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104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1302

To establish the Capital Budget Commission.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 22, 1995

Mr. WISE (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. OWENS, Ms.

PELOSI, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. YATES, and Mr. CLINGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

and Oversight

A BILL

To establish the Capital Budget Commission.

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 ‘‘Capital Budget Com5 mission Act of 1995.’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) deteriorating infrastructure and the demand

9 for capital improvements and investment are at a

10 critical stage;
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1 (2) limited funding is available for maintaining

2 the existing infrastructure and building new infra3 structure;

4 (3) there is increased interest in capital budget5 ing and alternative financing options given present

6 and future budget constraints; and

7 (4) there is a need for evaluating what is to be

8 included in a capital budget.

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

10 There is established a commission to be known as the

11 Capital Budget Commission (hereinafter in this Act re12 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

13 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

14 (a) STUDY.—The Commission shall study capital

15 budgeting and evaluate what should be included in a cap16 ital budget for the United States Government. The Com17 mission shall focus on investments that sustain growth

18 and establish a process which encourages long-term invest19 ment and how to account for that investment.

20 (b) REPORTS.—The Commission shall submit a pre21 liminary and final report pursuant to section 8, each of

22 which shall contain—

23 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and

24 conclusions of the Commission on the matters de25 scribed in subsection (a); and
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1 (2) specific recommendations with respect to—

2 (A) ways in which the Congress would im3 plement capital budgeting for the United States

4 Government;

5 (B) prioritizing what should be included in

6 a capital budget and establishing a method or

7 formula to determine how to account for those

8 items; and

9 (C) possible changes in the executive and

10 legislative branches which would facilitate the

11 implementation of a capital budget.

12 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

13 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

14 shall be composed of 15 members, to be appointed not

15 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this

16 Act, as follows:

17 (1) 3 members appointed by the President.

18 (2) 3 members, 1 of whom shall be a Senator,

19 appointed by the President pro tempore of the Sen20 ate from among the recommendations made by the

21 majority leader of the Senate.

22 (3) 3 members, 1 of whom shall be a Senator,

23 appointed by the President pro tempore of the Sen24 ate from among the recommendations made by the

25 minority leader of the Senate.
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1 (4) 3 members, 2 of whom shall be Members of

2 the House of Representatives, appointed by the

3 Speaker of the House of Representatives.

4 (5) 3 members, 2 of whom shall be Members of

5 the House of Representatives, appointed by the mi6 nority leader of the House of Representatives.

7 (b) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—The Commis8 sion members (not including the Members of Congress)

9 shall be chosen from among individuals who are knowledg10 able about capital budgeting by virtue of their education

11 and experience as demonstrated in their professional ca12 reers.

13 (c) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a member

14 was appointed to the Commission as a Member of Con15 gress and the member ceases to be a Member of Congress,

16 that member may continue as a member for not longer

17 than the 60-day period beginning on the date that member

18 ceases to be a Member of Congress.

19 (d) TERMS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com21 mission shall be appointed for the life of the Com22 mission.

23 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission

24 shall be filled in the manner in which the original

25 appointment was made.
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1 (e) BASIC PAY.—

2 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Except as provided in

3 paragraph (2), each member of the Commission

4 shall serve without pay.

5 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall

6 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

7 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and

8 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (f) QUORUM.—8 members of the Commission shall

10 constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold hear11 ings.

12 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis13 sion shall be elected by a majority of the members.

14 (h) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

15 call of the Chairperson.

16 SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION; EXPERTS

17 AND CONSULTANTS.

18 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc19 tor who shall be appointed by the Chairperson. The Direc20 tor shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum

21 rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive

22 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States

23 Code.

24 (b) STAFF.—Subject to rules prescribed by the Com25 mission, the Chairperson may appoint and fix the pay of
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1 additional personnel as the Chairperson considers appro2 priate.

3 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

4 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may

5 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5,

6 United States Code, governing appointments in the com7 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the

8 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

9 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule

10 pay rates, except that an individual so appointed may not

11 receive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay pay12 able for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section

13 5315 of the title 5, United States Code.

14 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

15 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

16 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates

17 for individuals not to exceed the maximum annual rate

18 of basic pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule.

19 (e) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request

20 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department

21 or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the

22 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission

23 to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.
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1 SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

3 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear4 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and

5 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate.

6 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem7 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

8 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au9 thorized to take by this section.

10 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

11 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

12 United States information necessary to enable it to carry

13 out this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Com14 mission, the head of that department or agency shall fur15 nish that information to the Commission.

16 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

17 States mails in the same manner and under the same con18 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

19 States.

20 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the

21 request of the Commission, the Administrator of General

22 Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs23 able basis, the administrative support services necessary

24 for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under

25 this Act.
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1 SEC. 8. REPORTS.

2 (a) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—The Commission shall

3 submit to the President and the Congress a preliminary

4 report not later than 12 months after the date on which

5 all the members of the Commission have been appointed.

6 (b) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall submit

7 a final report to the President and the Congress not later

8 than 18 months after the date on which all the members

9 of the Commission have been appointed.

10 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

11 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after sub12 mitting its final report pursuant to section 8(b).

13 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 Amounts shall be made available to carry out this Act

15 only to the extent such amounts are made available in ad16 vance in appropriation Acts.

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