I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3721

To establish the Omnibus Territories Act

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 26, 1996

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and

Means, 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 Omnibus Territories Act

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Omnibus Territories Act of 1996’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

TITLE I—REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT OF SEPARATE BALLOTS

TITLE II—AMERICAN SAMOA STUDY COMMISSION ACT

TITLE III—AMERICAN SAMOA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT

TITLE IV—INSULAR AREAS CONSOLIDATION ACT

TITLE V—AMERICAN SAMOA CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
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TITLE VI—GUAM LAND RETURN ACT

TITLE VII—AMENDMENTS TO THE REVISED ORGANIC ACT OF THE VIRGIN

ISLANDS

TITLE VIII—COMMISSION ON THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE VIRGIN

ISLANDS

1 TITLE I—REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT OF

2 SEPARATE BALLOTS

3 SEC. 101. REPEAL OF SEPARATE BALLOT REQUIREMENT.

4 Section 2(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide

5 that the unincorporated territories of Guam and the Vir6 gin Islands shall each be represented in Congress by a Del7 egate to the House of Representatives’’ approved April 10,

8 1972 (48 U.S.C. 1712(a)), is amended by striking ‘‘, by

9 separate ballot and’’.

10 TITLE II—AMERICAN SAMOA STUDY

11 COMMISSION ACT

12 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘American Samoa

14 Study Commission Act’’.

15 SEC. 202. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

16 The Congress finds that—

17 (1) the islands of Tutuila and Manua, and cer18 tain other islands that compose American Samoa,

19 were ceded by the chiefs of the islands to the United

20 States by two treaties or deeds of cession which were

21 submitted to the United States Congress on April

22 10, 1900, and July 16, 1904;
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1 (2) American Samoa’s status as an unorganized

2 and unincorporated territory of the United States,

3 and American Samoa’s political relationship to the

4 United States, are not clearly defined in any single

5 document;

6 (3) there is a need for a comprehensive study

7 and review of the historical and legal basis of Amer8 ican Samoa’s political relationship with the United

9 States, including—

10 (A) a comprehensive report on American

11 Samoa’s present political relationship with the

12 United States, as compared to other relation13 ships such as independence, commonwealth,

14 free association and covenant; and

15 (B) an examination of whether the treaties

16 or deeds of cession created trust obligations to

17 American Samoa on the part of the United

18 States;

19 (4) the economic and social needs of American

20 Samoa are substantially affected by the nature of

21 American Samoa’s political relationship with the

22 United States; and

23 (5) there is a need for a comprehensive study

24 also of Swains Island and its historical relationship

25 with the Tokelau Island Group.
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1 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT.

2 There is established a commission to be known as the

3 ‘‘American Samoa Study Commission Act’’.

4 SEC. 204. DUTIES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the Com6 mission—

7 (1) to study and evaluate all the factors that

8 led to American Samoa’s historical and present po9 litical relationship with the United States, includ10 ing—

11 (A) the events that led to the cession to

12 the United States of the islands that compose

13 American Samoa; and

14 (B) the constitutions, statutes, treaties,

15 and agreements that affect American Samoa’s

16 political relationship with the United States;

17 (2) to document and report on the nature of

18 American Samoa’s political relationship with the

19 United States; to document and also report on such

20 political relationships as independence, common21 wealth, free association and covenant; and to docu22 ment and report on whether the deeds of cession cre23 ated trust obligations to American Samoa on the

24 part of the United States;
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1 (3) to report on whether a single document is

2 needed to set forth American Samoa’s political rela3 tionship with the United States; and

4 (4) to study and evaluate the impact of Amer5 ican Samoa’s political status and relationship with

6 the United States (as determined by the Commission

7 under paragraph (2)) on the economic and social

8 needs of American Samoa and its residents.

9 (5) to study and report on whether the 1900

10 and 1904 Instruments of Cession were indeed trea11 ties or deeds and how such instruments are recog12 nized under international law.

