I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2903

To establish the Program Reform Commission to review unnecessary Federal 

programs and make recommendations for termination, modification, or 

retention of such programs, and to state the sense of the Congress 

that the Congress should promptly consider legislation that would make 

the changes in law necessary to implement the recommendations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2003

Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. CASE, Mr. TIERNEY, 

Mr. CARTER, Mr. DUNCAN, and Mr. EMANUEL) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 

A BILL

To establish the Program Reform Commission to review unnecessary Federal programs and make recommendations 

for termination, modification, or retention of such programs, and to state the sense of the Congress that 

the Congress should promptly consider legislation that 

would make the changes in law necessary to implement 

the recommendations.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Program Reform Com3 mission Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds that—

6 (1) Federal programs which may have been en7 acted with a valid purpose can become obsolete, or 

8 no longer in the public interest, making such pro9 grams unnecessary or undesired; 

10 (2) it is unfair to force the United States tax11 payer to support unnecessary programs that do not 

12 provide a substantial public benefit or serve the pub13 lic interest; 

14 (3) the Congress has been unable to evaluate 

15 methodically those Federal programs that are unfair 

16 and unnecessary and require reform or elimination; 

17 and 

18 (4) a Commission to advise the Congress is es19 sential to a comprehensive review of such programs 

20 and to the reform or elimination of such programs. 

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

22 The purpose of this Act is to establish a fair and de23 liberative process that will result in the timely identifica24 tion, review, and reform or elimination of programs of the 

25 Federal Government. 
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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 

2 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘program’’—

3 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), means 

4 a system of services or projects that is provided by 

5 the Federal Government; and 

6 (2) does not include a service or project that—

7 (A) exists for the purposes of research and 

8 development in the broad public interest on the 

9 basis of a peer reviewed or other open, competi10 tive, merit-based procedure; or 

11 (B) primarily benefits public health, safety, 

12 homeland security, the environment, or edu13 cation. 

14 SEC. 5. THE COMMISSION. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde16 pendent commission to be known as the ‘‘Program Reform 

17 Commission’’ (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

18 ‘‘Commission’’). 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—

20 (1) examine the programs of the Federal Gov21 ernment and identify programs that are no longer 

22 necessary; 

23 (2) review unnecessary programs; and 

24 (3) submit the report required under section 

25 6(c) to the Congress, making recommendations re-
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1 garding the termination, modification, or retention 

2 of programs. 

3 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Commission shall 

4 be considered an advisory committee within the meaning 

5 of that term in the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

6 U.S.C. App.). 

7 (d) APPOINTMENT.—

8 (1) MEMBERS.—The members of the Commis9 sion—

10 (A) shall be appointed for the life of the 

11 Commission; and 

12 (B) shall be composed of 8 members, of 

13 whom—

14 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the Speak15 er of the House of Representatives; 

16 (ii) 2 shall be appointed by the minor17 ity leader of the House of Representatives; 

18 (iii) 2 shall be appointed by the ma19 jority leader of the Senate, one of whom 

20 shall be designated by the majority leader 

21 to serve as a co-chair; and 

22 (iv) 2 shall be appointed by the minor23 ity leader of the Senate, one of whom shall 

24 be designated by the minority leader to 

25 serve as a co-chair.
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1 (2) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The Speaker 

2 of the House of Representatives, the minority leader 

3 of the House of Representatives, the majority leader 

4 of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate 

5 shall consult among themselves prior to the appoint6 ment of the members of the Commission in order to 

7 achieve, to the maximum extent possible, fair and 

8 equitable representation of various points of view 

9 with respect to the matters to be studied by the 

10 Commission under subsection (b). 

11 (3) BACKGROUND.—The members shall rep12 resent a broad array of expertise covering, to the ex13 tent practical, all subject matter, programs, and 

14 laws the Commission is likely to review. 

15 (e) MEETINGS.—

16 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—No later than April 1, 

17 2004, the Commission shall conduct its first meet18 ing. 

