II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 171

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

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’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is

2 as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

TITLE I—ELEVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY TO CABINET LEVEL

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Findings.

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

Sec. 104. Assistant Secretaries.

Sec. 105. Deputy Assistant Secretaries.

Sec. 106. Office of the General Counsel.

Sec. 107. Office of the Inspector General.

Sec. 108. Bureau of Environmental Statistics.

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

Sec. 110. Study of data needs.

Sec. 111. Miscellaneous employment restrictions.

Sec. 112. Administrative provisions.

Sec. 113. Inherently governmental functions.

Sec. 114. References.

Sec. 115. Savings provisions.

Sec. 116. Conforming amendments.

Sec. 117. Additional conforming amendments.

TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES IN

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO WHICH IT BELONGS

Sec. 201. International energy conference.

Sec. 202. International greenhouse gas monitoring program.

TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION ON IMPROVING

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Sec. 301. Establishment; membership.

Sec. 302. Commission responsibilities.

Sec. 303. Report to the President and Congress.

Sec. 304. Commission staff.

Sec. 305. Advisory groups.

Sec. 306. Funding; authorization of appropriations.

TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 401. Effective date.
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1 TITLE I—ELEVATION OF THE EN2 VIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

3 AGENCY TO CABINET LEVEL

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

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

6 Environment Act’’.

7 SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

8 The Congress finds that—

9 (1) recent concern with Federal environmental

10 policy has highlighted the necessity of assigning to

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

15 (2) protection of the environment increasingly

16 involves negotiations with foreign states, including

17 the most highly industrialized states all of whose top

18 environmental officials have ministerial status;

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

20 Federal civil servants devoted to tasks associated

21 with environmental protection at the Environmental

22 Protection Agency is commensurate with depart23 mental status; and

24 (4) a cabinet-level Department of the Environ25 ment should be established.
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1 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

2 ENVIRONMENT.

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

5 the Environment (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Depart6 ment’’) and shall be an executive department in the execu7 tive branch of the Government. The official acronym of

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

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

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

11 Environment who shall be appointed by the President, by

12 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The De13 partment shall be administered under the supervision and

14 direction of the Secretary.

15 (2) The Secretary may not assign duties for or dele16 gate authority for the supervision of the Assistant Sec17 retaries, the General Counsel, the Director of Environ18 mental Statistics, or the Inspector General of the Depart19 ment to any officer of the Department other than the Dep20 uty Secretary.

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

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

23 other provision of law, the Secretary may delegate any

24 functions including the making of regulations to such offi25 cers and employees of the Department as the Secretary

26 may designate, and may authorize such successive
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1 redelegations of such functions within the Department as

2 determined to be necessary or appropriate.

3 (c) DEPUTY SECRETARY.—There shall be in the De4 partment a Deputy Secretary of the Environment, who

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

6 and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary shall

7 perform such responsibilities as the Secretary shall pre8 scribe and shall act as the Secretary during the absence

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

10 in the Office of Secretary.

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

12 Secretary shall consist of a Secretary and a Deputy Sec13 retary and may include an Executive Secretary and such

14 other executive officers as the Secretary may determine

15 necessary.

16 (e) REGIONAL OFFICES.—The Secretary is author17 ized to establish, alter, discontinue, or maintain such re18 gional or other field offices as he may determine necessary

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

20 of the Department.

21 (f) INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC22 RETARY.—(1) In addition to exercising other international

23 responsibilities under existing provisions of law, the

24 Secretary is—
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1 (A) encouraged to assist the Secretary of State

2 to carry out his primary responsibilities for coordi3 nating, negotiating, implementing and participating

4 in international agreements, including participation

5 in international organizations, relevant to environ6 mental protection; and

7 (B) authorized and encouraged to—

8 (i) conduct research on and apply existing

9 research capabilities to the nature and impacts

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

12 (ii) provide technical and other assistance

13 to foreign countries and international bodies to

14 improve the quality of the environment.

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

17 determines appropriate on such negotiations, implementa18 tions, and participations described under paragraph

19 (1)(A).

