II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2016

To establish a National Commission on the Future of Disability, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 14 (legislative day, APRIL 11), 1994

Mr. DOLE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To establish a National Commission on the Future of

Disability, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 on the Future of Disability Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Nation’s proper goals regarding individ9 uals with disabilities are to ensure equality of oppor-
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1 tunity, full participation, independent living, and

2 economic self-sufficiency for such individuals;

3 (2) the vast changes underway in the work4 place, information technologies, and other aspects of

5 society have been insufficiently studied for the op6 portunities and hazards such changes present for in7 dividuals with disabilities;

8 (3) the Federal Government has created many

9 programs to serve the needs of individuals with dis10 abilities, including programs that provide financial

11 assistance, medical care, education, vocational reha12 bilitation, housing, transportation, legal assistance,

13 and rehabilitation research and training, but many

14 of these programs operate in a manner that is incon15 sistent with the Nation’s goals, work at cross-pur16 poses with each other, are outdated, or could other17 wise be improved, and new programs to serve indi18 viduals with disabilities may need to be established;

19 (4) there are Federal programs that are not

20 viewed as disability programs, yet serve significant

21 numbers of individuals with disabilities, and the im22 pact and value of such programs for individuals with

23 disabilities have received insufficient attention;

24 (5) the Nation is not well informed about the

25 increasing number of Americans with disabilities,
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1 and disability is a health and social welfare issue of

2 growing proportions, for which the Nation is ill pre3 pared; and

4 (6) it is incumbent upon the Federal Govern5 ment to examine its programs that serve individuals

6 with disabilities to ensure they are consistent with

7 the Nation’s goals, reflect the best use of its re8 sources, and properly anticipate societal and techno9 logical change.

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

11 There is established a commission to be known as the

12 National Commission on the Future of Disability (referred

13 to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’).

14 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall develop

16 and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related

17 to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal pro18 grams serving individuals with disabilities, in particular,

19 programs authorized under the Social Security Act, in

20 terms of both current performance and future value.

21 (b) MATTERS STUDIED.—The Commission shall pre22 pare an inventory of Federal programs serving individuals

23 with disabilities, and shall examine—

24 (1) trends and projections regarding the size

25 and characteristics of the population of individuals
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1 with disabilities, and the implications of such analy2 ses for program planning;

3 (2) the feasibility and design of performance

4 standards for the Nation’s disability programs;

5 (3) the adequacy of Federal efforts in rehabili6 tation research and training, and opportunities to

7 improve the lives of individuals with disabilities

8 through all manners of scientific and engineering re9 search; and

10 (4) the adequacy of policy research available to

11 the Federal Government, and what actions might be

12 undertaken to improve the quality and scope of such

13 research.

14 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall

15 submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress and

16 to the President recommendations and, as appropriate,

17 proposals for legislation regarding—

18 (1) which (if any) Federal disability programs

19 should be eliminated or augmented;

20 (2) what new Federal disability programs (if

21 any) should be established;

22 (3) the suitability of the organization and loca23 tion of disability programs within the Federal Gov24 ernment;
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1 (4) other actions the Federal Government

2 should take to prevent disabilities and disadvantages

3 associated with disabilities; and

4 (5) such other matters as the Commission con5 siders appropriate.

6 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

7 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be

9 composed of 12 members, of whom—

10 (A) four shall be appointed by the Presi11 dent, of whom not more than 2 shall be of the

12 same major political party;

13 (B) two shall be appointed by the Majority

14 Leader of the Senate;

15 (C) two shall be appointed by the Minority

16 Leader of the Senate;

17 (D) two shall be appointed by the Speaker

18 of the House of Representatives; and

19 (E) two shall be appointed by the Minority

20 Leader of the House of Representatives.

21 (2) REPRESENTATION.—The Commission mem22 bers shall be chosen based on their education, train23 ing, or experience. In appointing individuals as

24 members of the Commission, the President and the

25 Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and
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1 the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of

2 Representatives shall seek to ensure that the mem3 bership of the Commission reflects the diversity of

4 individuals with disabilities in the United States.

5 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptroller

6 General shall serve on the Commission as an ex officio

7 member of the Commission to advise and oversee the

8 methodology and approach of the study of the Commis9 sion.

10 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST OFFICER OR EM11 PLOYEE.—Each individual appointed under subsection (a)

12 shall not be an officer or employee of any government.

