I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 548 

To establish a Congressional Trade Office. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 18, 2007 

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. ALLEN, Ms. LEE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. WELCH of 

Vermont, Mr. COSTELLO, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HALL of New 

York, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. MELANCON, Mr. WU, and Mrs. TAUSCHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

A BILL 

To establish a Congressional Trade Office. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Congress has responsibility under the Con6 stitution for international commerce. 

7 (2) Congressional oversight of trade policy has 

8 often been hampered by a lack of resources. 

9 (3) The United States has entered into numer10 ous trade agreements with foreign trading partners, 


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1 including bilateral, regional, and multilateral agree2 ments. 

3 (4) Foreign country performance under certain 

4 agreements has been less than contemplated, and in 

5 some cases rises to the level of noncompliance. 

6 (5) The credibility of, and support for, the 

7 United States Government’s trade policy is, to a sig8 nificant extent, a function of the belief that trade 

9 agreements made are trade agreements enforced. 

10 (6) The accession of the People’s Republic of 

11 China to the World Trade Organization will create 

12 unprecedented challenges and it is important to the 

13 world trading system that China comply with the 

14 numerous and significant commitments China makes 

15 as part of the accession process. Congress must play 

16 a key role in ensuring full and continuous moni17 toring of the People’s Republic of China’s compli18 ance with its commitments. 

19 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established an office in 

21 Congress to be known as the Congressional Trade Office 

22 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 

23 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office are as 

24 follows: 


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1 (1) To reassert the constitutional responsibility 

2 of Congress with respect to international trade. 

3 (2) To provide Congress with additional inde4 pendent, nonpartisan, neutral trade expertise. 

5 (3) To assist Congress in providing more effec6 tive and active oversight of trade policy. 

7 (4) To assist Congress in providing to the exec8 utive branch more effective direction on trade policy. 

9 (5) To provide Congress with long-term, institu10 tional memory on trade issues. 

11 (6) To provide Congress with more analytical 

12 capability on trade issues. 

13 (7) To advise relevant committees on the im14 pact of trade negotiations, including past, ongoing, 

15 and future negotiations, with respect to the areas of 

16 jurisdiction of the respective committees. 

17 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are as 

18 follows: 

19 (1) ASSISTANCE TO CONGRESS.—To provide the 

20 appropriate committees of Congress or joint commit21 tees of Congress information which will assist the 

22 committees in the discharge of the matters within 

23 their jurisdiction. 


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1 (2) MONITOR COMPLIANCE.—To monitor com2 pliance with major bilateral, regional, and multilat3 eral trade agreements by— 

4 (A) consulting with the affected industries 

5 and interested parties; 

6 (B) analyzing the success of those agree7 ments based on the effect of the agreements on 

8 specific industries and the economy; 

9 (C) recommending actions, including legis10 lative action, necessary to ensure that foreign 

11 countries that have made commitments through 

12 those agreements with the United States fully 

13 abide by their commitments; 

14 (D) annually assessing the extent to which 

15 those agreements comply with environmental 

16 goals; and 

17 (E) annually assessing the extent to which 

18 those agreements comply with labor goals. 

19 (3) ANALYSES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—To perform the fol21 lowing analyses: 

22 (i) By not later than 60 days after the 

23 date the national trade policy agenda is de24 livered to Congress each year under section 

25 163(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 


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1 U.S.C. 2213(a)), to analyze that agenda, 

2 including alternative goals, strategies, and 

3 tactics, as appropriate. 

4 (ii) By not later than 60 days after 

5 the date the National Trade Estimate re6 port is delivered to Congress each year 

7 under section 181(b) of the Trade Act of 

8 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2241(b)), to analyze the 

9 major outstanding trade barriers based on 

10 cost to the United States economy. 

11 (iii) To analyze the overall trade bal12 ance of the United States and the trade 

13 balances of the United States with the 

14 major trading partners of the United 

15 States. 

16 (B) ANALYSES REQUESTED BY COM17 MITTEE.—To perform analyses relating to trade 

18 as directed by any committee which will assist 

19 the committee in the discharge of the matters 

20 within the committee’s jurisdiction, including, 

21 but not limited to— 

22 (i) analyzing proposed trade legisla23 tion; 


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1 (ii) analyzing proposed trade agree2 ments, including agreements that do not 

3 require implementing legislation; and 

4 (iii) analyzing the impact of the trade 

5 policy and actions of the executive branch, 

6 including assessing the decisions not to ac7 cept unfair trade practices cases. 

