I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1226

To provide for the establishment of a Professional Trade Service Corps,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1993

Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Ways and Means, Post Office and Civil Service, and the

Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of a Professional Trade

Service Corps, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (A) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Professional Trade Service Corps Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—THE PROFESSIONAL TRADE SERVICE CORPS
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Sec. 101. Definitions; references.

Sec. 102. Establishment.

Sec. 103. Tier I.

Sec. 104. Tier II.

Sec. 105. The Councils.

Sec. 106. Rights of former members.

Sec. 107. Effective date.

TITLE II—THE TRADE SERVICE INSTITUTE

Sec. 201. Establishment.

Sec. 202. Director of the Trade Service Institute.

Sec. 203. Staff.

Sec. 204. Acquisition of property.

Sec. 205. Service agreements.

TITLE III—POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS

Sec. 301. Postemployment restrictions.

Sec. 302. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—THE PROFESSIONAL

2 TRADE SERVICE CORPS

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS; REFERENCES.

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this Act—

5 (1) the term ‘‘trade-related agency’’ means—

6 (A) the Office of the United States Trade

7 Representative;

8 (B) each office or other unit within the

9 Department of State under the Under Sec10 retary for Economic and Agricultural Affairs;

11 (C) the Department of Commerce, exclud12 ing the Bureau of the Census;

13 (D) the Foreign Agricultural Service of the

14 Department of Agriculture;

15 (E) the Bureau of International Labor Af16 fairs of the Department of Labor; and
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1 (F) each office or other unit within the De2 partment of the Treasury under—

3 (i) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for

4 Trade and Investment Policy; or

5 (ii) the Deputy Assistant Secretary

6 for Regulatory, Tariff and Trade Enforce7 ment;

8 (2) the term ‘‘Corps’’ means the Professional

9 Trade Service Corps, as established under this title;

10 (3) the term ‘‘Tier I’’ means Tier I of the

11 Corps, as described in section 103;

12 (4) the term ‘‘Tier II’’ means Tier II of the

13 Corps, as described in section 104;

14 (5) the term ‘‘certified member of Tier I’’

15 means an employee in a position, in grade GS–12

16 (or a higher grade) of the General Schedule, within

17 a trade-related agency, who—

18 (A) has received certification under section

19 103(d); and

20 (B) has not had such certification termi21 nated under section 103(f) or otherwise;

22 (6) the term ‘‘member of the Corps’’ means any

23 individual who—

24 (A) is a certified member of Tier I; or
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1 (B) holds a position in Tier II (excluding

2 any individual under subparagraph (A));

3 (7) the term ‘‘Institute’’ means the Trade Serv4 ice Institute, as described in title II;

5 (8) the term ‘‘Policy Council’’ means the Policy

6 Trade Service Interagency Council referred to in sec7 tion 105(a)(1);

8 (9) the term ‘‘Career Council’’ means the Ca9 reer Trade Service Interagency Council referred to

10 in section 105(a)(2);

11 (10) the term ‘‘Government’’ means the United

12 States Government; and

13 (11) the term ‘‘Director of the Institute’’ or

14 ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Trade Service

15 Institute under section 202.

16 (b) REFERENCES.—A reference in this Act to—

17 (1) a position in grade GS–13, 14, or 15 of the

18 General Schedule shall be considered to include a

19 position subject to chapter 54 of title 5, United

20 States Code (relating to the performance manage21 ment and recognition system), or a comparable sys22 tem; and

23 (2) a grade of the General Schedule shall, with

24 respect to the trade-related agency under section

25 101(a)(1)(B), be considered to be a reference to the
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1 corresponding grade of the Foreign Service Sched2 ule, as determined under regulations prescribed by

3 the member of the Policy Council under section

4 105(a)(1)(B).

5 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established within

7 the trade-related agencies a Professional Trade Service

8 Corps, which shall consist of 2 tiers as described in sec9 tions 103 and 104, respectively.

10 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Career Council shall, in ac11 cordance with applicable provisions of this title, prescribe

12 regulations relating to any procedures, criteria, or other

13 matters (excluding any matter as to which any other en14 tity or individual is permitted or required to prescribe reg15 ulations under this title) which may be necessary to carry

16 out this title.