13 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Commission shall, to the

14 maximum extent practicable, consult with American

15 Samoans in carrying out the duties of the Commission

16 under subsection (a).

17 SEC. 205. MEMBERSHIP.

18 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

19 shall be composed of five members appointed as follows:

20 (1) Three members appointed by the Secretary

21 of Interior, including—

22 (A) One member appointed from among

23 three individuals nominated by the legislature

24 of the Territorial government of American

25 Samoa and
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1 (B) One member appointed from among

2 three individuals nominated by the Governor of

3 American Samoa.

4 (2) One member appointed by the Speaker of

5 the United States House of Representatives.

6 (3) One member appointed by the President of

7 the United States Senate.

8 (b) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the

9 life of the Commission.

10 (c) BASIC PAY.—

11 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Except as provided in

12 paragraph (2), each member of the Commission

13 shall be paid, to the extent of amounts made avail14 able in appropriations Acts, $150 for each day (in15 cluding travel time) during which the member is en16 gage in the actual performance of the duties of the

17 Commission.

18 (2) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF FED19 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Except as provided in sub20 section (d), members of the Commission who are

21 full-time officers or employees of the United States

22 or the Territorial government of American Samoa

23 may not receive additional pay, allowances, or bene24 fits by reason of their service on the Commission.
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1 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive

2 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

3 in accordance with sections 572 and 5703 of title 5, Unit4 ed States Code.

5 (e) QUORUM.—Three members of the Commission

6 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold

7 hearings.

8 (f) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Chair9 person and Vice Chairperson of the Commission shall be

10 elected by the members.

11 (g) MEETINGS.—

12 (1) INITIAL MEETINGS.—Not later than the ex13 piration date of the 90 day period beginning on the

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

15 the Interior shall call the initial meeting of the mem16 bers of the Commission.

17 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Chairperson

18 or a majority of the members of the Commission

19 shall call any meeting of the Commission that occurs

20 after the meeting called under paragraph (1).

21 SEC. 206. STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

22 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a direc23 tor, who shall be appointed by the Commission.

24 (b) STAFF.—Subject to rules prescribed by the Com25 mission, the Chairperson of the Commission may appoint
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1 and fix the pay of personnel as the Chairperson considers

2 appropriate.

3 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

4 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may

5 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5,

6 United States Code, governing appointments in the com7 petitive service, and may not be paid without regard to

8 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter

9 53 of such title relating to classification and General

10 Schedule pay rates, except that an individual so appointed

11 may not receive pay in excess of the maximum rate of

12 basic pay payable for GS–16 of the General Schedule.

13 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to rules

14 prescribed by the Commission, the Chairperson of the

15 Commission may procure temporary and intermittent

16 services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States

17 Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed $150 per

18 day.

19 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

20 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen21 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim22 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec23 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

24 under this Act.
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1 SEC. 207. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) HEARINGS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, for

4 the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings,

5 sit and act at times and locations, take testimony,

6 and receive evidence as the Commission considers

7 appropriate.

8 (2) LOCATION OF CERTAIN HEARINGS.—

9 (A) REQUIRED HEARINGS.—The Commis10 sion shall conduct at least 1 hearing at any lo11 cation on each of—

12 (i) Tutuila;

13 (ii) Ofu;

14 (iii) Olosega; and

15 (iv) Tau.

16 (B) OTHER HEARINGS.—The Commission

17 may conduct at least 3 separate hearings in the

18 United States at locations where significant

19 numbers of American Samoans reside.

20 (3) NOTICE.—The Commission shall provide

21 notice to the public of the hearings referred to in

22 paragraphs (1) and (2), including information re23 garding the date, topic and location of the meeting,

24 and shall take other actions as the Commission con25 siders necessary to obtain, to the maximum extent

26 practicable, public participation in the hearings.
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1 (b) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Any member or

2 agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the Com3 mission, take any action that the Commission is author4 ized to take by this Act.

