II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1744

To establish a National Commission on Financial Services to study the

strength and weaknesses of the United States financial services system

and its ability to meet the needs of the United States economy and

the needs of users of the United States financial services system, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 20 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To establish a National Commission on Financial Services

to study the strength and weaknesses of the United

States financial services system and its ability to meet

the needs of the United States economy and the needs

of users of the United States financial services system,

and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Commission

5 on Financial Services Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION ON FI2 NANCIAL SERVICES.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com4 mission to be known as the ‘‘National Commission on Fi5 nancial Services’’ (hereafter in this section referred to as

6 the ‘‘Commission’’).

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION.—

8 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be

9 composed of 11 voting members and 6 nonvoting

10 members appointed as follows:

11 (A) Five voting members and 2 nonvoting

12 members appointed by the President.

13 (B) Two voting members and 1 nonvoting

14 member appointed by the Speaker of the House

15 of Representatives.

16 (C) One voting member and 1 nonvoting

17 member appointed by the Minority Leader of

18 the House of Representatives.

19 (D) Two voting members and 1 nonvoting

20 member appointed by the Majority Leader of

21 the Senate.

22 (E) One voting member and 1 nonvoting

23 member appointed by the Minority Leader of

24 the Senate.

25 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—

26 (A) VOTING MEMBERS.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Voting members

2 appointed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall

3 be appointed from among individuals who

4 are users of the financial services system,

5 including representatives of business, agri6 culture, and consumer organizations.

7 (ii) PROHIBITION.—No voting mem8 ber of the Commission shall be an em9 ployee of the Federal Government or any

10 State government.

11 (B) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—Nonvoting

12 members appointed pursuant to paragraph (1)

13 shall be appointed from among individuals who

14 are experts in finance or in the financial serv15 ices system.

16 (3) APPOINTMENT.—The appointments of the

17 members of the Commission shall be made not later

18 than March 31, 1994.

19 (4) TERMS.—Members shall be appointed for

20 the life of the Commission.

21 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission

22 shall not affect the powers of the Commission and

23 shall be filled in the same manner in which the origi24 nal appointment was made.
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1 (6) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall des2 ignate 1 of the voting members of the Commission

3 to serve as the chairperson of the Commission (here4 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘Chair5 person’’).

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

7 after the date on which all members of the Commis8 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold

9 its first meeting.

10 (8) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at

11 the call of the Chairperson.

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

13 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a

14 lesser number of members may hold hearings.

15 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

16 (a) STUDY.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, after

18 consultation in accordance with paragraph (3), con19 duct a thorough study of all matters relating to the

20 strengths and weaknesses of the United States fi21 nancial services system in meeting the needs of users

22 of the system, including the needs of—

23 (A) individual consumers and households;

24 (B) State and local communities;

25 (C) agriculture;
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1 (D) small-, medium-, and large-sized busi2 nesses (including the need for debt, equity, and

3 other financial services);

4 (E) governmental and nonprofit entities;

5 and

6 (F) exporters and other users of inter7 national financial services.

8 (2) MATTERS STUDIED.—The study required

9 under paragraph (1) shall include consideration of—

10 (A) the changes underway in the national

11 and international economies and the financial

12 services industry, and the impact of such

13 changes on the ability of the financial services

14 system to efficiently meet the needs of the Unit15 ed States economy and the users of the system

16 during the next 10 years and beyond;

17 (B) the extent to which Federal adminis18 trative and legislative policies—

19 (i) achieve consumer protection objec20 tives;

21 (ii) promote competition and prevent

22 anticompetitive acts and practices or

23 undue concentration;
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1 (iii) ensure that financial services are

2 delivered in a nondiscriminatory and cost3 efficient manner; and

4 (iv) ensure access to the financial

5 services system for users of the system, re6 gardless of where such users are located;

7 and

8 (C) the extent to which Federal adminis9 trative and legislative policies are meeting their

10 objectives in the most cost-effective and effi11 cient manner possible.