17 SEC. 103. TIER I.

18 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to become a can19 didate for Tier I, an individual must, as of the time of

20 application—

21 (1) hold a position, in a trade-related agency, in

22 grade GS–12, 13, 14, or 15 of the General Schedule;

23 (2) have, in the aggregate, at least—

24 (A) 2 years of service in 1 or more of the

25 trade-related agencies;
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1 (B) 2 years of comparable experience, as a

2 Government employee, outside of the trade-re3 lated agencies; or

4 (C) any combination of service or experi5 ence, as described in subparagraphs (A) and

6 (B), respectively, totalling at least 2 years; and

7 (3) demonstrate—

8 (A) substantive knowledge of trade policy

9 or trade negotiations;

10 (B) aptitude for analytical thinking;

11 (C) effective written and oral communica12 tion skills; and

13 (D) familiarity, ability, and willingness to

14 work with the private sector, the Congress,

15 Government agencies, and the press.

16 (b) ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Any individual

17 who is accepted as a candidate for Tier I shall be required

18 to pursue, concurrent with service in such individual’s reg19 ular position in a trade-related agency or while fulfilling

20 the rotational requirement under subsection (c), a com21 prehensive program of study at the Institute.

22 (2) The purpose of the program of study shall be to

23 ensure that members of the Corps are well-informed with

24 respect to current trends as well as the history of trade

25 negotiations, aware of the economic and political consider-
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1 ations relevant to trade negotiations, knowledgeable of the

2 affairs, cultures, and languages of other countries, and

3 otherwise well prepared to represent the interests of the

4 United States in trade negotiations, or to carry out Gov5 ernment functions relating thereto.

6 (3) To carry out the purpose described in paragraph

7 (2), the Director of the Institute, in consultation with the

8 Career Council and the Policy Council, shall develop the

9 course requirements for candidates for Tier I. At a mini10 mum, the program shall include courses relating to—

11 (A) the history of, and current trends in, trade

12 negotiations of the United States;

13 (B) trade-negotiation strategies;

14 (C) the economics and politics of trade;

15 (D) cultural and business practices of countries

16 with which the United States has significant trade

17 relations;

18 (E) foreign languages; and

19 (F) operations within and interrelationships

20 among the various trade-related agencies.

21 (c) ROTATIONAL REQUIREMENT.—(1) In order to af22 ford the opportunity to acquire direct experience relating

23 to the matter described in subsection (b)(3)(F) and other24 wise develop the qualities referred to in subsection
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1 (a)(3)(D), candidates for Tier I shall be required to com2 plete at least 1 tour of duty either—

3 (A) by detail or temporary reassignment, as the

4 case may be, to—

5 (i) a position within another trade-related

6 agency; or

7 (ii) a Government position outside of the

8 trade-related agencies; or

9 (B) by temporary assignment to a position out10 side the Government.

11 (2) Selections under this subsection shall, to the max12 imum extent practicable, take into account the interests

13 and abilities of the individual involved, as well as the needs

14 of the Government.

15 (3) A tour of duty under this subsection shall last

16 at least 12 months.

17 (4)(A) The provisions of section 3373 of title 5, Unit18 ed States Code, relating to the continuation of level of pay,

19 benefits, and status, shall apply with respect to any em20 ployee assigned to a position outside the Government, pur21 suant to paragraph (1)(B), in the same way as if it were

22 a position to which such provisions would otherwise apply.

23 (B) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre24 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this para25 graph.
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1 (d) CERTIFICATION.—To become a certified member

2 of Tier I, an individual must—

3 (1) successfully complete the academic require4 ments under subsection (b) in accordance with such

5 timetable as the Director shall establish (such time6 table to permit such longer periods of time as the

7 Director may consider necessary based on an indi8 vidual’s grade level at time of entry and other rel9 evant factors);

10 (2) successfully complete the rotational require11 ment under subsection (c) within such time as the

12 Director may require; and

13 (3) receive performance evaluations indicating

14 at least a fully successful level of competence

15 throughout the period while completing the require16 ments of the program.

17 (e) RIGHTS BASED ON CERTIFICATION.—A certified

18 member of Tier I—

19 (1) may be appointed to a position in Tier II,

20 if otherwise qualified for such position;

21 (2) shall be eligible for advanced courses and

22 continuing education through the Institute; and

23 (3) shall be eligible for such other forms of

24 training (including preferential consideration, con25 sistent with otherwise applicable provisions of law,
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1 for additional rotations) as the trade-related agen2 cies may provide, in accordance with guidelines es3 tablished by the Policy Council.

