I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2093

To establish the National Youth Violence Commission, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 9, 1999

Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. TIERNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of

the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish the National Youth Violence Commission, 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; FINDINGS.

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

5 ‘‘National Youth Violence Commission Act’’.

6 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 (1) Families have a right to be safe and secure

8 in their persons and to expect students to be safe

9 and secure in and around school.
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1 (2) While America’s schools are among the

2 safest places to be on a day-to-day basis, the recent

3 tragic and sudden acts of violence in some of our

4 Nation’s schools, including the incidents in Pearl,

5 Mississippi; Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkan6 sas; Springfield, Oregon; Edinboro, Pennsylvania;

7 Fayeteeville, Tennessee; Littleton, Colorado; and

8 Conyers, Georgia, remind us that no school and no

9 community can be complacent in their efforts to

10 make their schools and communities even safer.

11 (3) There is an increasing and urgent need to

12 better understand the causes of youth violence and

13 to identify those initiatives and strategies that are

14 effective in preventing acts of violence in our schools

15 and communities.

16 SEC. 2. NATIONAL YOUTH VIOLENCE COMMISSION.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is es18 tablished a commission to be known as the National Youth

19 Violence Commission (hereinafter referred to in this Act

20 as the ‘‘Commission’’). The Commission shall—

21 (1) be composed of 16 members appointed in

22 accordance with subsection (b); and

23 (2) conduct its business in accordance with the

24 provisions of this Act.

25 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—
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1 (1) PERSONS ELIGIBLE.—Except for those

2 members who hold the offices described under para3 graph (2)(A), and those members appointed under

4 paragraph (2) (C)(ii) and (D)(iv), the members of

5 the Commission shall be individuals who have exper6 tise, by both experience and training, in matters to

7 be studied by the Commission under section 3. The

8 members of the Commission shall be well-known and

9 respected among their peers in their respective fields

10 of expertise.

11 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The members of the

12 Commission shall be appointed for the life of the

13 Commission as follows:

14 (A) Four shall be appointed by the Presi15 dent of the United States, including—

16 (i) the Surgeon General of the United

17 States;

18 (ii) the Attorney General of the

19 United States;

20 (iii) the Secretary of the Department

21 of Health and Human Services; and

22 (iv) the Secretary of the Department

23 of Education.

24 (B) Four shall be appointed by the Speak25 er of the House of Representatives, including—
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1 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

2 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

3 of law enforcement;

4 (ii) 1 member who meets the criteria

5 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

6 of school administration, teaching, or coun7 seling;

8 (iii) 1 member who meets the criteria

9 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

10 of parenting and family studies; and

11 (iv) 1 member who meets the criteria

12 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

13 of child or adolescent psychology.

14 (C) Two shall be appointed by the Minority

15 Leader of the House of Representatives,

16 including—

17 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

18 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

19 of law enforcement; and

20 (ii) 1 member who is a recognized re21 ligious leader.

22 (D) Four shall be appointed by the Major23 ity Leader of the Senate, including—
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1 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

2 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

3 of law enforcement;

4 (ii) 1 member who meets the criteria

5 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

6 of school administration, teaching, or coun7 seling;

8 (iii) 1 member who meets the criteria

9 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the social

10 sciences; and

11 (iv) 1 member who is a recognized re12 ligious leader.

13 (E) Two shall be appointed by the Minor14 ity Leader of the Senate, including—

15 (i) 1 member who meets the criteria

16 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

17 of school administration, teaching, or coun18 seling; and

19 (ii) 1 member who meets the criteria

20 for eligibility in paragraph (1) in the field

21 of parenting and family studies.

22 (3) COMPLETION OF APPOINTMENTS; VACAN23 CIES.—Not later than 30 days after the date of en24 actment of this Act, the appointing authorities under

25 paragraph (2) shall each make their respective ap-
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1 pointments. Any vacancy that occurs during the life

2 of the Commission shall not affect the powers of the

3 Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner

4 as the original appointment not later than 30 days

5 after the vacancy occurs.

6 (4) OPERATION OF THE COMMISSION.—

7 (A) CHAIRMANSHIP.—The appointing au8 thorities under paragraph (2) shall jointly des9 ignate 1 member as the Chairman of the Com10 mission. In the event of a disagreement among

11 the appointing authorities, the Chairman shall

12 be determined by a majority vote of the ap13 pointing authorities. The determination of

14 which member shall be Chairman shall be made

15 not later than 15 days after the appointment of

16 the last member of the Commission, but in no

17 case later than 45 days after the date of enact18 ment of this Act.

