Calendar No. 57

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 171

[Report No. 103–39][Report No. 103–38]

A BILL

To establish the Department of the Environment,

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

APRIL 15, 1993

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of

amendmentMarch 30 (legislative day, March 3), 1993, without
II

Calendar No. 57

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 171

[Report No. 103–38]

[Report No. 103–39]

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 1993

Mr. GLENN (for himself, Mr. BOREN, Mr. BRADLEY, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. BUMPERS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DODD, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KOHL, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. RIEGLE, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. SASSER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

MARCH 30 (legislative day, MARCH 3), 1993

Ordered, that if and when reported by the Committee on Governmental Affairs, the bill be referred to the Committee on Environment and Public

Works solely for consideration of section 112

MARCH 31 (legislative day, MARCH 3), 1993

Reported by Mr. GLENN, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

MARCH 31 (legislative day, MARCH 3), 1993

Referred, pursuant to the order of March 30 (legislative day, March 3), 1993,

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works solely for consideration of section 112
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APRIL 15, 1993

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of March 30 (legislative

day, March 3), 1993, by Mr. BAUCUS, without amendment

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.

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 table of contents is

7 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.
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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.

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
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1 the most highly industrialized states all of whose top

2 environmental officials have ministerial status;

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

4 Federal civil servants devoted to tasks associated

5 with environmental protection at the Environmental

6 Protection Agency is commensurate with depart7 mental status; and

8 (4) a cabinet-level Department of the Environ9 ment should be established.

10 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

11 ENVIRONMENT.

12 (a) REDESIGNATION.—The Environmental Protec13 tion Agency is hereby redesignated as the Department of

14 the Environment (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Depart15 ment’’) and shall be an executive department in the execu16 tive branch of the Government. The official acronym of

17 the Department shall be the ‘‘U.S.D.E.’’.

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

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

20 Environment who shall be appointed by the President, by

21 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The De22 partment shall be administered under the supervision and

23 direction of the Secretary.

24 (2) The Secretary may not assign duties for or dele25 gate authority for the supervision of the Assistant Sec-
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1 retaries, the General Counsel, the Director of Environ2 mental Statistics, or the Inspector General of the Depart3 ment to any officer of the Department other than the Dep4 uty Secretary.

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

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

7 other provision of law, the Secretary may delegate any

8 functions including the making of regulations to such offi9 cers and employees of the Department as the Secretary

10 may designate, and may authorize such successive

11 redelegations of such functions within the Department as

12 determined to be necessary or appropriate.

13 (c) DEPUTY SECRETARY.—There shall be in the De14 partment a Deputy Secretary of the Environment, who

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

16 and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary shall

17 perform such responsibilities as the Secretary shall pre18 scribe and shall act as the Secretary during the absence

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

20 in the Office of Secretary.

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

22 Secretary shall consist of a Secretary and a Deputy Sec23 retary and may include an Executive Secretary and such

24 other executive officers as the Secretary may determine

25 necessary.
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1 (e) REGIONAL OFFICES.—The Secretary is author2 ized to establish, alter, discontinue, or maintain such re3 gional or other field offices as he may determine necessary

4 to carry out the functions vested in him or other officials

5 of the Department.

6 (f) INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC7 RETARY.—(1) In addition to exercising other international

8 responsibilities under existing provisions of law, the

9 Secretary is—

10 (A) encouraged to assist the Secretary of State

11 to carry out his primary responsibilities for coordi12 nating, negotiating, implementing and participating

13 in international agreements, including participation

14 in international organizations, relevant to environ15 mental protection; and

16 (B) authorized and encouraged to—

17 (i) conduct research on and apply existing

18 research capabilities to the nature and impacts

19 of international environmental problems and de20 velop responses to such problems; and

21 (ii) provide technical and other assistance

22 to foreign countries and international bodies to

23 improve the quality of the environment.

24 (2) The Secretary of State shall consult with the Sec25 retary of the Environment and such other persons as he
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1 determines appropriate on such negotiations, implementa2 tions, and participations described under paragraph

3 (1)(A).

4 (g) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY WITHIN THE

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

6 (1) authorizes the Secretary of the Environ7 ment to require any action by any officer of any ex8 ecutive department or agency other than officers of

9 the Department of the Environment, except that this

10 paragraph shall not affect any authority provided for

11 by any other provision of law authorizing the Sec12 retary of the Environment to require any such ac13 tions;

14 (2) modifies any Federal law that is adminis15 tered by any executive department or agency; or

16 (3) transfers to the Department of the Environ17 ment any authority exercised by any other Federal

18 executive department or agency prior to the date of

19 the enactment of this Act, except the authority exer20 cised by the Environmental Protection Agency.

21 (h) APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE EN22 VIRONMENT.—The provisions of this Act apply only to ac23 tivities of the Department of the Environment, except

24 where expressly provided otherwise.
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1 SEC. 104. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

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

3 in the Department such number of Assistant Secretaries,

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

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

6 the advice and consent of the Senate.

7 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETAR8 IES.—(1) The Secretary shall assign to Assistant Sec9 retaries such responsibilities as the Secretary considers

10 appropriate, including, but not limited to—

11 (A) enforcement and compliance monitoring;

12 (B) research and development;

13 (C) air and radiation;

14 (D) water;

15 (E) pesticides and toxic substances;

16 (F) solid waste;

17 (G) hazardous waste;

18 (H) hazardous waste cleanup;

19 (I) emergency response;

20 (J) international affairs;

21 (K) policy, planning, and evaluation;

22 (L) pollution prevention;

23 (M) congressional, intergovernmental, and pub24 lic affairs; and

25 (N) administration and resources management,

26 including financial and budget management, infor-
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1 mation resources management, procurement and as2 sistance management, and personnel and labor rela3 tions.

4 (2) The Secretary may assign and modify any respon5 sibilities at his discretion under paragraph (1), except that

6 the Secretary may not modify the responsibilities of any

7 Assistant Secretary without substantial prior written noti8 fication of such modification to the appropriate commit9 tees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

10 (c) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES PRIOR TO

11 CONFIRMATION.—Whenever the President submits the

12 name of an individual to the Senate for confirmation as

13 Assistant Secretary under this section, the President shall

14 state the particular responsibilities of the Department

15 such individual shall exercise upon taking office.

16 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.—

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

18 Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection

19 Agency shall be redesignated as the Secretary and Deputy

20 Secretary of the Department of the Environment, Assist21 ant Administrators of the Agency shall be redesignated as

22 Assistant Secretaries of the Department, and the General

23 Counsel and the Inspector General of the Agency shall be

24 redesignated as the General Counsel and the Inspector
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1 General of the Department, without renomination or re2 confirmation.

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

4 The Secretary shall designate the Assistant Secretary

5 whose responsibilities include information resource man6 agement functions as required by section 3506 of title 44,

7 United States Code, as the Chief Information Resources

8 Officer of the Department.

9 (2) The Chief Information Resources Officer shall—

10 (A) advise the Secretary on information re11 source management activities of the Department as

12 required by section 3506 of title 44, United States

13 Code;

14 (B) develop and maintain an information re15 sources management system for the Department

16 which provides for—

17 (i) the conduct of and accountability for

18 any acquisitions made pursuant to a delegation

19 of authority under section 111 of the Federal

20 Property and Administrative Services Act of

21 1949 (40 U.S.C. 759);

22 (ii) the implementation of all applicable

23 government-wide and Department information

24 policies, principles, standards, and guidelines

25 with respect to information collection, paper-
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1 work reduction, privacy and security of records,

2 sharing and dissemination of information, ac3 quisition and use of information technology,

4 and other information resource management

5 functions;

6 (iii) the periodic evaluation of and, as

7 needed, the planning and implementation of im8 provements in the accuracy, completeness, and

9 reliability of data and records contained with

10 Department information systems; and

11 (iv) the development and annual revision of

12 a 5-year plan for meeting the Department’s in13 formation technology needs; and

14 (C) report to the Secretary as required under

15 section 3506 of title 44, United States Code.

16 SEC. 105. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

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

18 in the Department such number of Deputy Assistant Sec19 retaries as the Secretary may determine.

