I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2459

To establish the United States Consensus Council to provide for a consensus 

building process in addressing national public policy issues, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2003

Mr. REHBERG (for himself, Mr. EDWARDS, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. WALSH, Mr. 

PLATTS, Mr. TOWNS, and Mr. STENHOLM) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 

A BILL

To establish the United States Consensus Council to provide 

for a consensus building process in addressing national 

public policy issues, 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 ‘‘United States Con5 sensus Council Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) throughout the Nation there is increasing 

9 success in the use of collaborative and consensus-
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1 building approaches to address critical public policy 

2 issues at the national, State, and local levels; 

3 (2) there is a need for a national Council that 

4 serves the Nation by promoting and conducting con5 sensus-building processes that primarily address leg6 islative policy issues of national importance; 

7 (3) such a Council may enroll specific stake8 holders, both public and private, to build agreements 

9 that ultimately may be implemented by Congress, 

10 Federal agencies, or other policymaking bodies; 

11 (4) such a Council will strive to create public 

12 policy agreements that integrate differing perspec13 tives into highest common denominator solutions; 

14 (5) the establishment of such a Council is an 

15 appropriate investment by the people of this Nation 

16 in a capacity that works in cooperation with Con17 gress and others to assist the current public policy18 making processes on selected issues; 

19 (6) the existence of such a Council could con20 tribute especially to resolving differences on conten21 tious policy issues, preventing polarization on emerg22 ing policy issues and addressing issues of complexity 

23 that involve multiple parties and perspectives; 

24 (7) the establishment of such a Council may 

25 contribute significantly to a renewed sense of civility 
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1 and respect for differences, while at the same time 

2 promoting vigorous interchange and open commu3 nications among those with differing points of view; 

4 and 

5 (8) the Council may become a repository of wis6 dom and experience on public policy collaboration 

7 and consensus-building that can be shared with pub8 lic and private sector policymakers and the public in 

9 the interest of promoting more effective public policy 

10 and the increased use of collaborative processes. 

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab12 lish an independent, nonprofit, national Council to serve 

13 the Nation by seeking to produce consensus on policy 

14 issues of national importance through collaborative proc15 esses. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act, the term—

18 (1) ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Directors of 

19 the Council; 

20 (2) ‘‘Council’’ means the United States Con21 sensus Council established under this Act; and 

22 (3) ‘‘Director’’ means an individual appointed 

23 to the Board of Directors of the Council. 
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1 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES CONSENSUS COUNCIL. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

3 United States Consensus Council. 

4 (b) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NONPROFIT CORPORA5 TION; STATUS; RESTRICTIONS.—The Council shall be es6 tablished as an independent nonprofit corporation under 

7 the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. 

8 Code, section 29–301 et seq.). Upon establishment under 

9 that Act, the Council shall conform to all the requirements 

10 applicable to a nonprofit corporation so established in the 

11 District and shall be subject to such oversight by the Dis12 trict of Columbia as is applicable to a nonprofit corpora13 tion so established. The Council is not an agency or instru14 mentality of the United States. 

15 (c) TRADE NAME AND TRADEMARK RIGHTS; VESTED

16 RIGHTS PROTECTED; CONDITION FOR USE OF FEDERAL

17 IDENTITY.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council has the sole 

19 and exclusive right to use and to allow or refuse oth20 ers the use of the term ‘‘United States Consensus 

21 Council’’ and the use of any official United States 

22 Consensus Council emblem, badge, seal, and other 

23 mark of recognition or any colorable simulation 

24 thereof. 

25 (2) UNITED STATES REFERENCES.—The Coun26 cil may use ‘‘United States’’ or ‘‘U.S.’’ or any other 
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1 reference to the United States Government or Na2 tion in its title or in its corporate seal, emblem, 

3 badge, or other mark of recognition or colorable sim4 ulation thereof in any fiscal year only if there is an 

5 authorization of appropriations, or appropriations, 

6 for the Council for such fiscal year provided by law. 

7 SEC. 5. POWERS AND DUTIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Council may exercise the 

9 powers conferred upon a nonprofit corporation by the Dis10 trict of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, 

11 section 29–301 et seq.) consistent with this Act. 