20 (g) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY WITHIN THE

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

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

25 the Department of the Environment, except that this
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1 paragraph shall not affect any authority provided for

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

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

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

9 executive department or agency prior to the date of

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

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

15 where expressly provided otherwise.

16 SEC. 104. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

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

18 in the Department such number of Assistant Secretaries,

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

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

21 the advice and consent of the Senate.

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

25 appropriate, including, but not limited to—
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1 (A) enforcement and compliance monitoring;

2 (B) research and development;

3 (C) air and radiation;

4 (D) water;

5 (E) pesticides and toxic substances;

6 (F) solid waste;

7 (G) hazardous waste;

8 (H) hazardous waste cleanup;

9 (I) emergency response;

10 (J) international affairs;

11 (K) policy, planning, and evaluation;

12 (L) pollution prevention;

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

15 (N) administration and resources management,

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

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

22 the Secretary may not modify the responsibilities of any

23 Assistant Secretary without substantial prior written noti24 fication of such modification to the appropriate commit25 tees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
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1 (c) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES PRIOR TO

2 CONFIRMATION.—Whenever the President submits the

3 name of an individual to the Senate for confirmation as

4 Assistant Secretary under this section, the President shall

5 state the particular responsibilities of the Department

6 such individual shall exercise upon taking office.

7 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.—

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

9 Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection

10 Agency shall be redesignated as the Secretary and Deputy

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

13 Assistant Secretaries of the Department, and the General

14 Counsel and the Inspector General of the Agency shall be

15 redesignated as the General Counsel and the Inspector

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

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

19 The Secretary shall designate the Assistant Secretary

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

22 United States Code, as the Chief Information Resources

23 Officer of the Department.

24 (2) The Chief Information Resources Officer shall—
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1 (A) advise the Secretary on information re2 source management activities of the Department as

3 required by section 3506 of title 44, United States

4 Code;

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

7 which provides for—

8 (i) the conduct of and accountability for

9 any acquisitions made pursuant to a delegation

10 of authority under section 111 of the Federal

11 Property and Administrative Services Act of

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

13 (ii) the implementation of all applicable

14 government-wide and Department information

15 policies, principles, standards, and guidelines

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

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

20 and other information resource management

21 functions;

22 (iii) the periodic evaluation of and, as

23 needed, the planning and implementation of im24 provements in the accuracy, completeness, and
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1 reliability of data and records contained with

2 Department information systems; and

3 (iv) the development and annual revision of

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

6 (C) report to the Secretary as required under

7 section 3506 of title 44, United States Code.

8 SEC. 105. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

19 or more Deputy Assistant Secretaries appointed to assist

20 such Assistant Secretary.

21 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL.

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

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

24 a General Counsel who shall be appointed by the Presi25 dent, by and with advice and consent of the Senate. The
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1 General Counsel shall be the chief legal officer of the De2 partment and shall provide legal assistance to the Sec3 retary concerning the programs and policies of the Depart4 ment.

5 SEC. 107. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

6 The Office of Inspector General of the Environmental

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

9 Office of Inspector General of the Department of the

10 Environment.

11 SEC. 108. BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.

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

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

15 be responsible for—

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

18 which should provide timely summary in the form of

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

21 on—

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

24 (ii) the effects on the public and the envi25 ronment of those pollutants;
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1 (B) promulgating guidelines for the collection of

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

5 that permits systematic analysis;

6 (C) coordinating the collection of information

7 by the Department for developing such statistics

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

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

12 (E) identifying missing information of the kind

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

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

18 and intramural research programs to provide such

19 information.

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

21 authorize the Bureau to require the collection of any data

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

23 to establish observation or monitoring programs.

