II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 437

To establish a Northern Border States-Canada Trade Council, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 16 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To establish a Northern Border States-Canada Trade

Council, 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 ‘‘Northern Border

5 States Council Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a council

8 to be known as the Northern Border States-Canada Trade

9 Council (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Coun10 cil’’).
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

2 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com3 posed of 24 members consisting of 2 members from

4 each of the following States:

5 (A) Maine.

6 (B) New Hampshire.

7 (C) Vermont.

8 (D) New York.

9 (E) Michigan.

10 (F) Minnesota.

11 (G) Wisconsin.

12 (H) North Dakota.

13 (I) Montana.

14 (J) Idaho.

15 (K) Washington.

16 (L) Alaska.

17 (2) APPOINTMENT BY STATE GOVERNORS.—Not

18 later than 6 months after the date of the enactment

19 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce (hereafter in

20 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall ap21 point 2 members from each of the States described

22 in paragraph (1) to serve on the Council. The ap23 pointments shall be made from the list of nominees

24 submitted by the Governor of each such State.
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1 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem2 bers shall be appointed for terms that are coterminous

3 with the term of the Governor of the State who nominated

4 the member. Any vacancy in the Council shall not affect

5 its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the

6 original appointment.

7 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after

8 the date on which all members of the Council have been

9 appointed, the Council shall hold its first meeting.

10 (e) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the call

11 of the Chairperson.

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

13 Council shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number

14 of members may hold hearings.

15 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

16 Council shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson

17 from among its members. The Chairperson and Vice

18 Chairperson shall each serve in their respective positions

19 for a period of 2 years, unless such member’s term is ter20 minated before the end of the 2-year period.

21 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The duties and responsibilities of

23 the Council shall include—

24 (1) advising the President, the Congress, the

25 United States Trade Representative, the Secretary,
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1 and other appropriate Federal and State officials,

2 with respect to—

3 (A) the development and administration of

4 United States-Canada trade policies, practices,

5 and relations,

6 (B) taxation and regulation of cross-border

7 wholesale and retail trade in goods and services

8 between the United States and Canada,

9 (C) taxation, regulation, and subsidization

10 of agricultural products, energy products, and

11 forest products, and

12 (D) the potential for any United States or

13 Canadian customs or immigration law or policy

14 to result in a barrier to trade between the

15 United States and Canada,

16 (2) monitoring the nature and cause of trade is17 sues and disputes that involve one of the Council18 member States and either the Canadian Government

19 or one of the provincial governments of Canada; and

20 (3) if the Council determines that a Council21 member State is involved in a trade issue or dispute

22 with the Government of Canada or one of the pro23 vincial governments of Canada, making rec24 ommendations to the President, the Congress, the

25 United States Trade Representative, and the Sec-
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1 retary concerning how to resolve the issue or dis2 pute.

3 (b) RESPONSE TO REQUESTS BY CERTAIN PEO4 PLE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the

6 United States Trade Representative, the Secretary,

7 a Member of Congress who represents a Council8 member State, or the Governor of a Council-member

9 State, the Council shall review and comment on—

10 (A) reports of the Federal Government and

11 reports of a Council-member State government

12 concerning United States-Canada trade,

13 (B) reports of a binational panel or review

14 established pursuant to chapter 19 of the North

15 American Free Trade Agreement concerning

16 the settlement of a dispute between the United

17 States and Canada,

18 (C) reports of an arbitral panel established

19 pursuant to chapter 20 of the North American

20 Free Trade Agreement concerning the settle21 ment of a dispute between the United States

22 and Canada, and

23 (D) reports of a panel or Appellate Body

24 established pursuant to the General Agreement

25 on Tariffs and Trade concerning the settlement
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1 of a dispute between the United States and

2 Canada.

3 (2) DETERMINATION OF SCOPE.—Among other

4 issues, the Council shall determine whether a trade

5 dispute between the United States and Canada is

6 the result of action or inaction on the part of the

7 Federal Government of Canada or a provincial gov8 ernment of Canada.

9 (c) COUNCIL-MEMBER STATE.—For purposes of this

10 section, the term ‘‘Council-member State’’ means a State

11 described in section 2(b)(1) which is represented on the

12 Council established under section 2(a).

13 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

14 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act and at the end of each 2-year period

16 thereafter, the Council shall submit a report to the Presi17 dent and the Congress which contains a detailed statement

18 of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the

19 Council.

20 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL.

21 (a) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold such hear22 ings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testi23 mony, and receive such evidence as the Council considers

24 advisable to carry out the provisions of this Act. Notice
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1 of Council hearings shall be published in the Federal Reg2 ister in a timely manner.

3 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

4 Council may secure directly from any Federal department

5 or agency such information as the Council considers nec6 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Upon the

7 request of the Chairperson of the Council, the head of such

8 department or agency shall furnish such information to

9 the Council.

10 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use the

11 United States mails in the same manner and under the

12 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

13 Federal Government.

14 (d) GIFTS.—The Council may accept, use, and dis15 pose of gifts or donations of services or property.

16 SEC. 6. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS.

17 (a) MEMBERS TO SERVE WITHOUT COMPENSA18 TION.—Except as provided in subsection (b), members of

19 the Council shall receive no compensation, allowances, or

20 benefits by reason of service to the Council.

21 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Coun22 cil shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in

23 lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of

24 agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,

25 United States Code, while away from their homes or regu-
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1 lar places of business in the performance of services for

2 the Council.

3 (c) STAFF.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

5 Council may, without regard to the civil service laws,

6 appoint and terminate an executive director and

7 such other additional personnel as may be necessary

8 to enable the Council to perform its duties. The em9 ployment of an executive director shall be subject to

10 confirmation by the Council and the Secretary.

11 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the

12 Council may fix the compensation of the executive

13 director and other personnel without regard to the

14 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap15 ter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to

16 classification of positions and General Schedule pay

17 rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive

18 director and other personnel may not exceed the rate

19 payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under

20 section 5316 of such title.

21 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any

22 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

23 Council without reimbursement, and such detail shall be

24 without interruption or loss of civil service status or privi25 lege.
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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Council may

3 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

4 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ5 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

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

7 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

8 (f) OFFICE SPACE.—The Secretary shall provide of9 fice space for Council activities and for Council personnel.

10 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COUNCIL.

11 The Council shall terminate on the date that is 54

12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and

13 shall submit a final report to the President and the Con14 gress under section 4 at least 90 days before such termi15 nation.

16 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated from amounts made available by appropriations to

19 the Department of Commerce an amount not to exceed

20 $250,000 for fiscal year 1996 and for each fiscal year

21 thereafter to the Council to carry out the provisions of

22 this Act.
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1 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under

2 the authorization contained in this section shall remain

3 available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended.

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