4 (f) PERIODIC RECERTIFICATION.—(1) In order to en5 sure that certified members of Tier I maintain the level

6 of excellence necessary to carry out the purposes of this

7 Act, each such member shall be subject to such periodic

8 recertification requirements as the Career Council shall by

9 regulation prescribe.

10 (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any

11 individual holding a position within Tier II.

12 SEC. 104. TIER II.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Tier II shall consist of the follow14 ing positions:

15 (1) Within the trade-related agency described in

16 section 101(a)(1)(A):

17 (A) 1 of the Deputy United States Trade

18 Representative positions (as designated by the

19 United States Trade Representative).

20 (B) Assistant United States Trade Rep21 resentative.

22 (C) Deputy Assistant United States Trade

23 Representative.

24 (D) Deputy General Counsel.

25 (E) Associate General Counsel.
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1 (2) Within the trade-related agency described in

2 section 101(a)(1)(B):

3 (A) Deputy Assistant Secretaries under the

4 Under Secretary of State for Economic and Ag5 ricultural Affairs.

6 (3) Within the trade-related agencies described

7 in section 101(a)(1)(C):

8 (A) Deputy Assistant Secretaries.

9 (B) Office Directors.

10 (4) Within the trade-related agency described in

11 section 101(a)(1)(D):

12 (A) Associate Administrator for Trade Pol13 icy and Agricultural Affairs.

14 (B) Assistant Administrator for Foreign

15 Agricultural Affairs.

16 (C) Deputy Assistant Administrator.

17 (D) Area Officer Positions.

18 (5) Within the trade-related agency described in

19 section 101(a)(1)(E):

20 (A) Deputy Under Secretary.

21 (B) Associate Deputy Under Secretary.

22 (C) Office Directors.

23 (6) Within the trade-related agency described in

24 section 101(a)(1)(F):
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1 (A) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regu2 latory, Tariff and Trade Enforcement.

3 (B) Director, Office of Trade and Tariff

4 Affairs.

5 (C) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade

6 and Investment Policy.

7 (D) Director of the Office of International

8 Investment.

9 (E) Director of the Office of International

10 Trade.

11 (b) RESERVATION OF POSITIONS.—Except as pro12 vided in subsection (c) of this section or section 107(b)

13 of this Act, positions within Tier II may not be filled by

14 any individual other than—

15 (1) a certified member of Tier I;

16 (2) an individual who, immediately before ap17 pointment to or placement in the position involved,

18 holds a position in Tier II; or

19 (3) an individual who is able to demonstrate, by

20 meeting such academic and other requirements as

21 the Career Council establishes, at least the minimum

22 level of training and expertise possessed by an indi23 vidual described in paragraph (1) or (2).

24 (c) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—(1) The appropriate mem25 ber of the Policy Council (as defined in paragraph (3))
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1 may waive the application of subsection (b) with respect

2 to a position within such member’s agency if, in accord3 ance with guidelines which the Policy Council shall pre4 scribe, such member determines such waiver to be nec5 essary due to the unavailability of any candidate who sat6 isfies such subsection.

7 (2) Under the guidelines, a waiver under this sub8 section shall remain in effect for no longer than necessary

9 to permit the appointment of a qualified candidate who

10 satisfies subsection (b).

11 (3) For the purpose of this subsection, the appro12 priate member of the Policy Council for the trade-related

13 agency under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F)

14 of section 101(a)(1), is the member specified in the cor15 responding subparagraph of section 105(a)(1).

16 SEC. 105. THE COUNCILS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out this Act,

18 there shall be established—

19 (1) a Policy Trade Service Interagency Council,

20 which shall consist of—

21 (A) the United States Trade Representa22 tive (or the Trade Representative’s delegate);

23 (B) the Secretary of State (or the Sec24 retary’s delegate);
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1 (C) the Secretary of Commerce (or the

2 Secretary’s delegate);

3 (D) the Secretary of Agriculture (or the

4 Secretary’s delegate);

5 (E) the Secretary of Labor (or the Sec6 retary’s delegate); and

7 (F) the Secretary of the Treasury (or the

8 Secretary’s delegate); and

9 (2) a Career Trade Service Interagency Council,

10 consisting of 6 members, who shall be appointed in

11 accordance with subsection (b).

12 (b) APPOINTMENTS TO THE CAREER COUNCIL.—(1)

13 Each member of the Policy Council shall appoint 1 mem14 ber of the Career Council.

15 (2) Only members of the Corps shall be eligible to

16 serve on the Career Council.

