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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3100

To establish the Commission on National Drug Policy.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 21, 1993

Mr. EDWARDS of California introduced the following bill; which was referred

jointly to the Committees on the Judiciary and Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To establish the Commission on National Drug Policy.

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 ‘‘National Drug Policy

5 Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

7 There is established a commission to be known as the

8 ‘‘Commission on National Drug Policy’’.

9 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

10 (a) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a study

11 of the unlawful production, distribution, and use of con12 trolled substances, including—
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1 (1) an investigation into the various causes of

2 the unlawful use in the United States of controlled

3 substances and the relative significance of the var4 ious causes;

5 (2) an evaluation of the efficacy of existing

6 Federal laws regarding the unlawful production, dis7 tribution, and use of controlled substances, including

8 the efficacy of Federal minimum sentences for viola9 tions of the laws regarding the unlawful sale and use

10 of controlled substances;

11 (3) an analysis of the costs, benefits, risks, and

12 advantages of the present national policy regarding

13 controlled substances and of potential modifications

14 of that policy, including an analysis of what propor15 tion of the funds dedicated to combating the unlaw16 ful sale and use of controlled substances should be

17 devoted to—

18 (A) interdicting controlled substances en19 tering the United States unlawfully;

20 (B) enforcing Federal laws relating the un21 lawful production, distribution, and use of con22 trolled substances;

23 (C) education and other forms of prevent24 ing the unlawful use of controlled substances;

25 or
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1 (D) rehabilitating individuals who use con2 trolled substances unlawfully; and

3 (4) an analysis of methods of rehabilitation, in4 cluding an evaluation of the efficacy of current

5 methods and suggestions for new methods.

6 (b) REPORT.—Within 18 months after the date on

7 which funds first become available to carry out this Act,

8 the Commission—

9 (1) shall submit to the President, the Speaker

10 of the House of Representatives, and the President

11 pro tempore of the Senate a comprehensive report

12 on the study conducted under subsection (a), and

13 (2) shall make the report available to the public

14 upon request.

15 The report shall include the Commission’s conclusions and

16 recommendations which at least a majority of the Commis17 sion have agreed upon and the Commission’s proposals for

18 legislation and administrative action necessary to carry

19 out the Commission’s recommendations.

20 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

21 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

22 shall be composed of 13 members appointed as follows

23 from among qualified individuals:

24 (1) BY THE PRESIDENT.—Five members ap25 pointed by the President of the United States, not
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1 more than 3 of whom may be members of the same

2 political party.

3 (2) BY LEADERS OF THE SENATE.—Two mem4 bers each appointed by the majority leader of the

5 Senate and the minority leader of the Senate, not

6 more than 2 of whom shall be members of the same

7 political party.

8 (3) BY LEADERS OF THE HOUSE.—Two mem9 bers each appointed by the Speaker of the House of

10 Representatives and the minority leader of the

11 House of Representatives, not more than 2 of whom

12 shall be members of the same political party.

13 Appointments to the Commission shall be made not later

14 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—For purposes of subsection

16 (a), individuals representing the professions that deal with

17 those who produce, distribute, and use controlled sub18 stances unlawfully are qualified to be appointed to the

19 Commission and individuals who hold an elected Federal

20 office are not qualified for appointment to the Commis21 sion. Each appointing authority named in subsection (a)

22 should consider appointing individuals who are—

23 (1) law enforcement officials;

24 (2) physicians;

25 (3) social workers;
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1 (4) judges and attorneys;

2 (5) Drug Enforcement Agency staff;

3 (6) drug rehabilitation counselors;

4 (7) religious leaders;

5 (8) community leaders from inner-city commu6 nities;

7 (9) educators; or

8 (10) individuals with academic expertise in is9 sues surrounding the unlawful production, distribu10 tion, and use of controlled substances.

11 (c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the

12 life of the Commission.

13 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission re14 sulting from the death or resignation of a member shall

15 not affect the powers of the Commission. If a vacancy oc16 curs on the Commission, a new member shall be appointed

17 in the same manner as the original member was ap18 pointed.

19 (e) BASIC PAY.—

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

21 paragraph (2), members of the Commission shall be

22 paid at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of

23 the maximum annual rate of pay for grade GS-15 of

24 the General Schedule in effect under section 5332 of

25 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including
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1 travel time) during which they are engaged in the

2 performance of the duties of the Commission.

3 (2) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF FED4 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Commission

5 who are full-time officers or employees of the United

6 States may not receive additional pay, allowances, or

7 benefits by reason of their service on the Commis8 sion, except as provided in paragraph (3).