20 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—Each Deputy Assistant Sec21 retary—

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

23 (2) shall perform such functions as the Sec24 retary shall prescribe.
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1 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Functions assigned to an Assistant

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

3 or more Deputy Assistant Secretaries appointed to assist

4 such Assistant Secretary.

5 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL.

6 There shall be in the Department, the Office of the

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

8 a General Counsel who shall be appointed by the Presi9 dent, by and with advice and consent of the Senate. The

10 General Counsel shall be the chief legal officer of the De11 partment and shall provide legal assistance to the Sec12 retary concerning the programs and policies of the Depart13 ment.

14 SEC. 107. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

15 The Office of Inspector General of the Environmental

16 Protection Agency, established in accordance with the In17 spector General Act of 1978, is hereby redesignated as the

18 Office of Inspector General of the Department of the

19 Environment.

20 SEC. 108. BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established with22 in the Department a Bureau of Environmental Statistics

23 (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’). The Bureau shall

24 be responsible for—
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1 (A) compiling, analyzing, and publishing a com2 prehensive set of environmental quality statistics

3 which should provide timely summary in the form of

4 industrywide aggregates, multiyear averages, or to5 tals or some similar form and include information

6 on—

7 (i) the nature, source, and amount of pol8 lutants in the environment; and

9 (ii) the effects on the public and the envi10 ronment of those pollutants;

11 (B) promulgating guidelines for the collection of

12 information by the Department required for the sta13 tistics under this paragraph to assure that the infor14 mation is accurate, reliable, relevant, and in a form

15 that permits systematic analysis;

16 (C) coordinating the collection of information

17 by the Department for developing such statistics

18 with related information-gathering activities con19 ducted by other Federal agencies;

20 (D) making readily accessible the statistics pub21 lished under this paragraph; and

22 (E) identifying missing information of the kind

23 described under subparagraph (A) (i) and (ii), re24 viewing these information needs at least annually

25 with the Science Advisory Board, and making rec-
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1 ommendations to the appropriate Department of En2 vironment research officials concerning extramural

3 and intramural research programs to provide such

4 information.

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

6 authorize the Bureau to require the collection of any data

7 by any other Department, State or local government, or

8 to establish observation or monitoring programs.

9 (3) Information compiled by the Bureau of Environ10 mental Statistics, which has been submitted for purposes

11 of statistical reporting requirements of this law, shall not

12 be disclosed publicly in a manner that would reveal the

13 identity of the submitter, including submissions by Fed14 eral, State, or local governments, or reveal the identity of

15 any individual consistent with the provisions of section

16 552a of title 5, United States Code (the Privacy Act of

17 1974). This paragraph shall not affect the availability of

18 data provided to the Department under any other provi19 sion of law administered by the Department. The con20 fidentiality provisions of other statutes authorizing the col21 lection of environmental statistics shall also apply, includ22 ing but not limited to, section 14 of the Toxic Substances

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

24 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C.
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1 136h), section 114(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

2 741(c)), and section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.

3 (b) DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.—

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

5 Environmental Statistics (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Di6 rector’’) who shall be appointed by the President, by and

7 with the advice and consent of the Senate. The term of

8 the Director shall be 4 years. The Director shall be a

9 qualified individual with experience in the compilation and

10 analysis of environmental statistics. The Director shall re11 port directly to the Secretary. The Director shall be com12 pensated at the rate provided for at level V of the Execu13 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States

14 Code.

15 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS ANNUAL RE16 PORT.—On January 1, 1992, and each January 1 there17 after, the Director shall submit to the President an Envi18 ronmental Statistics Annual Report (hereafter referred to

19 as the ‘‘Report’’). The Report shall include, but not be

20 limited to—

21 (1) statistics on environmental quality includ22 ing—

23 (A) The environmental quality of the Na24 tion with respect to all aspects of the environ25 ment, including, but not limited to, the air,
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1 aquatic ecosystems, including marine, estuarine,

2 and fresh water, and the terrestrial ecosystems,

3 including, but not limited to, the forest, dry4 land, wetland, range, urban, suburban, and

5 rural environment; and

6 (B) changes in the natural environment,

7 including the plant and animal systems, and

8 other information for a continuing analysis of

9 these changes or trends and an interpretation

10 of their underlying causes;

11 (2) statistics on the effects of changes in envi12 ronmental quality on human health and nonhuman

13 species and ecosystems;

14 (3) documentation of the method used to obtain

15 and assure the quality of the statistics presented in

16 the Report;

17 (4) economic information on the current and

18 projected costs and benefits of environmental protec19 tion; and

20 (5) recommendations on improving environ21 mental statistical information.

22 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF THE FUNCTIONS

23 OF THE DIRECTOR PENDING CONFIRMATION.—An indi24 vidual who, on the effective date of this Act, is performing

25 any of the functions required by this section to be per-
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1 formed by the Director may continue to perform such

2 functions until such functions are assigned to an individ3 ual appointed as the Director under this Act.

4 (e) ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL STA5 TISTICS.—The Director shall appoint an Advisory Council

6 on Environmental Statistics, comprised of no more than

7 6 private citizens who have expertise in environmental sta8 tistics and analysis (except that at least one of such ap9 pointees should have expertise in economics) to advise the

10 Director on environmental statistics and analyses, includ11 ing whether the statistics and analyses disseminated by

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

13 best available objective information. The Council shall be

14 subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit15 tee Act.

16 (f) BUREAU AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

17 There are authorized to be appropriated $5,400,000 in fis18 cal year 1993, $5,400,000 in fiscal year 1994, and such

19 sums as necessary in each fiscal year thereafter to carry

20 out the provisions of this section.

21 SEC. 109. GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR CER22 TAIN ACTIVITIES.

23 The Secretary may make grants to and enter into

24 contracts with State and local governments to assist them

25 in meeting the costs of collecting specific data and other
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1 short-term activities that are related to the responsibilities

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

3 (D).

4 SEC. 110. STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.

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

6 year after the start of Bureau operations, the Secretary

7 of the Department of Environment, in consultation with

8 the Director of the Bureau and the Assistant Secretary

9 designated as Chief Information Resources Officer, shall

10 enter into an agreement with the National Academy of

11 Sciences for a study, evaluation, and report on the ade12 quacy of the data collection procedures and capabilities of

13 the Department. No later than 18 months following an

14 agreement, the National Academy of Sciences shall report

15 its findings to the Secretary and the Congress. The report

16 shall include an evaluation of the Department’s data col17 lection resources, needs, and requirements, and shall in18 clude an assessment and evaluation of the following sys19 tems, capabilities, and procedures established by the De20 partment to meet those needs and requirements:

21 (A) data collection procedures and capabilities;

22 (B) data analysis procedures and capabilities;

23 (C) the ability of data bases to integrate with

24 one another;
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1 (D) computer hardware and software capabili2 ties;

3 (E) management information systems, including

4 the ability of management information systems to

5 integrate with another;

6 (F) Department personnel; and

7 (G) the Department’s budgetary needs and re8 sources for data collection, including an assessment

9 of the adequacy of the budgetary resources provided

10 to the Department and budgetary resources used

11 by the Department for data collection needs and

12 purposes.

13 (2) The report shall include recommendations for im14 proving the Department’s data collection systems, capa15 bilities, procedures, data collection, and analytical hard16 ware and software, and for improving its management in17 formation systems.

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary

20 to carry out the provisions of this section.

21 SEC. 111. MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

22 (a) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

23 CONSIDERATIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this

24 Act, political affiliation or political qualification may not

25 be taken into account in connection with the appointment
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1 of any person to any position in the career civil service

2 or in the assignment or advancement of any career civil

3 servant in the Department.

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

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

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

7 shall report to the Senate Committees on Appropriations,

8 Governmental Affairs, and Environment and Public

9 Works and to the House of Representatives on the esti10 mated additional cost of implementing this title over the

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

12 a justification of increased staffing not required in the exe13 cution of this title.

14 SEC. 112. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

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

16 The Secretary may accept and retain money, uncompen17 sated services, and other real and personal property or

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

19 the purpose of carrying out the Department’s programs

20 and activities, except that the Secretary shall not endorse

21 any company, product, organization, or service. Gifts, be22 quests, and devises of money and proceeds from sales of

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

24 be credited in a separate fund in the Treasury of the Unit-
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1 ed States and shall be available for disbursement upon the

2 order of the Secretary.

