II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 144

To establish the Commission to Study the Federal Statistical System, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself and Mr. KERREY) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To establish the Commission to Study the Federal Statistical

System, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study

5 the Federal Statistical System Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress, recognizing the importance of statis8 tical information in the development and administration

9 of policies for the private and public sector, finds that—
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1 (1) accurate Federal statistics are required to

2 develop, implement, and evaluate government poli3 cies and laws;

4 (2) Federal spending consistent with legislative

5 intent requires accurate and appropriate statistical

6 information;

7 (3) business and individual economic decisions

8 are influenced by Federal statistics and contracts

9 are often based on such statistics;

10 (4) statistical information on the manufacturing

11 and agricultural sectors is more complete than sta12 tistical information regarding the service sector

13 which employs more than half the Nation’s

14 workforce;

15 (5) experts in the private and public sector have

16 long-standing concerns about the accuracy and ade17 quacy of numerous Federal statistics, including the

18 Consumer Price Index, gross domestic product,

19 trade data, wage data, and the poverty rate;

20 (6) Federal statistical data should be accurate,

21 consistent, continuous, and be designed to best serve

22 explicitly stated purposes;

23 (7) the Federal statistical infrastructure should

24 be modernized to accommodate the increasingly com25 plex and ever changing American economy;
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1 (8) Federal statistical agencies should utilize all

2 practical technologies to disseminate statistics to the

3 public;

4 (9) the Federal statistical infrastructure should

5 maintain the privacy of individuals; and

6 (10) the Federal statistical system should be

7 designed to limit redundancy of activities while

8 achieving the maximum practical level of knowledge,

9 expertise, and data.

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com12 mission to be known as the Commission to Study the Fed13 eral Statistical System (hereafter in this Act referred to

14 as the ‘‘Commission’’).

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

16 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be

17 composed of 13 members of whom—

18 (A) 5 shall be appointed by the President;

19 (B) 4 shall be appointed by the President

20 pro tempore of the Senate, in consultation with

21 the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the

22 Senate; and

23 (C) 4 shall be appointed by the Speaker of

24 the House of Representatives, in consultation
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1 with the Majority Leader and Minority Leader

2 of the House of Representatives.

3 (2) POLITICAL PARTY LIMITATION.—(A) Of the

4 5 members of the Commission appointed under

5 paragraph (1)(A), no more than 3 members may be

6 members of the same political party.

7 (B) Of the 4 members of the Commission ap8 pointed under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of para9 graph (1), respectively, no more than 2 members

10 may be members of the same political party.

11 (3) CONSULTATION BEFORE APPOINTMENTS.—

12 In making appointments under paragraph (1), the

13 President, the President pro tempore of the Senate,

14 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives

15 shall consult with the National Academy of Sciences

16 and appropriate professional organizations, such as

17 the American Economic Association and the Amer18 ican Statistical Association.

19 (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual appointed

20 to serve on the Commission—

21 (A) shall have expertise in statistical policy

22 and a background in such disciplines as actuar23 ial science, demography, economics, finance,

24 and management;
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1 (B) may not be a Federal officer or em2 ployee; and

3 (C) should be an academician, a statistics

4 user in the private sector, a corporate manager

5 with experience related to information tech6 nology, or a former government official with ex7 perience related to—

8 (i) the Bureau of Labor Statistics of

9 the Department of Labor; or

10 (ii) the Bureau of Economic Analysis

11 or the Bureau of the Census of the De12 partment of Commerce.

13 (5) DATE.—The appointments of the members

14 of the Commission shall be made no later than 150

15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

16 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem17 bers shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any

18 vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but

19 shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint20 ment.

21 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—No later than 30 days after

22 the date on which all members of the Commission have

23 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet24 ing.
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1 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

2 call of the Chairman.

3 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

4 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num5 ber of members may hold hearings.

6 (g) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall designate a

7 Chairman of the Commission from among the members.

8 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

9 (a) STUDY.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con11 duct a comprehensive study of all matters relating to

12 the Federal statistical infrastructure, including lon13 gitudinal surveys conducted by private agencies and

14 partially funded by the Federal Government, for the

15 purpose of identifying opportunities to improve the

16 quality of statistics in the United States.

