I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1530 

To establish the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2011 

Mr. WOLF (for himself and Mr. HUNTER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN 

4 STUDY GROUP. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 legislative branch the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group 

7 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Group’’). 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that, to the maximum extent practicable, the Group 

10 should be modeled on the Iraq Study Group. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMPOSITION OF GROUP. 

2 (a) MEMBERS.—The Group shall be composed of 10 

3 members, of whom— 

4 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi5 dent, who shall serve as a co-chair of the Group; 

6 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader 

7 of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the 

8 case may be) of the Republican Party, in consulta9 tion with the leader of the House of Representatives 

10 (majority or minority leader, as the case may be) of 

11 the Republican Party, who shall serve as a co-chair 

12 of the Group; 

13 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

14 member of the Senate leadership of the Democratic 

15 Party; 

16 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

17 member of the leadership of the House of Represent18 atives of the Republican Party; 

19 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

20 member of the Senate leadership of the Republican 

21 Party; and 

22 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

23 member of the leadership of the House of Represent24 atives of the Democratic Party. 

25 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; OTHER MEMBERSHIP RE26 QUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

2 than 5 members of the Group shall be from the 

3 same political party. An individual appointed to the 

4 Group may not be a full-time officer or employee of 

5 the Federal Government. 

6 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

7 Congress that individuals appointed to the Group 

8 should be prominent United States citizens, with na9 tional recognition and significant depth of experience 

10 in such professions as diplomacy, the armed services, 

11 governmental service, law, intelligence gathering, 

12 and foreign affairs. 

13 (c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of 

14 the Group shall be appointed not later than 30 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (d) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Group shall not 

17 affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner 

18 in which the original appointment was made. 

19 (e) COMPENSATION.— 

20 (1) PROHIBITION ON BASIC PAY.—Members of 

21 the Group shall serve without pay in connection with 

22 their service for the Group. 

23 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

24 their homes or regular places of business in the per25 formance of services for the Group, members of the 


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1 Group shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

2 diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as 

3 persons employed intermittently in the Government 

4 service are allowed expenses under section 5703(b) 

5 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 (f) INITIAL MEETING.—The Group shall meet and 

7 begin the operations of the Group as soon as practicable 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (g) QUORUM.—After its initial meeting, the Group 

10 shall meet upon the call of the co-chairs of the Group or 

11 a majority of the members of the Group. Six members of 

12 the Group shall constitute a quorum. 

13 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Group shall conduct a for15 ward-looking, independent assessment of the current and 

16 prospective situation on the ground in Afghanistan and 

17 Pakistan, its impact on the surrounding region, and its 

18 consequences for United States interests. The Group shall 

19 examine four broad topic areas to include the strategic en20 vironment in and around Afghanistan and Pakistan, as 

21 well as security, political, and economic and reconstruction 

22 developments in those two countries. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Group shall submit to 

25 the President and Congress a report on the assessment 


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1 conducted under this subsection, including relevant policy 

2 recommendations relating thereto. 

3 SEC. 4. POWERS OF GROUP. 

4 (a) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Group may estab5 lish rules for the conduct of the Group’s business, if such 

6 rules are not inconsistent with this Act or other applicable 

7 law. 

8 (b) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Group or, on 

9 the authority of the Group, any subcommittee or member 

10 thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act— 

11 (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

12 times and places, take such testimony, and receive 

13 such evidence; and 

14 (2) require the attendance and testimony of 

15 such witnesses and the production of such books, 

16 records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 

17 documents, as the Group or such designated sub18 committee or designated member may determine ad19 visable. 

20 (c) CONTRACTING.—The Group may, to such extent 

21 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation 

22 Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Group to discharge 

23 its duties under this Act. 

24 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Group is authorized to 

2 secure directly from any executive department, bu3 reau, agency, board, commission, office, independent 

4 establishment, or instrumentality of the Government, 

5 information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 

6 for the purposes of this Act. Each department, bu7 reau, agency, board, commission, office, independent 

8 establishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent 

9 authorized by law, furnish such information, sugges10 tions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Group, 

11 upon request made by the co-chairs, the chairman of 

12 any subcommittee created by a majority of the 

13 Group, or any member designated by a majority of 

14 the Group. 

15 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS16 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

17 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

18 the Group and its staff consistent with all applicable 

19 statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

20 (e) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

23 to the Group on a reimbursable basis administrative 

24 support and other services for the performance of 

25 the Group’s duties. 


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1 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

2 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

3 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 

4 may provide to the Group such services, funds, fa5 cilities, and other support services as they may de6 termine advisable and as may be authorized by law. 

7 (f) GIFTS.—The Group may accept, use, and dispose 

8 of gifts or donations of services or property for the pur9 pose of facilitating the work of the Group. 

10 (g) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Group may use the 

11 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

12 same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

13 United States. 

14 SEC. 5. STAFF OF GROUP. 

15 (a) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The co16 chairs, in accordance with rules agreed upon by the Group, 

17 may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff director 

18 and such other personnel as may be necessary to enable 

19 the Group to carry out its duties, without regard to the 

20 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap21 pointments in the competitive service, and without regard 

22 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap23 ter 53 of such title relating to classification and General 

24 Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under 

25 this subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 


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1 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

2 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (b) PROHIBITION ON PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EM4 PLOYEES.—The positions of staff director and other per5 sonnel of the Group described in subsection (a) may not 

6 be filled by individuals who are Federal Government em7 ployees. 

8 (c) EXPERT AND CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The 

9 Group is authorized to procure the services of experts and 

10 consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, 

11 United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily 

12 rate paid a person occupying a position at level IV of the 

13 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

14 States Code. 

15 (d) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sec16 tion 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Group may 

17 accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services as 

18 the Group determines necessary. 

19 SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Group, and all the authorities 

21 of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after the date on 

22 which the report is submitted under section 3(b). 

23 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMI24 NATION.—The Group may use the 60-day period referred 

25 to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of concluding its acVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:32 Apr 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1530.IH H1530

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1 tivities, including providing testimony to committees of 

2 Congress concerning its report and disseminating the re3 port. 

4 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

5 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM BUREAU OF SOUTH

6 AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS.—Of the amounts made 

7 available under the heading ‘‘Administration of Foreign 

8 Affairs, Diplomatic and Consular Programs’’ for the Bu9 reau of South and Central Asian Affairs for fiscal year 

10 2011, $1,000,000 shall be available for transfer to the 

11 Group for purposes of carrying out this Act. 

12 (b) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—No addi13 tional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

14 out this Act. 

Æ 


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