I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 481

To provide for the establishment of a Professional Trade Service Corps,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 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 provide for the establishment of a Professional Trade

Service Corps, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Professional Trade Service Corps Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
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TITLE I—THE PROFESSIONAL TRADE SERVICE CORPS

Sec. 101. Definitions; references.

Sec. 102. Establishment.

Sec. 103. Tier I.

Sec. 104. Tier II.

Sec. 105. The Councils.

Sec. 106. Rights of former members.

Sec. 107. Effective date.

TITLE II—THE TRADE SERVICE INSTITUTE

Sec. 201. Establishment.

Sec. 202. Director of the Trade Service Institute.

Sec. 203. Staff.

Sec. 204. Acquisition of property.

Sec. 205. Service agreements.

TITLE III—POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS

Sec. 301. Postemployment restrictions.

Sec. 302. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—THE PROFESSIONAL

2 TRADE SERVICE CORPS

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS; REFERENCES.

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this Act—

5 (1) the term ‘‘trade-related agency’’ means—

6 (A) the Office of the United States Trade

7 Representative;

8 (B) each office or other unit within the

9 Department of State under the Under Sec10 retary for Economic and Agricultural Affairs;

11 (C) the Department of Commerce, exclud12 ing the Bureau of the Census;

13 (D) the Foreign Agricultural Service of the

14 Department of Agriculture;

15 (E) the Bureau of International Labor Af16 fairs of the Department of Labor; and
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1 (F) each office or other unit within the De2 partment of the Treasury under—

3 (i) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for

4 Trade and Investment Policy; or

5 (ii) the Deputy Assistant Secretary

6 for Regulatory, Tariff and Trade Enforce7 ment;

8 (2) the term ‘‘Corps’’ means the Professional

9 Trade Service Corps, as established under this title;

10 (3) the term ‘‘Tier I’’ means Tier I of the

11 Corps, as described in section 103;

12 (4) the term ‘‘Tier II’’ means Tier II of the

13 Corps, as described in section 104;

14 (5) the term ‘‘certified member of Tier I’’

15 means an employee in a position, in grade GS–12

16 (or a higher grade) of the General Schedule, within

17 a trade-related agency, who—

18 (A) has received certification under section

19 103(d); and

20 (B) has not had such certification termi21 nated under section 103(f) or otherwise;

22 (6) the term ‘‘member of the Corps’’ means any

23 individual who—

24 (A) is a certified member of Tier I; or
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1 (B) holds a position in Tier II (excluding

2 any individual under subparagraph (A));

3 (7) the term ‘‘Institute’’ means the Trade Serv4 ice Institute, as described in title II;

5 (8) the term ‘‘Policy Council’’ means the Policy

6 Trade Service Interagency Council referred to in sec7 tion 105(a)(1);

8 (9) the term ‘‘Career Council’’ means the Ca9 reer Trade Service Interagency Council referred to

10 in section 105(a)(2);

11 (10) the term ‘‘Government’’ means the United

12 States Government; and

13 (11) the term ‘‘Director of the Institute’’ or

14 ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Trade Service

15 Institute under section 202.

16 (b) REFERENCES.—A reference in this Act to a grade

17 of the General Schedule shall, with respect to the trade18 related agency under subsection (a)(1)(B), be considered

19 to be a reference to the corresponding grade of the For20 eign Service Schedule, as determined under regulations

21 prescribed by the member of the Policy Council under sec22 tion 105(a)(1)(B).

23 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established within

25 the trade-related agencies a Professional Trade Service
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1 Corps, which shall consist of 2 tiers as described in sec2 tions 103 and 104, respectively.

3 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Career Council shall, in ac4 cordance with applicable provisions of this title, prescribe

5 regulations relating to any procedures, criteria, or other

6 matters (excluding any matter as to which any other en7 tity or individual is permitted or required to prescribe reg8 ulations under this title) which may be necessary to carry

9 out this title.

