IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 2 

Establishing the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Responsibilities to develop 

a plan under which the functions and responsibilities of the Office of 

the United States Trade Representative shall be moved to the legislative 

branch in accordance with article I, section 8 of the Constitution of 

the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Mr. GRIFFITH submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on 

Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Establishing the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Responsibilities to develop a plan under which the functions 

and responsibilities of the Office of the United States 

Trade Representative shall be moved to the legislative 

branch in accordance with article I, section 8 of the 

Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Reclaiming 

3 Congress’s Constitutional Mandate in Trade Resolution’’. 

4 SEC. 2. JOINT AD HOC COMMITTEE ON TRADE RESPON5 SIBILITIES. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Joint 

7 Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Responsibilities (referred to 

8 as the ‘‘Joint Ad Hoc Committee’’). 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Joint Ad Hoc Committee 

10 shall consist of 14 members, who shall be appointed not 

11 later than 60 days after the date of the adoption of this 

12 resolution, as follows: 

13 (1) Nine Members of the House of Representa14 tives who shall be members of the Committee on 

15 Ways and Means or the Committee on Energy and 

16 Commerce, of whom— 

17 (A) six shall be appointed by the Speaker 

18 of the House of Representatives, one of whom 

19 (as designated by the Speaker at the time of 

20 appointment) shall serve as the Chair of the 

21 Joint Ad Hoc Committee; and 

22 (B) three shall be appointed by the minor23 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

24 (2) Five Senators who shall be members of the 

25 Committee on Finance, of whom— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 (A) three shall be appointed by the major2 ity leader of the Senate, one of whom (as des3 ignated by the majority leader at the time of 

4 appointment) shall serve as the Vice Chair of 

5 the Joint Ad Hoc Committee; and 

6 (B) two shall be appointed by the minority 

7 leader of the Senate. 

8 (c) DUTIES.— 

9 (1) PLAN FOR TRANSFER OF USTR FUNCTIONS

10 TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.—The Joint Ad Hoc Com11 mittee shall develop a plan under which the func12 tions and responsibilities of the Office of the United 

13 States Trade Representative shall be moved to the 

14 legislative branch in accordance with article I, sec15 tion 8 of the Constitution of the United States. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION WITH ADVISORY BOARD.— 

17 In developing the plan under paragraph (1), the 

18 Joint Ad Hoc Committee shall consult regularly with 

19 the Congressional Advisory Board on Trade Respon20 sibilities established under section 3. 

21 (3) DEADLINE FOR TRANSFER UNDER PLAN.— 

22 Under the plan developed by the Joint Ad Hoc Com23 mittee under paragraph (1), the functions and re24 sponsibilities of the Office of the United States 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 Trade Representative shall be moved to the legisla2 tive branch— 

3 (A) upon the expiration of the 4-year pe4 riod which begins on the date the Joint Ad Hoc 

5 Committee submits the report described in sub6 section (e); or 

7 (B) on July 1, 2023, 

8 whichever is later. 

9 (d) AUTHORITIES; EMPLOYMENT AND COMPENSA10 TION OF STAFF.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY OF COMMITTEE.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Joint Ad Hoc 

13 Committee may— 

14 (i) subject to subparagraph (B), sit 

15 and act at such places and times as the 

16 Joint Ad Hoc Committee determines are 

17 appropriate during the sessions, recesses, 

18 and adjourned periods of Congress; and 

19 (ii) require the attendance of wit20 nesses and the production of books, pa21 pers, and documents, administer oaths, 

22 take testimony, and procure printing and 

23 binding. 

24 (B) MEETINGS.—Beginning on the date 

25 that is 90 days after the date of the adoption 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 of this resolution, the Joint Ad Hoc Committee 

2 may meet at the call of the Chair or a majority 

3 of its members that are appointed as of such 

4 date. 

5 (2) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION OF

6 STAFF.—(A) The Joint Ad Hoc Committee may ap7 point and fix the compensation of such experts, con8 sultants, technicians, and clerical personnel as it 

9 deems necessary, but shall utilize existing staff to 

10 the extent possible. Staff shall be compensated and 

11 reimbursed in accordance with current rules, stat12 utes, practices, and procedures under which congres13 sional staff are currently compensated and reim14 bursed for their official expenses. 

15 (B) The Joint Ad Hoc Committee may utilize 

16 such voluntary and uncompensated services as it 

17 deems necessary and may utilize the services, infor18 mation, facilities, and personnel of other agencies of 

19 the legislative branch. 

