II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2119

To establish the Commission to Study the Federal Statistical System, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 25, 1996

Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself and Mr. KERREY) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To establish the Commission to Study the Federal Statistical

System, 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. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study

5 the Federal Statistical System Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress, recognizing the importance of statis8 tical information in the development and administration

9 of policies for the private and public sector, finds that—
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1 (1) accurate Federal statistics are required to

2 develop, implement, and evaluate government poli3 cies and laws;

4 (2) Federal spending consistent with legislative

5 intent requires accurate and appropriate statistical

6 information;

7 (3) business and individual economic decisions

8 are influenced by Federal statistics and contracts

9 are often based on such statistics;

10 (4) statistical information on the manufacturing

11 and agricultural sectors is more complete than sta12 tistical information regarding the service sector

13 which employs more than half the Nation’s

14 workforce;

15 (5) experts in the private and public sector have

16 long-standing concerns about the accuracy and ade17 quacy of numerous Federal statistics, including the

18 Consumer Price Index, gross domestic product,

19 trade data, wage data, and the poverty rate;

20 (6) Federal statistical data should be accurate,

21 consistent, and continuous;

22 (7) the Federal statistical infrastructure should

23 be modernized to accommodate the increasingly com24 plex and ever changing American economy;
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1 (8) Federal statistical agencies should utilize all

2 practical technologies to disseminate statistics to the

3 public; and

4 (9) the Federal statistical infrastructure should

5 maintain the privacy of individuals.

6 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com8 mission to be known as the Commission to Study the Fed9 eral Statistical System (hereafter in this Act referred to

10 as the ‘‘Commission’’).

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

12 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be

13 composed of 13 members of whom—

14 (A) 5 shall be appointed by the President;

15 (B) 4 shall be appointed by the President

16 pro tempore of the Senate, in consultation with

17 the majority leader and minority leader of the

18 Senate; and

19 (C) 4 shall be appointed by the Speaker of

20 the House of Representatives, in consultation

21 with the majority leader and minority leader of

22 the House of Representatives.

23 (2) POLITICAL PARTY LIMITATION.—(A) Of the

24 5 members of the Commission appointed under
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1 paragraph (1)(A), no more than 3 members may be

2 members of the same political party.

3 (B) Of the 4 members of the Commission ap4 pointed under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of para5 graph (1), respectively, no more than 2 members

6 may be members of the same political party.

7 (3) CONSULTATION BEFORE APPOINTMENTS.—

8 In making appointments under paragraph (1), the

9 President, the President pro tempore of the Senate,

10 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives

11 shall consult with the National Science Foundation

12 and appropriate professional organizations, such as

13 the American Economic Association and the Amer14 ican Statistical Association.

15 (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual appointed

16 to serve on the Commission—

17 (A) shall have expertise in statistical policy

18 and a background in such disciplines as actuar19 ial science, demography, economics, and fi20 nance;

21 (B) may not be a Federal officer or em22 ployee; and

23 (C) should be an academician, a statistics

24 user in the private sector, or a former govern25 ment official with experience related to—
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1 (i) the Bureau of Labor Statistics of

2 the Department of Labor; or

3 (ii) the Bureau of Economic Analysis

4 or the Bureau of the Census of the De5 partment of Commerce.

6 (5) DATE.—The appointments of the members

7 of the Commission shall be made no later than 150

8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

9 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem10 bers shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any

11 vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but

12 shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint13 ment.

14 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—No later than 30 days after

15 the date on which all members of the Commission have

16 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet17 ing.

18 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

19 call of the Chairman.

20 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

21 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num22 ber of members may hold hearings.

23 (g) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall designate a

24 Chairman of the Commission from among the members.
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1 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

2 (a) STUDY.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con4 duct a comprehensive study of all matters relating to

5 the Federal statistical infrastructure, including lon6 gitudinal surveys conducted by private agencies and

7 partially funded by the Federal Government.