10 SEC. 103. TIER I.

11 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to become a can12 didate for Tier I, an individual must, as of the time of

13 application—

14 (1) hold a position, in a trade-related agency, in

15 grade GS–12, 13, 14, or 15 of the General Schedule;

16 (2) have, in the aggregate, at least—

17 (A) 2 years of service in 1 or more of the

18 trade-related agencies;

19 (B) 2 years of comparable experience, as a

20 Government employee, outside of the trade-re21 lated agencies; or

22 (C) any combination of service or experi23 ence, as described in subparagraphs (A) and

24 (B), respectively, totalling at least 2 years; and

25 (3) demonstrate—
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1 (A) substantive knowledge of trade policy

2 or trade negotiations;

3 (B) aptitude for analytical thinking;

4 (C) effective written and oral communica5 tion skills; and

6 (D) familiarity, ability, and willingness to

7 work with the private sector, the Congress,

8 Government agencies, and the press.

9 (b) ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Any individual

10 who is accepted as a candidate for Tier I shall be required

11 to pursue, concurrent with service in such individual’s reg12 ular position in a trade-related agency or while fulfilling

13 the rotational requirement under subsection (c), a com14 prehensive program of study at the Institute.

15 (2) The purpose of the program of study shall be to

16 ensure that members of the Corps are well-informed with

17 respect to current trends as well as the history of trade

18 negotiations, aware of the economic and political consider19 ations relevant to trade negotiations, knowledgeable of the

20 affairs, cultures, and languages of other countries, and

21 otherwise well prepared to represent the interests of the

22 United States in trade negotiations, or to carry out Gov23 ernment functions relating thereto.

24 (3) To carry out the purpose described in paragraph

25 (2), the Director of the Institute, in consultation with the
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1 Career Council and the Policy Council, shall develop the

2 course requirements for candidates for Tier I. At a mini3 mum, the program shall include courses relating to—

4 (A) the history of, and current trends in, trade

5 negotiations of the United States;

6 (B) trade-negotiation strategies;

7 (C) the economics and politics of trade;

8 (D) cultural and business practices of countries

9 with which the United States has significant trade

10 relations;

11 (E) foreign languages; and

12 (F) operations within and interrelationships

13 among the various trade-related agencies.

14 (c) ROTATIONAL REQUIREMENT.—(1) In order to af15 ford the opportunity to acquire direct experience relating

16 to the matter described in subsection (b)(3)(F) and other17 wise develop the qualities referred to in subsection

18 (a)(3)(D), candidates for Tier I shall be required to com19 plete at least 1 tour of duty either—

20 (A) by detail or temporary reassignment, as the

21 case may be, to—

22 (i) a position within another trade-related

23 agency; or

24 (ii) a Government position outside of the

25 trade-related agencies; or
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1 (B) by temporary assignment to a position out2 side the Government.

3 (2) Selections under this subsection shall, to the max4 imum extent practicable, take into account the interests

5 and abilities of the individual involved, as well as the needs

6 of the Government.

7 (3) A tour of duty under this subsection shall last

8 at least 12 months.

9 (4)(A) The provisions of section 3373 of title 5,

10 United States Code, relating to the continuation of level

11 of pay, benefits, and status, shall apply with respect to

12 any employee assigned to a position outside the Govern13 ment, pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), in the same way as

14 if it were a position to which such provisions would other15 wise apply.

16 (B) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre17 scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this para18 graph.

19 (d) CERTIFICATION.—To become a certified member

20 of Tier I, an individual must—

21 (1) successfully complete the academic require22 ments under subsection (b) in accordance with such

23 timetable as the Director shall establish (such time24 table to permit such longer periods of time as the
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1 Director may consider necessary based on an indi2 vidual’s grade level at time of entry and other rel3 evant factors);

4 (2) successfully complete the rotational require5 ment under subsection (c) within such time as the

6 Director may require; and

7 (3) receive performance evaluations indicating

8 at least a fully successful level of competence

9 throughout the period while completing the require10 ments of the program.

11 (e) RIGHTS BASED ON CERTIFICATION.—A certified

12 member of Tier I—

13 (1) may be appointed to a position in Tier II,

14 if otherwise qualified for such position;

15 (2) shall be eligible for advanced courses and

16 continuing education through the Institute; and

17 (3) shall be eligible for such other forms of

18 training (including preferential consideration, con19 sistent with otherwise applicable provisions of law,

20 for additional rotations) as the trade-related agen21 cies may provide, in accordance with guidelines es22 tablished by the Policy Council.

23 (f) PERIODIC RECERTIFICATION.—(1) In order to en24 sure that certified members of Tier I maintain the level

25 of excellence necessary to carry out the purposes of this
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1 Act, each such member shall be subject to such periodic

2 recertification requirements as the Career Council shall by

3 regulation prescribe.