12 (3) CONSULTATION.—Consultation in accord13 ance with this paragraph means consultation with—

14 (A) the Board of Governors of the Federal

15 Reserve System;

16 (B) the Director of the Office of Thrift Su17 pervision;

18 (C) the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit

19 Insurance Corporation;

20 (D) the Comptroller of the Currency;

21 (E) the Secretary of the Treasury;

22 (F) the Securities Exchange Commission;

23 (G) the Commodities Futures Trading

24 Commission;
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1 (H) the Director of the Congressional

2 Budget Office; and

3 (I) the Comptroller General of the United

4 States.

5 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the results of

6 the study conducted under subsection (a), the Commission

7 shall develop specific recommendations on how the Federal

8 Government can improve the operation of the United

9 States financial services system, including whether or not

10 any changes are needed in the legislative and administra11 tive policies that impact on—

12 (1) the ability of the Board of Governors of the

13 Federal Reserve System to effectively conduct mone14 tary policy;

15 (2) the ability of the financial services system,

16 or any part thereof, to respond to the needs of users

17 of the system;

18 (3) the systematic safety of the financial serv19 ices system;

20 (4) the cost to participants in the financial

21 services system of providing financial services to

22 users of the system;

23 (5) the competitiveness of the various providers

24 of financial services;
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1 (6) how funds are allocated to the financial

2 services system; and

3 (7) how funds are allocated by the financial

4 services system to users of the system or to specific

5 categories of users.

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than January 20, 1995, the

7 Commission shall submit to the President, the Speaker of

8 the House of Representatives, and the President pro tem9 pore of the Senate a report describing the activities of the

10 Commission, including the study conducted under sub11 section (a) and any recommendations developed under

12 subsection (b).

13 SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

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

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

16 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

17 considers advisable to carry out this section.

18 (b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

19 may secure directly from any Federal department or agen20 cy such information (other than information required by

21 any statute of the United States to be kept confidential

22 by such department or agency) as the Commission consid23 ers necessary to carry out its duties under this section.

24 Upon the request of the Chairperson, the head of that de-
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1 partment or agency shall furnish such nonconfidential in2 formation to the Commission.

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

4 the United States mails in the same manner and under

5 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

6 the Federal Government.

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

8 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.

9 SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

10 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of

11 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the

12 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal

13 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre14 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec15 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in16 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged

17 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All

18 members of the Commission who are officers or employees

19 of the United States shall serve without compensation in

20 addition to that received for their services as officers or

21 employees of the United States.

22 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com23 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

24 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ25 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title
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1 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

2 regular places of business in the performance of services

3 for the Commission.

4 (c) STAFF.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson may, with6 out regard to the civil service laws and regulations,

7 appoint and terminate an executive director and

8 such other additional personnel as may be necessary

9 to enable the Commission to perform its duties. The

10 employment of an executive director shall be subject

11 to confirmation by the Commission.

12 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson may fix

13 the compensation of the executive director and other

14 personnel without regard to the provisions of chapter

15 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, Unit16 ed States Code, relating to classification of positions

17 and General Schedule pay rates, except that the rate

18 of pay for the executive director and other personnel

19 may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the

20 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

21 (d) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Upon the

22 request of the Chairperson, any Federal Government em23 ployee may be detailed to the Commission without reim24 bursement, and such detail shall be without interruption

25 or loss of civil service status or privilege.
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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson may procure tem3 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of

4 title 5, United States Code, at rates for individuals which

5 do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of

6 basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

7 under section 5316 of such title.

8 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the

9 request of the Chairperson, the Administrator of General

10 Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs11 able basis, the administrative support services necessary

12 for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under

13 this section.

14 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

15 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the

16 date of submission of the report required under section

17 3(c). All records and papers of the Commission shall

18 thereupon be delivered by the Administrator of General

19 Services for deposit in the National Archives.

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this

23 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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