19 (2) OPEN MEETINGS.—Each meeting of the 

20 Commission shall be open to the public, except that 

21 in cases in which classified information, trade se22 crets, or personnel matters are discussed, the co23 chairs may close the meeting. All proceedings, infor24 mation, and deliberations of the Commission shall be 

25 available, upon request, to the Chairman and rank-
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1 ing minority member of the relevant Committee of 

2 the Congress having jurisdiction to report legislation 

3 regarding the subject matter thereof. 

4 (f) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall 

5 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 

6 (g) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

7 (1) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the 

8 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.), 

9 each member of the Commission, other than the co10 chairs, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily 

11 equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay 

12 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

13 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day 

14 (including travel time) during which the member is 

15 engaged in the actual performance of duties vested 

16 in the Commission. 

17 (2) CHAIRMEN.—Notwithstanding section 7 of 

18 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. 

19 U.S.C.), the co-chairs shall be paid for each day re20 ferred to in paragraph (1) at a rate equal to the 

21 daily payment of the minimum annual rate of basic 

22 pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule 

23 under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Com25 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per 
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1 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sec2 tion 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (h) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.—

4 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The co-chairs shall ap5 point as Director an individual who has not, during 

6 the 12 months preceding the date of such appoint7 ment, served in any of the entities or industries that 

8 the Commission intends to review. 

9 (2) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the 

10 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.), 

11 the Director shall be paid at the rate of basic pay 

12 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

13 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (3) REPORTS.—The Director shall submit peri15 odic reports on administrative and personnel matters 

16 to the co-chairs of the Commission and the Chair17 man and ranking minority member of the Committee 

18 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com19 mittee on Government Reform of the House of the 

20 Representatives. 

21 (i) STAFF.—

22 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—Subject to para23 graphs (2) and (4), the Director, with the approval 

24 of the Commission, may appoint and fix the pay of 

25 additional personnel. 
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1 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The Director may make 

2 such appointments without regard to the provisions 

3 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint4 ments in the competitive service, and any personnel 

5 so appointed may be paid without regard to the pro6 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 

7 53 of that title relating to classification and General 

8 Schedule pay rates. 

9 (3) LEGAL STAFF.—The Director shall appoint 

10 under paragraph (2) such professional legal staff as 

11 are necessary for the performance of the functions 

12 of the Commission. 

13 (4) DETAILEES.—Upon the request of the Di14 rector, the head of any Federal department or agen15 cy may detail any of the personnel of that depart16 ment or agency to the Commission to assist the 

17 Commission in accordance with an agreement en18 tered into with the Commission. 

19 (5) RESTRICTIONS ON PERSONNEL AND

20 DETAILEES.—The following restrictions shall apply 

21 to personnel and detailees of the Commission: 

22 (A) PERSONNEL.—No more than one-third 

23 of the personnel detailed to the Commission 

24 may be on detail from Federal agencies that
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1 deal directly or indirectly with the Federal sub2 sidies the Commission intends to review. 

3 (B) ANALYSTS.—No more than one-fifth of 

4 the professional analysts of the Commission 

5 may be persons detailed from a Federal agency 

6 that deals directly or indirectly with the Federal 

7 subsidies the Commission intends to review. 

8 (C) LEAD ANALYST.—No person detailed 

9 from a Federal agency to the Commission may 

10 be assigned as the lead professional analyst 

11 with respect to an entity or industry the Com12 mission intends to review if the person has been 

13 involved in regulatory or policymaking decisions 

14 affecting any such entity or industry in the 12 

15 months preceding such assignment. 

16 (D) DETAILEE.—A person may not be de17 tailed from a Federal agency to the Commission 

18 if, within 12 months before the detail is to 

19 begin, that person participated personally and 

20 substantially in any matter within that par21 ticular agency concerning the preparation of 

22 recommendations under this Act. 

