I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 109

To establish the Department of the Environment, provide for a Bureau

of Environmental Statistics and a Presidential Commission on Improving

Environmental Protection, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. BOEHLERT (for himself, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. SHAYS, and Mr.

MACHTLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Government Operations and Foreign Affairs

JUNE 2, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. WELDON, Mr. NEAL of North Carolina, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr.

WALSH, Mr. GOSS, Mr. LANCASTER, Mr. LEWIS of Florida, Mr. GILMAN,

Ms. FURSE, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. OLVER,

Mr. SANGMEISTER, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr.

KANJORSKI, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. SNOWE, Ms.

MOLINARI, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Mr. KLECZKA, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. VALENTINE, Mr. HUGHES, Ms. BYRNE, Mr.

FROST, Mr. LAZIO, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON,

Mr. EVANS, Mr. FISH, Mr. KLUG, Mr. WISE, Mr. HAMBURG, Mr. WYNN,

Mr. RANGEL, Mr. SAXTON, and Mr. ANDREWS of Maine

A BILL

To establish the Department of the Environment, provide

for a Bureau of Environmental Statistics and a Presidential Commission on Improving Environmental Protection, and for other purposes.
2

•HR 109 SC

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Department of the Environment Act of 1993’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The contents of this Act

7 are as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

TITLE I—ELEVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY TO CABINET LEVEL

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Findings.

Sec. 103. Establishment of the Department of the Environment.

Sec. 104. Assistant Secretaries.

Sec. 105. Deputy Assistant Secretaries.

Sec. 106. Office of the General Counsel.

Sec. 107. Office of the Inspector General.

Sec. 108. Bureau of Environmental Statistics.

Sec. 109. Grant and contract authority for certain activities.

Sec. 110. Study of data needs.

Sec. 111. Miscellaneous employment restrictions.

Sec. 112. Administrative provisions.

Sec. 113. Inherently governmental functions.

Sec. 114. References.

Sec. 115. Savings provisions.

Sec. 116. Conforming amendments.

Sec. 117. Additional conforming amendments.

TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES IN

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO WHICH IT BELONGS

Sec. 201. International energy conference.

Sec. 202. International greenhouse gas monitoring program.

TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION ON IMPROVING

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Sec. 301. Establishment; membership.

Sec. 302. Commission responsibilities.

Sec. 303. Report to the President and Congress.

Sec. 304. Commission staff.

Sec. 305. Advisory groups.

Sec. 306. Funding; authorization of appropriations.

TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 401. Effective date.
3

•HR 109 SC

1 TITLE I—ELEVATION OF THE EN2 VIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

3 AGENCY TO CABINET LEVEL

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Department of the

6 Environment Act’’.

7 SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

8 The Congress finds that—

9 (1) recent concern with Federal environmental

10 policy has highlighted the necessity of assigning to

11 protection of the domestic and international environ12 ment a priority which is at least equal to that as13 signed to other functions of the Federal Govern14 ment;

15 (2) protection of the environment increasingly

16 involves negotiations with foreign states, including

17 the most highly industrialized states all of whose top

18 environmental officials have ministerial status;

19 (3) the size of the budget and the number of

20 Federal civil servants devoted to tasks associated

21 with environmental protection at the Environmental

22 Protection Agency is commensurate with depart23 mental status; and

24 (4) a cabinet-level Department of the Environ25 ment should be established.
4

•HR 109 SC

1 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

2 ENVIRONMENT.

3 (a) REDESIGNATION.—The Environmental Protec4 tion Agency is hereby redesignated as the Department of

5 the Environment (hereafter in this title referred to as the

6 ‘‘Department’’) and shall be an executive department in

7 the executive branch of the Government. The official acro8 nym of the Department shall be the ‘‘U.S.D.E.’’.

9 (b) SECRETARY OF THE ENVIRONMENT.—(1) There

10 shall be at the head of the Department a Secretary of the

11 Environment (hereafter in this title referred to as the

12 ‘‘Secretary’’) who shall be appointed by the President, by

13 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The De14 partment shall be administered under the supervision and

15 direction of the Secretary.

16 (2) The Secretary may not assign duties for or dele17 gate authority for the supervision of the Assistant Sec18 retaries, the General Counsel, the Director of Environ19 mental Statistics, or the Inspector General of the Depart20 ment to any officer of the Department other than the Dep21 uty Secretary.

22 (3) Except as described under paragraph (2) of this

23 section and section 104(b)(2), and notwithstanding any

24 other provision of law, the Secretary may delegate any

25 functions including the making of regulations to such offi26 cers and employees of the Department as the Secretary
5

•HR 109 SC

1 may designate, and may authorize such successive

2 redelegations of such functions within the Department as

3 determined to be necessary or appropriate.

