I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 673

To establish a national commission to review the regular military compensation of members of the Armed Forces and develop recommendations

to end the dependence of some members and their families on Federal

and local assistance programs.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 25, 1995

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

Committee on National Security

A BILL

To establish a national commission to review the regular

military compensation of members of the Armed Forces

and develop recommendations to end the dependence of

some members and their families on Federal and local

assistance programs.

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

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION

4 ON FAIRNESS IN MILITARY COMPENSATION.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mission to be known as the ‘‘National Commission on
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1 Fairness in Military Compensation’’ (in this Act referred

2 to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.—The Commis4 sion shall consist of 16 members, as follows:

5 (1) The Secretary of Defense.

6 (2) The Secretary of Agriculture.

7 (3) The Director of the Office of Management

8 and Budget.

9 (4) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv10 ices.

11 (5) Two Members of the Senate, one Member

12 selected by the President pro tempore of the Senate

13 and one Member selected by the minority leader of

14 the Senate.

15 (6) Two Members of the House of Representa16 tives, one Member selected by the Speaker of the

17 House and one Member selected by the minority

18 leader of the House of Representatives.

19 (7) Eight additional members appointed by the

20 President from the general public or as representa21 tives of nonprofit or military advocacy organizations,

22 such as—

23 (A) the American Legion;

24 (B) the Veterans of Foreign Wars;

25 (C) the USO;
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1 (D) the Non-Commissioned Officers Asso2 ciation;

3 (E) the Retired Enlisted Association;

4 (F) the Fleet Reserve Association;

5 (G) the Association of the United States

6 Army;

7 (H) the National Military Family Associa8 tion; and

9 (I) the Air Force Sergeants Association.

10 (c) TIME FOR APPOINTMENT.—The members of the

11 Commission required to be appointed or selected under

12 subsection (b) shall be appointed or selected not later than

13 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

14 (d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall elect a

15 Chairperson from among its membership.

16 SEC. 2. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

17 (a) REVIEW OF FAIRNESS OF MILITARY COMPENSA18 TION.—The Commission shall determine the extent to

19 which members of the Armed Forces or their dependents

20 have come to rely on food stamps, the special supplemental

21 food program under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act

22 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), and other Federal or local as23 sistance programs as a necessary supplement to their reg24 ular military compensation and the circumstances that

25 lead to such dependence. In the case of members of the
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1 Armed Forces stationed outside the United States who are

2 unable to receive such assistance, the Commission shall

3 also determine the general standard of living for these

4 members and their dependents.

5 (b) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—On the basis

6 of the review conducted under subsection (a), the Commis7 sion shall prepare and submit to the President and Con8 gress a report containing the findings of the Commission

9 and specific recommendations on possible changes in the

10 military pay structure or other methods to ensure that

11 members of the Armed Forces receive adequate compensa12 tion so that they are able to provide for themselves and

13 their families without seeking special financial assistance

14 to maintain a decent standard of living. The report shall

15 be submitted within 180 days after the first meeting of

16 the Commission.

17 SEC. 3. GENERAL POWERS OF COMMISSION.

18 (a) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

19 Commission shall constitute a group for the transaction

20 of business.

21 (b) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission

22 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the manner

23 in which the original appointment was made.

24 (c) PROHIBITION OF ADDITIONAL PAY.—Members of

25 the Commission who are officers or employees of the Unit-
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1 ed States shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or

2 benefits by reason of their service on the Commission.

3 Members appointed from among private citizens of the

4 United States may be allowed travel expenses, including

5 per diem, in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for

6 persons serving intermittently in the government service

7 to the extent funds are available for such expenses.

8 (d) HEARINGS.—For the purpose of carrying out this

9 Act, the Commission may hold such hearings and sit and

10 act at such times and places as the Commission may find

11 advisable.

12 (e) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission

13 may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary

14 to establish its procedures and to govern the manner of

15 its operations, organization, and personnel.

16 (f) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—(1)

17 The Commission may request from the head of any Fed18 eral agency or instrumentality such information as the

19 Commission may require for the purpose of this Act. Upon

20 request made by the Chairperson of the Commission, each

21 such agency or instrumentality shall furnish such informa22 tion to the Commission, to the extent permitted by law

23 and subject to the exceptions set forth in section 552 of

24 title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the

25 Freedom of Information Act).
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1 (2) Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commis2 sion, the head of any Federal agency or instrumentality

3 shall, to the extent possible and subject to the discretion

4 of such head—

5 (A) make any of the facilities and services of

6 such agency or instrumentality available to the Com7 mission; and

8 (B) detail any of the personnel of such agency

9 or instrumentality to the Commission, on a reim10 bursable basis, to assist the Commission in carrying

11 out its duties under this Act, except that any ex12 penses of the Commission incurred under this sub13 paragraph shall be subject to the limitation on total

14 expenses set forth in section 4(b).

15 (g) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

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

18 (h) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such

19 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria20 tion Acts, enter into contracts with State agencies, private

21 firms, institutions, and individuals for the purpose of con22 ducting research or surveys necessary to enable the Com23 mission to discharge its duties under this Act, subject to

24 the limitation on total expenses set forth in section 4(b).
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1 (i) STAFF.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

2 may be adopted by the Commission, the Chairperson of

3 the Commission (subject to the limitation on total ex4 penses set forth in section 4(b)) shall have the power to

5 appoint, terminate, and fix the compensation (without re6 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov7 erning appointments in the competitive service, and with8 out regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter

9 III of provision of law, relating to the number, classifica10 tion, and General Schedule rates) of an Executive Direc11 tor, and of such additional staff as the Chairperson deems

12 advisable to assist the Commission, at rates not to exceed

13 a rate to the maximum rate for GS–15, of the General

14 Schedule under section 5332 of such title.

15 SEC. 4. EXPENSES OF COMMISSION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any expenses of the Commission

17 shall be paid from such funds as may be available to the

18 Secretary of Defense.

19 (b) LIMITATION.—The total expenses of the Commis20 sion shall not exceed $750,000.

21 (c) GAO AUDIT.—Prior to the termination of the

22 Commission, the Comptroller General of the United States

23 shall conduct an audit of the financial books and records

24 of the Commission to determine that the limitation on ex25 penses has been met, and shall include its determination
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1 in an opinion to be included in the report of the Commis2 sion.

3 SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

4 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the

5 date on which the Commission submits its final report

6 under section 2(b).

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