9 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from

10 their homes or regular places of business in the per11 formance of the duties of the Commission, members

12 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses,

13 including a per diem allowance in lieu of subsistence,

14 in the same manner as persons employed intermit15 tently in Government service are allowed travel ex16 penses under sections 5703 of title 5, United States

17 Code.

18 (f) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commission

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

20 hearings.

21 (g) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—At the

22 time of appointment, the President shall designate 1 of

23 the members of the Commission as the chairperson and

24 1 of the members of the Commission as the vice chair25 person.
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1 (h) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

2 call of the chairperson or a majority of the members of

3 the Commission but not less often than once a month.

4 SEC. 5. STAFF OF COMMISSION; EXPERTS AND CONSULT5 ANTS.

6 (a) STAFF.—

7 (1) APPOINTMENT AND PAY.—The Commission

8 may appoint and fix the pay of personnel as it con9 siders appropriate.

10 (2) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

11 LAWS.—The staff of the Commission may be ap12 pointed without regard to the provisions of title 5,

13 United States Code, governing appointments in the

14 competitive service and may be paid without regard

15 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III

16 of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification

17 and General Schedule pay rates except that an indi18 vidual so appointed may not receive pay in excess of

19 the maximum annual rate of pay for grade GS-15 of

20 the General Schedule in effect under section 5332 of

21 title 5, United States Code.

22 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

23 may procure temporary or intermittent services under sec24 tion 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at a rate of

25 pay not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum
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1 annual rate of pay for grade GS-15 of the General Sched2 ule in effect under section 5332 of title 5, United States

3 Code.

4 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—At the request

5 of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency may

6 detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of

7 that agency to the Commission to carry out this Act.

8 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

9 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—

10 (1) AUTHORITY.—To carry out this Act, the

11 Commission may hold the hearings, sit and act at

12 the times and places, take the testimony, and receive

13 the evidence that the Commission considers appro14 priate.

15 (2) OPEN MEETINGS.—The Commission shall

16 be considered an agency for the purposes of section

17 552b of title 5, United States Code, relating to the

18 requirement that meetings of Federal agencies be

19 open to the public.

20 (3) TRANSCRIPTS.—Transcripts of a hearing

21 held under paragraph (1) shall be published and

22 shall be made available, upon request, to the public

23 within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the

24 hearing.
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1 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—If author2 ized by the Commission, any member or agent of the Com3 mission may take any action that the Commission is au4 thorized to take by this section.

5 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL INFORMATION.—

6 (1) AUTHORITY AND PROCEDURE FOR OBTAIN7 ING INFORMATION.—Notwithstanding section 552a

8 of title 5 or any other restriction on the disclosure

9 of information, the Commission may secure directly

10 from any Federal agency information necessary to

11 enable it to carry out this Act. At the request of the

12 chairperson of the Commission, the head of the

13 agency shall furnish the information to the Commis14 sion.

15 (2) USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—

16 The Commission shall be subject to the same restric17 tions regarding the use or disclosure of any informa18 tion obtained from any Federal agency under this

19 subsection as are applicable to the use or disclosure

20 of the information by the Federal agency from which

21 it is obtained.

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

23 States mails in the same manner and under the same con24 ditions as other Federal agencies.
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1 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—At the

2 request of the Commission, the Administrator of General

3 Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs4 able basis, the administrative support services necessary

5 for the Commission to carry out this Act.

6 (f) EXPENDITURES AND CONTRACTS.—The Commis7 sion may make expenditures and enter into contracts for

8 the procurement of the supplies, services, and property the

9 Commission considers appropriate to carry out this Act.

10 The aggregate amount of such expenditures and contracts

11 may be made only to the extent or in the amounts provided

12 in appropriations Acts.

13 SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

14 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after sub15 mitting the report required by section 3(b).

16 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

17 For purposes of this Act:

18 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

19 means the Commission on National Drug Policy es20 tablished by section 2.

21 (2) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The term

22 ‘‘controlled substance’’ means a controlled substance

23 as defined by section 102(6) of the Controlled Sub24 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)).
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1 (3) DISTRIBUTE.—The term ‘‘distribute’’

2 means distribute as defined by section 102(11) of

3 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(11)).

4 (4) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal

5 agency’’ means an executive agency as defined by

6 section 105 of title 5, United States Code.

7 (5) PRODUCTION.—The term ‘‘production’’

8 means production as defined by section 102(22) of

9 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(22)).

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