4 (c) DEPUTY SECRETARY.—There shall be in the De5 partment a Deputy Secretary of the Environment, who

6 shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice

7 and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary shall

8 perform such responsibilities as the Secretary shall pre9 scribe and shall act as the Secretary during the absence

10 or disability of the Secretary or in the event of a vacancy

11 in the Office of Secretary.

12 (d) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.—The Office of the

13 Secretary shall consist of a Secretary and a Deputy Sec14 retary and may include an Executive Secretary and such

15 other executive officers as the Secretary may determine

16 necessary.

17 (e) REGIONAL OFFICES.—The Secretary is author18 ized to establish, alter, discontinue, or maintain such re19 gional or other field offices as the Secretary may deter20 mine necessary to carry out the functions vested in the

21 Secretary or other officials of the Department.

22 (f) INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC23 RETARY.—(1) In addition to exercising other international

24 responsibilities under existing provisions of law, the Sec25 retary is—
6

•HR 109 SC

1 (A) encouraged to assist the Secretary of State

2 to carry out the primary responsibilities of the Sec3 retary of State for coordinating, negotiating, imple4 menting, and participating in international agree5 ments, including participation in international orga6 nizations, relevant to environmental protection; and

7 (B) authorized and encouraged to—

8 (i) conduct research on and apply existing

9 research capabilities to the nature and impacts

10 of international environmental problems and de11 velop responses to such problems; and

12 (ii) provide technical and other assistance

13 to foreign countries and international bodies to

14 improve the quality of the environment.

15 (2) The Secretary of State shall consult with the Sec16 retary of the Environment and such other persons as the

17 Secretary of State determines appropriate on such nego18 tiations, implementations, and participations described

19 under paragraph (1)(A).

20 (g) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY WITHIN THE

21 DEPARTMENT.—Nothing in the provisions of this Act—

22 (1) authorizes the Secretary of the Environ23 ment to require any action by any officer of any ex24 ecutive department or agency other than officers of

25 the Department of the Environment, except that this
7

•HR 109 SC

1 paragraph shall not affect any authority provided for

2 by any other provision of law authorizing the Sec3 retary of the Environment to require any such ac4 tions;

5 (2) modifies any Federal law that is adminis6 tered by any executive department or agency; or

7 (3) transfers to the Department of the Environ8 ment any authority exercised by any other Federal

9 executive department or agency prior to the date of

10 the enactment of this Act, except the authority exer11 cised by the Environmental Protection Agency.

12 (h) APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE EN13 VIRONMENT.—The provisions of this Act apply only to ac14 tivities of the Department of the Environment, except

15 where expressly provided otherwise.

16 SEC. 104. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITIONS.—There shall be

18 in the Department such number of Assistant Secretaries,

19 not to exceed 10, as the Secretary shall determine, each

20 of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with

21 the advice and consent of the Senate.

22 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETAR23 IES.—(1) The Secretary shall assign to Assistant Sec24 retaries such responsibilities as the Secretary considers

25 appropriate, including, but not limited to—
8

•HR 109 SC

1 (A) enforcement and compliance monitoring;

2 (B) research and development;

3 (C) air and radiation;

4 (D) water;

5 (E) pesticides and toxic substances;

6 (F) solid waste;

7 (G) hazardous waste;

8 (H) hazardous waste cleanup;

9 (I) emergency response;

10 (J) international affairs;

11 (K) policy, planning, and evaluation;

12 (L) pollution prevention;

13 (M) congressional, intergovernmental, and pub14 lic affairs; and

15 (N) administration and resources management,

16 including financial and budget management, infor17 mation resources management, procurement and as18 sistance management, and personnel and labor rela19 tions.

20 (2) The Secretary may assign and modify any respon21 sibilities at his discretion under paragraph (1), except that

22 the Secretary may not modify the responsibilities of any

23 Assistant Secretary without substantial prior written noti24 fication of such modification to the appropriate commit25 tees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
9

•HR 109 SC

1 (c) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES PRIOR TO

2 CONFIRMATION.—Whenever the President submits the

3 name of an individual to the Senate for confirmation as

4 Assistant Secretary under this section, the President shall

5 state the particular responsibilities of the Department

6 such individual shall exercise upon taking office.