12 (b) DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may—

14 (A) develop and conduct processes to build 

15 consensus on national policy issues; 

16 (B) enter into formal and informal rela17 tionships with other institutions, public and pri18 vate, for purposes not inconsistent with this 

19 Act; 

20 (C) identify particular public policy issues 

21 as to which the Council’s expertise would be 

22 useful in building a consensus; 

23 (D) subject to paragraph (2), coordinate 

24 with, make referrals to and receive referrals 

25 from, other conflict or dispute resolution instru-
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1 mentalities of the United States, including the 

2 United States Institute for Environmental Con3 flict Resolution or the Federal Mediation and 

4 Conciliation Service; and 

5 (E) develop and apply criteria for the pur6 pose of determining whether the Council will 

7 enter into a consensus-building process on a 

8 particular issue. 

9 (2) LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—

10 The Council shall not—

11 (A) duplicate the activities of the United 

12 States Institute for Environmental Conflict 

13 Resolution or the Federal Mediation and Con14 ciliation Service; or 

15 (B) interfere with the Institute or Service 

16 in carrying out their respective statutory re17 sponsibilities. 

18 (3) CONSENSUS-BUILDING PROCESS.—With re19 spect to each consensus-building process, the Coun20 cil—

21 (A) shall consider such factors as the de22 gree of congressional interest in the issue, as 

23 well as issue complexity, cost, ripeness, likeli24 hood of participation by key stakeholders, and 

25 any other relevant indices that may assist the 
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1 Council in determining whether to enter into a 

2 particular consensus process; 

3 (B) may identify any appropriate 

4 facilitator for the negotiation process; 

5 (C) may identify the key stakeholders in6 volved or interested in the outcome of a par7 ticular issue, including those individuals who 

8 have the authority to implement the rec9 ommendations that result from the Council’s 

10 consensus building processes; 

11 (D) may develop and publish a common set 

12 of facts to inform and assist consensus-building 

13 processes; 

14 (E) may establish ground rules, including 

15 matters related to confidentiality, representa16 tion of counsel, and ex parte communications; 

17 (F) may work to promote consensus among 

18 the stakeholders by methods such as negotia19 tion, discussion, meetings, and any other proc20 ess of dispute resolution; 

21 (G) may build and construct agreements 

22 among stakeholders; 

23 (H) may issue a report reflecting the re24 sults of consideration by the Council on con25 sensus-building efforts; and 
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1 (I) may provide training and technical as2 sistance on any issue within the Council’s com3 petence. 

4 (4) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Council also may 

5 engage in any other activity consistent with its mis6 sion. 

7 (c) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Council may do any 

8 and all lawful acts necessary or desirable to carry out the 

9 objectives and purposes of this Act. 

10 (d) GUIDELINES FOR COUNCIL OPERATIONS.—As 

11 necessary, the Council shall develop guidelines, through its 

12 bylaws or otherwise, to address—

13 (1) policies relating to personal service con14 tracts; 

15 (2) standards to ensure that the Council, its Di16 rectors, employees, and agents, avoid conflicts of in17 terest that may arise; 

18 (3) fundraising policies, donor development pro19 grams, and matters related to the acceptance of pri20 vate donations; 

21 (4) procedures to ensure that all participants in 

22 a consensus-building process are informed of—

23 (A) the sources of funding of the Council; 

24 and 
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1 (B) the source and purpose of any dona2 tion for which a purpose is specified when do3 nated to the Council; 

4 (5) the duties and responsibilities of the Coun5 cil, its Board, officers, employees, and agents; and 

6 (6) the establishment of advisory committees, 

7 councils, or other bodies, as the efficient administra8 tion of the business and purposes of the Council may 

9 require. 

10 SEC. 6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

11 (a) VESTED POWERS.—The powers of the Council 

12 shall be vested in a Board of Directors unless otherwise 

13 specified in this Act or delegated by the Board. 

14 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—The Board of Directors shall 

15 consist of 12 voting members as follows: 

16 (1) Four individuals, including private citizens 

17 or State or local employees, no more than 2 of whom 

18 shall be of the same political party, appointed by the 

19 President. The President shall appoint members of 

20 the opposing party only on the recommendation of 

21 the leaders of Congress from that party. The Presi22 dent shall make all 4 of the initial appointments 

23 under this paragraph on the same date. 
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1 (2) Two individuals, including private citizens 

2 or State or local employees, appointed by the Major3 ity Leader of the Senate. 