17 (3) A vacancy in the Career Council shall be filled

18 in the manner in which the original appointment was

19 made.

20 (4) The term of appointment for a member of the

21 Career Council shall be 1 year, except that any individual

22 appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira23 tion of the term for which such member’s predecessor was

24 appointed may serve only for the remainder of such term,

25 subject to paragraph (5).
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1 (5) A member may serve after the expiration of such

2 member’s term until a successor has taken office.

3 (6) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an indi4 vidual from being appointed to the Career Council more

5 than once.

6 (c) PAY.—Members of the Policy Council and mem7 bers of the Career Council shall receive no additional pay

8 on account of their service on the Policy Council or the

9 Career Council, as the case may be.

10 SEC. 106. RIGHTS OF FORMER MEMBERS.

11 Any individual who is involuntarily separated from

12 the Corps (except for failure to be recertified under 102(f)

13 or otherwise for cause) shall—

14 (1) consistent with otherwise applicable provi15 sions of law, and upon appropriate application, be

16 restored at the earliest date possible to such individ17 ual’s former position or another position in the

18 Corps which is commensurate with the individual’s

19 training and background; and

20 (2) for purposes of any determination of eligi21 bility for a position within Tier II, continue to be

22 treated, during the 12-month period beginning on

23 the date of separation, as a certified member of Tier

24 I.
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1 SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

3 (b), this title and the amendments made by this title shall

4 take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year begin5 ning after the date of enactment of this Act.

6 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) The provisions of sections

7 104(b) (relating to eligibility for appointment to a position

8 within Tier II) and 105(b)(2) (relating to eligibility for

9 appointment as a member of the Career Council) shall

10 apply with respect to appointments taking effect after the

11 end of the 5-year period beginning on the effective date

12 of this title (as specified in subsection (a)).

13 (2) Any individual who, immediately before the end

14 of the 5-year period referred to in paragraph (1), holds

15 a position which is to become a part of Tier II, shall not

16 be eligible to continue in such position after the end of

17 such period—

18 (A) unless such individual is determined, within

19 the 12-month period preceding the date marking the

20 end of such 5-year period, to satisfy criteria which

21 the Career Council shall establish, consistent with

22 those under section 104(b)(3); or

23 (B) except if, or for so long as, a waiver re24 mains in effect with respect to such individual under

25 section 104(c).
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1 TITLE II—THE TRADE SERVICE

2 INSTITUTE

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 The Policy Council shall establish a Trade Service In5 stitute in order to furnish training and instruction—

6 (1) to candidates for Tier I;

7 (2) to members of the Corps; and

8 (3) to any other Government employees as may

9 be appropriate.

10 SEC. 202. DIRECTOR OF THE TRADE SERVICE INSTITUTE.

11 (a) APPOINTMENT.—(1) The head of the Institute,

12 who shall be known as the Director of the Trade Service

13 Institute, shall be appointed by the Policy Council from

14 among individuals recommended by the Career Council.

15 (2) The Director shall be appointed for a term of 2

16 years, which shall be renewable.

17 (b) DUTIES.—The Director shall, in accordance with

18 section 103(b) and other applicable provisions of this

19 Act—

20 (1) establish the basic procedures to be followed

21 by the Institute;

22 (2) plan and provide for the general nature of

23 the training and instruction to be furnished at the

24 Institute;
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1 (3) correlate the training and instruction to be

2 furnished at the Institute with training activities

3 otherwise available through Government facilities or

4 other sources;

5 (4) encourage and foster such programs outside

6 of the Institute as will be complementary to those of

7 the Institute; and

8 (5) take such other action as may be required

9 for the proper administration of the Institute.

10 SEC. 203. STAFF.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may appoint to the

12 faculty or other staff of the Institute such personnel as

13 the Director considers necessary to carry out its purposes.

14 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—The

15 faculty and other staff of the Institute shall be appointed

16 subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code,

17 governing appointments in the competitive service, and

18 shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter

19 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating

20 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, and such

21 other related provisions of law as may apply.

22 (c) CRITERIA.—All appointments under this section

23 shall be made without regard to political affiliation and

24 shall be made solely on the basis of demonstrated interest

25 in, and capacity to promote, the purposes of the Institute.
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1 (d) DETAILS.—Upon request of the Director, the

2 head of any Government agency is authorized to detail,

3 on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, any of the

4 personnel of such agency to the Institute to assist it in

5 carrying out its duties under this Act.