7 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.—

8 On the effective date of this Act, the Administrator and

9 Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection

10 Agency shall be redesignated as the Secretary and Deputy

11 Secretary of the Department of the Environment, Assist12 ant Administrators of the Agency shall be redesignated as

13 Assistant Secretaries of the Department, and the General

14 Counsel and the Inspector General of the Agency shall be

15 redesignated as the General Counsel and the Inspector

16 General of the Department, without renomination or re17 confirmation.

18 (e) CHIEF INFORMATION RESOURCES OFFICER.—(1)

19 The Secretary shall designate the Assistant Secretary

20 whose responsibilities include information resource man21 agement functions as required by section 3506 of title 44,

22 United States Code, as the Chief Information Resources

23 Officer of the Department.

24 (2) The Chief Information Resources Officer shall—
10

•HR 109 SC

1 (A) advise the Secretary on information re2 source management activities of the Department as

3 required by section 3506 of title 44, United States

4 Code;

5 (B) develop and maintain an information re6 sources management system for the Department

7 which provides for—

8 (i) the conduct of and accountability for

9 any acquisitions made pursuant to a delegation

10 of authority under section 111 of the Federal

11 Property and Administrative Services Act of

12 1949 (40 U.S.C. 759);

13 (ii) the implementation of all applicable

14 government-wide and Department information

15 policies, principles, standards, and guidelines

16 with respect to information collection, paper17 work reduction, privacy and security of records,

18 sharing and dissemination of information, ac19 quisition and use of information technology,

20 and other information resource management

21 functions;

22 (iii) the periodic evaluation of and, as

23 needed, the planning and implementation of im24 provements in the accuracy, completeness, and
11

•HR 109 SC

1 reliability of data and records contained with

2 Department information systems; and

3 (iv) the development and annual revision of

4 a 5-year plan for meeting the Department’s in5 formation technology needs; and

6 (C) report to the Secretary as required under

7 section 3506 of title 44, United States Code.

8 SEC. 105. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITIONS.—There shall be

10 in the Department such number of Deputy Assistant Sec11 retaries as the Secretary may determine.

12 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—Each Deputy Assistant Sec13 retary—

14 (1) shall be appointed by the Secretary; and

15 (2) shall perform such functions as the Sec16 retary shall prescribe.

17 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Functions assigned to an Assistant

18 Secretary under section 104(b) may be performed by one

19 or more Deputy Assistant Secretaries appointed to assist

20 such Assistant Secretary.

21 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL.

22 There shall be in the Department the Office of the

23 General Counsel. There shall be at the head of such office

24 a General Counsel who shall be appointed by the Presi25 dent, by and with advice and consent of the Senate. The
12

•HR 109 SC

1 General Counsel shall be the chief legal officer of the De2 partment and shall provide legal assistance to the Sec3 retary concerning the programs and policies of the Depart4 ment.

5 SEC. 107. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

6 The Office of Inspector General of the Environmental

7 Protection Agency, established in accordance with the In8 spector General Act of 1978, is hereby redesignated as the

9 Office of Inspector General of the Department of the En10 vironment.

11 SEC. 108. BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established with13 in the Department a Bureau of Environmental Statistics

14 (hereafter in this title referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’). The

15 Bureau shall be responsible for—

16 (A) compiling, analyzing, and publishing a com17 prehensive set of environmental quality statistics

18 which should provide timely summary in the form of

19 industrywide aggregates, multiyear averages, or to20 tals or some similar form and include information

21 on—

22 (i) the nature, source, and amount of pol23 lutants in the environment; and

24 (ii) the effects on the public and the envi25 ronment of those pollutants;
13

•HR 109 SC

1 (B) promulgating guidelines for the collection of

2 information by the Department required for the sta3 tistics under this paragraph to assure that the infor4 mation is accurate, reliable, relevant, and in a form

5 that permits systematic analysis;

6 (C) coordinating the collection of information

7 by the Department for developing such statistics

8 with related information-gathering activities con9 ducted by other Federal agencies;

10 (D) making readily accessible the statistics pub11 lished under this paragraph; and

12 (E) identifying missing information of the kind

13 described under subparagraph (A) (i) and (ii), re14 viewing these information needs at least annually

15 with the Science Advisory Board, and making rec16 ommendations to the appropriate Department of En17 vironment research officials concerning extramural

18 and intramural research programs to provide such

19 information.

20 (2) Nothing in the provisions of paragraph (1) shall

21 authorize the Bureau to require the collection of any data

22 by any other department, State, or local government, or

23 to establish observation or monitoring programs.