3 (2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations and

4 guidelines setting forth the criteria the Department shall

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

6 devise. Such criteria shall take into consideration whether

7 the acceptance of the property would reflect unfavorably

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

9 out its responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objec10 tive manner, or would compromise the integrity of or the

11 appearance of the integrity of a Government program or

12 any official involved in that program.

13 (b) SEAL OF THE DEPARTMENT.—(1) On the effec14 tive date of this Act, the seal of the Environmental Protec15 tion Agency with appropriate changes shall be the seal of

16 the Department of the Environment, until such time as

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

18 the Department of the Environment of such design as the

19 Secretary shall approve.

20 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF

21 SEAL.—(A) Chapter 33 of title 18, United States Code,

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

23 section:
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1 ‘‘§ 716. Department of the Environment Seal

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

3 likeness of the official seal of the Department of the Envi4 ronment, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection

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

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

7 telecast, or other production, or on any building, monu8 ment, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in

9 a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impres10 sion of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the

11 United States or by any department, agency, or instru12 mentality thereof, shall be fined not more than $250 or

13 imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.

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

15 promulgated by the Secretary of the Environment and

16 published in the Federal Register, knowingly manufac17 tures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, either sep18 arately or appended to any article manufactured or sold,

19 any likeness of the official seal of the Department of the

20 Environment, or any substantial part thereof, except for

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

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

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

24 or both.

25 ‘‘(c) A violation of subsection (a) or (b) may be en26 joined at the suit of the Attorney General of the United
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1 States upon complaint by any authorized representative

2 of the Secretary of the Department of the Environment.’’.

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

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

5 thereof:

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

6 (c) ACQUISITION OF COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS.—

7 The Secretary is authorized to acquire any of the following

8 described rights if the property acquired thereby is for use

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

10 (1) copyrights, patents, and applications for

11 patents, designs, processes, and manufacturing data;

12 (2) licenses under copyrights, patents, and ap13 plications for patents; and

14 (3) releases, before suit is brought, for past in15 fringement of patents or copyrights.

16 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

17 AND COMPENSATION.—The Secretary may promulgate

18 regulations, no less stringent than any other applicable

19 provision of law, regarding standards of conduct for mem20 bers of advisory committees (and consultants to advisory

21 committees), including requirements regarding conflicts of

22 interest or disclosure of past and present financial and em23 ployment interests. The Secretary is authorized to pay

24 members of advisory committees and others who perform

25 services as authorized under section 3109 of title 5, Unit-
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1 ed States Code, at rates for individuals not to exceed the

2 per diem rate equivalent to the rate for level V of the Ex3 ecutive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

4 States Code.

5 SEC. 113. INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.

6 (a) GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—(1)

7 Inherently governmental functions of the Department

8 shall be performed only by officers and employees of the

9 United States. For purposes of this section, ‘‘inherently

10 governmental’’ means any activity which is so intimately

11 related to the public interest as to mandate performance

12 by Government officers and employees. These inherently

13 governmental functions include those activities which re14 quire either the exercise of discretion in applying Govern15 ment authority or the use of value of judgment in making

16 decisions for the Government. These functions shall in17 clude, but not be limited to, work of a policy, decisionmak18 ing, or managerial nature which is the direct responsibility

19 of Department officials.

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

21 shall by regulation require any person proposing to enter

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

23 by competitive bid or negotiation, for the conduct of re24 search, development, evaluation activities, or for advisory

25 and assistance services, to provide the Secretary, prior to
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1 entering into any such contract, agreement, or arrange2 ment, with all relevant information, as determined by the

3 Secretary, bearing on whether that person has a possible

4 conflict of interest with respect to—

5 (A) being able to render impartial, technically

6 sound, or objective assistance or advice in light of

7 other activities or relationships with other persons;

8 or

9 (B) being given an unfair competitive advan10 tage.

11 (2) Such person shall ensure, in accordance with reg12 ulations prescribed by the Secretary, compliance with this

13 section by subcontractors of such person who are engaged

14 to perform similar services.

15 (c) REQUIRE AFFIRMATIVE FINDING; CONFLICTS OF

16 INTEREST WHICH CANNOT BE AVOIDED; MITIGATION OF

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

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

19 agreement, or arrangement, unless he affirmatively finds,

20 after evaluating all such information and any other rel21 evant information otherwise available to him, either that—

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

23 of interest would exist; or
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1 (B) that such conflict has been avoided after

2 appropriate conditions have been included in such

3 contract, agreement, or arrangement.

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

5 interest exists and that such conflict of interest cannot be

6 avoided by including appropriate conditions therein, the

7 Secretary may enter into such contract, agreement, or ar8 rangement, if he—

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

10 the United States to do so; and

11 (B) includes appropriate conditions in such con12 tract, agreement, or arrangement to mitigate such

13 conflict.

14 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING CONFLICTS OF IN15 TEREST.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations

16 which require public notice to be given whenever the Sec17 retary determines that the award of a contract, agreement,

18 or arrangement may result in a conflict of interest which

19 cannot be avoided by including appropriate conditions

20 therein.

21 (e) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this section shall pre22 clude the Department from promulgating regulations to

23 monitor potential conflicts after the contract award.
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1 (f) RULES.—No later than 30 days after the effective

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

3 implementation of this section.

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

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

6 issued. Other information required under this section shall

7 also be compiled. Access to this information shall be con8 trolled to safeguard any proprietary information.

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

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

11 (1) management and professional support serv12 ices;

13 (2) the conduct of studies, analyses, and evalua14 tions; and

15 (3) engineering and technical services, excluding

16 routine technical services.

17 SEC. 114. REFERENCES.

18 Reference in any other Federal law, Executive order,

19 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu20 ment of or pertaining—

21 (1) to the Administrator of the Environmental

22 Protection Agency shall be deemed to refer to the

23 Secretary of the Environment;
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•S 171 RS2

1 (2) to the Environmental Protection Agency

2 shall be deemed to refer to the Department of the

3 Environment;

4 (3) to the Deputy Administrator of the Envi5 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to

6 refer to the Deputy Secretary of the Environment;

7 or

8 (4) to any Assistant Administrator of the Envi9 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to

10 refer to an Assistant Secretary of the Department of

11 the Environment.

12 SEC. 115. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

13 (a) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—

14 All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits,

15 agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, reg16 istrations, privileges, and other administrative actions—

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

18 allowed to become effective by the President, by the

19 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

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

21 the performance of functions of the Administrator or

22 the Environmental Protection Agency, and

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

24 takes effect, or were final before the effective date
29

•S 171 RS2

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

2 the effective date of this Act,

3 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

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

5 accordance with law by the President, the Secretary of the

6 Environment, or other authorized official, a court of com7 petent jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

8 (b) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions

9 of this Act shall not affect any proceedings or any applica10 tion for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assist11 ance pending before the Environmental Protection Agency

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

13 applications shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in

14 such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and

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

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

17 proceedings shall continue in effect until modified, termi18 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official,

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

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

21 the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding

22 under the same terms and conditions and to the same ex23 tent that such proceeding could have been discontinued

24 or modified if this Act had not been enacted.
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1 (c) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of this

2 Act shall not affect suits commenced before the date this

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

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

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

6 not been enacted.

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

8 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Environ9 mental Protection Agency, or by or against any individual

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

11 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall abate by rea12 son of the enactment of this Act.

13 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO PRO14 MULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administrative ac15 tion relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regu16 lation by the Environmental Protection Agency may be

17 continued by the Department with the same effect as if

18 this Act had not been enacted.

19 (f) PROPERTY AND RESOURCES.—The contracts, li20 abilities, records, property, and other assets and interests

21 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, after the

22 effective date of this Act, be considered to be the con23 tracts, liabilities, records, property, and other assets and

24 interests of the Department.
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•S 171 RS2

1 (g) SAVINGS.—The Department of the Environment

2 and its officers, employees, and agents shall have all the

3 powers and authorities of the Environmental Protection

4 Agency.

5 SEC. 116. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

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

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

8 before the period at the end thereof the following: ‘‘, Sec9 retary of the Environment’’.

10 (b) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT, CIVIL SERVICE

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

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

13 Department of the Environment’’.

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

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

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

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

18 5, United States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘Ad19 ministrator of Environmental Protection Agency’’ and in20 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Deputy Secretary of the Environ21 ment’’.