13 (d) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT; TERM OF AP14 POINTMENT.—Members of the Commission shall be ap15 pointed not later than 60 days after the date of enactment

16 of this Act. The members shall serve on the Commission

17 for the life of the Commission.

18 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall locate its

19 headquarters in the District of Columbia, and shall meet

20 at the call of the Chairperson, but not less than four times

21 each year during the life of the Commission.

22 (f) QUORUM.—Ten members of the Commission shall

23 constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hear24 ings.
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1 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—Not

2 later than 15 days after the members of the Commission

3 are appointed, such members shall designate a Chair4 person and Vice Chairperson from among the members of

5 the Commission.

6 (h) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a member

7 of the Commission becomes an officer or employee of any

8 government after appointment to the Commission, the in9 dividual may continue as a member until a successor mem10 ber is appointed.

11 (i) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall

12 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment

13 was made not later than 30 days after the Commission

14 is given notice of the vacancy.

15 (j) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

16 shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by

17 reason of their service on the Commission.

18 (k) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com19 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem

20 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702

21 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

22 SEC. 6. STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

23 (a) DIRECTOR.—
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon consultation with

2 the members of the Commission, the Chairperson

3 shall appoint a Director of the Commission.

4 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be

5 paid the rate of basic pay for level V of the Execu6 tive Schedule.

7 (b) STAFF.—With the approval of the Commission,

8 the Director may appoint such personnel as the Director

9 considers appropriate.

10 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—The

11 staff of the Commission shall be appointed without regard

12 to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing

13 appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid

14 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub15 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi16 fication and General Schedule pay rates.

17 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap18 proval of the Commission, the Director may procure tem19 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of

20 title 5, United States Code.

21 (e) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon the re22 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency

23 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel

24 of such agency to the Commission to assist in carrying

25 out the duties of the Commission under this Act.
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1 (f) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall have

2 reasonable access to materials, resources, statistical data,

3 and other information from the Library of Congress and

4 agencies and elected representatives of the executive and

5 legislative branches of the Federal Government. The

6 Chairperson of the Commission shall make requests for

7 such access in writing when necessary.

8 (g) PHYSICAL FACILITIES.—The Administrator of

9 the General Services Administration shall locate suitable

10 office space for the operation of the Commission. The fa11 cilities shall serve as the headquarters of the Commission

12 and shall include all necessary equipment and incidentals

13 required for proper functioning of the Commission.

14 SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

15 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may conduct pub16 lic hearings or forums at the discretion of the Commission,

17 at any time and place the Commission is able to secure

18 facilities and witnesses, for the purpose of carrying out

19 the duties of the Commission under this Act.

20 (b) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Any member or

21 agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the Com22 mission, take any action the Commission is authorized to

23 take by this section.

24 (c) INFORMATION.—The Commission may secure di25 rectly from any Federal agency information necessary to
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1 enable the Commission to carry out its duties under this

2 Act. Upon request of the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson

3 of the Commission, the head of a Federal agency shall fur4 nish the information to the Commission to the extent per5 mitted by law.

6 (d) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis7 sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or

8 devices of services or property, both real and personal, for

9 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com10 mission. Gifts, bequests, or devises of money and proceeds

11 from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests,

12 or devices shall be deposited in the Treasury and shall be

13 available for disbursement upon order of the Commission.

14 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

15 States mails in the same manner and under the same con16 ditions as other Federal agencies.

17 SEC. 8. REPORTS.

18 (a) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 1 year prior

19 to the date on which the Commission terminates pursuant

20 to section 9, the Commission shall submit an interim re21 port to the President and to the Congress. The interim

22 report shall contain a detailed statement of the findings

23 and conclusions of the Commission, together with the

24 Commission’s recommendations for legislative and admin25 istrative action, based on the activities of the Commission.
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1 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the date on

2 which the Commission terminates, the Commission shall

3 submit to the Congress and to the President a final report

4 containing—

5 (1) a detailed statement of final findings, con6 clusions, and recommendations; and

7 (2) an assessment of the extent to which rec8 ommendations of the Commission included in the in9 terim report under subsection (a) have been imple10 mented.

11 (c) PRINTING AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION.—Upon

12 receipt of each report of the Commission under this sec13 tion, the President shall—

14 (1) order the report to be printed; and

15 (2) make the report available to the public upon

16 request.

17 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

18 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is

19 2 years after the date on which the members of the Com20 mission have met and designated a Chairperson and Vice

21 Chairperson.

22 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

24 as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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