24 (3) Information compiled by the Bureau of Environ25 mental Statistics, which has been submitted for purposes
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1 of statistical reporting requirements of this law, shall not

2 be disclosed publicly in a manner that would reveal the

3 identity of the submitter, including submissions by Fed4 eral, State, or local governments, or reveal the identity of

5 any individual consistent with the provisions of section

6 552a of title 5, United States Code (the Privacy Act of

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

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

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

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

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

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

17 (b) DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.—

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

19 Environmental Statistics (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Di20 rector’’) who shall be appointed by the President, by and

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

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

23 qualified individual with experience in the compilation and

24 analysis of environmental statistics. The Director shall re25 port directly to the Secretary. The Director shall be com-
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1 pensated at the rate provided for at level V of the Execu2 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States

3 Code.

4 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS ANNUAL RE5 PORT.—On January 1, 1992, and each January 1 there6 after, the Director shall submit to the President an Envi7 ronmental Statistics Annual Report (hereafter referred to

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

9 limited to—

10 (1) statistics on environmental quality includ11 ing—

12 (A) The environmental quality of the Na13 tion with respect to all aspects of the environ14 ment, including, but not limited to, the air,

15 aquatic ecosystems, including marine, estuarine,

16 and fresh water, and the terrestrial ecosystems,

17 including, but not limited to, the forest, dry18 land, wetland, range, urban, suburban, and

19 rural environment; and

20 (B) changes in the natural environment,

21 including the plant and animal systems, and

22 other information for a continuing analysis of

23 these changes or trends and an interpretation

24 of their underlying causes;
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1 (2) statistics on the effects of changes in envi2 ronmental quality on human health and nonhuman

3 species and ecosystems;

4 (3) documentation of the method used to obtain

5 and assure the quality of the statistics presented in

6 the Report;

7 (4) economic information on the current and

8 projected costs and benefits of environmental protec9 tion; and

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

12 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF THE FUNCTIONS

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

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

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

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

21 on Environmental Statistics, comprised of no more than

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

25 Director on environmental statistics and analyses, includ-
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1 ing whether the statistics and analyses disseminated by

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

3 best available objective information. The Council shall be

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

6 (f) BUREAU AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 There are authorized to be appropriated $5,400,000 in fis8 cal year 1993, $5,400,000 in fiscal year 1994, and such

9 sums as necessary in each fiscal year thereafter to carry

10 out the provisions of this section.

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

13 The Secretary may make grants to and enter into

14 contracts with State and local governments to assist them

15 in meeting the costs of collecting specific data and other

16 short-term activities that are related to the responsibilities

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

18 (D).

19 SEC. 110. STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.

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

21 year after the start of Bureau operations, the Secretary

22 of the Department of Environment, in consultation with

23 the Director of the Bureau and the Assistant Secretary

24 designated as Chief Information Resources Officer, shall

25 enter into an agreement with the National Academy of
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1 Sciences for a study, evaluation, and report on the ade2 quacy of the data collection procedures and capabilities of

3 the Department. No later than 18 months following an

4 agreement, the National Academy of Sciences shall report

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

6 shall include an evaluation of the Department’s data col7 lection resources, needs, and requirements, and shall in8 clude an assessment and evaluation of the following sys9 tems, capabilities, and procedures established by the De10 partment to meet those needs and requirements:

11 (A) data collection procedures and capabilities;

12 (B) data analysis procedures and capabilities;

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

14 one another;

15 (D) computer hardware and software capabili16 ties;

17 (E) management information systems, including

18 the ability of management information systems to

19 integrate with another;

20 (F) Department personnel; and

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

23 of the adequacy of the budgetary resources provided

24 to the Department and budgetary resources used
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1 by the Department for data collection needs and

2 purposes.

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

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary

10 to carry out the provisions of this section.

11 SEC. 111. MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

12 (a) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

13 CONSIDERATIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this

14 Act, political affiliation or political qualification may not

15 be taken into account in connection with the appointment

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

17 or in the assignment or advancement of any career civil

18 servant in the Department.

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

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

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

22 shall report to the Senate Committees on Appropriations,

23 Governmental Affairs, and Environment and Public

24 Works and to the House of Representatives on the esti25 mated additional cost of implementing this title over the
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1 cost as if this title had not been implemented, including

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

4 SEC. 112. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

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

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

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

9 the purpose of carrying out the Department’s programs

10 and activities, except that the Secretary shall not endorse

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

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

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

16 order of the Secretary.

17 (2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations and

18 guidelines setting forth the criteria the Department shall

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

20 devise. Such criteria shall take into consideration whether

21 the acceptance of the property would reflect unfavorably

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

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

2 any official involved in that program.

