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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4777

To establish the Commission on Gasoline and Fuel Pricing.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 28, 2000

Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To establish the Commission on Gasoline and Fuel Pricing.

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; FINDINGS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Commission on Gasoline and Fuel Pricing Act of 2000’’.

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

7 (1) During the first 6 months of the year 2000,

8 gasoline and natural gas prices increased as much as

9 100 percent in several regions of the United States.

10 (2) For many families and businesses, the in11 crease in gasoline prices has become an emergency
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1 as costs are rising faster than their ability to keep

2 pace.

3 (3) Trucking and transport firms, petroleum

4 fuel-dependent businesses, homeowners, farmers,

5 and even charitable organizations whose transpor6 tation budgets are being pushed over their projected

7 expenditures are feeling the crunch of rising fuel

8 prices.

9 (4) The growing dependence of the United

10 States economy on foreign oil is a national strategic

11 vulnerability, as imported crude has doubled in price

12 to over $30 per barrel with resulting price increases

13 being passed on to consumers. In regions such as

14 the Midwest, gasoline is selling at the pump for

15 $2.00 per gallon or more.

16 (5) Refining capacity in the United States has

17 diminished over the past 20 years, resulting in his18 torically low fuel reserves in most regions of the

19 United States.

20 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

21 There is established a commission to be known as the

22 ‘‘Commission on Gasoline and Fuel Pricing’’ (in this Act

23 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

24 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

25 The duties of the Commission shall be to—
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1 (1) ascertain reasons for the spiraling, atypical

2 increase in retail prices of gasoline on both regional

3 and national levels;

4 (2) determine to what extent the increased price

5 of gasoline is caused by market manipulation and

6 the anticompetitive practices of multinational oil

7 companies, OPEC production quotas, processor, re8 finer dealer, and distributor market manipulations,

9 as well as Government regulations relating to refor10 mulated gas and other environmental standards; and

11 (3) make recommendations as to how the

12 United States can move toward domestic energy self13 sufficiency in this decade.

14 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

15 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

16 shall be composed of 5 members appointed as follows:

17 (1) 2 members appointed by the President.

18 (2) 2 members appointed by the Congress.

19 (3) 1 member appointed by the Chairperson of

20 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys21 tem.

22 (b) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the

23 life of the Commission.

24 (c) BASIC PAY.—Members shall serve without pay.
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1 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive

2 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

3 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5,

4 United States Code.

5 (e) QUORUM.—Four members of the Commission

6 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold

7 hearings.

8 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis9 sion shall be elected by the members.

10 (g) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

11 call of the Chairperson or a majority of its members.

12 SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION; EXPERTS

13 AND CONSULTANTS.

14 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc15 tor who shall be appointed by a majority of the members

16 of the Commission.

17 (b) STAFF.—With the approval of the Commission,

18 and without regard to section 5311(b) of title 5, United

19 States Code, the Director may appoint and fix the pay

20 of additional personnel as the Director considers appro21 priate.

22 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

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

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

25 United States Code, governing appointments in the com-
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1 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the

2 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

3 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule

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

5 receive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay pay6 able for GS–14 of the General Schedule.

7 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap8 proval of the Commission, the Director may procure tem9 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of

10 title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals

11 not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual

12 rate of basic pay payable for GS–14 of the General Sched13 ule.

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

15 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department

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

17 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission

18 to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.

19 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

20 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

21 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear22 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and

23 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate.

24 The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

25 witnesses appearing before it.
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1 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem2 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

3 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au4 thorized to take by this section.

5 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

6 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

7 United States information necessary to enable it to carry

8 out this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Com9 mission, the head of that department or agency shall fur10 nish that information to the Commission.

11 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

12 States mails in the same manner and under the same con13 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

14 States.

15 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

16 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen17 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim18 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec19 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

20 under this Act.

21 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue

23 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of

24 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat25 ing to any matter which the Commission is empow-
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1 ered to investigate by section 3. The attendance of

2 witnesses and the production of evidence may be re3 quired from any place within the United States at

4 any designated place of hearing within the United

5 States.

6 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per7 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para8 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United

9 States district court for an order requiring that per10 son to appear before the Commission to give testi11 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the

12 matter under investigation. The application may be

13 made within the judicial district where the hearing

14 is conducted or where that person is found, resides,

15 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

16 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

17 contempt.

18 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas

19 of the Commission shall be served in the manner

20 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States

21 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro22 cedure for the United States district courts.

23 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any

24 court to which application is be made under para25 graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in
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1 which the person required to be served resides or

2 may be found.

3 SEC. 7. REPORT.

4 The Commission shall transmit a report to the Con5 gress not later than October 1, 2000. The report shall con6 tain a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions

7 of the Commission, together with its recommendations for

8 legislation the Commission considers appropriate.

9 SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

10 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after sub11 mitting its final report pursuant to section 7. Section

12 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

13 U.S.C. App.; relating to the termination of advisory com14 mittees) shall not apply to the Commission.

15 SEC. 9. BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE.

16 Any spending authority (as defined in subparagraphs

17 (A) and (C) of section 401(c)(2) of the Congressional

18 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 651(c)(2)(A) and (C))) au19 thorized by this Act shall be effective only to such extent

20 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation

21 Acts.

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