5 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure

7 directly from any Federal agency information nec8 essary to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon the

9 request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the

10 head of the Federal Agency shall furnish the infor11 mation to the Commission.

12 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

13 apply to any information that the Commission is

14 prohibited to secure or request by another law.

15 (d) MAIL.—The Commission may use the United

16 States mail in the same manner and under the same con17 ditions as the other Federal agencies.

18 SEC. 208. REPORTS.

19 (a) DRAFT REPORT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the expira21 tion of the 1-year period beginning on the date of

22 the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall pre23 pare and publish a draft report containing the find24 ings, conclusions and recommendations of the Com25 mission.
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1 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—The Commission shall dis2 tribute such report to appropriate Federal and

3 American Samoan agencies and shall make such re4 port available to members of the public upon re5 quest.

6 (3) SOLICITATION OF COMMENTS.—The Com7 mission shall solicit written comments from the Fed8 eral and American Samoan agencies and other per9 sons to which copies of such report are distributed

10 under paragraph (2).

11 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the expiration

12 of the 9-month period beginning on the date of the publi13 cation of the report required by subsection (a)(1), the

14 Commission shall submit to the President and the Con15 gress a final report, which shall include—

16 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and

17 conclusions made by the Commission after consider18 ation of the comments received by the Commission

19 under subsection (a)(3);

20 (2) the recommendations of the Commission for

21 legislative and administrative actions that the Com22 mission determines to be appropriate; and

23 (3) copies of all written comments received by

24 the Commission under subsection (a)(3).
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1 SEC. 209. DEFINITIONS.

2 For the purpose of this Act:

3 (1) The term ‘‘American Samoan’’ has the

4 meaning given the term ‘‘native American Samoan’’

5 in section 4 of Public Law 100–571 (16 U.S.C.

6 410qq–3).

7 (2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Amer8 ican Samoa Study Commission established in section

9 3.

10 SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

12 are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

13 SEC. 211. TERMINATION.

14 The Commission shall terminate not later than the

15 expiration of the 60-day period beginning on the date on

16 which the Commission submits its final report under sec17 tion 8.

18 TITLE III—AMERICAN SAMOA ECONOMIC

19 DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1995

20 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

21 This title may be cited as the ‘‘American Samoa Eco22 nomic Development Act of 1996’’.

23 SEC. 302. FINDINGS.

24 The Congress finds that—

25 (1) funding for the United States territory of

26 American Samoa has been based on the joint resolu-
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1 tion entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution to provide for accept2 ing, ratifying, and confirming cessions of certain is3 sues of the Samoan group to the United States, and

4 for other purposes’’, as amended (48 U.S.C. 1661),

5 with commitments being made on a yearly basis;

6 (2) American Samoa is locally self-governing

7 with a constitution of its own adoption and the di8 rect election of the Governor since 1977;

9 (3) the territory of American Samoa has had

10 difficulty in planning and implementing comprehen11 sive and sustainable infrastructure based solely on

12 annual ad hoc grants; and

13 (4) the territory of American Samoa and the

14 United States would benefit from a multi-year fund15 ing commitment which promotes economic develop16 ment and self-sufficiency, and requires compliance

17 with financial management accounting standards,

18 the establishment of semiautonomous public utility

19 authorities utilizing cost-recovery principles, and the

20 phaseout of Federal subsidies for Government oper21 ations.

22 SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro24 priated to the Secretary of the Interior for the Govern25 ment of American Samoa $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
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1 years 1998 through 2003. Such amounts shall be used for

2 construction and repair of capital assets of American

3 Samoa.

4 (b) MULTI-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIA5 TIONS.—Amounts not expended in the year appropriated

6 shall remain available until expended.

7 TITLE IV—INSULAR AREAS

8 CONSOLIDATION ACT

9 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

10 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Insular Areas Consoli11 dation Act of 1996’’.