17 (2) STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The

18 matters studied by and recommendations of the

19 Commission shall include—

20 (A) an evaluation of the accuracy and ap21 propriateness of key statistical indicators and

22 recommendations on ways to improve such ac23 curacy and appropriateness so that the indica24 tors better serve the major purposes for which

25 they were intended;
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1 (B) an examination of multipurpose statis2 tical agencies that collect and analyze data of

3 broad interest across department and functional

4 areas, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis

5 and the Bureau of the Census of the Commerce

6 Department, and the Bureau of Labor Statis7 tics of the Labor Department, for the purpose

8 of understanding the interrelationship and flow

9 of data among agencies;

10 (C) a review and evaluation of the collec11 tion of data for purposes of administering such

12 programs as Old-Age, Survivors and Disability

13 Insurance and Unemployment Insurance under

14 the Social Security Act;

15 (D) a review and evaluation of the mission

16 and organization of various statistical agencies,

17 including—

18 (i) recommendations with respect to

19 statistical activities that should be ex20 panded or eliminated;

21 (ii) the order of priority such activities

22 should be carried out;

23 (iii) a review of the advantages and

24 disadvantages of a centralized statistical
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1 agency or a partial consolidation of the

2 agencies for the Federal Government; and

3 (iv) an assessment of which agencies

4 could be consolidated into such an agency;

5 (E) an examination of the methodology in6 volved in producing official data and rec7 ommendations for technical changes to improve

8 statistics;

9 (F) a review of interagency coordination of

10 statistical data and recommendations of meth11 ods to standardize collection procedures and

12 surveys, as appropriate, and presentation of

13 data throughout the Federal system;

14 (G) a review of information technology and

15 recommendations of appropriate methods for

16 disseminating statistical data, with special em17 phasis on resources, such as the Internet, that

18 allow the public to obtain and report informa19 tion in a timely and cost-effective manner;

20 (H) an identification and examination of

21 issues regarding individual privacy in the con22 text of statistical data;

23 (I) a comparison of the United States sta24 tistical system to statistical systems of other

25 nations for the purposes of identifying best
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1 practices and developing a system of maintain2 ing best practices over time;

3 (J) a consideration of the coordination of

4 statistical data with other nations and inter5 national agencies, such as the Organization for

6 Economic Cooperation and Development; and

7 (K) a recommendation of a strategy for

8 maintaining a modern and efficient Federal sta9 tistical infrastructure to produce meaningful in10 formation as the United States society and

11 economy change.

12 (b) REPORT.—

13 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—No later than June 1,

14 1998, the Commission shall submit an interim re15 port on the study conducted under subsection (a) to

16 the President and to the Congress.

17 (2) FINAL REPORT.—No later than January

18 15, 1999, the Commission shall submit a final re19 port to the President and the Congress which shall

20 contain a detailed statement of the findings and con21 clusions of the Commission, and recommendations

22 for such legislation and administrative actions as the

23 Commission considers appropriate.
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1 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

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

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

4 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

5 considers advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act.

6 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

7 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart8 ment or agency such information as the Commission con9 siders necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

10 Upon request of the Chairman of the Commission, the

11 head of such department or agency shall furnish such in12 formation to the Commission.

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

14 the United States mails in the same manner and under

15 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

16 the Federal Government.

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

18 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.

19 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

20 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

22 each member of the Commission shall be com23 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

24 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV

25 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title

26 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel
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1 time) during which such member is engaged in the

2 performance of the duties of the Commission.

3 (2) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman shall be com4 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

5 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level III

6 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title

7 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

8 time) during which such member is engaged in the

9 performance of the duties of the Commission.

10 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com11 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

12 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ13 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

14 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

15 regular places of business in the performance of services

16 for the Commission. Such travel may include travel out17 side the United States.

18 (c) STAFF.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

20 the Commission shall, without regard to the provi21 sions of title 5, United States Code, relating to the

22 competitive service, appoint an executive director
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1 who shall be paid at a rate equivalent to a rate es2 tablished for the Senior Executive Service under sec3 tion 5382 of title 5, United States Code. The Com4 mission shall appoint such additional personnel as

5 the Commission determines to be necessary to pro6 vide support for the Commission, and may com7 pensate such additional personnel without regard to

8 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relat9 ing to the competitive service.

10 (2) LIMITATION.—The total number of employ11 ees of the Commission (including the executive direc12 tor) may not exceed 30.

13 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any

14 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

15 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall

16 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or

17 privilege.

18 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT19 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairman of the Commission may

20 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

21 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ22 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

23 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive

24 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
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1 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

2 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the

3 date on which the Commission submits the final report

4 of the Commission.

5 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There are authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000

7 for fiscal year 1997, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and

8 $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1999 to the Commission to

9 carry out the purposes of this Act.

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