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

6 the Department of the Environment, until such time as

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

8 the Department of the Environment of such design as the

9 Secretary shall approve.

10 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF

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

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

13 section:

14 ‘‘§ 716. Department of the Environment Seal

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

16 likeness of the official seal of the Department of the Envi17 ronment, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection

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

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

20 telecast, or other production, or on any building, monu21 ment, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in

22 a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impres23 sion of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the

24 United States or by any department, agency, or instru-
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1 mentality thereof, shall be fined not more than $250 or

2 imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.

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

4 promulgated by the Secretary of the Environment and

5 published in the Federal Register, knowingly manufac6 tures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, either sep7 arately or appended to any article manufactured or sold,

8 any likeness of the official seal of the Department of the

9 Environment, or any substantial part thereof, except for

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

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

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

13 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

17 of 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

20 thereof:

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

21 (c) ACQUISITION OF COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS.—

22 The Secretary is authorized to acquire any of the following

23 described 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

2 patents, designs, processes, and manufacturing data;

3 (2) licenses under copyrights, patents, and ap4 plications for patents; and

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

7 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

8 AND COMPENSATION.—The Secretary may promulgate

9 regulations, no less stringent than any other applicable

10 provision of law, regarding standards of conduct for mem11 bers of advisory committees (and consultants to advisory

12 committees), including requirements regarding conflicts of

13 interest or disclosure of past and present financial and em14 ployment interests. The Secretary is authorized to pay

15 members of advisory committees and others who perform

16 services as authorized under section 3109 of title 5, Unit17 ed States Code, at rates for individuals not to exceed the

18 per diem rate equivalent to the rate for level V of the Ex19 ecutive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

20 States Code.

21 SEC. 113. INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.

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

23 Inherently governmental functions of the Department

24 shall be performed only by officers and employees of the

25 United States. For purposes of this section, ‘‘inherently
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1 governmental’’ means any activity which is so intimately

2 related to the public interest as to mandate performance

3 by Government officers and employees. These inherently

4 governmental functions include those activities which re5 quire either the exercise of discretion in applying Govern6 ment authority or the use of value of judgment in making

7 decisions for the Government. These functions shall in8 clude, but not be limited to, work of a policy, decisionmak9 ing, or managerial nature which is the direct responsibility

10 of Department officials.

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

12 shall by regulation require any person proposing to enter

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

14 by competitive bid or negotiation, for the conduct of re15 search, development, evaluation activities, or for advisory

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

17 entering into any such contract, agreement, or arrange18 ment, with all relevant information, as determined by the

19 Secretary, bearing on whether that person has a possible

20 conflict of interest with respect to—

21 (A) being able to render impartial, technically

22 sound, or objective assistance or advice in light of

23 other activities or relationships with other persons;

24 or
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1 (B) being given an unfair competitive advan2 tage.

3 (2) Such person shall ensure, in accordance with reg4 ulations prescribed by the Secretary, compliance with this

5 section by subcontractors of such person who are engaged

6 to perform similar services.

7 (c) REQUIRE AFFIRMATIVE FINDING; CONFLICTS OF

8 INTEREST WHICH CANNOT BE AVOIDED; MITIGATION OF

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

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

11 agreement, or arrangement, unless he affirmatively finds,

12 after evaluating all such information and any other rel13 evant information otherwise available to him, either that—

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

15 of interest would exist; or

16 (B) that such conflict has been avoided after

17 appropriate conditions have been included in such

18 contract, agreement, or arrangement.

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

20 interest exists and that such conflict of interest cannot be

21 avoided by including appropriate conditions therein, the

22 Secretary may enter into such contract, agreement, or ar23 rangement, if he—

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

25 the United States to do so; and
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1 (B) includes appropriate conditions in such con2 tract, agreement, or arrangement to mitigate such

3 conflict.

4 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING CONFLICTS OF IN5 TEREST.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations

6 which require public notice to be given whenever the Sec7 retary determines that the award of a contract, agreement,

8 or arrangement may result in a conflict of interest which

9 cannot be avoided by including appropriate conditions

10 therein.