12 SEC. 402. ADDITIONS TO TERRITORY OF AMERICAN SAMOA.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Territory of American Samoa

14 shall include Baker Island, Jarvis Island, and Howland

15 Island.

16 (b) JURISDICTION.—The islands specified in sub17 section (a) shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Terri18 tory of American Samoa to the same extent as and in the

19 same manner that such jurisdiction applies to all other

20 areas within the territory.

21 (c) RIGHTS OF THE UNITED STATES.—The inclusion

22 of islands, appurtenant reefs, and territorial waters in the

23 Territory of American Samoa by this section shall be sub24 ject to existing rights of use, ownership, management, and

25 operation by the Government of the United States.
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1 SEC. 403. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

2 SEC. 404. USE OF ISLANDS, REEF, AND ATOLLS.

3 No provision of this title shall be construed as con4 gressional approval, suggestion, or intent to alter, change,

5 affect, or reduce the current use of any of the islands,

6 reef, or atolls specified in section 302(a).

7 SEC. 405. ADDITIONS CONTINGENT UPON ACCEPTANCE BY

8 TERRITORY OF AMERICAN SAMOA.

9 (a) ACCEPTANCE BY TERRITORY OF AMERICAN

10 SAMOA.—Sections 302 and 303 shall not take effect un11 less the Governor and Legislature of American Samoa cer12 tify to the President that the Territory of American

13 Samoa accepts all of the islands, reefs, and atolls referred

14 to in section 302(a).

15 (b) PROCLAMATION BY PRESIDENT.—Not later than

16 30 days after receiving the last certification described in

17 subsection (a), the President shall issue a proclamation

18 of the new geographical jurisdiction of American Samoa.

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Sections 302 and 303 shall

20 take effect upon the issuance of the proclamation de21 scribed in subsection (b).

22 SEC. 406. DEFINITIONS.

23 For purposes of this title:

24 (1) BAKER ISLAND.—The term ‘‘Baker Island’’

25 means all of the islands and appurtenant reefs at

26 the parallel of 0 degrees, 11 to 13 minutes, of lati-
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1 tude north of the Equator and at the meridian of

2 176 degrees, 27 to 30 minutes, of longitude west of

3 Greenwich, England, and the territorial waters of

4 such islands and reefs.

5 (2) HOWLAND ISLAND.—The term ‘‘Howland

6 Island’’ means all of the island and appurtenant

7 reefs at the paralled of 0 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes,

8 of latitude north of the Equator and at the meridian

9 of 176 degrees, 37 to 39 minutes, of longitude west

10 of Greenwich, England, and the territorial waters of

11 such islands and reef.

12 (3) JARVIS ISLAND.—The term ‘‘Jarvis Island’’

13 means all of the islands and appurtenant reefs at

14 the paralled of 0 degrees, 22 to 24 minutes, of lati15 tude south of the Equator and at the meridian of

16 160 degrees, 0 to 3 minutes, of longitude west of

17 Greenwich, England, and the territorial waters of

18 such islands and reef.

19 TITLE V—AMERICAN SAMOA CAPITAL

20 INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

21 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

22 This title may be cited as the ‘‘American Samoa Cap23 ital Infrastructure Fund Act’’.
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1 SEC. 502. AMENDMENT OF SUBSECTION 703(a) OF PUBLIC

2 LAW 94–241.

3 The second sentence of subsection 703(a) of Public

4 Law 94–241, as amended, is hereby amended to read as

5 follows: ‘‘Funds provided under Section 702 will be consid6 ered to be local revenues when used as the local share re7 quired to obtain federal programs and services.’’

8 TITLE VI—GUAM LAND RETURN ACT

9 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guam Land Return

11 Act’’.

12 SEC. 602. OPPORTUNITY FOR GUAM TO ACQUIRE EXCESS

13 REAL PROPERTY IN GUAM.

14 The Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.)

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new title:

16 ‘‘SEC. xx. (a) At least 180 days before transferring

17 to any Federal agency excess real property located in

18 Guam, the Administrator of General Services shall notify

19 the government of Guam that the property is available

20 under this section.