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

23 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

24 (1) by striking out ‘‘Inspector General, Envi25 ronmental Protection Agency’’ and inserting in lieu
32

•S 171 RS2

1 thereof ‘‘Inspector General, Department of the Envi2 ronment’’; and

3 (2) by striking each reference to an Assistant

4 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

5 Agency and by adding at the end thereof the follow6 ing: ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of the Envi7 ronment (10). ‘‘General Counsel, Department of the

8 Environment.’’.

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

10 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

11 thereof the following:

12 ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sta13 tistics, Department of the Environment.

14 ‘‘Executive Director of the Commission on Im15 proving Environmental Protection.’’.

16 (g) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT.—The Inspector Gen17 eral Act of 1978 is amended—

18 (1) in section 2(1)—

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

20 Environment,’’ after ‘‘Veterans Affairs,’’; and

21 (B) by striking out ‘‘The Environmental

22 Protection Agency,’’;

23 (2) in section 11(1) by striking out ‘‘or Veter24 ans Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the

25 Environment,’’; and
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•S 171 RS2

1 (3) in section 11(2) by striking out ‘‘or Veter2 ans Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the

3 Environment,’’.

4 SEC. 117. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

5 After consultation with the Committee on Govern6 mental Affairs and the Committee on Environment and

7 Public Works and other appropriate committees of the

8 United States Senate and the appropriate committees of

9 the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Envi10 ronment shall prepare and submit to the Congress pro11 posed legislation containing technical and conforming

12 amendments to the United States Code, and to other pro13 visions of law, to reflect the changes made by this Act.

14 Such legislation shall be submitted not later than 6

15 months after the effective date of this Act.

16 TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL

17 ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES

18 IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANI19 ZATIONS TO WHICH IT BE20 LONGS

21 SEC. 201. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONFERENCE.

22 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec23 retary of Energy and the Secretary of the Environment,

24 and with the advice of the Committee on Earth and Envi25 ronmental Sciences, is authorized and strongly urged to
34

•S 171 RS2

1 convene an international meeting to be held in the United

2 States with invitations to representatives of all countries

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

4 the exchange of information concerning energy efficiency

5 and renewable energy resources that are environmentally

6 acceptable and ecologically sustainable.

7 SEC. 202. INTERNATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS MONITORING

8 PROGRAM.

9 The President, with the advice of the Committee on

10 Earth and Environmental Sciences, shall encourage the

11 establishment of an office of the United Nations Environ12 ment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological

13 Organization (WMO) to monitor annual estimated genera14 tion and removal of carbon dioxide and other trace gases

15 on a country-by-country basis.

16 TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF

17 THE COMMISSION ON IM18 PROVING ENVIRONMENTAL

19 PROTECTION

20 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com22 mission on Improving Environmental Protection (here23 after referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’) whose 13 members

24 including the Chairman shall be composed of experts in

25 governmental organization (with emphasis on environ-
35

•S 171 RS2

1 mental organization), management of organizations and

2 environmental regulation and improved environmental

3 governmental service delivery, consisting of—

4 (1) seven members to be appointed by the

5 President;

6 (2) three members to be appointed by the

7 Speaker of the House; and

8 (3) three members to be appointed by the Sen9 ate Majority Leader.

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

11 shall be appointed by the President in consultation with

12 the Congress.

13 SEC. 302. COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.

14 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commission shall be

15 responsible for examining and making recommendations

16 on the management and implementation of the environ17 mental laws and programs within the jurisdiction of the

18 Department of the Environment in order to enhance the

19 ability of the Department to preserve and protect human

20 health and the environment. The Commission shall make

21 recommendations and otherwise advise the President and

22 the Congress on the need to—

23 (1) enhance and strengthen the management

24 and implementation of existing programs within the

25 Department;
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•S 171 RS2

1 (2) enhance the organization of the Department

2 to eliminate duplication and overlap between dif3 ferent programs;

4 (3) enhance the coordination between different

5 programs and offices within the Department; and

6 (4) enhance the consistency of policies through7 out the Department.

8 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall

9 provide specific steps and proposals for implementing the

10 Commission’s recommendations including an estimate of

11 the costs of implementing such recommendations, except

12 that the Commission shall not suggest substantive changes

13 in the policy expressed by existing laws.

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

15 The Commission shall report to the President and the

16 Congress on its investigation, findings, and recommenda17 tions in an interim report no later than 12 months after

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

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

20 The interim report shall be made available for public re21 view and comment, and the comments taken into account

22 in finalizing the report.

23 SEC. 304. COMMISSION STAFF.

24 The Commission shall appoint an Executive Director

25 who shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate
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•S 171 RS2

1 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Sched2 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.

3 With the approval of the Commission the Executive Direc4 tor may appoint and fix the compensation of staff suffi5 cient to enable the Commission to carry out its duties.

6 SEC. 305. ADVISORY GROUPS.

7 The Chairman shall convene at least one advisory

8 group to assist the Commission in developing its rec9 ommendations. One advisory group shall be composed of

10 past staff of the Department of the Environment and its

11 predecessor Environmental Protection Agency, other Fed12 eral and State officials experienced in administering envi13 ronmental protection programs, members of the regulated

14 community and members of public interest groups orga15 nized to further the goals of environmental protection. The

16 Executive Director is authorized to pay members of advi17 sory committees and others who perform services as au18 thorized under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code,

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

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

21 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. The

22 advisory group shall be subject to the provisions of the

23 Federal Advisory Committee Act.
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•S 171 RS2

1 SEC. 306. FUNDING; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000

3 in fiscal year 1993 and $5,000,000 in fiscal year 1994

4 to carry out the provisions of this title.

5 TITLE IV——EFFECTIVE DATE

6 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

8 take effect on such date during the 6-month period begin9 ning on the date of enactment, as the President may direct

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

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

12 and such amendments shall take effect 6 months after the

13 date of the enactment of this Act.

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

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

17 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is as

18 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.
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•S 171 RS2

Sec. 112. Termination of the Council on Environmental Quality and transfer of

functions.

Sec. 113. Administrative provisions.

Sec. 114. Inherently governmental functions.

Sec. 115. References.

Sec. 116. Savings provisions.

Sec. 117. Conforming amendments.

Sec. 118. Additional conforming amendments.

TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION ON IMPROVING

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Sec. 201. Establishment; membership.

Sec. 202. Commission responsibilities.

Sec. 203. Report to the President and Congress.

Sec. 204. Commission staff.

Sec. 205. Advisory groups.

Sec. 206. Termination of Commission.

Sec. 207. Funding; authorization of appropriations.

TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 301. Effective date.

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 Government;

14 (2) protection of the environment increasingly

15 involves cooperation with foreign states, including the
40

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1 most highly industrialized states all of whose top en2 vironmental officials have ministerial status;

3 (3) the size of the budget and the number of Fed4 eral civil servants devoted to tasks associated with en5 vironmental protection at the Environmental Protec6 tion Agency is commensurate with departmental sta7 tus; and

8 (4) a cabinet-level Department of the Environ9 ment should be established.

10 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

11 ENVIRONMENT.

12 (a) REDESIGNATION.—The Environmental Protection

13 Agency is hereby redesignated as the Department of the En14 vironment (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Department’’) and

15 shall be an executive department in the executive branch

16 of the Government. The official acronym of the Department

17 shall be the ‘‘U.S.D.E.’’.

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

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

20 Environment who shall be appointed by the President, by

21 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Depart22 ment shall be administered under the supervision and direc23 tion of the Secretary.

24 (2) The Secretary may not assign duties for or delegate

25 authority for the supervision of the Assistant Secretaries,
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•S 171 RS2

1 the General Counsel, the Director of Environmental Statis2 tics, or the Inspector General of the Department to any offi3 cer of the Department other than the Deputy Secretary.

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

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

6 other provision of law, the Secretary may delegate any

7 functions including the making of regulations to such offi8 cers and employees of the Department as the Secretary may

9 designate, and may authorize such successive redelegations

10 of such functions within the Department as determined to

11 be necessary or appropriate.