11 (e) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this section shall pre12 clude the Department from promulgating regulations to

13 monitor potential conflicts after the contract award.

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

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

16 implementation of this section.

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

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

24 (1) management and professional support serv25 ices;
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1 (2) the conduct of studies, analyses, and evalua2 tions; and

3 (3) engineering and technical services, excluding

4 routine technical services.

5 SEC. 114. REFERENCES.

6 Reference in any other Federal law, Executive order,

7 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu8 ment of or pertaining—

9 (1) to the Administrator of the Environmental

10 Protection Agency shall be deemed to refer to the

11 Secretary of the Environment;

12 (2) to the Environmental Protection Agency

13 shall be deemed to refer to the Department of the

14 Environment;

15 (3) to the Deputy Administrator of the Envi16 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to

17 refer to the Deputy Secretary of the Environment;

18 or

19 (4) to any Assistant Administrator of the Envi20 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to

21 refer to an Assistant Secretary of the Department of

22 the Environment.

23 SEC. 115. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

24 (a) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—

25 All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits,
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1 agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, reg2 istrations, privileges, and other administrative actions—

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

4 allowed to become effective by the President, by the

5 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

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

7 the performance of functions of the Administrator or

8 the Environmental Protection Agency, and

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

10 takes effect, or were final before the effective date

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

12 the effective date of this Act,

13 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

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

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

16 Environment, or other authorized official, a court of com17 petent jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

18 (b) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions

19 of this Act shall not affect any proceedings or any applica20 tion for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assist21 ance pending before the Environmental Protection Agency

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

23 applications shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in

24 such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and

25 payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this
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1 Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such

2 proceedings shall continue in effect until modified, termi3 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official,

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

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

6 the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding

7 under the same terms and conditions and to the same ex8 tent that such proceeding could have been discontinued

9 or modified if this Act had not been enacted.

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

11 Act shall not affect suits commenced before the date this

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

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

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

15 not been enacted.

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

17 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Environ18 mental Protection Agency, or by or against any individual

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

20 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall abate by rea21 son of the enactment of this Act.

22 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO PRO23 MULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administrative ac24 tion relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regu25 lation by the Environmental Protection Agency may be
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1 continued by the Department with the same effect as if

2 this Act had not been enacted.

3 (f) PROPERTY AND RESOURCES.—The contracts, li4 abilities, records, property, and other assets and interests

5 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, after the

6 effective date of this Act, be considered to be the con7 tracts, liabilities, records, property, and other assets and

8 interests of the Department.

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

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

11 powers and authorities of the Environmental Protection

12 Agency.

13 SEC. 116. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

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

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

16 before the period at the end thereof the following: ‘‘, Sec17 retary of the Environment’’.

18 (b) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT, CIVIL SERVICE

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

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

21 Department of the Environment’’.

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

23 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

24 thereof the following: ‘‘Secretary of the Environment’’.
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1 (d) COMPENSATION, LEVEL II.—Section 5313 of title

2 5, United States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘Ad3 ministrator of Environmental Protection Agency’’ and in4 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Deputy Secretary of the Environ5 ment’’.

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

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

8 (1) by striking out ‘‘Inspector General, Envi9 ronmental Protection Agency’’ and inserting in lieu

10 thereof ‘‘Inspector General, Department of the Envi11 ronment’’; and

12 (2) by striking each reference to an Assistant

13 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

14 Agency and by adding at the end thereof the follow15 ing: ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of the Envi16 ronment (10). ‘‘General Counsel, Department of the

17 Environment.’’.

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

19 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

20 thereof the following:

21 ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sta22 tistics, Department of the Environment.