23 (E) FEDERAL OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE.—

24 No officer or employee of a Federal agency 

25 may—
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1 (i) prepare any report concerning the 

2 effectiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the 

3 performance on the staff of the Commis4 sion of any person detailed from a Federal 

5 agency to that staff; 

6 (ii) review the preparation of such re7 port; or 

8 (iii) approve or disapprove such a re9 port. 

10 (F) LIMITATION ON STAFF SIZE.—(i) Sub11 ject to clause (ii), there may not be more than 

12 25 persons (including any detailees) on the 

13 staff at any time. 

14 (ii) The Commission may increase the 

15 member of its personnel in excess of the limita16 tion under clause (i), 15 days after submitting 

17 notification of such increase to the Committee 

18 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Government Reform of the 

20 House of Representatives. 

21 (G) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL OFFICER.—

22 No member of a Federal agency and no em23 ployee of a Federal agency may serve as a 

24 member of the Commission or as a paid mem25 ber of its staff. 
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1 (6) ASSISTANCE.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen3 eral of the United States may provide assist4 ance, including the detailing of employees, to 

5 the Commission in accordance with an agree6 ment entered into with the Commission. 

7 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Commission 

8 and the Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall consult with the Committee on 

10 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

11 Committee on Government Reform of the 

12 House of Representatives on the agreement re13 ferred to under subparagraph (A) before enter14 ing into such agreement. 

15 (j) OTHER AUTHORITY.—

16 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com17 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds 

18 are available, the temporary or intermittent services 

19 of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109 

20 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (2) LEASING.—The Commission may lease 

22 space and acquire personal property to the extent 

23 that funds are available. 

24 (k) FUNDING.—
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1 (1) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Commission such funds as are 

3 necessary to carry out its duties under this Act. 

4 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—There are au5 thorized to be appropriated to the Comptroller Gen6 eral of the United States such funds as are nec7 essary to carry out the Comptroller General’s duties 

8 under subsection (i)(5) and section 6(b)(5). 

9 (l) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

10 on January 1, 2006. 

11 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO 

12 TERMINATE PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) AGENCY PLAN.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Federal 

15 department or agency shall include in the documents 

16 submitted in support of the budget of the agency for 

17 fiscal year 2005 a list identifying all programs ad18 ministered by that department or agency that the 

19 head of the department or agency determines no 

20 longer are necessary.

21 (2) CONTENTS.—Such list shall include—

22 (A) a detailed description of each program 

23 in question;
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1 (B) a statement identifying and detailing 

2 the extent to which each service or project of 

3 the program meets the provisions of section 4; 

4 (C) a statement summarizing the legisla5 tive history and purpose of such services or 

6 projects and the laws or policies directly or indi7 rectly giving rise to the need for such programs; 

8 and 

9 (D) a recommendation to the Commission 

10 regarding the termination, modification, or re11 tention of each program identified in the list.

12 (b) REVIEW BY THE COMMISSION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—At any time after the sub14 mission of the budget documents to the Congress, 

15 the Commission shall conduct public hearings on the 

16 termination, modification, or retention of programs, 

17 including the recommendations included in the lists 

18 required under subsection (a). 

19 (2) TESTIMONY UNDER OATH.—All testimony 

20 before the Commission at a public hearing conducted 

21 under this paragraph shall be presented under oath. 

22 (c) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMIS23 SION.—

24 (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
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1 (A) REQUIREMENT.—No later than March 

2 31, 2005, the Commission shall submit a report 

3 to the Congress containing the Commission’s 

4 findings and recommendations for termination, 

5 modification, or retention of each of the pro6 grams reviewed by the Commission. 

7 (B) CONTENTS.—Such findings and rec8 ommendations shall specify—

9 (i) all actions, circumstances, and con10 siderations relating to or bearing upon the 

11 recommendations; and 

12 (ii) to the maximum extent prac13 ticable, the estimated effect of the rec14 ommendations upon the policies, laws, and 

15 programs directly or indirectly affected by 

16 the recommendations. 