4 (3) Two individuals, including private citizens 

5 or State or local employees, appointed by the Minor6 ity Leader of the Senate. 

7 (4) Two individuals, including private citizens 

8 or State or local employees, appointed by the Speak9 er of the House of Representatives. 

10 (5) Two individuals, including private citizens 

11 or State or local employees, appointed by the Minor12 ity Leader of the House of Representatives. 

13 (c) TERM OF OFFICE: COMMENCEMENT AND TERMI14 NATION, INTERIM AND REMAINDER SERVICE, LIMITA15 TION.—

16 (1) TERM OF OFFICE.—Directors appointed 

17 under subsection (b) of this section shall be ap18 pointed to 4-year terms, with no Director serving 

19 more than 2 consecutive terms, except that—

20 (A) as designated by the President, the 

21 terms of 2 of the 4 Directors initially appointed 

22 under subsection (b)(1) shall be 2 years, subject 

23 to appointment to no more than 2 additional 4-

24 year terms in the manner set forth in this sec25 tion; 
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1 (B) as designated by the Speaker of the 

2 House of Representatives, the terms of the 2 

3 Directors initially appointed under subsection 

4 (b)(4) shall be 2 years, subject to appointment 

5 to no more than 2 additional 4-year terms in 

6 the manner set forth in this section; and 

7 (C) as designated by the Minority Leader 

8 of the House of Representatives, the terms of 

9 the 2 Directors initially appointed under sub10 section (b)(5) shall be 2 years, subject to ap11 pointment to no more than 2 additional 4-year 

12 terms in the manner set forth in this section. 

13 (2) REMAINDER SERVICE.—Any Director ap14 pointed to the Board to replace a Director whose 

15 term has not expired shall be appointed to serve the 

16 remainder of that term. 

17 (3) PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL.—The President of 

18 the Council shall serve as a nonvoting Director of 

19 the Board. 

20 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A demonstrated interest in 

22 the mission of the Council or expertise in consensus 

23 building shall be considered in appointments made 

24 under this section. 
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1 (2) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—No Director 

2 may be an officer or employee of the Federal Gov3 ernment, including a Member of Congress. 

4 (e) REMOVAL FROM OFFICE.—A Director may be re5 placed by the appointing official or may be removed by 

6 a process to be established in the Council’s bylaws. 

7 (f) MEETINGS; NOTICE IN FEDERAL REGISTER.—

8 Meetings of the Board shall be conducted pursuant to the 

9 Council’s bylaws, except as provided in the following: 

10 (1) INITIAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall hold 

12 an initial organizational meeting within 60 days 

after the appointment of at least 1 13 ⁄3 of the 

14 members under this section. The initial organi15 zational meeting may be held only if equal num16 bers of members from each of the 2 major polit17 ical parties are appointed to the Board as of 

18 the date of that meeting. The purpose of the 

19 meeting shall be to provide for the incorpora20 tion of the Council as a non-profit corporation 

21 in the District of Columbia as provided under 

22 section 4 and to adopt the interim bylaws and 

23 guidelines required under this section for its op24 eration. 
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1 (B) REQUIRED RATIFICATION OF ACTIONS

2 OF ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING.—The Articles 

3 of Incorporation and the interim bylaws and 

4 guidelines adopted in the initial organizational 

5 meeting shall be effective only until the first 

6 meeting of the Board after the appointment of 

7 all members under this section, at which time 

8 the articles, bylaws, or guidelines may be rati9 fied or modified by the Board. 

10 (2) MEETINGS; QUORUM.—The Board shall 

11 meet at least semiannually. A majority of the Direc12 tors in office shall constitute a quorum for any 

13 Board meeting. 

14 (3) OPEN MEETINGS.—All official governing 

15 meetings of the Board shall be open to public obser16 vation and shall be preceded by reasonable public 

17 notice. Notice in the Federal Register shall be 

18 deemed to be reasonable public notice for purposes 

19 of the preceding sentence. In exceptional cir20 cumstances, the Board may close those portions of 

21 a meeting, upon a majority vote of Directors present 

22 and with the vote taken in public session, which are 

23 likely to disclose information affecting or relating to 

24 the status of individual Directors or employees of 
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1 the Council or to ongoing litigation to which the 

2 Council is a party. 

3 (g) COMPENSATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

5 and (3), a Director may be compensated at a rate 

6 not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate payable 

7 for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 

8 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 

9 for each day during which that Director is engaged 

10 in the performance of the duties of the Council. 

