I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4673

To establish a United States Design Council as an advisory committee within

the Department of Commerce to promote understanding of the importance of design in the development of products and systems, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 29, 1994

Mr. BROWN of California (for himself, Mr. VALENTINE, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr.

KLEIN, Mr. MCHALE, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and

Commerce and Science, Space, and Technology

A BILL

To establish a United States Design Council as an advisory

committee within the Department of Commerce to promote understanding of the importance of design in the

development of products and systems, 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. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

5 (1) The United States lags behind many of the

6 other industrialized nations in understanding the re-
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1 lationship of design principles to the

2 conceptualization and development of high quality

3 products and systems and to research and design

4 methodologies.

5 (2) Innovative and excellent design is critical to

6 the successful development, manufacturing, and

7 marketing of products and systems.

8 (3) Since 70 percent or more of the costs of

9 product, process, and system development, manufac10 ture, and use is determined during the initial design

11 stage, design must be a critical factor from the be12 ginning of product development.

13 (4) A strong domestic design engineering capa14 bility can reduce costs and enhance competitiveness.

15 (5) Excellence in design, including integrating

16 environmental objectives at the beginning of the pro17 duction process, improves the quality of life by creat18 ing useful, safe, and attractive products and systems

19 and by conserving nonrenewable resources through

20 the efficient use of materials and the reduction of

21 the generation of waste.

22 (6) Information technologies and concurrent en23 gineering processes can aid the concurrent design

24 process. Information technologies can also provide

25 links among different industry sectors.
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1 (7) Greater efforts should be made to exhibit

2 and promote, both domestically and internationally,

3 well-designed United States products and systems.

4 (8) The United States, unlike many of its for5 eign economic competitors, lacks a national strategy

6 to promote and recognize design excellence in its

7 products and systems.

8 (9) Excellence in design can be enhanced

9 through a combination of efforts of the private and

10 public sectors.

11 (10) A national design program to promote ex12 cellence in the design of United States products and

13 systems can enhance the competitiveness of United

14 States products and systems and expand trade and

15 economic opportunities for the people of the United

16 States.

17 (b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act—

18 (1) to establish a United States Design Council

19 as an advisory committee within the Department of

20 Commerce;

21 (2) to educate United States businesses with re22 spect to the importance of innovation and excellence

23 in design to competitiveness;

24 (3) to promote programs of research, develop25 ment, and technology transfer related to promoting
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1 understanding of the principles and processes of de2 sign and design engineering; and

3 (4) to assist government agencies in developing

4 and encouraging innovation and excellence in design

5 in their own facilities and programs and by suppliers

6 of products and systems.

7 SEC. 2. DESIGN COUNCIL.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a

10 United States Design Council (hereinafter in this

11 Act referred to as the ‘‘Council’’) as an advisory

12 committee within the Department of Commerce to

13 advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters related

14 to design. The Council shall be composed of 17

15 members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce

16 as follows:

17 (A) 2 members who are employed as busi18 ness executives in the fields of product develop19 ment, manufacturing, and systems development.

20 (B) 2 members who are industrial design21 ers.

22 (C) 4 members who have expertise in infor23 mation technologies, concurrent engineering, or

24 environmental engineering.

25 (D) 2 members who are architects.
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1 (E) 2 members who are graphic designers.

2 (F) 3 members who are employees of Fed3 eral agencies which have a specialized interest

4 in innovation and excellence in design.

5 (G) 2 members who are representatives of

6 labor organizations.

7 (2) UNDERSTANDING OF UNITED STATES

8 ECONOMY.—All members of the Council shall be in9 dividuals who have a broad understanding of the

10 United States economy and the international com11 petitive position of the United States.

12 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.—

13 In making appointments under this Act, the Sec14 retary of Commerce shall consider recommendations

15 made by appropriate professional and trade associa16 tions, and by any other persons concerned with the

17 innovative and excellent design of products and

18 systems.

19 (4) TERMS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

21 subparagraphs (B) and (C), each member of

22 the Council shall be appointed for a term of

23 three years.

24 (B) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the

25 members originally appointed under this sub-
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1 section, five members shall be appointed for a

2 term of one year and five members shall be ap3 pointed for a term of two years, as designated

4 by the Secretary of Commerce at the time of

5 appointment.

6 (C) OTHER TERMS.—A member appointed

7 to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder

8 of the term for which the predecessor of such

9 member was appointed. A member may serve

10 after the expiration of the member’s term until

11 a successor has taken office.

12 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Council

13 shall not affect the powers of the Council and shall

14 be filled in the same manner in which the original

15 appointment was made. No member shall be eligible

16 for reappointment during the one-year period follow17 ing the expiration of the member’s term unless such

18 member served on the Council for less than one

19 year.

20 (6) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Com21 merce shall designate one member of the Council as

22 Chairperson.

23 (7) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Council shall

24 elect one of its members to serve as Vice Chair25 person.
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1 (8) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

3 subparagraph (B), members of the Council shall

4 serve on the Council without pay.