6 SEC. 204. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may, in the name

8 of the United States, acquire such real property, and such

9 other property and equipment, as may be necessary for

10 the operation and maintenance of the Institute.

11 (b) LIMITATION.—Authority under subsection (a)

12 shall be effective only to such extent or in such amounts

13 as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts.

14 SEC. 205. SERVICE AGREEMENTS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Government employee (other

16 than one under section 201(3)) accepted for instruction

17 or training at the Institute shall agree in writing with the

18 Government, before commencement of such instruction or

19 training, that such employee will—

20 (1) remain in the service of the Government

21 after the end of the period of instruction or training

22 for a period equal to at least 3 times the length of

23 the period of instruction or training, as the case may

24 be; and
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1 (2) pay to the Government the amount of the

2 expenses incurred by the Government in connection

3 with providing such instruction or training to such

4 employee if such employee is voluntarily separated

5 from Government service before the end of the pe6 riod for which such employee has agreed to remain

7 in Government service.

8 (b) RIGHT OF RECOVERY.—If an employee becomes

9 liable to the Government under subsection (a), but fails

10 to fulfill such employee’s obligation to pay, a sum equal

11 to the amount for which such employee is so liable shall

12 be recoverable by the Government from the employee or

13 the employee’s estate by—

14 (1) setoff against accrued pay, compensation,

15 amount of retirement credit, or other amount due

16 the employee from the Government; and

17 (2) such other method as is provided by law for

18 the recovery of amounts owing to the Government.

19 The head of the agency concerned may waive, in whole

20 or in part, a right of recovery under this subsection if it

21 is shown that recovery would be against equity and good

22 conscience or against the public interest.
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1 TITLE III—POSTEMPLOYMENT

2 RESTRICTIONS

3 SEC. 301. POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

4 Section 207(f) of title 18, United States Code, is

5 amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(f) RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO FOREIGN ENTI7 TIES.—

8 ‘‘(1) PERSONS SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (C),

9 (D), OR (E).—Any person who is subject to the re10 strictions contained in subsection (c), (d), or (e)

11 (other than a person under paragraph (2)) and who

12 knowingly, within 8 years after leaving the position,

13 office, or employment referred to in such sub14 section—

15 ‘‘(A) represents a foreign entity before any

16 officer or employee of any department or agen17 cy of the United States with the intent to influ18 ence a decision of such officer or employee in

19 carrying out his or her official duties, or

20 ‘‘(B) aids or advises a foreign entity with

21 the intent to influence a decision of any officer

22 or employee of any department or agency of the

23 United States, in carrying out his or her official

24 duties,
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1 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this

2 title.

3 ‘‘(2) FORMER MEMBERS OF THE PROFES4 SIONAL TRADE SERVICE CORPS.—Any person who

5 is a member of the Professional Trade Service Corps

6 and who knowingly, within 8 years after ceasing to

7 be such a member—

8 ‘‘(A) represents a foreign entity before any

9 officer or employee of any department or agen10 cy of the United States with the intent to influ11 ence a decision of such officer or employee in

12 carrying out his or her official duties, or

13 ‘‘(B) aids or advises a foreign entity with

14 the intent to influence a decision of any officer

15 or employee of any department or agency of the

16 United States, in carrying out his or her official

17 duties,

18 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this

19 title.

20 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub21 section—

22 ‘‘(A) the term ‘foreign entity’ means the

23 government of a foreign country as defined in

24 section 1(e) of the Foreign Agents Registration
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1 Act of 1938, as amended, or a foreign political

2 party as defined in section 1(f) of that Act; and

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘member of the Professional

4 Trade Service Corps’ means a ‘member of the

5 Corps’, as defined by section 101(a)(6) of the

6 Professional Trade Service Corps Act.’’.

7 SEC. 302. EFFECTIVE DATE.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), this

9 title and the amendments made by this title shall take ef10 fect as of the effective date of title I (as specified in section

11 107(a)).

12 (b) EXCEPTION.—(1) The amendments made by this

13 title do not, except as provided in paragraph (2), apply

14 to a person whose service as a Government employee to

15 which such amendments apply terminated before the effec16 tive date of such amendments.

17 (2) Paragraph (1) does not preclude the application

18 of the amendments made by this title to a person with

19 respect to service as a Government employee by that per20 son on or after the effective date of such amendments.

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