12 (c) DEPUTY SECRETARY.—There shall be in the De13 partment a Deputy Secretary of the Environment, who

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

15 and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary shall per16 form such responsibilities as the Secretary shall prescribe

17 and shall act as the Secretary during the absence or disabil18 ity of the Secretary or in the event of a vacancy in the

19 position of Secretary.

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

21 Secretary shall consist of a Secretary and a Deputy Sec22 retary and may include an Executive Secretary and such

23 other executive officers as the Secretary may determine nec24 essary.
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•S 171 RS2

1 (e) REGIONAL OFFICES.—The Secretary is authorized

2 to establish, alter, discontinue, or maintain such regional

3 or other field offices as he may determine necessary to carry

4 out the functions vested in him or other officials of the

5 Department.

6 (f) INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC7 RETARY.—(1) In addition to exercising other international

8 responsibilities under existing provisions of law, the

9 Secretary is—

10 (A) encouraged to assist the Secretary of State to

11 carry out his primary responsibilities for coordinat12 ing, negotiating, implementing and participating in

13 international agreements, including participation in

14 international organizations, relevant to environ15 mental protection; and

16 (B) authorized and encouraged to—

17 (i) conduct research on and apply existing

18 research capabilities to the nature and impacts

19 of international environmental problems and de20 velop responses to such problems; and

21 (ii) provide technical and other assistance

22 to foreign countries and international bodies to

23 improve the quality of the environment.

24 (2) The Secretary of State shall consult with the Sec25 retary of the Environment and such other persons as he
43

•S 171 RS2

1 determines appropriate on such negotiations, implementa2 tions, and participations described under paragraph

3 (1)(A).

4 (g) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY WITHIN THE DE5 PARTMENT.—Except as provided under section 112, nothing

6 in the provisions of this Act—

7 (1) authorizes the Secretary of the Environment

8 to require any action by any officer of any executive

9 department or agency other than officers of the De10 partment of the Environment, except that this para11 graph shall not affect any authority provided for by

12 any other provision of law authorizing the Secretary

13 of the Environment to require any such actions;

14 (2) modifies any Federal law that is adminis15 tered by any executive department or agency; or

16 (3) transfers to the Department of the Environ17 ment any authority exercised by any other Federal

18 executive department or agency prior to the date of

19 the enactment of this Act, except the authority exer20 cised by the Environmental Protection Agency.

21 (h) APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVI22 RONMENT.—The provisions of this Act apply only to activi23 ties of the Department of the Environment, except where

24 expressly provided otherwise.
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1 SEC. 104. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITIONS.—There shall be in

3 the Department such number of Assistant Secretaries, not

4 to exceed 12, as the Secretary shall determine, each of whom

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

6 and consent of the Senate.

7 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETAR8 IES.—(1) The Secretary shall assign to Assistant Secretar9 ies such responsibilities as the Secretary considers appro10 priate, including, but not limited to—

11 (A) enforcement;

12 (B) compliance monitoring;

13 (C) research and development;

14 (D) air;

15 (E) radiation;

16 (F) water;

17 (G) pesticides;

18 (H) toxic substances;

19 (I) solid waste;

20 (J) hazardous waste;

21 (K) hazardous waste cleanup;

22 (L) emergency response;

23 (M) international affairs;

24 (N) policy, planning, and evaluation;

25 (O) pollution prevention;

26 (P) congressional affairs;
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1 (Q) intergovernmental affairs;

2 (R) public affairs; and

3 (S) administration and resources management,

4 information resources management, procurement and

5 assistance management, and personnel and labor rela6 tions.

7 (2) The Secretary may assign and modify any respon8 sibilities at his discretion under paragraph (1), except that

9 the Secretary may not modify the responsibilities of any

10 Assistant Secretary without prior written notification with

11 explanation of such modification to the appropriate com12 mittees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

13 (c) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES PRIOR TO

14 CONFIRMATION.—Whenever the President submits the name

15 of an individual to the Senate for confirmation as Assistant

16 Secretary under this section, the President shall state the

17 particular responsibilities of the Department such individ18 ual shall exercise upon taking office.

19 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.—On

20 the effective date of this Act, the Administrator and Deputy

21 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

22 shall be redesignated as the Secretary and Deputy Secretary

23 of the Department of the Environment, Assistant Adminis24 trators of the Agency shall be redesignated as Assistant Sec25 retaries of the Department, the General Counsel and the In-
46

•S 171 RS2

1 spector General of the Agency shall be redesignated as the

2 General Counsel and the Inspector General of the Depart3 ment, and the Chief Financial Officer of the Agency shall

4 be redesignated as the Chief Financial Officer of the Depart5 ment, without renomination or reconfirmation.

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

7 The Secretary shall designate the Assistant Secretary whose

8 responsibilities include information resource management

9 functions as required by section 3506 of title 44, United

10 States Code, as the Chief Information Resources Officer of

11 the Department.

12 (2) The Chief Information Resources Officer shall—

13 (A) advise the Secretary on information resource

14 management activities of the Department as required

15 by section 3506 of title 44, United States Code;

16 (B) develop and maintain an information re17 sources management system for the Department which

18 provides for—

19 (i) the conduct of and accountability for

20 any acquisitions made pursuant to a delegation

21 of authority under section 111 of the Federal

22 Property and Administrative Services Act of

23 1949 (40 U.S.C. 759);

24 (ii) the implementation of all applicable

25 government-wide and Department information
47

•S 171 RS2

1 policies, principles, standards, and guidelines

2 with respect to information collection, paperwork

3 reduction, privacy and security of records, shar4 ing and dissemination of information, acquisi5 tion and use of information technology, and

6 other information resource management func7 tions;

8 (iii) the periodic evaluation of and, as need9 ed, the planning and implementation of im10 provements in the accuracy, completeness, and

11 reliability of data and records contained with

12 Department information systems; and

13 (iv) the development and annual revision of

14 a 5-year plan for meeting the Department’s in15 formation technology needs; and

16 (C) report to the Secretary as required under sec17 tion 3506 of title 44, United States Code.

18 SEC. 105. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITIONS.—There shall be in

20 the Department such number of Deputy Assistant Secretar21 ies as the Secretary may determine.

22 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—Each Deputy Assistant Sec23 retary—

24 (1) shall be appointed by the Secretary; and
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1 (2) shall perform such functions as the Secretary

2 shall prescribe.

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

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

5 or more Deputy Assistant Secretaries appointed to assist

6 such Assistant Secretary.

7 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL.

8 There shall be in the Department the Office of the Gen9 eral Counsel. There shall be at the head of such office a Gen10 eral Counsel who shall be appointed by the President, by

11 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The General

12 Counsel shall be the chief legal officer of the Department

13 and shall provide legal assistance to the Secretary concern14 ing the programs and policies of the Department.

15 SEC. 107. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

16 The Office of Inspector General of the Environmental

17 Protection Agency, established in accordance with the In18 spector General Act of 1978, is hereby redesignated as the

19 Office of Inspector General of the Department of the

20 Environment.

21 SEC. 108. BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established within

23 the Department a Bureau of Environmental Statistics

24 (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’). The Bureau shall

25 be responsible for—
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1 (A) compiling, analyzing, and publishing a com2 prehensive set of environmental quality statistics

3 which should provide timely summary in the form of

4 industrywide aggregates, multiyear averages, or totals

5 or some similar form and include information on—

6 (i) the nature, source, and amount of pol7 lutants in the environment; and

8 (ii) the effects on the public and the envi9 ronment of those pollutants;

10 (B) promulgating guidelines for the collection of

11 information by the Department required for the sta12 tistics under this paragraph to assure that the infor13 mation is accurate, reliable, relevant, and in a form

14 that permits systematic analysis;

15 (C) coordinating the collection of information by

16 the Department for developing such statistics with re17 lated information-gathering activities conducted by

18 other Federal agencies;

19 (D) making readily accessible the statistics pub20 lished under this paragraph; and

21 (E) identifying missing information of the kind

22 described under subparagraph (A) (i) and (ii), re23 viewing these information needs at least annually

24 with the Science Advisory Board, and making rec25 ommendations to the appropriate Department of En-
50

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1 vironment officials concerning extramural and intra2 mural research programs to provide such information.

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

4 authorize the Bureau to require the collection of any data

5 by any other Department, State or local government, or to

6 establish observation or monitoring programs. The Bureau

7 shall not duplicate the information collection functions of

8 other Federal agencies.