8 (2) STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The

9 matters studied by and recommendations of the

10 Commission shall include—

11 (A) an examination of multipurpose statis12 tical agencies that collect and analyze data of

13 broad interest across department and function

14 areas, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 and the Bureau of the Census of the Commerce

16 Department, and the Bureau of Labor Statis17 tics of the Labor Department;

18 (B) a review and evaluation of the collec19 tion of data for purposes of administering such

20 programs as Old-Age, Survivors and Disability

21 Insurance and Unemployment Insurance under

22 the Social Security Act;

23 (C) a review and evaluation of the mission

24 and organization of various statistical agencies,

25 including—
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1 (i) recommendations with respect to

2 statistical activities that should be ex3 panded or deleted;

4 (ii) the order of priority such activities

5 should be carried out;

6 (iii) a review of the advantages and

7 disadvantages of a centralized statistical

8 agency or a partial consolidation of the

9 agencies for the Federal Government; and

10 (iv) an assessment of which agencies

11 could be consolidated into such an agency;

12 (D) an examination of the methodology in13 volved in producing official data and rec14 ommendations for technical changes to improve

15 statistics;

16 (E) an evaluation of the accuracy and ap17 propriateness of key statistical indicators and

18 recommendations of ways to improve such accu19 racy and appropriateness;

20 (F) a review of interagency coordination of

21 statistical data and recommendations of meth22 ods to standardize collection procedures and

23 surveys, as appropriate, and presentation of

24 data throughout the Federal system;
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1 (G) a review of information technology and

2 recommendations of appropriate methods for

3 disseminating statistical data, with special em4 phasis on resources, such as the Internet, that

5 allow the public to obtain information in a time6 ly and cost-effective manner;

7 (H) an examination of individual privacy in

8 the context of statistical data;

9 (I) a comparison of the United States sta10 tistical system to statistical systems of other

11 nations;

12 (J) a consideration of the coordination of

13 statistical data with other nations and inter14 national agencies, such as the Organization for

15 Economic Cooperation and Development; and

16 (K) a recommendation of a strategy for

17 maintaining a modern and efficient Federal sta18 tistical infrastructure as the needs of the Unit19 ed States change.

20 (b) REPORT.—

21 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—No later than June 1,

22 1998, the Commission shall submit an interim re23 port on the study conducted under subsection (a) to

24 the President and to the Congress.
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1 (2) FINAL REPORT.—No later than January

2 15, 1999, the Commission shall submit a final re3 port to the President and the Congress which shall

4 contain a detailed statement of the findings and con5 clusions of the Commission, and recommendations

6 for such legislation and administrative actions as the

7 Commission considers appropriate.

8 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

9 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such

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

11 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

12 considers advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act.

13 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

14 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart15 ment or agency such information as the Commission con16 siders necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

17 Upon request of the Chairman of the Commission, the

18 head of such department or agency shall furnish such in19 formation to the Commission.

20 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use

21 the United States mails in the same manner and under

22 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

23 the Federal Government.

24 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and

25 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.
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1 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

2 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

4 each member of the Commission shall be com5 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

6 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV

7 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title

8 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

9 time) during which such member is engaged in the

10 performance of the duties of the Commission.

11 (2) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman shall be com12 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

13 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level III

14 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title

15 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

16 time) during which such member is engaged in the

17 performance of the duties of the Commission.

18 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com19 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

20 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ21 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

22 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

23 regular places of business in the performance of services

24 for the Commission. Such travel may include travel out25 side the United States.

26 (c) STAFF.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

2 the Commission shall, without regard to the provi3 sions of title 5, United States Code, relating to the

4 competitive service, appoint an executive director

5 who shall be paid at a rate equivalent to a rate es6 tablished for the Senior Executive Service under sec7 tion 5382 of title 5, United States Code. The Com8 mission shall appoint such additional personnel as

9 the Commission determines to be necessary to pro10 vide support for the Commission, and may com11 pensate such additional personnel without regard to

12 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relat13 ing to the competitive service.

14 (2) LIMITATION.—The total number of employ15 ees of the Commission (including the executive direc16 tor) may not exceed 30.

17 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any

18 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

19 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall

20 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or

21 privilege.

22 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT23 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairman of the Commission may

24 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

25 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ-
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1 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

2 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive

3 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

4 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

5 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the

6 date on which the Commission submits the final report

7 of the Commission.

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 There are authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000

10 for fiscal year 1997, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and

11 $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1999 to the Commission to

12 carry out the purposes of this Act.

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