17 (C) SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENT.—The 

18 Commission may not include a recommendation 

19 in the report unless inclusion of the rec20 ommendation is approved by at least 6 mem21 bers of the Commission. 

22 (2) INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATIONS.—The 

23 Commission shall include in its report information 

24 specifying—
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1 (A) the reasons and justifications for the 

2 recommendations of the Commission; 

3 (B) to the maximum extent practicable, 

4 the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary 

5 impact of accepting its recommendations; 

6 (C) the amount of the projected savings re7 sulting from each it its recommendations; 

8 (D) all actions, circumstances, and consid9 erations relating to or bearing upon the rec10 ommendations and to the maximum extent 

11 practicable, the estimated effect of the rec12 ommendations upon the policies, laws and pro13 grams directly or indirectly affected by the rec14 ommendations; and 

15 (E) the specific changes in Federal stat16 utes necessary to implement the recommenda17 tions, including citation of the relevant provi18 sions of existing law.

19 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The report 

20 submitted to the Congress under this subsection 

21 shall be submitted to the Senate and the House of 

22 Representatives on the same day, and shall be deliv23 ered to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is 

24 not in session, and to the Clerk of the House of the 

25 Representatives if the House is not in session. 
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1 (4) FEDERAL REGISTER.—The report sub2 mitted under this subsection shall be printed in the 

3 first issue of the Federal Register after such submis4 sion. 

5 (5) CHANGES IN AGENCY OR DEPARTMENT

6 RECOMMENDATIONS.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the deadline 

8 in paragraph (1) and to subparagraphs (B) and 

9 (C) of this paragraph, in making its rec10 ommendations, the Commission may make 

11 changes in any of the recommendations made 

12 by a department or agency if the Commission 

13 determines that such department or agency, in 

14 treating any matter as an inequitable Federal 

15 subsidy, deviated substantially from the provi16 sions of section 4. 

17 (B) LIMITATION.—The Commission may 

18 make a change in the recommendations made 

19 by a department or agency, only if the Commis20 sion—

21 (i) makes the determination required 

22 under subparagraph (B); and 

23 (ii) conducts a public hearing on the 

24 Commission’s proposed changes. 
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1 (C) APPLICATION OF LIMITATION.—Sub2 paragraph (B) shall apply only to a change by 

3 the Commission in a department or agency rec4 ommendation that would—

5 (i) add or delete a program to or 

6 from, respectively, the list recommended 

7 for termination; 

8 (ii) add or delete a program to or 

9 from, respectively, the list recommended 

10 for modification; or 

11 (iii) increase or decrease the extent of 

12 a recommendation to modify a program, 

13 included in a department’s or agency’s rec14 ommendation. 

15 (D) JUSTIFICATION.—The Commission 

16 shall explain and justify in the report submitted 

17 to the Congress under this subsection any rec18 ommendation made by the Commission that is 

19 different from a recommendation made by an 

20 agency under subsection (a). 

21 (6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO MEMBERS

22 OF CONGRESS.—After March 31, 2005, the Commis23 sion shall, upon request, promptly provide to any 

24 Member of Congress the information used by the 

25 Commission in making its recommendations.
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1 (7) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comp2 troller General of the United States shall—

3 (A) assist the Commission, to the extent 

4 requested, in the Commission’s review and anal5 ysis of the lists, statements, and recommenda6 tions made by departments and agencies under 

7 subsection (a); and 

8 (B) no later than 60 days after April 1, 

9 2004, or the public release of the President’s 

10 budget documents in 2004, whichever is earlier, 

11 submit to the Congress and to the Commission 

12 a report containing a detailed analysis of the 

13 list, statements, and recommendations of each 

14 department or agency. 

15 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON COMMISSION REC16 OMMENDATIONS. 

17 It is the sense of the Congress that, following submis18 sion of the report of the Program Reform Commission 

19 under section 6, the House of Representatives and the 

20 Senate should promptly consider legislation that would 

21 enact changes in Federal statutes necessary to implement 

22 the recommendations of the Commission.

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