9 (3) Information compiled by the Bureau of Environ10 mental Statistics, which has been submitted for purposes

11 of statistical reporting requirements of this law, shall not

12 be disclosed publicly in a manner that would reveal the

13 identity of the submitter, including submissions by Federal,

14 State, or local governments, or reveal the identity of any

15 individual consistent with the provisions of section 552a of

16 title 5, United States Code (the Privacy Act of 1974). This

17 paragraph shall not affect the availability of data provided

18 to the Department under any other provision of law admin19 istered by the Department. The confidentiality provisions

20 of other statutes authorizing the collection of environmental

21 statistics shall also apply, including but not limited to, sec22 tion 14 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C.

23 2613), section 2(h) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,

24 and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136h), section 114(c) of the
51

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1 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 741(c)), and section 1905 of title

2 18, United States Code.

3 (b) DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.—The

4 Bureau shall be under the direction of a Director of Envi5 ronmental Statistics (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Direc6 tor’’) who shall be appointed by the President, by and with

7 the advice and consent of the Senate. The term of the Direc8 tor shall be 4 years. The Director shall be a qualified indi9 vidual with experience in the compilation and analysis of

10 environmental statistics. The Director shall report directly

11 to the Secretary. The Director shall be compensated at the

12 rate provided for at level V of the Executive Schedule under

13 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.

14 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS ANNUAL REPORT.—

15 On July 1, 1995, and each July 1 thereafter, the Director

16 shall submit to the President an Environmental Statistics

17 Annual Report (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Report’’). The

18 Report shall include, but not be limited to—

19 (1) statistics on environmental quality includ20 ing—

21 (A) The environmental quality of the Na22 tion with respect to all aspects of the environ23 ment, including, but not limited to, the air,

24 aquatic ecosystems, including marine, estuarine,

25 and fresh water, and the terrestrial ecosystems,
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1 including, but not limited to, the forest, dry2 land, wetland, range, urban, suburban, and

3 rural environment; and

4 (B) changes in the natural environment, in5 cluding the plant and animal systems, and other

6 information for a continuing analysis of these

7 changes or trends and an interpretation of their

8 underlying causes;

9 (2) statistics on the effects of changes in environ10 mental quality on human health and nonhuman spe11 cies and ecosystems;

12 (3) documentation of the method used to obtain

13 and assure the quality of the statistics presented in

14 the Report;

15 (4) economic information on the current and

16 projected costs and benefits of environmental protec17 tion; and

18 (5) recommendations on improving environ19 mental statistical information.

20 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF THE FUNCTIONS

21 OF THE DIRECTOR PENDING CONFIRMATION.—An individ22 ual who, on the effective date of this Act, is performing any

23 of the functions required by this section to be performed by

24 the Director may continue to perform such functions until
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1 such functions are assigned to an individual appointed as

2 the Director under this Act.

3 (e) ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL STATIS4 TICS.—The Director shall appoint an Advisory Council on

5 Environmental Statistics, comprised of no more than 6 pri6 vate citizens who have expertise in environmental statistics

7 and analysis (except that at least one of such appointees

8 should have expertise in economics) to advise the Director

9 on environmental statistics and analyses, including whether

10 the statistics and analyses disseminated by the Bureau are

11 of high quality and are based upon the best available objec12 tive information. The Council shall be subject to the provi13 sions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

14 SEC. 109. GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN

15 ACTIVITIES.

16 The Secretary may make grants to and enter into con17 tracts with State and local governments, Indian tribes, uni18 versities, and other organizations to assist them in meeting

19 the costs of collecting specific data and other short term ac20 tivities that are related to the responsibilities and functions

21 under section 108(a)(1) (A), (B), (C), and (D).

22 SEC. 110. STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.

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

24 after the start of Bureau operations, the Secretary of the

25 Department of Environment, in consultation with the Di-
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1 rector of the Bureau and the Assistant Secretary designated

2 as Chief Information Resources Officer, shall enter into an

3 agreement with the National Academy of Sciences for a

4 study, evaluation, and report on the adequacy of the data

5 collection procedures and capabilities of the Department. No

6 later than 18 months following an agreement, the National

7 Academy of Sciences shall report its findings to the Sec8 retary and the Congress. The report shall include an evalua9 tion of the Department’s data collection resources, needs,

10 and requirements, and shall include an assessment and

11 evaluation of the following systems, capabilities, and proce12 dures established by the Department to meet those needs and

13 requirements:

14 (A) data collection procedures and capabilities;

15 (B) data analysis procedures and capabilities;

16 (C) the ability of data bases to integrate with

17 one another;

18 (D) computer hardware and software capabili19 ties;

20 (E) management information systems, including

21 the ability of management information systems to in22 tegrate with another;

23 (F) Department personnel; and

24 (G) the Department’s budgetary needs and re25 sources for data collection, including an assessment of
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1 the adequacy of the budgetary resources provided to

2 the Department and budgetary resources used by

3 the Department for data collection needs and

4 purposes.

5 (2) The report shall include recommendations for im6 proving the Department’s data collection systems, capabili7 ties, procedures, data collection, and analytical hardware

8 and software, and for improving its management informa9 tion systems.

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

11 authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to

12 carry out the provisions of this section.

13 SEC. 111. MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

14 (a) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

15 CONSIDERATIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this

16 Act, political affiliation or political qualification may not

17 be taken into account in connection with the appointment

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

19 or in the assignment or advancement of any career civil

20 servant in the Department.

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

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

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

24 shall report to the Senate Committees on Appropriations,

25 Governmental Affairs, and Environment and Public Works
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1 and to the House of Representatives on the estimated addi2 tional cost of implementing this title over the cost as if this

3 title had not been implemented, including a justification

4 of increased staffing not required in the execution of this

5 title.

6 SEC. 112. TERMINATION OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRON7 MENTAL QUALITY AND TRANSFER OF FUNC8 TIONS.

9 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL ON

10 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.—(1) Except as provided under

11 paragraph (2), all functions of the Council on Environ12 mental Quality under titles I and II of the National Envi13 ronmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and under

14 any other law, are transferred to the Secretary. The Sec15 retary is authorized to take all necessary action, including

16 the promulgation of regulations, to carry out these func17 tions.

18 (2) Referrals of interagency disagreements concerning

19 proposed major Federal actions significantly affecting the

20 quality of the human environment under section 102(2)(C)

21 of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.

22 102(2)(C)) and concerning matters under section 309(b) of

23 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7609(b)) shall be made to the

24 President for resolution.
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1 (b) TERMINATION OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRON2 MENTAL QUALITY.—(1) Section 204 of the National Envi3 ronmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4344) is amended by strik4 ing out ‘‘Council’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Secretary

5 of the Environment’’.

6 (2) Sections 202, 203, 205, 206, 207, and 208 of the

7 National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4342, 4343,

8 4345, 4346, 4346a, and 4346b) are repealed.

9 (3) The heading for title II of the National Environ10 mental Policy Act is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘TITLE II

12 ‘‘ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REPORT’’.

13 (c) REFERENCES IN FEDERAL LAW.—Reference in any

14 other Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or dele15 gation of authority, or any document of or relating to the

16 Council on Environmental Quality—

17 (1) with regard to functions transferred under

18 subsection (a)(1), shall be deemed to refer to the Sec19 retary; and

20 (2) with regard to disagreements and matters de21 scribed under subsection (a)(2), shall be deemed to

22 refer to the President.

23 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Unobligated funds

24 available to the Council on Environmental Quality shall

25 remain available to the Department until expended for the
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1 gradual and orderly termination of the Council and trans2 fer of Council functions as provided in this Act.