4 (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any

5 individual holding a position within Tier II.

6 SEC. 104. TIER II.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Tier II shall consist of the follow8 ing positions:

9 (1) Within the trade-related agency described in

10 section 101(a)(1)(A):

11 (A) 1 of the Deputy United States Trade

12 Representative positions (as designated by the

13 United States Trade Representative).

14 (B) Assistant United States Trade Rep15 resentative.

16 (C) Deputy Assistant United States Trade

17 Representative.

18 (D) Deputy General Counsel.

19 (E) Associate General Counsel.

20 (2) Within the trade-related agency described in

21 section 101(a)(1)(B):

22 (A) Deputy Assistant Secretaries under the

23 Under Secretary of State for Economic and Ag24 ricultural Affairs.
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1 (3) Within the trade-related agencies described

2 in section 101(a)(1)(C):

3 (A) Deputy Assistant Secretaries.

4 (B) Office Directors.

5 (4) Within the trade-related agency described in

6 section 101(a)(1)(D):

7 (A) Associate Administrator for Trade Pol8 icy and Agricultural Affairs.

9 (B) Assistant Administrator for Foreign

10 Agricultural Affairs.

11 (C) Deputy Assistant Administrator.

12 (D) Area Officer Positions.

13 (5) Within the trade-related agency described in

14 section 101(a)(1)(E):

15 (A) Deputy Under Secretary.

16 (B) Associate Deputy Under Secretary.

17 (C) Office Directors.

18 (6) Within the trade-related agency described in

19 section 101(a)(1)(F):

20 (A) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regu21 latory, Tariff and Trade Enforcement.

22 (B) Director, Office of Trade and Tariff

23 Affairs.

24 (C) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade

25 and Investment Policy.
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1 (D) Director of the Office of International

2 Investment.

3 (E) Director of the Office of International

4 Trade.

5 (b) RESERVATION OF POSITIONS.—Except as pro6 vided in subsection (c) of this section or section 107(b)

7 of this Act, positions within Tier II may not be filled by

8 any individual other than—

9 (1) a certified member of Tier I;

10 (2) an individual who, immediately before ap11 pointment to or placement in the position involved,

12 holds a position in Tier II; or

13 (3) an individual who is able to demonstrate, by

14 meeting such academic and other requirements as

15 the Career Council establishes, at least the minimum

16 level of training and expertise possessed by an indi17 vidual described in paragraph (1) or (2).

18 (c) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—(1) The appropriate mem19 ber of the Policy Council (as defined in paragraph (3))

20 may waive the application of subsection (b) with respect

21 to a position within such member’s agency if, in accord22 ance with guidelines which the Policy Council shall pre23 scribe, such member determines such waiver to be nec24 essary due to the unavailability of any candidate who sat25 isfies such subsection.
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1 (2) Under the guidelines, a waiver under this sub2 section shall remain in effect for no longer than necessary

3 to permit the appointment of a qualified candidate who

4 satisfies subsection (b).

5 (3) For the purpose of this subsection, the appro6 priate member of the Policy Council for the trade-related

7 agency under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F)

8 of section 101(a)(1), is the member specified in the cor9 responding subparagraph of section 105(a)(1).

10 SEC. 105. THE COUNCILS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out this Act,

12 there shall be established—

13 (1) a Policy Trade Service Interagency Council,

14 which shall consist of—

15 (A) the United States Trade Representa16 tive (or the Trade Representative’s delegate);

17 (B) the Secretary of State (or the Sec18 retary’s delegate);

19 (C) the Secretary of Commerce (or the

20 Secretary’s delegate);

21 (D) the Secretary of Agriculture (or the

22 Secretary’s delegate);

23 (E) the Secretary of Labor (or the Sec24 retary’s delegate); and
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1 (F) the Secretary of the Treasury (or the

2 Secretary’s delegate); and

3 (2) a Career Trade Service Interagency Council,

4 consisting of 6 members, who shall be appointed in

5 accordance with subsection (b).

6 (b) APPOINTMENTS TO THE CAREER COUNCIL.—(1)

7 Each member of the Policy Council shall appoint 1 mem8 ber of the Career Council.

9 (2) Only members of the Corps shall be eligible to

10 serve on the Career Council.

