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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5588

To establish the Government Program Evaluation Commission.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 27, 2000

Mr. ARCHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Government Reform

A BILL

To establish the Government Program Evaluation

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. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

4 There is established a bipartisan commission to be

5 known as the Government Program Evaluation Commis6 sion (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

7 SEC. 2. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

8 The Commission shall make a complete study and

9 evaluation of existing Federal programs and activities and

10 projected expansions of such programs and activities for
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1 the purpose of determining, in light of the fundamental

2 needs of the Nation and its vital objectives—

3 (1) the effectiveness of each such program or

4 activity in terms of its present and projected costs;

5 (2) whether each such program or activity

6 should be continued and, if so, the level at which it

7 should be continued; and

8 (3) in the allocation of Federal funds, the rel9 ative priority that should be assigned to each such

10 program or activity.

11 SEC. 3. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1, 2002,

13 the Commission shall submit to the President and the

14 Congress a comprehensive report.

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain a detailed

16 statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commis17 sion, together with its recommendations (including any

18 recommendations as to constitutional amendments, legis19 lative enactments, and administrative actions) for changes

20 in Federal programs and activities, that the Commission

21 determines are necessary to meet the fundamental needs

22 and vital objectives of the Nation.
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1 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION.

2 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

3 shall be composed of 12 members from private life, as fol4 lows:

5 (1) 4 members appointed by the President.

6 (2) 4 members appointed by the President pro

7 tempore of the Senate.

8 (3) 4 members appointed by the Speaker of the

9 House of Representatives.

10 (b) LIMITATION.—Of each class of 4 members re11 ferred to in subsection (a), not more than 2 members may

12 be from each of the 2 major political parties.

13 (c) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission

14 shall not affect its powers, and shall be filled in the same

15 manner in which the original appointment was made.

16 (d) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Commis17 sion shall elect a Chairman and a Vice Chairman from

18 among its members.

19 (e) QUORUM.—7 members of the Commission shall

20 constitute a quorum.

21 (f) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

22 shall serve without pay for their service on the Commis23 sion.
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1 SEC. 5. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may appoint and

3 fix the compensation of such personnel as it considers ap4 propriate.

5 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

6 LAWS.—The staff of the Commission may be appointed

7 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

8 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,

9 and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chap10 ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title, relat11 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, ex12 cept that an individual so appointed may not receive pay

13 in excess of the maximum rate of basic pay under the Gen14 eral Schedule.

15 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

16 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

17 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.

18 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

19 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

20 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such

21 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such

22 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

23 considers appropriate. The Commission may administer

24 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before it.

25 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—If author26 ized by the Commission, any member or agent of the Com-
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1 mission may take any action that the Commission is au2 thorized to take by this section.

3 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

4 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

5 United States information necessary to enable it to carry

6 out this Act. Upon request of the Chairman or Vice Chair7 man of the Commission, the head of that department or

8 agency shall furnish that information to the Commission.

9 SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

10 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after sub11 mitting the report required by section 3.

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