I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 14

To establish a Bipartisan Commission on Social Security Reform.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 3, 2001

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. CONDIT) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To establish a Bipartisan Commission on Social Security

Reform.

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 ‘‘Bipartisan Commission

5 on Social Security Reform Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The 2000 Report of the Social Security

9 Board of Trustees projects that the receipts financ10 ing the Social Security trust funds will fall below its

11 outgo in 2015 and the trust funds will be depleted
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1 in 2037. At that time only 72 percent of Social Se2 curity benefits would be payable then with incoming

3 receipts.

4 (2) The primary reason is demographic: the

5 post-World War II baby boomers will begin retiring

6 in less than a decade and life expectancy is rising.

7 By 2025 the number of people age 65 and older is

8 predicted to grow by 75 percent. In contrast, the

9 number of workers supporting the system would

10 grow by 13 percent.

11 (3) If there are no other surplus governmental

12 receipts, policymakers would have 3 choices: raise

13 taxes or other income, cut spending, or borrow the

14 money. Mirroring this adverse outlook are public

15 opinion polls showing that fewer than 50 percent of

16 respondents are confident that Social Security can

17 meet its long-term commitments. There also is a

18 widespread perception that Social Security may not

19 be as good a value in the future as it is today.

20 (4) While it is accepted that Social Security re21 form is needed without undue delay, there clearly is

22 no consensus on how this should be accomplished.

23 This was evident by the Report of the 1994–1996

24 Social Security Advisory Council, which provided 3

25 very different plans but none of which received a
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1 majority’s endorsement. It also is reflected by the

2 many bills introduced in the 105th Congress and the

3 106th Congress and proposals by the administration

4 that represent a diversity of approaches to Social Se5 curity reform. As a result of differences within Con6 gress and with the administration, there has been no

7 movement on Social Security reform.

8 (5) This state of affairs shows the need to de9 velop consensus legislation between Congress and

10 the administration that can be enacted into law

11 without undue delay. To accomplish this there is to

12 be established a Bipartisan Commission on Social

13 Security Reform charged with developing a unified

14 proposal to ensure the long-term retirement security

15 of Americans.

16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

17 There is established in the legislative branch a Bipar18 tisan Commission on Social Security Reform (in this Act

19 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

20 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

21 The Commission shall design a single set of legisla22 tive and administrative recommendations for long-range

23 reforms for restoring the solvency of the Social Security

24 system, and maintaining retirement income security in the

25 United States.
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1 SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION.

2 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

3 shall be composed of 17 members, of whom—

4 (1) 3 members shall be selected by the Speaker

5 of the House of Representatives, 1 from among

6 Members of the House, and 2 from among private

7 citizens;

8 (2) 3 members shall be selected by the majority

9 leader of the Senate, 1 from among Members of the

10 Senate, and 2 from among private citizens;

11 (3) 3 members shall be selected by the minority

12 leader of the House of Representatives, 1 from

13 among Members of the House, and 2 from among

14 private citizens;

15 (4) 3 members shall be selected by the minority

16 leader of the Senate, 1 from among Members of the

17 Senate, and 2 from among private citizens; and

18 (5) 5 members shall be selected by the Presi19 dent, 2 from among officers of the executive branch

20 of the United States Government, and 3 from

21 among private citizens.

22 The Commissioner of Social Security shall be an ex officio,

23 nonvoting member of the Commission.

24 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the Commis25 sion shall consist of individuals who are of recognized

26 standing and distinction who can represent the multiple
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1 generations who have a stake in the viability of the Social

2 Security system, and who possess a demonstrated capacity

3 to discharge the duties imposed on the Commission. At

4 least 1 of the members shall be appointed from individuals

5 representing the interests of employees, and at least 1 of

6 the members shall be appointed from individuals rep7 resenting the interests of employers.

8 (c) CHAIR.—The officials referred to in paragraphs

9 (1) through (5) of subsection (a) shall designate a member

10 of the Commission to serve as Chair of the Commission

11 (or 2 of the members of the Commission to serve as Co12 Chairs of the Commission) who shall chair (or jointly

13 chair) the Commission, determine its duties, and supervise

14 its staff.

15 (d) TERMS OF APPOINTMENT.—The members of the

16 Commission shall be appointed not more than 30 days

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act. The members

18 of the Commission shall serve for the life of the Commis19 sion.

20 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

21 not affect the power of the remaining members to execute

22 the duties of the Commission but any such vacancy shall

23 be filled in the same manner in which the original appoint24 ment was made.
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1 SEC. 6. PROCEDURES.