21 ‘‘(b) The Administrator shall transfer to the govern22 ment of Guam all right, title, and interest of the United

23 States in and to excess real property located in Guam,

24 by quit claim deed and without reimbursement, if the gov25 ernment of Guam, within 180 days after receiving notifica26 tion under subsection (a) regarding the property, notifies
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1 the Administrator that the government intends to acquire

2 the property under this section.

3 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this action, the term ‘excess real

4 property’ means excess property (as that term is defined

5 in section 3 of the Federal Property and Administrative

6 Services Act of 1949, as in effect on the date of enactment

7 of the Guam Land Return Act) that is real property.’’.

8 SEC. 603. RELEASE OF LANDS FROM CONDITION ON DIS9 POSAL BY GUAM.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 818(b)(2) of Public Law

11 96–418 (94 Stat. 1782), relating to a condition on dis12 posal by Guam of lands conveyed to Guam by the United

13 States, shall have no force or effect and is repealed.

14 (b) EXECUTION OF INSTRUMENTS.—The Secretary

15 of the Navy and the Administrator of General Services

16 shall execute all instruments necessary to implement this

17 section.

18 TITLE VII—AMENDMENTS TO THE RE19 VISED ORGANIC ACT OF THE VIRGIN

20 ISLANDS.

21 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE.

22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Revised Organic Act

23 of the Virgin Islands, amended’’.
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1 SEC. 702. AMENDING THE DEFINITION OF ‘‘TEMPORARY AB2 SENCE’’.

3 Section 7(a) of Public Law 90–496 (82 Stat. 839),

4 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end

5 thereof ‘‘As used in this section, the term ‘temporary ab6 sence’ shall not be construed as being physically absent

7 from the territory while on official Government business.’’.

8 SEC. 703. AMENDING SECTION 3 OF PUBLIC LAW 94–392.

9 Section 3 of Public Law 94–392 (90 Stat. 1195), as

10 amended, is further amended as follows:

11 (1) By inserting ‘‘hereinafter’’ between ‘‘obliga12 tions’’ and ‘‘issued’’.

13 (2) By deleting ‘‘priority for payment’’ and in14 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘a parity lien with every other

15 issue of bonds or other obligations hereinafter issued

16 for payment’’.

17 (3) By deleting ‘‘in the order of the date of

18 issue’’.

19 SEC. 704. CERTAIN BONDS EXEMPTED FROM PROVISIONS

20 OF SECTION 149 OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE

21 CODE OF 1986, AS AMENDED.

22 The provision of section 149(d)(3)(A)(i)(I) and

23 149(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as

24 amended, shall not apply to bonds issued—

25 (1) by an authority created by statute of the

26 Virgin Islands legislature, the proceeds of which will
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1 be used to advance refund certain bonds issued by

2 such authority on July 8, 1992; or

3 (2) by an authority created by statute of the

4 Virgin Islands legislature, the proceeds of which will

5 be used to advance refund certain bonds issued by

6 such authority on November 3, 1994.

7 SEC. 705. APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS IN SECTIONS 703

8 AND 704.

9 The amendments made by sections 703 and 704 shall

10 apply to obligations issued on or after the date of enact11 ment of this title.

12 TITLE VIII. COMMISSION ON THE ECO13 NOMIC FUTURE OF THE VIRGIN IS14 LANDS

15 SEC. 801. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.

16 (a) There is hereby established a Commission on the

17 Economic Future of the Virgin Islands (the ‘‘Commis18 sion’’). The Commission shall consist of six members ap19 pointed by the President, two of whom shall be selected

20 from nominations made by the Governor of the Virgin Is21 lands. The President shall designate one of the members

22 of the Commission to be Chairman.

23 (b) In addition to the six members appointed under

24 paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior shall be an

25 ex-officio member of the Commission.
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1 (c) Members of the Commission appointed by the

2 President shall be persons who by virtue of their back3 ground and experience are particularly suited to contrib4 ute to achievement of the purposes of the Commission.