11 (3) A vacancy in the Career Council shall be filled

12 in the manner in which the original appointment was

13 made.

14 (4) The term of appointment for a member of the

15 Career Council shall be 1 year, except that any individual

16 appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira17 tion of the term for which such member’s predecessor was

18 appointed may serve only for the remainder of such term,

19 subject to paragraph (5).

20 (5) A member may serve after the expiration of such

21 member’s term until a successor has taken office.

22 (6) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an indi23 vidual from being appointed to the Career Council more

24 than once.
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1 (c) PAY.—Members of the Policy Council and mem2 bers of the Career Council shall receive no additional pay

3 on account of their service on the Policy Council or the

4 Career Council, as the case may be.

5 SEC. 106. RIGHTS OF FORMER MEMBERS.

6 Any individual who is involuntarily separated from

7 the Corps (except for failure to be recertified under 103(f)

8 or otherwise for cause) shall—

9 (1) consistent with otherwise applicable provi10 sions of law, and upon appropriate application, be

11 restored at the earliest date possible to such individ12 ual’s former position or another position in the

13 Corps which is commensurate with the individual’s

14 training and background; and

15 (2) for purposes of any determination of eligi16 bility for a position within Tier II, continue to be

17 treated, during the 12-month period beginning on

18 the date of separation, as a certified member of

19 Tier I.

20 SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

22 (b), this title shall take effect on the first day of the first

23 fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of

24 this Act.
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1 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) The provisions of sections

2 104(b) (relating to eligibility for appointment to a position

3 within Tier II) and 105(b)(2) (relating to eligibility for

4 appointment as a member of the Career Council) shall

5 apply with respect to appointments taking effect after the

6 end of the 5-year period beginning on the effective date

7 of this title.

8 (2) Any individual who, immediately before the end

9 of the 5-year period referred to in paragraph (1), holds

10 a position which is to become a part of Tier II, shall not

11 be eligible to continue in such position after the end of

12 such period—

13 (A) unless such individual is determined, within

14 the last year of such 5-year period, to satisfy criteria

15 which the Career Council shall establish, consistent

16 with those under section 104(b)(3); or

17 (B) except if, or for so long as, a waiver re18 mains in effect with respect to such position under

19 section 104(c).

20 TITLE II—THE TRADE SERVICE

21 INSTITUTE

22 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT.

23 The Policy Council shall establish a Trade Service In24 stitute in order to furnish training and instruction—

25 (1) to candidates for Tier I;
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1 (2) to members of the Corps; and

2 (3) to such other Government employees as may

3 be appropriate.

4 SEC. 202. DIRECTOR OF THE TRADE SERVICE INSTITUTE.

5 (a) APPOINTMENT.—(1) The head of the Institute,

6 who shall be known as the Director of the Trade Service

7 Institute, shall be appointed by the Policy Council from

8 among individuals recommended by the Career Council.

9 (2) The Director shall be appointed for a term of 2

10 years, which shall be renewable.

11 (b) DUTIES.—The Director shall, in accordance with

12 section 103(b) and other applicable provisions of this

13 Act—

14 (1) establish the basic procedures to be followed

15 by the Institute;

16 (2) plan and provide for the general nature of

17 the training and instruction to be furnished by the

18 Institute;

19 (3) correlate the training and instruction to be

20 furnished by the Institute with training activities

21 otherwise available through Government facilities or

22 other sources;

23 (4) encourage and foster programs outside of

24 the Institute that will complement those furnished

25 by the Institute; and
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1 (5) take any other action which may be nec2 essary for the proper administration of the Institute.

3 SEC. 203. STAFF.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may appoint such

5 faculty or other staff of the Institute as the Director con6 siders necessary to carry out its purposes.

7 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS.—The

8 faculty and other staff of the Institute shall be appointed

9 subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code,

10 governing appointments in the competitive service, and

11 shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter

12 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating

13 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, and such

14 other related provisions of law as may apply.

15 (c) CRITERIA.—All appointments under this section

16 shall be made without regard to political affiliation and

17 shall be made solely on the basis of demonstrated interest

18 in, and capacity to promote, the purposes of the Institute.

19 (d) DETAILS.—Upon request of the Director, the

20 head of any Government agency may detail, on a reim21 bursable or nonreimbursable basis, any of the personnel

22 of such agency to the Institute to assist it in carrying out

23 its duties under this Act.
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1 SEC. 204. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may, in the name

3 of the United States, acquire such real property, and such

4 other property and equipment, as may be necessary for

5 the operation and maintenance of the Institute.