2 (a) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

3 call of its Chair (or Co-Chairs) or a majority of its mem4 bers. If after 30 days after the date of the enactment of

5 this Act, 9 or more members of the Commission have been

6 appointed, members who have been appointed may meet

7 and select the Chair (or Co-Chairs) who thereafter shall

8 have the authority to begin the operations of the Commis9 sion, including the hiring of staff.

10 (b) QUORUM.—A quorum shall consist of nine mem11 bers of the Commission, except that a lesser number may

12 conduct a hearing under subsection (c).

13 (c) HEARINGS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—For the

14 purpose of carrying out its duties, the Commission may

15 hold such hearings and undertake such other activities as

16 the Commission determines necessary to carry out its du17 ties.

18 (d) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—Upon request of the

19 Commission, the Commissioner of Social Security and the

20 head of any other agency or instrumentality of the Federal

21 Government shall furnish information deemed necessary

22 by the panel to enable it to carry out its duties.

23 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

24 (a) COMPENSATION.—Except as provided in sub25 section (b), members of the Commission shall receive no
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1 additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their

2 service on the Commission.

3 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES AND PER DIEM.—Each mem4 ber of the Commission who is not a present Member of

5 the Congress and who is not otherwise an officer or em6 ployee of the Federal Government shall receive travel ex7 penses and per diem in lieu of subsistence in accordance

8 with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States

9 Code.

10 (c) STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—

11 (1) STAFF DIRECTOR.—

12 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair (or Co13 Chairs) in accordance with the rules agreed

14 upon by the Commission shall appoint a staff

15 director for the Commission.

16 (B) COMPENSATION.—The staff director

17 shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate

18 established for level V of the Executive Sched19 ule under section 5315 of title 5, United States

20 Code.

21 (2) STAFF.—The Chair (or Co-Chairs) in ac22 cordance with the rules agreed upon by the Commis23 sion shall appoint such additional personnel as the

24 Commission determines to be necessary.
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1 (3) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—

2 The staff director and other members of the staff of

3 the Commission shall be appointed without regard to

4 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov5 erning appointments in the competitive service, and

6 shall be paid without regard to the provisions of

7 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such

8 title relating to classification and General Schedule

9 pay rates.

10 (4) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the

11 approval of the Commission, the staff director may

12 procure temporary and intermittent services under

13 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.

14 (d) PHYSICAL FACILITIES.—The Architect of the

15 Capitol, in consultation with the appropriate entities in the

16 legislative branch, shall locate and provide suitable office

17 space for the operation of the Commission on a non18 reimbursable basis. The facilities shall serve as the head19 quarters of the Commission and shall include all necessary

20 equipment and incidentals required for the proper func21 tioning of the Commission.

22 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES AND

23 OTHER ASSISTANCE.—

24 (1) Upon the request of the Commission, the

25 Architect of the Capitol, the Commissioner of Social
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1 Security, and the Administrator of General Services

2 shall provide to the Commission on a nonreimburs3 able basis such administrative support services as

4 the Commission may request.

5 (2) In addition to the assistance set forth in

6 paragraphs (1) and (2), departments and agencies of

7 the United States may provide the Commission such

8 services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support

9 services as the Commission may deem advisable and

10 as may be authorized by law.

11 (g) USE OF MAILS.—The Commission may use the

12 United States mails in the same manner and under the

13 same conditions as Federal agencies and shall, for pur14 poses of the frank, be considered a commission of Con15 gress as described in section 3215 of title 39, United

16 States Code.

17 (h) PRINTING.—For purposes of costs relating to

18 printing and binding, including the cost of personnel de19 tailed from the Government Printing Office, the Commis20 sion shall be deemed to be a committee of the Congress.

21 SEC. 8. REPORT.

22 Not later than 6 months after the date of the first

23 meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall submit

24 to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of

25 Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
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1 Senate a report which shall contain a detailed statement

2 of the findings and conclusions of the Commission, includ3 ing the set of recommendations required under section 4.

4 The report shall be approved by at least nine members

5 of the Commission.

6 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

7 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after sub8 mitting its final report.

9 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

11 as may be necessary for the activities of the Commission.

12 Until such time as funds are otherwise specifically appro13 priated for such activities, $2,000,000 shall be available

14 for the activities of the Commission from funds otherwise

15 currently appropriated for administrative expenses of the

16 Social Security Administration pursuant to section

17 201(g)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act.

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