11 (2) DIRECTORS WHO MAY BE COMPENSATED.—

12 A Director may be compensated under paragraph 

13 (1), if that Director notifies the Board of an election 

14 to receive compensation. 

15 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A Director shall be 

16 compensated under this subsection for the perform17 ance of duties after the date of notification under 

18 paragraph (2). 

19 (h) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from home or 

20 regular place of business in the performance of duties for 

21 the Board, a Director may receive reasonable travel, sub22 sistence, and other necessary expenses. 

23 SEC. 7. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. 

24 (a) PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL.—There shall be 

25 a President who shall be appointed by the Board. The 
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1 President shall be the chief executive officer of the Council 

2 and shall carry out or cause to be carried out the functions 

3 of the Council subject to the supervision and direction of 

4 the Board. 

5 (b) COMPENSATION OF PRESIDENT OF THE COUN6 CIL.—The President of the Council shall be compensated 

7 at an annual rate of pay not to exceed the rate payable 

8 for a position at level II of the Executive Schedule under 

9 section 5313 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (c) ASSIGNMENT OF FEDERAL OFFICERS OR EM11 PLOYEES TO THE COUNCIL.—The Council may request 

12 the assignment of any Federal officer or employee to the 

13 Council by an appropriate executive department, agency, 

14 or congressional official or Member of Congress and may 

15 enter into an agreement for such assignment, if the af16 fected officer or employee agrees to such assignment and 

17 such assignment causes no prejudice to the salary, bene18 fits, status, or advancement within the department, agen19 cy, or congressional staff of such officer or employee. The 

20 assigning office shall be fully reimbursed by the Council 

21 for the costs associated with such an assignment. The as22 signed officer or employee shall remain an officer or em23 ployee of the United States during the course of such as24 signment. 
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1 (d) PERSONNEL.—The President of the Council, with 

2 the approval of the Board, may appoint and fix the com3 pensation of such additional personnel as determined nec4 essary. The President and employees of the Council shall 

5 not be employees of the United States. 

6 (e) COMPENSATION FOR SERVICES OR EXPENSES; 

7 PROHIBITION ON LOANS TO COUNCIL DIRECTORS AND

8 PERSONNEL.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—No part of the financial re10 sources, income, or assets of the Council or of any 

11 legal entity created by the Council shall inure to any 

12 agent, employee, officer, or Director or be distribut13 able to any such person during the life of the cor14 poration or upon dissolution or final liquidation. 

15 Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent 

16 the payment of reasonable compensation for services 

17 or expenses to the Directors, officers, employees, and 

18 agents of the Council in amounts approved in ac19 cordance with this Act. 

20 (2) LOANS.—The Council shall not make loans 

21 to its Directors, officers, employees, or agents. 

22 SEC. 8. PROCEDURES AND RECORDS. 

23 (a) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS.—

24 The Council shall monitor and evaluate and provide for 

25 independent evaluation if necessary of programs supported 
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1 in whole or in part under this Act to ensure that the provi2 sions of this Act and the bylaws, rules, regulations, and 

3 guidelines promulgated under this Act are adhered to. 

4 (b) ACCOUNTS OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS; 

5 FINANCIAL REPORTS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall keep com7 plete books and records of accounts, including—

8 (A) separate and distinct accounts of re9 ceipts and disbursements of Federal funds and 

10 donations; and 

11 (B) records of the purpose of any donation 

12 for which a purpose is specified when donated 

13 to the Council. 

14 (2) ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTS.—The Coun15 cil’s annual financial report shall identify the use of 

16 all funding and shall present a clear description of 

17 the full financial situation of the Council. 

18 (c) MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS.—The Council shall 

19 keep minutes of the proceedings of its Board and of any 

20 committees having authority under the Board. 