19 (B) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall

20 meet at the call of the Chairman. The initial

21 meeting of the Commission shall be conducted

22 not later than 30 days after the later of—

23 (i) the date of the appointment of the

24 last member of the Commission; or
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1 (ii) the date on which appropriated

2 funds are available for the Commission.

3 (C) QUORUM; VOTING; RULES.—A majority

4 of the members of the Commission shall con5 stitute a quorum to conduct business, but the

6 Commission may establish a lesser quorum for

7 conducting hearings scheduled by the Commis8 sion. Each member of the Commission shall

9 have 1 vote, and the vote of each member shall

10 be accorded the same weight. The Commission

11 may establish by majority vote any other rules

12 for the conduct of the Commission’s business, if

13 such rules are not inconsistent with this Act or

14 other applicable law.

15 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

16 (a) STUDY.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the

18 Commission to conduct a comprehensive factual

19 study of incidents of youth violence to determine the

20 root causes of such violence.

21 (2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In determining

22 the root causes of incidents of youth violence, the

23 Commission shall study any matter that the Com24 mission determines relevant to meeting the require25 ments of paragraph (1), including at a minimum—
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1 (A) the perpetrators of school shootings,

2 members of their families, their friends, associ3 ates, teachers, guidance counselors and other

4 professionals who can provide insight into the

5 perpetrators experiences, feelings and expres6 sions;

7 (B) the level of involvement and awareness

8 of teachers and school administrators in the

9 lives of their students and any impact of such

10 involvement and awareness on incidents of

11 youth violence;

12 (C) trends in family relationships, the level

13 of involvement and awareness of parents in the

14 lives of their children, and any impact of such

15 relationships, involvement, and awareness on in16 cidents of youth violence;

17 (D) the alienation of youth from their

18 schools, families, and peer groups, and any im19 pact of such alienation on incidents of youth vi20 olence;

21 (E) the availability of firearms to youth,

22 including any illegal means by which youth ac23 quire such firearms, and any impact of such

24 availability on incidents of youth violence;
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1 (F) any impact upon incidents of youth vi2 olence of the failure to execute existing laws de3 signed to restrict youth access to certain fire4 arms, and the illegal purchase, possession, or

5 transfer of certain firearms;

6 (G) the effect upon youth of depictions of

7 violence in the media and any impact of such

8 depictions on incidents of youth violence; and

9 (H) the availability to youth of information

10 regarding the construction of weapons, includ11 ing explosive devices, and any impact of such

12 information on incidents of youth violence.

13 (3) TESTIMONY OF PARENTS AND STUDENTS.—

14 In determining the root causes of incidents of youth

15 violence, the Commission shall, pursuant to section

16 4(a), take the testimony of parents and students to

17 learn and memorialize their views and experiences

18 regarding incidents of youth violence.

19 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the findings of

20 the study required under subsection (a), the Commission

21 shall make recommendations to the President and Con22 gress to address the causes of youth violence and reduce

23 incidents of youth violence. If the Surgeon General issues

24 any report on media and violence, the Commission shall
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1 consider the findings and conclusions of such report in

2 making recommendations under this subsection.

3 (c) REPORT.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months

5 after the date on which the Commission first meets,

6 the Commission shall submit to the President and

7 Congress a comprehensive report of the Commis8 sion’s findings and conclusions, together with the

9 recommendations of the Commission.

10 (2) SUMMARIES.—The report under this sub11 section shall include a summary of—

12 (A) the reports submitted to the Commis13 sion by any entity under contract for research

14 under section 4(e); and

15 (B) any other material relied on by the

16 Commission in the preparation of the Commis17 sion’s report.

18 SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

19 (a) HEARINGS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may hold

21 such hearings, sit and act at such times and places,

22 administer such oaths, take such testimony, and re23 ceive such evidence as the Commission considers ad24 visable to carry out its duties under section 3.
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1 (2) WITNESS EXPENSES.—Witnesses requested

2 to appear before the Commission shall be paid the

3 same fees as are paid to witnesses under section

4 1821 of title 28, United States Code.

5 (b) SUBPOENAS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a person fails to supply

7 information requested by the Commission, the Com8 mission may by majority vote require by subpoena

9 the production of any written or recorded informa10 tion, document, report, answer, record, account,

11 paper, computer file, or other data or documentary

12 evidence necessary to carry out its duties under sec13 tion 3. The Commission shall transmit to the Attor14 ney General a confidential, written notice at least 10

15 days in advance of the issuance of any such sub16 poena. A subpoena under this paragraph may re17 quire the production of materials from any place

18 within the United States.