23 ‘‘Executive Director of the Commission on Im24 proving Environmental Protection.’’.
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1 (g) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT.—The Inspector Gen2 eral Act of 1978 is amended—

3 (1) in section 2(1)—

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

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

6 (B) by striking out ‘‘The Environmental

7 Protection Agency,’’;

8 (2) in section 11(1) by striking out ‘‘or Veter9 ans Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the

10 Environment,’’; and

11 (3) in section 11(2) by striking out ‘‘or Veter12 ans Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Affairs, or the

13 Environment,’’.

14 SEC. 117. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

15 After consultation with the Committee on Govern16 mental Affairs and the Committee on Environment and

17 Public Works and other appropriate committees of the

18 United States Senate and the appropriate committees of

19 the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Envi20 ronment shall prepare and submit to the Congress pro21 posed legislation containing technical and conforming

22 amendments to the United States Code, and to other pro23 visions of law, to reflect the changes made by this Act.

24 Such legislation shall be submitted not later than 6

25 months after the effective date of this Act.
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1 TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL

2 ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES

3 IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANI4 ZATIONS TO WHICH IT BE5 LONGS

6 SEC. 201. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONFERENCE.

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

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

11 convene an international meeting to be held in the United

12 States with invitations to representatives of all countries

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

14 the exchange of information concerning energy efficiency

15 and renewable energy resources that are environmentally

16 acceptable and ecologically sustainable.

17 SEC. 202. INTERNATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS MONITORING

18 PROGRAM.

19 The President, with the advice of the Committee on

20 Earth and Environmental Sciences, shall encourage the

21 establishment of an office of the United Nations Environ22 ment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological

23 Organization (WMO) to monitor annual estimated genera24 tion and removal of carbon dioxide and other trace gases

25 on a country-by-country basis.
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1 TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF

2 THE COMMISSION ON IM3 PROVING ENVIRONMENTAL

4 PROTECTION

5 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com7 mission on Improving Environmental Protection (here8 after referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’) whose 13 members

9 including the Chairman shall be composed of experts in

10 governmental organization (with emphasis on environ11 mental organization), management of organizations and

12 environmental regulation and improved environmental

13 governmental service delivery, consisting of—

14 (1) seven members to be appointed by the

15 President;

16 (2) three members to be appointed by the

17 Speaker of the House; and

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

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

21 shall be appointed by the President in consultation with

22 the Congress.

23 SEC. 302. COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.

24 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commission shall be

25 responsible for examining and making recommendations
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1 on the management and implementation of the environ2 mental laws and programs within the jurisdiction of the

3 Department of the Environment in order to enhance the

4 ability of the Department to preserve and protect human

5 health and the environment. The Commission shall make

6 recommendations and otherwise advise the President and

7 the Congress on the need to—

8 (1) enhance and strengthen the management

9 and implementation of existing programs within the

10 Department;

11 (2) enhance the organization of the Department

12 to eliminate duplication and overlap between dif13 ferent programs;

14 (3) enhance the coordination between different

15 programs and offices within the Department; and

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

18 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall

19 provide specific steps and proposals for implementing the

20 Commission’s recommendations including an estimate of

21 the costs of implementing such recommendations, except

22 that the Commission shall not suggest substantive changes

23 in the policy expressed by existing laws.
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1 SEC. 303. REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.

2 The Commission shall report to the President and the

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

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

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

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

9 in finalizing the report.

10 SEC. 304. COMMISSION STAFF.

11 The Commission shall appoint an Executive Director

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

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

15 With the approval of the Commission the Executive Direc16 tor may appoint and fix the compensation of staff suffi17 cient to enable the Commission to carry out its duties.

18 SEC. 305. ADVISORY GROUPS.

19 The Chairman shall convene at least one advisory

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

22 past staff of the Department of the Environment and its

23 predecessor Environmental Protection Agency, other Fed24 eral and State officials experienced in administering envi25 ronmental protection programs, members of the regulated

26 community and members of public interest groups orga-
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1 nized to further the goals of environmental protection. The

2 Executive Director is authorized to pay members of advi3 sory committees and others who perform services as au4 thorized under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code,

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

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

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

8 advisory group shall be subject to the provisions of the

9 Federal Advisory Committee Act.

10 SEC. 306. FUNDING; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

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

13 to carry out the provisions of this title.

14 TITLE IV——EFFECTIVE DATE

15 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE.

16 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

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

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

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

21 and such amendments shall take effect 6 months after the

22 date of the enactment of this Act.

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