24 (3) Information compiled by the Bureau which has

25 been submitted for purposes of statistical reporting re-
14

•HR 109 SC

1 quirements of this law shall not be disclosed publicly in

2 a manner that would reveal the identity of the submitter,

3 including submissions by Federal, State, or local govern4 ments, or reveal the identity of any individual consistent

5 with the provisions of section 552a of title 5, United

6 States Code (popularly known as the Privacy Act of

7 1974). This paragraph shall not affect the availability of

8 data provided to the Department under any other provi9 sion of law administered by the Department. The con10 fidentiality provisions of other statutes authorizing the col11 lection of environmental statistics shall also apply, includ12 ing but not limited to section 14 of the Toxic Substances

13 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2613), section 2(h) of the Federal

14 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C.

15 136h), section 114(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

16 741(c)), and section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.

17 (b) DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.—

18 The Bureau shall be under the direction of a Director of

19 Environmental Statistics (hereafter in this section re20 ferred to as the ‘‘Director’’) who shall be appointed by

21 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the

22 Senate. The term of the Director shall be 4 years. The

23 Director shall be a qualified individual with experience in

24 the compilation and analysis of environmental statistics.

25 The Director shall report directly to the Secretary. The
15

•HR 109 SC

1 Director shall be compensated at the rate provided for at

2 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of

3 title 5, United States Code.

4 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS ANNUAL RE5 PORT.—On January 1, 1992, and each January 1 there6 after, the Director shall submit to the President an Envi7 ronmental Statistics Annual Report. The report shall in8 clude, but not be limited to—

9 (1) statistics on environmental quality includ10 ing—

11 (A) the environmental quality of the Na12 tion with respect to all aspects of the environ13 ment, including, but not limited to, the air,

14 aquatic ecosystems, including marine, estuarine,

15 and fresh water, and the terrestrial ecosystems,

16 including, but not limited to, the forest, dry17 land, wetland, range, urban, suburban, and

18 rural environment; and

19 (B) changes in the natural environment,

20 including the plant and animal systems, and

21 other information for a continuing analysis of

22 these changes or trends and an interpretation

23 of their underlying causes;
16

•HR 109 SC

1 (2) statistics on the effects of changes in envi2 ronmental quality on human health and nonhuman

3 species and ecosystems;

4 (3) documentation of the method used to obtain

5 and assure the quality of the statistics presented in

6 the report;

7 (4) economic information on the current and

8 projected costs and benefits of environmental protec9 tion; and

10 (5) recommendations on improving environ11 mental statistical information.

12 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF THE FUNCTIONS

13 OF THE DIRECTOR PENDING CONFIRMATION.—An indi14 vidual who, on the effective date of this Act, is performing

15 any of the functions required by this section to be per16 formed by the Director may continue to perform such

17 functions until such functions are assigned to an individ18 ual appointed as the Director under this Act.

19 (e) ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL STA20 TISTICS.—The Director shall appoint an Advisory Council

21 on Environmental Statistics, comprised of no more than

22 6 private citizens who have expertise in environmental sta23 tistics and analysis (except that at least one of such ap24 pointees should have expertise in economics) to advise the

25 Director on environmental statistics and analyses, includ-
17

•HR 109 SC

1 ing whether the statistics and analyses disseminated by

2 the Bureau are of high quality and are based upon the

3 best available objective information. The Council shall be

4 subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit5 tee Act.

6 (f) BUREAU AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 There are authorized to be appropriated $2,800,000 in fis8 cal year 1992, $5,400,000 in fiscal year 1993, and such

9 sums as necessary in each fiscal year thereafter to carry

10 out the provisions of this section.

11 SEC. 109. GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR CER12 TAIN ACTIVITIES.

13 The Secretary may make grants to and enter into

14 contracts with State and local governments to assist them

15 in meeting the costs of collecting specific data and other

16 short-term activities that are related to the responsibilities

17 and functions under section 108(a)(1) (A), (B), (C), and

18 (D).

19 SEC. 110. STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.

20 (a) STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.—(1) No later than 1

21 year after the start of Bureau operations, the Secretary,

22 in consultation with the Director of the Bureau and the

23 Assistant Secretary designated as Chief Information Re24 sources Officer, shall enter into an agreement with the Na25 tional Academy of Sciences for a study, evaluation, and
18

•HR 109 SC

1 report on the adequacy of the data collection procedures

2 and capabilities of the Department. No later than 18

3 months following the entering of such an agreement, the

4 National Academy of Sciences shall report its findings to

5 the Secretary and the Congress. The report shall include

6 an evaluation of the Department’s data collection re7 sources, needs, and requirements, and shall include an as8 sessment and evaluation of the following systems, capabili9 ties, and procedures established by the Department to

10 meet those needs and requirements:

11 (A) Data collection procedures and capabilities.

12 (B) Data analysis procedures and capabilities.

13 (C) The ability of data bases to integrate with

14 one another.

15 (D) Computer hardware and software capabili16 ties.