8 (4) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT DELIBERATIONS.— 

9 To perform the following functions with respect to 

10 dispute resolution: 

11 (A) Participate as observers on the United 

12 States delegation at dispute settlement panel 

13 meetings of the World Trade Organization. 

14 (B) Evaluate the results obtained by the 

15 United States in dispute settlement proceedings 

16 at the World Trade Organization, under the 

17 North American Free Trade Agreement, and 

18 under any trade agreement entered into after 

19 the enactment of this Act, including the effect 

20 of the outcome of the proceedings on specific in21 dustries and the economy. 

22 (5) PARTICIPATION IN TRADE NEGOTIATIONS.— 

23 To participate as observers in bilateral, regional, and 

24 multilateral trade negotiations. 

25 (6) OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE.— 


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1 (A) To provide Congress with quarterly re2 ports regarding the activities of the Office. 

3 (B) To be available for consultation with 

4 congressional committees on trade-related legis5 lation. 

6 (C) To perform such other functions relat7 ing to trade as the chairman and ranking mem8 ber of the Committee on Finance of the Senate 

9 and the chairman and ranking member of the 

10 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

11 Representatives may request. 

12 (d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out its 

13 functions, the Office may— 

14 (1) receive and review classified information 

15 and participate in classified briefings in the same 

16 manner as the staff of the Committee on Finance of 

17 the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means 

18 of the House of Representatives; and 

19 (2) consult nongovernmental experts and use 

20 nongovernmental resources. 

21 (e) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— 

22 (1) DIRECTOR.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be at the 

24 head of the Office a Director. The Director 

25 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House 


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1 of Representatives and the President pro tem2 pore of the Senate after considering the rec3 ommendations of the chairman and ranking 

4 member of the Committee on Finance of the 

5 Senate and the chairman and ranking member 

6 of the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

7 House of Representatives. The Director shall be 

8 chosen without regard to political affiliation and 

9 solely on the basis of the Director’s expertise 

10 and fitness to perform the duties of the Direc11 tor. 

12 (B) TERM.—The term of office of the Di13 rector shall be 5 years and the Director may be 

14 reappointed for subsequent terms. 

15 (C) VACANCY.—Any individual appointed 

16 as Director to fill a vacancy occurring before 

17 the expiration of the term for which the individ18 ual’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap19 pointed only for the remainder of that term. 

20 (D) REMOVAL.—The Director may be re21 moved by either House of Congress by resolu22 tion. 

23 (E) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall 

24 receive compensation at the annual rate of pay 

25 in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule 


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1 under section 5314 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (2) STAFF.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ap5 point and fix the compensation of such per6 sonnel as may be necessary to carry out the du7 ties and functions of the Office. All personnel 

8 shall be appointed without regard to political 

9 affiliation and solely on the basis of their fit10 ness to perform their duties. The personnel of 

11 the Office shall consist of individuals with ex12 pertise in international trade, including exper13 tise in economics, trade law, various industrial 

14 sectors, and various geographical regions. 

15 (B) BENEFITS.—For purposes of pay 

16 (other than the pay of the Director) and em17 ployment, benefits, rights, and privileges, all 

18 personnel of the Office shall be treated as if 

19 they were employees of the House of Represent20 atives. 

21 (3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—In carrying 

22 out the duties and functions of the Office, the Direc23 tor may procure the temporary (not to exceed 1 

24 year) or intermittent services of experts or consult25 ants or organizations thereof by contract as indeVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:43 Jan 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H548.IH H548

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1 pendent contractors, or, in the case of individual ex2 perts or consultants, by employment at rates of pay 

3 not in excess of the daily equivalent of the highest 

4 rate of basic pay payable under the General Sched5 ule under section 5332 of title 5, United States 

6 Code. 

7 (4) RELATIONSHIP TO EXECUTIVE BRANCH.— 

8 The Director may secure information, data, esti9 mates, and statistics directly from any department, 

10 agency, or establishment of the executive branch of 

11 Government and any regulatory agency or commis12 sion of the Government. All such departments, agen13 cies, establishments, and regulatory agencies and 

14 commissions shall furnish the Director any available 

15 material which the Director determines to be nec16 essary in the performance of his or her duties and 

17 functions (other than material the disclosure of 

18 which would be a violation of law). The Director 

19 may, upon agreement with the head of any such de20 partment, agency, establishment, or regulatory agen21 cy or commission, use its services and facilities with 

22 or without reimbursement; and the head of each 

23 such department, agency, establishment, or regu24 latory agency or commission may provide such serv25 ices and facilities to the Office. 