6 (b) LIMITATION.—Authority under subsection (a)

7 shall be effective only to such extent or in such amounts

8 as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts.

9 SEC. 205. SERVICE AGREEMENTS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Government employee (other

11 than one under section 201(3)) accepted for instruction

12 or training at the Institute shall agree in writing with the

13 Government, before commencement of such instruction or

14 training, that such employee will—

15 (1) remain in the service of the Government

16 after the end of the period of instruction or training

17 for a period equal to at least 3 times the length of

18 the period of instruction or training, as the case may

19 be; and

20 (2) pay to the Government the amount of the

21 expenses incurred by the Government in connection

22 with providing such instruction or training to such

23 employee if such employee is voluntarily separated

24 from Government service before the end of the pe25 riod for which such employee has agreed to remain

26 in Government service.
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1 (b) RIGHT OF RECOVERY.—If an employee becomes

2 liable to the Government under subsection (a), but fails

3 to fulfill such employee’s obligation to pay, a sum equal

4 to the amount for which such employee is so liable shall

5 be recoverable by the Government from the employee or

6 the employee’s estate by—

7 (1) setoff against accrued pay, compensation,

8 amount of retirement credit, or other amount due

9 the employee from the Government; and

10 (2) such other method as is provided by law for

11 the recovery of amounts owing to the Government.

12 The head of the agency concerned may waive, in whole

13 or in part, a right of recovery under this subsection if it

14 is shown that recovery would be against equity and good

15 conscience or against the public interest.

16 TITLE III—POSTEMPLOYMENT

17 RESTRICTIONS

18 SEC. 301. POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

19 Section 207(f) of title 18, United States Code, is

20 amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(f) RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO FOREIGN ENTI22 TIES.—

23 ‘‘(1) PERSONS SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (C),

24 (D), OR (E).—Any person who is subject to the re25 strictions contained in subsection (c), (d), or (e)
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1 (other than a person under paragraph (2)) and who

2 knowingly, within 8 years after leaving the position,

3 office, or employment referred to in such sub4 section—

5 ‘‘(A) represents a foreign entity before any

6 officer or employee of any department or agen7 cy of the United States with the intent to influ8 ence a decision of such officer or employee in

9 carrying out his or her official duties, or

10 ‘‘(B) aids or advises a foreign entity with

11 the intent to influence a decision of any officer

12 or employee of any department or agency of the

13 United States, in carrying out his or her official

14 duties,

15 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this

16 title.

17 ‘‘(2) FORMER MEMBERS OF THE PROFESSIONAL

18 TRADE SERVICE CORPS.—Any person who is a mem19 ber of the Professional Trade Service Corps and who

20 knowingly, within 8 years after ceasing to be such

21 a member—
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1 ‘‘(A) represents a foreign entity before any

2 officer or employee of any department or agen3 cy of the United States with the intent to influ4 ence a decision of such officer or employee in

5 carrying out his or her official duties, or

6 ‘‘(B) aids or advises a foreign entity with

7 the intent to influence a decision of any officer

8 or employee of any department or agency of the

9 United States, in carrying out his or her official

10 duties,

11 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this

12 title.

13 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub14 section—

15 ‘‘(A) the term ‘foreign entity’ means the

16 government of a foreign country as defined in

17 section 1(e) of the Foreign Agents Registration

18 Act of 1938, as amended, or a foreign political

19 party as defined in section 1(f) of that Act; and

20 ‘‘(B) the term ‘member of the Professional

21 Trade Service Corps’ means a ‘member of the

22 Corps’, as defined by section 101(a)(6) of the

23 Professional Trade Service Corps Act.’’.
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1 SEC. 302. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), this

3 title and the amendments made by this title shall take ef4 fect as of the effective date of title I.

5 (b) EXCEPTION.—(1) The amendments made by this

6 title shall not, except as provided in paragraph (2), apply

7 to a person whose service as a Government employee to

8 which such amendments apply terminated before the effec9 tive date of such amendments.

10 (2) Paragraph (1) shall not preclude the application

11 of the amendments made by this title to a person with

12 respect to service as a Government employee by that per13 son on or after the effective date of such amendments.

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