17 (E) Management information systems, includ18 ing the ability of management information systems

19 to integrate with another.

20 (F) Department personnel.

21 (G) The Department’s budgetary needs and re22 sources for data collection, including an assessment

23 of the adequacy of the budgetary resources provided

24 to the Department and budgetary resources used by
19

•HR 109 SC

1 the Department for data collection needs and pur2 poses.

3 (2) The report shall include recommendations for im4 proving the Department’s data collection systems, capa5 bilities, procedures, data collection, and analytical hard6 ware and software, and for improving its management in7 formation systems.

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary

10 to carry out the provisions of this section.

11 SEC. 111. MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

12 (a) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

13 CONSIDERATIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this

14 Act, political affiliation or political qualification may not

15 be taken into account in connection with the appointment

16 of any person to any position in the career civil service

17 or in the assignment or advancement of any career civil

18 servant in the Department.

19 (b) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION.—One year after

20 the date of the enactment of this title and again 3 years

21 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary

22 shall report to the Senate Committees on Appropriations,

23 Governmental Affairs, and Environment and Public

24 Works and to the House of Representatives on the esti25 mated additional cost of implementing this title over the
20

•HR 109 SC

1 cost as if this title had not been implemented, including

2 a justification of increased staffing not required in the exe3 cution of this title.

4 SEC. 112. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

5 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF MONEY AND PROPERTY.—(1)

6 The Secretary may accept and retain money, uncompen7 sated services, and other real and personal property or

8 rights (whether by gift, bequest, devise, or otherwise) for

9 the purpose of carrying out the Department’s programs

10 and activities, except that the Secretary shall not endorse

11 any company, product, organization, or service. Gifts, be12 quests, and devises of money and proceeds from sales of

13 other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall

14 be credited in a separate fund in the Treasury of the Unit15 ed States and shall be available for disbursement upon the

16 order of the Secretary.

17 (2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations and

18 guidelines setting forth the criteria the Department shall

19 use in determining whether to accept a gift, bequest, or

20 devise. Such criteria shall take into consideration whether

21 the acceptance of the property would reflect unfavorably

22 upon the Department’s or any employee’s ability to carry

23 out its responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objec24 tive manner, or would compromise the integrity of or the
21

•HR 109 SC

1 appearance of the integrity of a Government program or

2 any official involved in that program.

3 (b) SEAL OF THE DEPARTMENT.—(1) On the effec4 tive date of this Act, the seal of the Environmental Protec5 tion Agency with appropriate changes shall be the seal of

6 the Department of the Environment, until such time as

7 the Secretary may cause a seal of office to be made for

8 the Department of the Environment of such design as the

9 Secretary shall approve.

10 (2)(A) Chapter 33 of title 18, United States Code,

11 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

12 section:

13 ‘‘§ 716. Department of the Environment seal

14 ‘‘(a) Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other

15 likeness of the official seal of the Department of the Envi16 ronment, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection

17 with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet,

18 or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture,

19 telecast, or other production, or on any building, monu20 ment, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in

21 a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impres22 sion of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the

23 United States or by any department, agency, or instru24 mentality thereof, shall be fined not more than $250 or

25 imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.
22

•HR 109 SC

1 ‘‘(b) Whoever, except as authorized under regulations

2 promulgated by the Secretary of the Environment and

3 published in the Federal Register, knowingly manufac4 tures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, either sep5 arately or appended to any article manufactured or sold,

6 any likeness of the official seal of the Department of the

7 Environment, or any substantial part thereof, except for

8 manufacture or sale of the article for the official use of

9 the Government of the United States, shall be fined not

10 more than $250 or imprisoned not more than 6 months,

11 or both.

12 ‘‘(c) A violation of subsection (a) or (b) may be en13 joined at the suit of the Attorney General of the United

14 States upon complaint by any authorized representative

15 of the Secretary of the Department of the Environment.’’.

16 (B) The table of sections for chapter 33 of title 18,

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

18 thereof the following:

‘‘716. Department of the Environment seal.’’.

19 (c) ACQUISITION OF COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS.—

20 The Secretary is authorized to acquire any of the following

21 described rights if the property acquired thereby is for use

22 by or for, or useful to, the Department:

23 (1) Copyrights, patents, and applications for

24 patents, designs, processes, and manufacturing data.
23

•HR 109 SC

1 (2) Licenses under copyrights, patents, and ap2 plications for patents.

3 (3) Releases, before suit is brought, for past in4 fringement of patents or copyrights.