3 (e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—(1) All orders, determina4 tions, rules, regulations, permits, agreements, grants, con5 tracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, privileges, and

6 other administrative actions—

7 (A) which have been issued, made, granted, or

8 allowed to become effective by the President, by the

9 Council on Environmental Quality, or by a court of

10 competent jurisdiction, in the performance of func11 tions of the Council on Environmental Quality, and

12 (B) which are in effect at the time this Act takes

13 effect, or were final before the effective date of this Act

14 and are to become effective on or after the effective

15 date of this Act,

16 shall continue in effect according to their terms until modi17 fied, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accord18 ance with law by the President, the Secretary of the Envi19 ronment, or other authorized official, a court of competent

20 jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

21 (2) The provisions of this Act shall not affect any pro22 ceedings or any application for any license, permit, certifi23 cate, or financial assistance pending before the Council on

24 Environmental Quality at the time this Act takes effect, but

25 such proceedings and applications shall be continued. Or-
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1 ders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be

2 taken therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to

3 such orders, as if this Act had not been enacted, and orders

4 issued in any such proceedings shall continue in effect until

5 modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly au6 thorized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

7 by operation of law. Nothing in this paragraph shall be

8 deemed to prohibit the discontinuance or modification of

9 any such proceeding under the same terms and conditions

10 and to the same extent that such proceeding could have been

11 discontinued or modified if this Act had not been enacted.

12 (3) The provisions of this section shall not affect suits

13 commenced before the date this Act takes effect, and in all

14 such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and

15 judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same

16 effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

17 (4) No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced by

18 or against the Council on Environmental Quality, or by

19 or against any individual in the official capacity of such

20 individual as an officer of the Council on Environmental

21 Quality, shall abate by reason of the enactment of this Act.

22 (5) Any administrative action relating to the prepara23 tion or promulgation of a regulation by the Council on En24 vironmental Quality may be continued by the Department
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1 or the President with the same effect as if this Act had not

2 been enacted.

3 (6) The contracts, liabilities, records, property, and

4 other assets and interests of the Council on Environmental

5 Quality shall, after the effective date of this Act, be consid6 ered to be the contracts, liabilities, records, property, and

7 other assets and interests of the Department.

8 SEC. 113. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

9 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF MONEY AND PROPERTY.—(1) The

10 Secretary may accept and retain money, uncompensated

11 services, and other real and personal property or rights

12 (whether by gift, bequest, devise, or otherwise) for the pur13 pose of carrying out the Department’s programs and activi14 ties, except that the Secretary shall not endorse any com15 pany, product, organization, or service. Gifts, bequests, and

16 devises of money and proceeds from sales of other property

17 received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall be credited in a

18 separate fund in the Treasury of the United States and

19 shall be available for disbursement upon the order of the

20 Secretary.

21 (2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations and

22 guidelines setting forth the criteria the Department shall

23 use in determining whether to accept a gift, bequest, or de24 vise. Such criteria shall take into consideration whether the

25 acceptance of the property would reflect unfavorably upon
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1 the Department’s or any employee’s ability to carry out its

2 responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objective

3 manner, or would compromise the integrity of or the ap4 pearance of the integrity of a Government program or any

5 official involved in that program.

6 (b) SEAL OF THE DEPARTMENT.—(1) On the effective

7 date of this Act, the seal of the Environmental Protection

8 Agency with appropriate changes shall be the seal of the

9 Department of the Environment, until such time as the Sec10 retary may cause a seal of office to be made for the Depart11 ment of the Environment of such design as the Secretary

12 shall approve.

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

14 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

15 section:

16 ‘‘§ 716. Department of the Environment Seal

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

18 likeness of the official seal of the Department of the Envi19 ronment, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with,

20 any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or

21 other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture,

22 telecast, or other production, or on any building, monu23 ment, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a

24 manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression

25 of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United
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1 States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality

2 thereof, shall be fined not more than $250 or imprisoned

3 not more than 6 months, or both.

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

5 promulgated by the Secretary of the Environment and pub6 lished in the Federal Register, knowingly manufactures, re7 produces, sells, or purchases for resale, either separately or

8 appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likeness

9 of the official seal of the Department of the Environment,

10 or any substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or

11 sale of the article for the official use of the Government of

12 the United States, shall be fined not more than $250 or

13 imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.

14 ‘‘(c) A violation of subsection (a) or (b) may be en15 joined at the suit of the Attorney General of the United

16 States upon complaint by any authorized representative of

17 the Secretary of the Department of the Environment.’’.

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

19 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end there20 of:

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

21 (c) ACQUISITION OF COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS.—The

22 Secretary is authorized to acquire any of the following de23 scribed rights if the property acquired thereby is for use

24 by or for, or useful to, the Department:
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1 (1) copyrights, patents, and applications for pat2 ents, designs, processes, and manufacturing data;

3 (2) licenses under copyrights, patents, and appli4 cations for patents; and

5 (3) releases, before suit is brought, for past in6 fringement of patents or copyrights.

7 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMPENSATION.—The Sec8 retary is authorized to pay members of advisory committees

9 and others who perform services as authorized under section

10 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individuals

11 not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent to the rate for

12 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title

13 5, United States Code.

14 SEC. 114. INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.

15 (a) GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—(1)

16 Inherently governmental functions of the Department shall

17 be performed only by officers and employees of the United

18 States. For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘inherently

19 governmental function’’ means any activity which is so in20 timately related to the public interest as to mandate per21 formance by Government officers and employees. Inherently

22 governmental functions include those activities which re23 quire either the exercise of discretion in applying Govern24 ment authority or the use of value judgment in making de25 cisions for the Government. The Secretary shall promulgate
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1 regulations or internal guidance to implement this section.

2 This section is not intended, and may not be construed, to

3 create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, en4 forceable at law by a party against the United States, the

5 Department, its officers, or any person.

6 (b) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—(1) The Secretary shall

7 by regulation require any person proposing to enter into

8 a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement whether by

9 sealed bid or negotiation, for the conduct of research, devel10 opment, evaluation activities, or for consulting services, to

11 provide the Secretary, prior to entering into any such con12 tract, agreement, or arrangement, with all relevant infor13 mation, as determined by the Secretary, bearing on whether

14 that person has a possible conflict of interest with respect

15 to—

16 (A) being able to render impartial, technically

17 sound, or objective assistance or advice in light of

18 other activities or relationships with other persons; or

19 (B) being given an unfair competitive advan20 tage.

21 (2) Such person shall ensure, in accordance with regu22 lations prescribed by the Secretary, compliance with this

23 section by subcontractors of such person who are engaged

24 to perform similar services.
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1 (3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘consult2 ing services’’ includes—

3 (A) management and professional support serv4 ices;

5 (B) studies, analyses, and evaluations;

6 (C) engineering and technical services, excluding

7 routine engineering services such as automated data

8 processing and architect and engineering contracts;

9 and

10 (D) research and development.

11 (c) REQUIRE AFFIRMATIVE FINDING; CONFLICTS OF

12 INTEREST WHICH CANNOT BE AVOIDED; MITIGATION OF

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

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

15 agreement, or arrangement, unless he affirmatively finds,

16 after evaluating all such information and any other rel17 evant information otherwise available to him, either that—

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

19 of interest would exist; or

20 (B) that such conflict has been avoided after ap21 propriate conditions have been included in such con22 tract, agreement, or arrangement.

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

24 interest exists and that such conflict of interest cannot be

25 avoided by including appropriate conditions therein, the
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1 Secretary may enter into such contract, agreement, or ar2 rangement, if the Secretary—

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

4 the United States to do so; and

5 (B) includes appropriate conditions in such con6 tract, agreement, or arrangement to mitigate such

7 conflict.

8 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING CONFLICTS OF INTER9 EST.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations which re10 quire public notice to be given whenever the Secretary deter11 mines that the award of a contract, agreement, or arrange12 ment may result in a conflict of interest which cannot be

13 avoided by including appropriate conditions therein.

14 (e) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this section shall pre15 clude the Department from promulgating regulations to

16 monitor potential conflicts after the contract award.

17 (f) CENTRAL FILE.—The Department shall maintain

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

19 issued. Other information required under this section shall

20 also be compiled. Access to this information shall be con21 trolled to safeguard any proprietary information.

22 (g) REGULATIONS.—No later than 120 days after the

23 effective date of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate reg24 ulations for the implementation of this section.
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1 SEC. 115. REFERENCES.