19 (2) INTERROGATORIES.—The Commission may,

20 with respect only to information necessary to under21 stand any materials obtained through a subpoena

22 under paragraph (1), issue a subpoena requiring the

23 person producing such materials to answer, either

24 through a sworn deposition or through written an25 swers provided under oath (at the election of the
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1 person upon whom the subpoena is served), to inter2 rogatories from the Commission regarding such in3 formation. A complete recording or transcription

4 shall be made of any deposition made under this

5 paragraph.

6 (3) CERTIFICATION.—Each person who submits

7 materials or information to the Commission pursu8 ant to a subpoena issued under paragraph (1) or (2)

9 shall certify to the Commission the authenticity and

10 completeness of all materials or information sub11 mitted. The provisions of section 1001 of title 18,

12 United States Code, shall apply to any false state13 ments made with respect to the certification required

14 under this paragraph.

15 (4) TREATMENT OF SUBPOENAS.—Any sub16 poena issued by the Commission under paragraph

17 (1) or (2) shall comply with the requirements for

18 subpoenas issued by a United States district court

19 under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

20 (5) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per21 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued by the Com22 mission under paragraph (1) or (2), the Commission

23 may apply to a United States district court for an

24 order requiring that person to comply with such sub25 poena. The application may be made within the judi-
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1 cial district in which that person is found, resides,

2 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

3 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

4 contempt.

5 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

6 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart7 ment or agency such information as the Commission con8 siders necessary to carry out its duties under section 3.

9 Upon the request of the Commission, the head of such

10 department or agency may furnish such information to the

11 Commission.

12 (d) INFORMATION TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.—

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

14 considered an agency of the Federal Government for

15 purposes of section 1905 of title 18, United States

16 Code, and any individual employed by any individual

17 or entity under contract with the Commission under

18 subsection (e) shall be considered an employee of the

19 Commission for the purposes of section 1905 of title

20 18, United States Code.

21 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Information obtained by the

22 Commission, other than information available to the

23 public, shall not be disclosed to any person in any

24 manner, except—
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1 (A) to Commission employees or employees

2 of any individual or entity under contract to the

3 Commission under subsection (e) for the pur4 pose of receiving, reviewing, or processing such

5 information;

6 (B) upon court order; or

7 (C) when publicly released by the Commis8 sion in an aggregate or summary form that

9 does not directly or indirectly disclose—

10 (i) the identity of any person or busi11 ness entity; or

12 (ii) any information which could not

13 be released under section 1905 of title 18,

14 United States Code.

15 (e) CONTRACTING FOR RESEARCH.—The Commis16 sion may enter into contracts with any entity for research

17 necessary to carry out the Commission’s duties under sec18 tion 3.

19 SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

20 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of

21 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the

22 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal

23 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre24 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec25 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in-
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1 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged

2 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All

3 members of the Commission who are officers or employees

4 of the United States shall serve without compensation in

5 addition to that received for their services as officers or

6 employees of the United States.

7 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com8 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

9 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ10 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

11 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

12 regular places of business in the performance of service

13 for the Commission.

14 (c) STAFF.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman of the Com16 mission may, without regard to the civil service laws

17 and regulations, appoint and terminate an executive

18 director and such other additional personnel as may

19 be necessary to enable the Commission to perform

20 its duties. The employment and termination of an

21 executive director shall be subject to confirmation by

22 a majority of the members of the Commission.

23 (2) COMPENSATION.—The executive director

24 shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate

25 payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under
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1 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. The

2 Chairman may fix the compensation of other per3 sonnel without regard to the provisions of chapter

4 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5,

5 United States Code, relating to classification of posi6 tions and General Schedule pay rates, except that

7 the rate of pay for such personnel may not exceed

8 the rate payable for level V of the Executive Sched9 ule under section 5316 of such title.

10 (3) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—

11 Any Federal Government employee, with the ap12 proval of the head of the appropriate Federal agen13 cy, may be detailed to the Commission without reim14 bursement, and such detail shall be without inter15 ruption or loss of civil service status, benefits, or

16 privilege.

17 (d) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT18 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairman of the Commission may

19 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

20 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ21 uals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate

22 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Sched23 ule under section 5316 of such title.
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com3 mission and any agency of the Federal Government assist4 ing the Commission in carrying out its duties under this

5 Act such sums as may be necessary to carry out the pur6 poses of this Act. Any sums appropriated shall remain

7 available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended.

8 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

9 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the

10 Commission submits the report under section 3(c).

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