by the

21 Commission or the Attorney General under this Act

22 and shared with the Commission, other than infor23 mation available to the public, shall not be disclosed

24 to any person in any manner, except—
13

•S 1001 IS

1 (A) to Commission employees or employees

2 of any individual or entity under contract to the

3 Commission under subsection (e) for the pur4 pose of receiving, reviewing, or processing such

5 information;

6 (B) upon court order; or

7 (C) when publicly released by the Commis8 sion in an aggregate or summary form that

9 does not directly or indirectly disclose—

10 (i) the identity of any person or busi11 ness entity; or

12 (ii) any information which could not

13 be released under section 1905 of title 18,

14 United States Code.

15 (e) CONTRACTING FOR RESEARCH.—The Commis16 sion may enter into contracts with any entity for research

17 necessary to carry out the Commission’s duties under sec18 tion 3.

19 SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

20 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of

21 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the

22 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal

23 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre24 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec25 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in-
14

•S 1001 IS

1 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged

2 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All

3 members of the Commission who are officers or employees

4 of the United States shall serve without compensation in

5 addition to that received for their services as officers or

6 employees of the United States.

7 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com8 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

9 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ10 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

11 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

12 regular places of business in the performance of service

13 for the Commission.

14 (c) STAFF.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman of the Com16 mission may, without regard to the civil service laws

17 and regulations, appoint and terminate an executive

18 director and such other additional personnel as may

19 be necessary to enable the Commission to perform

20 its duties. The employment and termination of an

21 executive director shall be subject to confirmation by

22 a majority of the members of the Commission.

23 (2) COMPENSATION.—The executive director

24 shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate

25 payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under
15

•S 1001 IS

1 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. The

2 Chairman may fix the compensation of other per3 sonnel without regard to the provisions of chapter

4 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5,

5 United States Code, relating to classification of posi6 tions and General Schedule pay rates, except that

7 the rate of pay for such personnel may not exceed

8 the rate payable for level V of the Executive Sched9 ule under section 5316 of such title.

10 (3) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—

11 Any Federal Government employee, with the ap12 proval of the head of the appropriate Federal agen13 cy, may be detailed to the Commission without reim14 bursement, and such detail shall be without inter15 ruption or loss of civil service status, benefits, or

16 privilege.

17 (d) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT18 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairman of the Commission may

19 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

20 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ21 uals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate

22 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Sched23 ule under section 5316 of such title.
16

•S 1001 IS

1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com3 mission and any agency of the Federal Government assist4 ing the Commission in carrying out its duties under this

5 Act such sums as may be necessary to carry out the pur6 poses of this Act. Any sums appropriated shall remain

7 available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended.

8 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

9 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the

10 Commission submits the report under section 3(c).

Æ