5 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

6 AND COMPENSATION.—The Secretary may promulgate

7 regulations no less stringent than any other applicable

8 provision of law, regarding standards of conduct for mem9 bers of advisory committees (and consultants to advisory

10 committees), including requirements regarding conflicts of

11 interest or disclosure of past and present financial and em12 ployment interests. The Secretary is authorized to pay

13 members of advisory committees and others who perform

14 services as authorized under section 3109 of title 5,

15 United States Code, at rates for individuals not to exceed

16 the per diem rate equivalent to the rate for level V of the

17 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

18 States Code.

19 SEC. 113. INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.

20 (a) GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—In21 herently governmental functions of the Department shall

22 be performed only by officers and employees of the United

23 States. For purposes of this section, ‘‘inherently govern24 mental function’’ means any activity which is so intimately

25 related to the public interest as to mandate performance
24

•HR 109 SC

1 by Government officers and employees, and includes those

2 activities which require either the exercise of discretion in

3 applying Government authority or the use of value of judg4 ment in making decisions for the Government, including

5 but not be limited to work of a policy, decisionmaking,

6 or managerial nature which is the direct responsibility of

7 Department officials.

8 (b) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—(1) The Secretary

9 shall by regulation require any person proposing to enter

10 into a contract, agreement, or other arrangement, whether

11 by competitive bid or negotiation, for the conduct of re12 search, development, evaluation activities, or for advisory

13 and assistance services, to provide the Secretary, prior to

14 entering into any such contract, agreement, or arrange15 ment, with all relevant information, as determined by the

16 Secretary, bearing on whether that person has a possible

17 conflict of interest with respect to—

18 (A) being able to render impartial, technically

19 sound, or objective assistance or advice in light of

20 other activities or relationships with other persons;

21 or

22 (B) being given an unfair competitive advan23 tage.

24 (2) Such person shall ensure, in accordance with reg25 ulations prescribed by the Secretary, compliance with this
25

•HR 109 SC

1 section by subcontractors of such person who are engaged

2 to perform similar services.

3 (c) REQUIRE AFFIRMATIVE FINDING; CONFLICTS OF

4 INTEREST WHICH CANNOT BE AVOIDED; MITIGATION OF

5 CONFLICTS.—(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph

6 (2), the Secretary may not enter into any such contract,

7 agreement, or arrangement, unless the Secretary affirma8 tively finds, after evaluating all such information and any

9 other relevant information otherwise available to the Sec10 retary, either that—

11 (A) there is little or no likelihood that a conflict

12 of interest would exist; or

13 (B) that such conflict has been avoided after

14 appropriate conditions have been included in such

15 contract, agreement, or arrangement.

16 (2) If the Secretary determines that such conflict of

17 interest exists and that such conflict of interest cannot be

18 avoided by including appropriate conditions therein, the

19 Secretary may enter into such contract, agreement, or ar20 rangement, if the Secretary—

21 (A) determines that it is in the best interests of

22 the United States to do so; and

23 (B) includes appropriate conditions in such con24 tract, agreement, or arrangement to mitigate such

25 conflict.
26

•HR 109 SC

1 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING CONFLICTS OF IN2 TEREST.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations

3 which require public notice to be given whenever the Sec4 retary determines that the award of a contract, agreement,

5 or arrangement may result in a conflict of interest which

6 cannot be avoided by including appropriate conditions

7 therein.

8 (e) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this section shall pre9 clude the Department from promulgating regulations to

10 monitor potential conflicts after the contract award.

11 (f) RULES.—No later than 30 days after the effective

12 date of this Act, the Secretary shall publish rules for the

13 implementation of this section.

14 (g) CENTRAL FILE.—The Department shall maintain

15 a central file regarding all cases when a public notice is

16 issued. Other information required under this section shall

17 also be compiled. Access to this information shall be con18 trolled to safeguard any proprietary information.

19 (h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

20 term ‘‘advisory and assistance services’’ includes—

21 (1) management and professional support

22 services;

23 (2) the conduct of studies, analyses, and evalua24 tions; and
27

•HR 109 SC

1 (3) engineering and technical services, excluding

2 routine technical services.