21 (d) RECORD AND INSPECTION OF REQUIRED

22 ITEMS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall keep a 

24 record of—
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1 (A) the names and addresses of its Direc2 tors, copies of this Act, and any other Act relat3 ing to the Council; 

4 (B) all Council bylaws, rules, regulations, 

5 and guidelines; 

6 (C) required minutes of proceedings; 

7 (D) all applications and proposals and 

8 issued or received contracts and grants; and 

9 (E) financial records of the Council. 

10 (2) INSPECTION.—All items required by this 

11 subsection may be inspected by any Director or any 

12 agent or attorney of a Director for any proper pur13 pose at any reasonable time. 

14 (e) AUDITS.—The accounts of the Council shall be 

15 audited annually in accordance with generally accepted au16 diting standards by independent certified public account17 ants or independent licensed public accountants, certified 

18 or licensed by a regulatory authority of a State or other 

19 political subdivision of the United States. The audit shall 

20 be conducted at the place or places where the accounts 

21 of the Council are normally kept. All books, accounts, fi22 nancial records, files, and other papers, things, and prop23 erty belonging to or in use by the Council and necessary 

24 to facilitate the audit shall be made available to the person 

25 or persons conducting the audit, and full facilities for 
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1 verifying transactions with the balances or securities held 

2 by depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians shall be af3 forded to such person or persons. 

4 (f) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS; COPIES FOR

5 PUBLIC.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall provide a 

7 report to the President and to each House of Con8 gress not later than 6 months following the close of 

9 the fiscal year for which the audit is made. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under this sub11 section shall include—

12 (A) a statement of the Council’s activities 

13 for the prior year; 

14 (B) a copy of the audit report prepared 

15 under subsection (e); and 

16 (C) a disclosure statement of—

17 (i) the source of all funds received by 

18 the Council in the prior year; and 

19 (ii) the purpose for which the funds 

20 were contributed or made available. 

21 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each report under 

22 this subsection shall be made available to the public. 

23 (g) GAO REVIEW.—The annual report submitted 

24 under subsection (f) shall be submitted simultaneously to 

25 the General Accounting Office for its review. 
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1 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

3 (1) the terms ‘‘covered executive branch offi4 cial’’, ‘‘covered legislative branch official’’, and ‘‘cli5 ent’’ have the meanings given under section 3 of the 

6 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); 

7 (2) the term ‘‘lobbying activities’’ has the 

8 meaning given under section 3(7) of the Lobbying 

9 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(7)), except 

10 the definition of the term ‘‘lobbying contact’’ shall 

11 be applied as modified under this section; and 

12 (3) the term ‘‘lobbying contact’’—

13 (A) has the meaning given under para14 graph (8) of section 3 of the Lobbying Disclo15 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(8)), except 

16 that a communication made on behalf of a cli17 ent referred to under subparagraph (A) of that 

18 paragraph shall apply instead to a communica19 tion made on behalf of the Council; and 

20 (B) does not include a communication be21 tween the Council and a covered executive 

22 branch official or covered legislative branch offi23 cial relating to—

24 (i) appropriations for the Council; or 

25 (ii) proposed legislation directly af26 fecting the Council. 
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1 (b) PROHIBITIONS.—The Council may not—

2 (1) engage in lobbying activities; or 

3 (2) be a client. 

4 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

6 purpose of carrying out this Act, there are authorized to 

7 be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and such 

8 sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2004 through 

9 2008. 

10 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under the 

11 authority of subsection (a) shall remain available until ex12 pended. 

13 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FROM FISCAL YEAR

14 2003.—Any funds authorized to be made available 

15 through the General Services Administration during fiscal 

16 year 2003 for the purpose of carrying out this Act shall 

17 remain available until expended. 

18 (d) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated to 

19 the Council shall be invested only in instruments backed 

20 by the full faith and credit of the United States or in a 

21 federally insured financial institution. Any interest earned 

22 on such investments shall be used only for the purposes 

23 set out in this Act. 
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1 SEC. 11. DISSOLUTION OR LIQUIDATION. 

2 Upon dissolution or final liquidation of the Council, 

3 all funds appropriated by the United States to the Council 

4 including any interest attributable to such funds, but not 

5 any other funds, shall revert to the United States Treas6 ury. Other funds held by the Council shall be handled 

7 under the laws of the District of Columbia applicable to 

8 nonprofit corporations.

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