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1 (5) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AGENCIES OF

2 CONGRESS.—In carrying out the duties and func3 tions of the Office, and for the purpose of coordi4 nating the operations of the Office with those of 

5 other congressional agencies in order to use most ef6 fectively the information, services, and capabilities of 

7 all such agencies in carrying out the responsibilities 

8 assigned to each, the Director may obtain informa9 tion, data, estimates, and statistics developed by the 

10 Government Accountability Office, the Library of 

11 Congress, and other offices of Congress, and (upon 

12 agreement with them) may utilize their services and 

13 facilities with or without reimbursement. The Comp14 troller General, the Librarian of Congress, and the 

15 head of such other offices of Congress are author16 ized to provide the Office with the information, data, 

17 estimates, statistics, services, and facilities referred 

18 to in the preceding sentence. 

19 SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

21 (b) and (c), the Director— 

22 (1) shall post on an Office website all informa23 tion, data, estimates, and statistics obtained under 

24 this Act; 


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1 (2) shall make such information, data, esti2 mates, and statistics available for public copying 

3 during normal business hours, subject to reasonable 

4 rules and regulations; and 

5 (3) shall to the extent practicable, at the re6 quest of any person, furnish a copy of any such in7 formation, data, estimates, or statistics upon pay8 ment by such person of the cost of making and fur9 nishing such copy. 

10 (b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

11 (1) BASIS FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION.— 

12 Information, data, estimates, and statistics may be 

13 withheld from disclosure under subsection (a) only 

14 to the extent that such information, data, estimates, 

15 or statistics (as the case may be)— 

16 (A) are specifically exempted from disclo17 sure by law; or 

18 (B) as determined by the Director, will dis19 close— 

20 (i) matters necessary to be kept secret 

21 in the interests of national defense or the 

22 confidential conduct of the foreign rela23 tions of the United States; 

24 (ii) information relating to trade se25 crets or financial or commercial informaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:43 Jan 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H548.IH H548

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1 tion pertaining specifically to a given per2 son if the information has been obtained 

3 by the Government on a confidential basis, 

4 other than through an application by such 

5 person for a specific financial or other ben6 efit, and is required to be kept secret in 

7 order to prevent undue injury to the com8 petitive position of such person; or 

9 (iii) personnel or medical data or simi10 lar data the disclosure of which would con11 stitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 

12 personal privacy. 

13 (2) NOTICE OF WITHHELD INFORMATION.—The 

14 Director shall provide notice to the public of each in15 stance in which information has been withheld from 

16 disclosure under paragraph (1), including a descrip17 tion of the information, and shall provide an oppor18 tunity for the public to petition the Director to re19 consider the determination to withhold disclosure of 

20 the information. 

21 (c) INFORMATION OBTAINED FOR COMMITTEES AND

22 MEMBERS.—Subsection (a) of this section shall apply to 

23 any information, data, estimates, and statistics obtained 

24 at the request of any committee, joint committee, or Mem25 ber except to the extent that such committee, joint comVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:43 Jan 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H548.IH H548

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1 mittee, or Member has instructed the Director not to make 

2 such information, data, estimates, or statistics available 

3 for public copying. 

4 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office 

6 for each fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to en7 able the Office to carry out its duties and functions. Until 

8 sums are first appropriated pursuant to the preceding sen9 tence, for a period not to exceed 12 months following the 

10 effective date of this section, the expenses of the Office 

11 shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate, in 

12 accordance with the provisions of the paragraph relating 

13 to contingent funds under the heading ‘‘UNDER LEGIS14 LATIVE’’ in the Act of October 2, 1888 (25 Stat. 546; 

15 2 U.S.C. 68), and upon vouchers approved by the Direc16 tor. 

Æ 


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