3 SEC. 114. REFERENCES.

4 Reference in any other Federal law, Executive order,

5 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu6 ment of or pertaining—

7 (1) to the Administrator of the Environmental

8 Protection Agency is deemed to refer to the Sec9 retary of the Environment;

10 (2) to the Environmental Protection Agency is

11 deemed to refer to the Department of the Environ12 ment;

13 (3) to the Deputy Administrator of the Envi14 ronmental Protection Agency is deemed to refer to

15 the Deputy Secretary of the Environment; or

16 (4) to any Assistant Administrator of the Envi17 ronmental Protection Agency is deemed to refer to

18 an Assistant Secretary of the Department of the

19 Environment.

20 SEC. 115. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

21 (a) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—

22 All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits,

23 agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, reg24 istrations, privileges, and other administrative actions—
28

•HR 109 SC

1 (1) which have been issued, made, granted, or

2 allowed to become effective by the President, by the

3 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

4 Agency, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in

5 the performance of functions of the Administrator or

6 the Environmental Protection Agency, and

7 (2) which are in effect at the time this Act

8 takes effect, or were final before the effective date

9 of this Act and are to become effective on or after

10 the effective date of this Act,

11 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

12 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in

13 accordance with law by the President, the Secretary, or

14 other authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction,

15 or by operation of law.

16 (b) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions

17 of this Act shall not affect any proceedings or any applica18 tion for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assist19 ance pending before the Environmental Protection Agency

20 at the time this Act takes effect, but such proceedings and

21 applications shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in

22 such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and

23 payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this

24 Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such

25 proceedings shall continue in effect until modified, termi-
29

•HR 109 SC

1 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official,

2 by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of

3 law. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit

4 the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding

5 under the same terms and conditions and to the same ex6 tent that such proceeding could have been discontinued

7 or modified if this Act had not been enacted.

8 (c) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of this

9 Act shall not affect suits commenced before the date this

10 Act takes effect, and in all such suits, proceedings shall

11 be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the

12 same manner and with the same effect as if this Act had

13 not been enacted.

14 (d) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, action,

15 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Environ16 mental Protection Agency, or by or against any individual

17 in the official capacity of such individual as an officer of

18 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall abate by rea19 son of the enactment of this Act.

20 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO PRO21 MULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administrative ac22 tion relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regu23 lation by the Environmental Protection Agency may be

24 continued by the Department with the same effect as if

25 this Act had not been enacted.
30

•HR 109 SC

1 (f) PROPERTY AND RESOURCES.—The contracts, li2 abilities, records, property, and other assets and interests

3 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, after the

4 effective date of this Act, be considered to be the con5 tracts, liabilities, records, property, and other assets and

6 interests of the Department.

7 (g) SAVINGS.—The Department and its officers, em8 ployees, and agents shall have all the powers and authori9 ties of the Environmental Protection Agency.

10 SEC. 116. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

11 (a) PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.—Section 19(d)(1)

12 of title 3, United States Code, is amended by inserting

13 before the period at the end thereof the following: ‘‘, Sec14 retary of the Environment’’.

15 (b) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT, CIVIL SERVICE

16 LAWS.—Section 101 of title 5, United States Code, is

17 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: ‘‘The

18 Department of the Environment’’.

19 (c) COMPENSATION, LEVEL I.—Section 5312 of title

20 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

21 thereof the following: ‘‘Secretary of the Environment’’.

22 (d) COMPENSATION, LEVEL II.—Section 5313 of title

23 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Adminis24 trator of Environmental Protection Agency’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘Deputy Secretary of the Environment’’.
31

•HR 109 SC

1 (e) COMPENSATION, LEVEL IV.—Section 5315 of

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘Inspector General, Environ4 mental Protection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Inspector

5 General, Department of the Environment’’; and

6 (2) by striking each reference to an Assistant

7 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

8 Agency and by adding at the end thereof the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of the Envi11 ronment (10).

12 ‘‘General Counsel, Department of the Environ13 ment.’’.

14 (f) COMPENSATION, LEVEL V.—Section 5316 of title

15 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

16 thereof the following:

17 ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sta18 tistics, Department of the Environment.

19 ‘‘Executive Director of the Commission on Im20 proving Environmental Protection.’’.

21 (g) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.—The In22 spector General Act of 1978 is amended—

23 (1) in section 2(1)—

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘the Department of the

25 Environment,’’ after ‘‘Veterans Affairs,’’; and
32

•HR 109 SC

1 (B) by striking ‘‘The Environmental Pro2 tection Agency,’’;

3 (2) in section 11(1) by striking ‘‘or Veterans

4 Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the En5 vironment,’’; and

6 (3) in section 11(2) by striking ‘‘or Veterans

7 Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the En8 vironment,’’.