5 (d) Members of the Commission shall serve without

6 compensation, but shall be reimbursed for travel, subsist7 ence and other necessary expenses incurred by them in

8 the performance of their duties.

9 (e) Any vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in

10 the same manner as the original appointment was made.

11 SEC. 802. PURPOSE AND REPORT.

12 (a) The purpose of the Commission is to make rec13 ommendations to the President and Congress on the poli14 cies and programs necessary to provide for a secure and

15 self-sustaining future for the local economy of the Virgin

16 Islands through 2020 and on the role of the Federal Gov17 ernment in providing for that future. In developing rec18 ommendations, the Commission shall—

19 (1) solicit information and advice from persons

20 and entities that the Commission determines have

21 expertise to assist the Commission in its work;

22 (2) examine and analyze historical data since

23 1970 on expenditures for infrastructure and serv24 ices;
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1 (3) analyze the sources of funds for such ex2 penditures;

3 (4) assemble relevant demographic and eco4 nomic data, including trends and projects for the fu5 ture; and

6 (5) estimate future needs of the Virgin Islands,

7 including needs for capital improvements, edu8 cational needs and social, health and environmental

9 requirements.

10 (b) The recommendations of the Commission shall be

11 transmitted to the President, the Committee on Energy

12 and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and

13 the Committee on Resources of the United States House

14 of Representatives no later than December 1, 1997. The

15 recommendations shall be accompanied by a report that

16 sets forth the basis for the recommendations and includes

17 an analysis of the capability of the Virgin Islands to meet

18 projected needs based on reasonable alternative economic,

19 political and social conditions in the Caribbean, including

20 the opening in the near future of Cuba to trade, tourism

21 and development.

22 SEC. 803. POWERS.

23 (a) The Commission may—
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1 (1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such

2 times and places, take such testimony and receive

3 such evidence as it may deem advisable;

4 (2) use the United States mail in the same

5 manner and upon the same conditions as other de6 partments and agencies of the United States;

7 (3) enter into contracts or agreements for stud8 ies and surveys with public and private organizations

9 and transfer funds to Federal agencies to carry out

10 such aspects of the Commission’s functions as the

11 Commission determines can best be carried out in

12 such manner; and

13 (4) incur such necessary expenses and exercise

14 such other powers as are consistent with and reason15 ably required to perform its functions.

16 (b) The Secretary of the Interior shall provide such

17 office space, furnishings and equipment as may be re18 quired to enable the Commission to perform its functions.

19 The Secretary shall also furnish the Commission with such

20 staff, including clerical support, as the Commission may

21 require and shall provide to the Commission financial and

22 administrative services, including those relating to budget23 ing, accounting, financial reporting, personnel and pro24 curement.
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1 (c) The President, upon request of the Commission,

2 may direct the head of any Federal agency or department

3 to assist the Commission and if so directed such head

4 shall—

5 (1) furnish the Commission to the extent per6 mitted by law and within available appropriations

7 such information as may be necessary for carrying

8 out the functions of the Commission and as may be

9 available to or procurable by such department or

10 agency; and

11 (2) detail to temporary duty with the Commis12 sion on a reimbursable basis such personnel within

13 his administrative jurisdiction as the Commission

14 may need or believe to be useful for carrying out its

15 functions, each such detail to be without loss of se16 niority, pay or other employee status.

17 SEC. 804. CHAIRMAN.

18 Subject to general policies that the Commission may

19 adopt, the Chairman of the Commission shall be the chief

20 executive officer of the Commission and shall exercise its

21 executive and administrative powers. The Chairman may

22 make such provisions as he may deem appropriate author23 izing the performance of his executive and administrative

24 functions by the staff of the Commission.
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1 SEC. 805. APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this sec4 tion.

5 SEC. 806. TERMINATION.

6 The Commission shall terminate three months after

7 the transmission of the report and recommendations under

8 subsection (b)(2).

Æ