20 (3) WITNESSES.—Witnesses requested to ap21 pear before the Joint Ad Hoc Committee shall be re22 imbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary 

23 expenses incurred in traveling to and from Joint Ad 

24 Hoc Committee proceedings. 

25 (4) EXPENSES.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 (A) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—There 

2 shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of 

3 the House of Representatives such sums as may 

4 be necessary for the portion of the expenses of 

5 the Joint Ad Hoc Committee which are allo6 cable to the House. Such payments shall be 

7 made on vouchers signed by the Chair of the 

8 Joint Ad Hoc Committee and approved in the 

9 manner directed by the Committee on House 

10 Administration of the House of Representatives. 

11 Amounts made available under this paragraph 

12 shall be expended in accordance with regula13 tions prescribed by the Committee on House 

14 Administration of the House of Representatives. 

15 (B) SENATE.—There shall be paid out of 

16 the contingent fund of the Senate such sums as 

17 may be necessary for the portion of the ex18 penses of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee which 

19 are allocable to the Senate. Such payments 

20 shall be made on vouchers signed by the Vice 

21 Chair of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee. 

22 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 16 months after the 

23 date on which all members of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee 

24 are appointed under subsection (b), the Committee shall 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 submit to Congress a report that contains the plan de2 scribed in subsection (c). 

3 (f) TERMINATION.—The Joint Ad Hoc Committee 

4 shall terminate upon the expiration of the 1-year period 

5 which begins on the date the Joint Ad Hoc Committee 

6 submits the report required under subsection (e). 

7 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORY BOARD. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Con9 gressional Advisory Board on Trade Responsibilities (re10 ferred to as the ‘‘Advisory Board’’). 

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Board shall consist 

12 of 21 members, who shall be appointed not later than 60 

13 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, as 

14 follows: 

15 (1) Four members appointed by the Speaker of 

16 the House of Representatives, of whom— 

17 (A) one member shall be appointed from 

18 among the individuals described in subsection 

19 (c)(1); and 

20 (B) three members shall be appointed from 

21 among the individuals described in subsection 

22 (c)(2). 

23 (2) Four members appointed by the majority 

24 leader of the Senate, of whom— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 (A) one member shall be appointed from 

2 among the individuals described in subsection 

3 (c)(1); and 

4 (B) three members shall be appointed from 

5 among the individuals described in subsection 

6 (c)(2). 

7 (3) Three members appointed by the minority 

8 leader of the House of Representatives, of whom— 

9 (A) one member shall be appointed from 

10 among the individuals described in subsection 

11 (c)(1); and 

12 (B) two members shall be appointed from 

13 among the individuals described in subsection 

14 (c)(2). 

15 (4) Three members appointed by the minority 

16 leader of the Senate, of whom— 

17 (A) one member shall be appointed from 

18 among the individuals described in subsection 

19 (c)(1); and 

20 (B) two members shall be appointed from 

21 among the individuals described in subsection 

22 (c)(2). 

23 (5) Six members appointed by the United 

24 States Trade Representative, of whom— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 (A) three members shall be appointed from 

2 among the individuals described in subsection 

3 (c)(1); and 

4 (B) three members shall be appointed from 

5 among the individuals described in subsection 

6 (c)(2). 

7 (6) The United States Trade Representative (or 

8 the Trade Representative’s designee). 

9 (c) INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR APPOINTMENT.— 

10 The individuals eligible for appointment to the Advisory 

11 Board under subsection (b) are the following: 

12 (1) Individuals with expertise on the constitu13 tional roles of the President and Congress regarding 

14 United States trade policy and the development, ne15 gotiation, implementation, and administration of bi16 lateral and multilateral trade agreements. 

17 (2) Individuals who are representatives of non18 Federal governments, labor, industry, agriculture, 

19 small business, service industries, retailers, non20 governmental environmental and conservation orga21 nization, and consumer interests. 

22 (d) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall advise the 

23 Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Responsibilities estab24 lished under section 2 in its development of the plan de25 scribed in section 2(c). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 (e) EXPENSES.—Members of the Advisory Board 

2 shall serve without pay, but each member who does not 

3 reside in the Washington Metropolitan Area shall receive 

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

5 in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter 

6 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. In this sub7 section, the term ‘‘Washington Metropolitan Area’’ means 

8 the District of Columbia, the counties of Montgomery and 

9 Prince Georges in Maryland, and the counties of Arling10 ton, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William and the cities 

11 of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia. 

12 (f) AVAILABILITY OF STAFF OF JOINT AD HOC COM13 MITTEE.—The Advisory Board may not appoint staff, but 

14 upon request of the Advisory Board, the Joint Ad Hoc 

15 Committee on Trade Responsibilities may detail any of its 

16 personnel to assist the Advisory Board in carrying out the 

17 Advisory Board’s duties under this Act. 

18 (g) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Board shall termi19 nate upon the expiration of the 1-year period which begins 

20 on the date the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Re21 sponsibilities submits the report required under section 

22 2(e). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HCON 2 IH 

1 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE OF UNITED STATES TRADE REP2 RESENTATIVE. 

3 The United States Trade Representative and other 

4 heads of offices in the executive branch, shall make avail5 able to the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Trade Responsibil6 ities established under section 2 and the Congressional 

7 Advisory Board on Trade Responsibilities established 

8 under section 3 such information and assistance the Joint 

9 Ad Hoc Committee and the Advisory Board may reason10 ably require to carry out their activities. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS