I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4691 

To establish a Gulf Coast Region Redevelopment Commission to coordinate 

and manage the Federal response to and cooperate with State and 

local entities in rebuilding that part of the Gulf Coast region damaged 

by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2006 

Ms. KAPTUR (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To establish a Gulf Coast Region Redevelopment Commission 

to coordinate and manage the Federal response to and 

cooperate with State and local entities in rebuilding that 

part of the Gulf Coast region damaged by Hurricanes 

Katrina and Rita. 

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 ‘‘Gulf Coast Region Re5 development Commission Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Due to the destruction of Hurricanes 

2 Katrina and Rita, there are a vast number of issues 

3 requiring the coordination of Federal, State, and 

4 local resources, including the reconstruction of basic 

5 infrastructures, the provision of short-term and per6 manent affordable housing, an increased need for so7 cial services, environmental concerns, the provision 

8 of adequate health care, and investment in commer9 cial industry. 

10 (2) A Federal commission would be beneficial to 

11 participate and help coordinate the recovery and re12 development of the Gulf Coast region due to the un13 precedented scope of these disasters and unmet 

14 needs of this region. 

15 (3) There is need for a regional plan to ensure 

16 that the ensuing development will be the result of a 

17 well-thought out, comprehensive, and practical plan. 

18 (4) There is vast expertise across the affected 

19 region as well as among Federal, State, and local en20 tities that should be coordinated to comprehensively 

21 address challenges of redevelopment. 

22 (5) Residents and local officials should have sig23 nificant input as to how their communities are re24 built through local hearings, as well as inclusion in 

25 the planning process as appropriate in each commu-
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1 nity, linking to voluntary organizations and commu2 nity development corporations where possible. 

3 (6) There is a need for oversight of the protec4 tive mechanisms essential to reducing the likelihood 

5 of destruction from future natural disasters, includ6 ing the reinforcement and rebuilding of levees and 

7 building code standards that incorporate the unique 

8 features of the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast eco9 systems. 

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

11 There is established the Gulf Coast Region Redevel12 opment Commission, in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Com13 mission’’. 

14 SEC. 4. MEMBERS, MEETINGS, TERMS, AND VOTING. 

15 (a) MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS.— 

16 (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

17 shall be composed of the following members ap18 pointed by the President: 

19 (A) One member who shall serve as the 

20 Chair for a term of 3 years, who shall be ap21 pointed with the advice of the Senate. 

22 (B) Upon recommendation of the Gov23 ernors of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and 

24 Texas, one member from each of those States 
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1 to serve as Vice-Chairs, who shall each serve a 

2 term of 2 years. 

3 (C) Four members, no more than two of 

4 whom shall be members of the same political 

5 party, to serve for a term of 2 years and to be 

6 appointed based on recommendations from the 

7 Speaker and the minority leader of the House 

8 of Representatives, and the majority leader and 

9 minority leader of the Senate, who shall each 

10 submit a recommended candidate to the Presi11 dent. 

12 (D) Three additional members from each 

13 of the States of Alabama, Louisiana, Mis14 sissippi, and Texas, to each serve a term of 5 

15 years. In making appointments under this para16 graph, the President shall consult with and con17 sider the recommendation of each of the Gov18 ernors of such States, and shall give priority to 

19 individuals who are State and local leaders, city 

20 and regional planning leaders, housing special21 ists, homebuilders, and manufactured housing 

22 representatives, transportation specialists, and 

23 mortgage financing representatives. 

24 (2) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.— 
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1 (A) TERMS.—No member of the Commis2 sion may serve more than a single term, but 

3 may continue to serve until a successor is ap4 pointed. All members appointed after expiration 

5 of the initial terms shall serve for a term of 5 

6 years, with the exception of those members ap7 pointed under paragraph (1)(C), whose subse8 quent terms shall be for a period of 2 years. 

9 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Com10 mission shall be filled in the manner in which 

11 the original appointment was made for the re12 mainder of that term. If there is a vacancy in 

13 the Chair of the Commission, the Vice-Chair14 men may appoint from among the members an 

15 interim Chair to serve for the remainder of that 

16 term. 

17 (b) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall conduct at 

18 least 2 meetings each year with the Chair and at least 

19 a majority of the members present. The Commission may 

20 conduct such additional meetings by electronic means as 

21 the Commission considers advisable, including meetings to 

22 decide matters requiring an affirmative vote. 

23 (c) VOTING.—Decisions by the Commission shall re24 quire the affirmative vote of the Chair and of a majority 

25 of the members. In matters coming before the Commis-
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1 sion, the Commission shall, to the extent practicable, con2 sult with the Federal departments and agencies having an 

3 interest in the subject matter. A decision involving Com4 mission policy, approval of any State, regional, or sub5 regional development plan or strategy statement, any allo6 cation of funds among the States, shall not be made with7 out a quorum of the members. 

8 (d) COMPENSATION AND CONFLICTS OF INTER9 EST.— 

10 (1) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Each member of 

11 the Commission shall be compensated at the annual 

12 rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Exec13 utive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

14 States Code. 

15 (2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

16 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Except as permitted 

17 by subparagraph (B), no person who is a mem18 ber, officer, or employee of the Commission 

19 shall participate personally and substantially in 

20 any decision, recommendation, rendering of ad21 vice, or in any proceeding regarding an applica22 tion, request for a ruling or other determina23 tion, contract, claim, controversy, or other par24 ticular matter before the Commission in which, 

25 to such person’s knowledge, such person, or the 
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1 spouse, child, partner, of such person, or an or2 ganization (other than a State or political sub3 division thereof) in which such person serves as 

4 officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee, 

5 or any person or organization with whom such 

6 person is negotiating or has any arrangement 

7 concerning prospective employment, has a fi8 nancial interest. 

9 (B) EXCEPTION GRANTED BY COMMIS10 SION.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the 

11 member, officer, or employee first advises the 

12 Commission of the nature and circumstances of 

13 the issue before the Commission and makes full 

14 disclosure of the financial interest and receives 

15 in advance a written determination made by the 

16 Commission that the interest is not so substan17 tial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity 

18 of the services which the Commission may ex19 pect from such member, officer, or employee. 

20 (C) RESCISSION.—The Commission may, 

21 in its discretion, declare void and rescind any 

22 contract, loan, or grant of or by the Commis23 sion in relation to which it finds that there has 

24 been a violation of this paragraph. 
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1 SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 

2 The Commission shall— 

3 (1) coordinate the Federal response to Hurri4 canes Katrina and Rita by developing comprehensive 

5 and coordinated plans and programs for the region, 

6 and establishing priorities among the activities iden7 tified within such plans and programs; 

8 (2) develop inventory of the region’s major re9 development needs; 

10 (3) conduct research and analysis of the re11 gion’s resources with the cooperation of Federal, 

12 State, and local agencies; 

13 (4) provide a forum for the discussion of and 

14 proposed resolution of needs confronting the region; 

15 (5) identify applicable government programs 

16 suitable for application with the cooperation of af17 fected Federal, State and local governments and 

18 public and private entities, and recommend modifica19 tions and additions aimed at enhancing program ef20 fectiveness; 

21 (6) recommend and aid in interstate coopera22 tion; 

23 (7) encourage and aid in the rebuilding or cre24 ation of community development corporations, where 

25 appropriate; 
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1 (8) provide investment in commercial industrial 

2 and recreational projects; and 

3 (9) manage and oversee the federally-funded 

4 consolidated budget for the region’s redevelopment. 

5 SEC. 6. RECOMMENDATIONS. 

6 The Commission may, from time to time, make rec7 ommendations to the President and appropriate Federal, 

8 State, and local officials with respect to— 

9 (1) the expenditure of funds by Federal, State, 

10 and local departments and agencies in the region in 

11 the fields of natural resources, agriculture, edu12 cation, training, health and welfare, and other fields 

13 related to the purposes of this Act; and 

14 (2) such additional Federal, State, and local 

15 legislation or administrative actions as the Commis16 sion deems necessary to further the purposes of this 

17 Act. 

18 SEC. 7. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LIAISON AND ADVISORS. 

19 (a) LIAISON.—The President shall provide effective 

20 and continuing liaison between the Federal Government 

21 and the Commission and a coordinated review within the 

22 Federal Government of the plans and recommendations 

23 submitted by the Commission pursuant to sections 5 and 

24 6. 
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1 (b) ADVISORY AGENCIES.—The following individuals 

2 or their delegates shall have an active advisory role to the 

3 Commission: 

4 (1) The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, 

5 Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human 

6 Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, 

7 Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; and 

8 (2) the directors of the Federal Emergency 

9 Management Agency and the Environmental Protec10 tion Agency, the Administrator of the Small Busi11 ness Administration, the Chairmen of Freddie Mac, 

12 Ginnie Mae, and Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing 

13 Commissioner, and the Chief of Engineers of the 

14 Army Corps of Engineers. 

15 SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

16 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa17 tion of an executive director and such other personnel as 

18 may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out 

19 its functions, except that such compensation shall not ex20 ceed the maximum rate of basic pay for the Senior Execu21 tive Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States 

22 Code, including any applicable locality-based com23 parability payment that may be authorized under section 

24 5304(h)(2)(C) of that title. The executive director shall 

25 be responsible for carrying out the administrative func-
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1 tions of the Commission, for direction of the Commission 

2 staff, and for such other duties as the Commission may 

3 assign. In addition, to carry out its duties under this Act, 

4 the Commission is authorized to— 

5 (1) adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws, rules, and 

6 regulations governing the conduct of its business 

7 and the performance of its functions; 

8 (2) request the head of any Federal department 

9 or agency (who is hereby so authorized) to detail to 

10 temporary duty with the Commission such personnel 

11 as the Commission may need for carrying out its 

12 functions, each such detail to be without loss of se13 niority, pay, or other employee status; 

14 (3) arrange for the services of personnel from 

15 any State or local government or any subdivision or 

16 agency thereof, or any intergovernmental agency; 

17 (4) enter into and perform such contracts, 

18 leases (including, notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, the lease of office space for any term), 

20 cooperative agreements, or other transactions as 

21 may be necessary in carrying out its functions and 

22 on such terms as it may consider appropriate, with 

23 any department, agency, or instrumentality of the 

24 United States (which is hereby so authorized to the 

25 extent not otherwise prohibited by law) or with any 
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1 State, or any political subdivision, agency, or instru2 mentality thereof, or with any person, firm, associa3 tion, or corporation; 

4 (5) maintain a temporary office in the District 

5 of Columbia and establish a permanent office at 

6 such a central and appropriate location as it may se7 lect and field offices at such other places as it may 

8 deem appropriate; and 

9 (6) take such other actions and incur such ex10 penses as may be necessary or appropriate. 

11 SEC. 9. INFORMATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to obtain information 

13 needed to carry out its duties, the Commission shall— 

14 (1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 

15 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

16 evidence, and print or otherwise reproduce and dis17 tribute so much of its proceedings and reports there18 on as it may deem advisable; 

19 (2) arrange for the head of any Federal, State, 

20 or local department or agency (who is hereby so au21 thorized to the extent not otherwise prohibited by 

22 law) to furnish to the Commission such information 

23 as may be available to or procurable by such depart24 ment or agency; and 
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1 (3) keep accurate and complete records of its 

2 doings and transactions which shall be made avail3 able for public inspection, and for the purpose of 

4 audit and examination by the Comptroller General 

5 or his duly authorized representatives. 

6 (b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Public participation in 

7 the development, revision, and implementation of all plans 

8 and programs under this Act by the Commission shall be 

9 provided for, encouraged, and assisted. The Commission 

10 shall develop and publish regulations specifying minimum 

11 guidelines for such public participation, including public 

12 hearings. 

13 SEC. 10. REPORTING. 

14 Not later than 6 months after the close of each fiscal 

15 year, the Commission shall prepare and submit to Con16 gress and to the Governors of Alabama, Louisiana, Mis17 sissippi, and Texas, a report on the activities carried out 

18 under this Act during such year. 

19 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Com21 mission such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

22 years 2006 through 2016 to carry out this Act. 
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1 SEC. 12. TERMINATION. 

2 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 

3 10 years after the date on which all initial members shall 

4 have been appointed. 

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