5 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of

6 the Council shall receive travel expenses, includ7 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accord8 ance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5,

9 United States Code.

10 (9) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not

11 less than twice a year. The Council shall meet at the

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

13 (b) ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Council

14 shall provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary

15 of Commerce on the performance by the Secretary of the

16 following functions:

17 (1) To support, as appropriate, private-sector

18 efforts for the development of voluntary standards

19 for innovation, appropriateness, and excellence in the

20 design of products and systems.

21 (2) To provide information to United States

22 businesses on the use of design in the strategic plan23 ning process and in promoting their competitiveness.

24 (3) To plan and implement programs which will

25 educate United States businesses and the public
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1 with respect to the value of innovation and excel2 lence in design and to encourage such businesses to

3 promote such value in the design and creation of

4 products and systems.

5 (4) To consult and, to the extent practicable,

6 coordinate its activities with each Federal agency

7 that is concerned with the design of products, proc8 esses, and systems.

9 (5) To develop a repository of information on

10 aspects of design in manufacturing and economic de11 velopment, and to make the information available for

12 use by the public.

13 (6) To devise and propose mechanisms by which

14 the design activities of each Federal agency referred

15 to in this Act is made known to, and coordinated

16 with, the activities of each other such Federal agen17 cy in a manner that will contribute to the carrying

18 out of this Act.

19 (7) To acquaint the public with the possibility

20 of careers in design.

21 (8) To encourage educational institutions to

22 adopt courses in design and in research related to

23 design, and to include materials related to the ap24 preciation of design in various courses of instruction.
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1 (9) To cooperate, to the extent practicable, with

2 State and local governments, international organiza3 tions, and private agencies concerned with innova4 tion and excellence in the design of products and

5 systems.

6 (c) POWERS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may prescribe

8 such rules as may be necessary to carry out its func9 tions under this Act.

10 (2) INFORMATION.—The Council may secure di11 rectly from a Federal agency such information as

12 the Council may require to carry out its functions

13 under this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson or

14 Vice Chairperson of the Council, the head of the

15 Federal agency shall furnish the information to the

16 Council.

17 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Council may

18 appoint advisory committees to assist the Council in

19 carrying out its functions under this Act. A member

20 of an advisory committee under this paragraph may

21 not receive compensation for the member’s service

22 on the advisory committee.

23 (4) MAIL.—The Council may use the United

24 States mails in the same manner and upon the same

25 conditions as any other Federal agency.
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1 (d) DIRECTOR; STAFF, EXPERTS AND CONSULT2 ANTS.—

3 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Council shall have a Di4 rector who shall be appointed by the Secretary of

5 Commerce and who shall be paid at a rate not to ex6 ceed the rate of basic pay payable for grade 15 of

7 the General Schedule set forth in title 5, United

8 States Code.

9 (2) STAFF.—The Council may appoint and fix

10 the pay of any staff in addition to the Director that

11 the Council considers necessary to carry out this

12 Act.

13 (3) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—

14 The staff of the Council shall be appointed subject

15 to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, and

16 shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of

17 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such

18 title, relating to classification and General Schedule

19 pay rates.

20 (4) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the

21 approval of the Council, the Director may procure

22 temporary and intermittent services to the same ex23 tent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title 5,

24 United States Code.
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1 (5) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—As permitted by law

2 and as necessary to carry out this Act, the Depart3 ment of Commerce shall provide to the Council any

4 staff, available information, and other assistance re5 quired by the Council to perform its functions under

6 this Act.

7 (e) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—In provid8 ing advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Com9 merce under this Act, the Council may—

10 (1) consult with, and take into account the in11 terests and views of, representatives of United

12 States commerce and industry (including small busi13 nesses, science organizations, industrial design orga14 nizations, engineering organizations, and labor orga15 nizations), educational institutions, consumers, other

16 Federal agencies, State and local governments, na17 tionally recognized organizations that develop and

18 coordinate standards, and any other persons the

19 Council considers appropriate;

20 (2) take into account relevant, ongoing activi21 ties in the private and public sectors to avoid the un22 necessary duplication of such activities;

23 (3) provide for appropriate procedures pursuant

24 to which persons may, under the auspices of the

25 Council, formulate, recommend, or suggest to the
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1 Council specific programs for coordinating innova2 tion and excellence in design in each industry or seg3 ment thereof;

4 (4) publicize in an appropriate manner pro5 grams and standards proposed under this Act and

6 provide an opportunity for interested persons to sub7 mit comments on the programs and standards;

8 (5) consult and cooperate with organizations

9 and persons in the United States who are working

10 to gain international recognition for design as a

11 competitive advantage; and

12 (6) make recommendations to the Congress and

13 the Secretary of Commerce with respect to design is14 sues, including—

15 (A) the impact of design on workers and

16 on different occupations and industries;

17 (B) the value to consumers of innovation

18 and excellence in design;

19 (C) the impact of design on society and the

20 economy;

21 (D) the effects of design on small busi22 nesses;

23 (E) the impact of design on the inter24 national competitiveness of the United States;

25 and
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1 (F) the appropriateness of, and methods

2 for, using procurement by the Federal Govern3 ment as a means to effect innovation and excel4 lence in design.

5 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year, the Council shall

6 submit to the Secretary of Commerce and to the Congress

7 a report that summarizes the activities of the Council dur8 ing the year preceding the year in which the report is sub9 mitted. The report shall include any recommendations the

10 Council considers appropriate.

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