2 Reference in any other Federal law, Executive order,

3 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu4 ment of or pertaining—

5 (1) to the Administrator of the Environmental

6 Protection Agency shall be deemed to refer to the Sec7 retary of the Environment;

8 (2) to the Environmental Protection Agency

9 shall be deemed to refer to the Department of the En10 vironment;

11 (3) to the Deputy Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency shall be deemed to refer to

13 the Deputy Secretary of the Environment; or

14 (4) to any Assistant Administrator of the Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to refer

16 to an Assistant Secretary of the Department of the

17 Environment.

18 SEC. 116. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

19 (a) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—All

20 orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, agree21 ments, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations,

22 privileges, and other administrative actions—

23 (1) which have been issued, made, granted, or al24 lowed to become effective by the President, by the Ad25 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,

26 or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the per-
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1 formance of functions of the Administrator or the En2 vironmental Protection Agency, and

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

4 effect, or were final before the effective date of this Act

5 and are to become effective on or after the effective

6 date of this Act,

7 shall continue in effect according to their terms until modi8 fied, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accord9 ance with law by the President, the Secretary of the Envi10 ronment, or other authorized official, a court of competent

11 jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

12 (b) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of

13 this Act shall not affect any proceedings or any application

14 for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance

15 pending before the Environmental Protection Agency at the

16 time this Act takes effect, but such proceedings and applica17 tions shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in such pro18 ceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and payments

19 shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this Act had

20 not been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceedings

21 shall continue in effect until modified, terminated, super22 seded, or revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court

23 of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing

24 in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the dis25 continuance or modification of any such proceeding under
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1 the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that

2 such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified

3 if this Act had not been enacted.

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

5 shall not affect suits commenced before the date this Act

6 takes effect, and in all such suits, proceedings shall be had,

7 appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner

8 and with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

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

10 other proceeding commenced by or against the Environ11 mental Protection Agency, or by or against any individual

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

13 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall abate by reason

14 of the enactment of this Act.

15 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO PROMUL16 GATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administrative action re17 lating to the preparation or promulgation of a regulation

18 by the Environmental Protection Agency may be continued

19 by the Department with the same effect as if this Act had

20 not been enacted.

21 (f) PROPERTY AND RESOURCES.—The contracts, li22 abilities, records, property, and other assets and interests

23 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, after the ef24 fective date of this Act, be considered to be the contracts,
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1 liabilities, records, property, and other assets and interests

2 of the Department.

3 (g) SAVINGS.—The Department of the Environment

4 and its officers, employees, and agents shall have all the

5 powers and authorities of the Environmental Protection

6 Agency.

7 SEC. 117. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

8 (a) PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.—Section 19(d)(1) of

9 title 3, United States Code, is amended by inserting before

10 the period at the end thereof the following: ‘‘, Secretary of

11 the Environment’’.

12 (b) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT, CIVIL SERVICE

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

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

15 Department of the Environment’’.

16 (c) COMPENSATION, LEVEL I.—Section 5312 of title 5,

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end there18 of the following: ‘‘Secretary of the Environment’’.

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

20 5, United States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘Admin21 istrator of Environmental Protection Agency’’ and insert22 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘Deputy Secretary of the Environment’’.

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

24 5, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by striking out ‘‘Inspector General, Environ2 mental Protection Agency’’ and inserting in lieu

3 thereof ‘‘Inspector General, Department of the Envi4 ronment’’; and

5 (2) by striking each reference to an Assistant Ad6 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

7 and by adding at the end thereof the following:

8 ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of the Envi9 ronment (12).

10 ‘‘General Counsel, Department of the Environ11 ment.’’; and

12 (3) by striking out ‘‘Chief Financial Officer, En13 vironmental Protection agency’’ and inserting in lieu

14 thereof ‘‘Chief Financial Officer, Department of the

15 Environment.’’

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

17 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

18 thereof the following:

19 ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sta20 tistics, Department of the Environment.

21 ‘‘Executive Director of the Commission on Im22 proving Environmental Protection.’’.

23 (g) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT.—The Inspector General

24 Act of 1978 is amended—

25 (1) in section 2(1)—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘the Department of the

2 Environment,’’ after ‘‘Veterans Affairs,’’; and

3 (B) by striking out ‘‘The Environmental

4 Protection Agency,’’;

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

6 Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the Envi7 ronment,’’; and

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

9 Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the Envi10 ronment,’’.

11 SEC. 118. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

12 After consultation with the Committee on Govern13 mental Affairs and the Committee on Environment and

14 Public Works and other appropriate committees of the Unit15 ed States Senate and the appropriate committees of the

16 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Environment

17 shall prepare and submit to the Congress legislation which

18 the Secretary determines is necessary and appropriate con19 taining technical and conforming amendments to the Unit20 ed States Code, and to other provisions of law, to reflect

21 the changes made by this Act.
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1 TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT OF

2 THE COMMISSION ON IM3 PROVING ENVIRONMENTAL

4 PROTECTION

5 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com7 mission on Improving Environmental Protection (hereafter

8 referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’) whose 13 members includ9 ing the Chairman shall be composed of experts in govern10 mental organization (with emphasis on environmental or11 ganization), management of organizations and environ12 mental regulation and improved environmental govern13 mental service delivery, consisting of—

14 (1) seven members to be appointed by the

15 President;

16 (2) three members to be appointed by the Speak17 er of the House; and

18 (3) three members to be appointed by the Senate

19 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. 202. COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.

24 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commission shall be re25 sponsible for examining and making recommendations on
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1 the management and implementation of the environmental

2 laws and programs within the jurisdiction of the Depart3 ment of the Environment in order to enhance the ability

4 of the Department to preserve and protect human health

5 and the environment. The Commission shall make rec6 ommendations and otherwise advise the President and the

7 Congress on the need to—

8 (1) enhance and strengthen the management and

9 implementation of existing programs within the De10 partment;

11 (2) enhance the organization of the Department

12 to eliminate duplication and overlap between different

13 programs;

14 (3) enhance the coordination between different

15 programs and offices within the Department;

16 (4) enhance the consistency of policies throughout

17 the Department; and

18 (5) establish new and enhanced small business

19 and small governmental jurisdictions compliance as20 sistance programs, and to strengthen organizational

21 mechanisms in the Department for providing better

22 compliance and technical assistance to small busi23 nesses and small governmental jurisdictions.

24 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall pro25 vide specific steps and proposals for implementing the Com-
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1 mission’s recommendations including an estimate of the

2 costs of implementing such recommendations, except that

3 the Commission shall not suggest substantive changes in the

4 policy expressed by existing laws.

5 (c) CONFLICT OF INTERESTS.—For purposes of the

6 provisions of chapter 11 of part I of title 18, United States

7 Code, a member of the Commission (to whom such provi8 sions would not otherwise apply except for this subsection)

9 shall be a special Government employee.

10 SEC. 203. REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.

11 The Commission shall report to the President and the

12 Congress on its investigation, findings, and recommenda13 tions in an interim report no later than 12 months after

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

15 than 24 months after the effective date of this title. The in16 terim report shall be made available for public review and

17 comment, and the comments taken into account in finaliz18 ing the report.

19 SEC. 204. COMMISSION STAFF.

20 The Commission shall appoint an Executive Director

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

22 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

23 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. With the

24 approval of the Commission the Executive Director may ap-
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1 point and fix the compensation of staff sufficient to enable

2 the Commission to carry out its duties.

3 SEC. 205. ADVISORY GROUPS.

4 The Chairman shall convene at least one advisory

5 group to assist the Commission in developing its rec6 ommendations. One advisory group shall be composed of

7 past staff of the Department of the Environment and its

8 predecessor Environmental Protection Agency, other Fed9 eral and State officials experienced in administering envi10 ronmental protection programs, members of the regulated

11 community and members of public interest groups orga12 nized to further the goals of environmental protection. The

13 Executive Director is authorized to pay members of advi14 sory committees and others who perform services as author15 ized under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at

16 rates for individuals not to exceed the per diem rate equiva17 lent to the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule under

18 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. The advisory

19 group shall be subject to the provisions of the Federal Advi20 sory Committee Act.

21 SEC. 206. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

22 No later than 90 days after the date on which the Com23 mission submits its final report, the Commission shall ter24 minate unless otherwise directed by the President.
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1 SEC. 207. FUNDING; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 in

3 fiscal year 1993 and $2,000,000 in fiscal year 1994 to carry

4 out the provisions of this title.

5 TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE

6 SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

8 take effect on such date during the 6-month period begin9 ning on the date of enactment, as the President may direct

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

11 Executive order for the purpose of this section, this Act and

12 such amendments shall take effect 6 months after the date

13 of the enactment of this Act.

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