9 SEC. 117. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

10 After consultation with the Committee on Govern11 mental Affairs and the Committee on Environment and

12 Public Works and other appropriate committees of the

13 United States Senate and the appropriate committees of

14 the House of Representatives, the Secretary shall prepare

15 and submit to the Congress proposed legislation contain16 ing technical and conforming amendments to the United

17 States Code, and to other provisions of law, to reflect the

18 changes made by this Act. Such legislation shall be sub19 mitted not later than 6 months after the effective date

20 of this Act.
33

•HR 109 SC

1 TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL

2 ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES

3 IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANI4 ZATIONS TO WHICH IT BE5 LONGS

6 SEC. 201. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONFERENCE.

7 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Energy and the Secretary of the Environment,

9 and with the advice of the Committee on Earth and Envi10 ronmental Sciences, is authorized and strongly urged to

11 convene an international meeting to be held in the United

12 States with invitations to representatives of all countries

13 of the world, the purpose of which shall be to encourage

14 the exchange of information concerning energy efficiency

15 and renewable energy resources that are environmentally

16 acceptable and ecologically sustainable.

17 SEC. 202. INTERNATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS MONITORING

18 PROGRAM.

19 The President, with the advice of the Committee on

20 Earth and Environmental Sciences, shall encourage the

21 establishment of an office of the United Nations Environ22 ment Programme and the World Meteorological Organiza23 tion to monitor annual estimated generation and removal

24 of carbon dioxide and other trace gases on a country-by25 country basis.
34

•HR 109 SC

1 TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF

2 THE COMMISSION ON IM3 PROVING ENVIRONMENTAL

4 PROTECTION

5 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com7 mission on Improving Environmental Protection (here8 after in this title referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’) whose

9 13 members including the Chairman shall be composed of

10 experts in governmental organization (with emphasis on

11 environmental organization), management of organiza12 tions, and environmental regulation and improved environ13 mental governmental service delivery, consisting of—

14 (1) seven members to be appointed by the

15 President;

16 (2) three members to be appointed by the

17 Speaker of the House; and

18 (3) three members to be appointed by the Sen19 ate Majority Leader.

20 (b) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Commission

21 shall be appointed by the President in consultation with

22 the Congress.

23 SEC. 302. COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.

24 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commission shall be

25 responsible for examining and making recommendations
35

•HR 109 SC

1 on the management and implementation of the environ2 mental laws and programs within the jurisdiction of the

3 Department of the Environment in order to enhance the

4 ability of the Department to preserve and protect human

5 health and the environment. The Commission shall make

6 recommendations and otherwise advise the President and

7 the Congress on the need to—

8 (1) enhance and strengthen the management

9 and implementation of existing programs within the

10 Department;

11 (2) enhance the organization of the Department

12 to eliminate duplication and overlap between dif13 ferent programs;

14 (3) enhance the coordination between different

15 programs and offices within the Department; and

16 (4) enhance the consistency of policies through17 out the Department.

18 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall

19 provide specific steps and proposals for implementing the

20 Commission’s recommendations, including an estimate of

21 the costs of implementing such recommendations, except

22 that the Commission shall not suggest substantive changes

23 in the policy expressed by existing laws.
36

•HR 109 SC

1 SEC. 303. REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.

2 The Commission shall report to the President and the

3 Congress on its investigation, findings, and recommenda4 tions in an interim report no later than 12 months after

5 the effective date of this title, and in a final report no

6 later than 24 months after the effective date of this title.

7 The interim report shall be made available for public re8 view and comment, and the comments taken into account

9 in finalizing the report.

10 SEC. 304. COMMISSION STAFF.

11 The Commission shall appoint an Executive Director

12 who shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate

13 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Sched14 ule under section 5316 title 5, United States Code. With

15 the approval of the Commission the Executive Director

16 may appoint and fix the compensation of staff sufficient

17 to enable the Commission to carry out its duties.

18 SEC. 305. ADVISORY GROUPS.

19 The Chairman shall convene at least one advisory

20 group to assist the Commission in developing its rec21 ommendations. One advisory group shall be composed of

22 former staff of the Department of the Environment and

23 its predecessor Environmental Protection Agency, other

24 Federal and State officials experienced in administering

25 environmental protection programs, members of the regu26 lated community, and members of public interest groups
37

•HR 109 SC

1 organized to further the goals of environmental protection.

2 The Executive Director is authorized to pay members of

3 advisory groups and others who perform services as au4 thorized under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code,

5 at rates for individuals not to exceed the per diem rate

6 equivalent to the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule

7 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. Each

8 advisory group shall be subject to the provisions of the

9 Federal Advisory Committee Act.

10 SEC. 306. FUNDING; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000

12 in fiscal year 1992 and $5,000,000 in fiscal year 1993

13 to carry out the provisions of this title.

14 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE

15 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

16 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

17 take effect on such date during the 6-month period begin18 ning on the date of enactment, as the President may direct

19 in an Executive order. If the President fails to issue an

20 Executive order for the purpose of this section, this Act

21 and such amendments shall take effect 6 months after the

22 date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ

HR 109 SC——2

HR 109 SC——3