I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4844

To improve the quality of child care through grants and a commission on

child care standards, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 15, 1998

Mr. STARK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and

the Workforce, 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 improve the quality of child care through grants and

a commission on child care standards, 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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Care Quality

5 Improvement Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCE.

7 Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act,

8 wherever in this Act a section or other provision is amend-
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1 ed or repealed, the amendment or repeal shall be consid2 ered to be made to that section or other provision of the

3 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42

4 U.S.C. 4858 et seq.).

5 SEC. 3. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.

6 (a) FUNDING.—Section 418 of the Social Security

7 Act (42 U.S.C. 618) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

9 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(c) APPROPRIATIONS FOR CHILD CARE QUALITY

13 IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.—

14 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in

15 the Treasury of the United States not otherwise ap16 propriated, there are appropriated $600,000,000 for

17 each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2003 for car18 rying out activities that a State or territory deems

19 appropriate to realize the goal specified in section

20 658A(b)(6) of the CCDBG Act and the goals set

21 forth in the State’s or territory’s plan pursuant to

22 section 658E(c)(2) of such Act.

23 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION AND ALLOTMENT OF

24 FUNDS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall

2 reserve 2 percent of the total amount appro3 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) of this sub4 section for each fiscal year for payments to In5 dian tribes. From the amount so reserved for a

6 fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to an In7 dian tribe for the fiscal year an amount that

8 bears the same proportion to the amount so re9 served as the proportion of funds provided to

10 the Indian tribe under section 658O(c) of the

11 CCDBG Act for the fiscal year bears to the

12 total amount paid to all Indian tribes under

13 such section for the fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(B) TERRITORIES.—The Secretary shall

reserve 1 15 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the total amount ap16 propriated pursuant to paragraph (1) of this

17 subsection for any fiscal year for payments to

18 the territories. From the amount so reserved

19 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to a

20 territory for the fiscal year an amount that

21 bears the same ratio to the amount so reserved

22 as the amount provided to the territory under

23 the CCDBG Act for fiscal year 1998 bears to

24 the total amount provided to all territories

25 under such Act for fiscal year 1998.
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1 ‘‘(C) STATES.—The Secretary shall allot

2 the total amount appropriated for a fiscal year

3 pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection

4 that remains after applying subparagraphs (A)

5 and (B) of this paragraph for the fiscal year,

6 among the qualifying States pursuant to the

7 formula used for determining the amount to be

8 allotted to the State under section 658O of the

9 CCDBG Act.

10 ‘‘(3) MATCHING PAYMENTS TO STATES AND

11 TERRITORIES.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

13 pay to each State and each territory that is a

14 qualifying jurisdiction for a fiscal year an

15 amount equal to the lesser of—

16 ‘‘(i) the amount allotted to the State

17 or territory under paragraph (2) of this

18 subsection; or

19 ‘‘(ii) 80 percent of expenditures by the

20 State or territory for activities that the

21 State or territory deems appropriate to re22 alize the goal specified in section

23 658A(b)(6) of the CCDBG Act and the

24 goals set forth in the State’s or territory’s
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1 plan pursuant to section 658E(c)(2) of

2 such Act.

3 ‘‘(B) REDISTRIBUTION.—Subsection

4 (a)(2)(D) shall apply to amounts allotted to

5 States under this subsection.

6 ‘‘(4) PAYMENTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The Sec7 retary shall pay to each Indian tribe for a fiscal year

8 an amount equal to the lesser of—

9 ‘‘(A) the amount allotted to the Indian

10 tribe under paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection;

11 or

12 ‘‘(B) the total amount of expenditures by

13 the tribe for activities that the tribe deems ap14 propriate to realize the goal specified in section

15 658A(b)(6) of the CCDBG Act.

16 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

17 ‘‘(A) CCDBG ACT.—The term ‘CCDBG

18 Act’ means the Child Care and Development

19 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9801 et

20 seq.).

21 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING JURISDICTION.—The

22 term ‘qualifying jurisdiction’ means a State or

23 territory that has in effect under its plan under

24 section 658E(c) of the CCDBG Act goals listed

25 pursuant to paragraph (2)(I) of such section.
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1 ‘‘(C) TERRITORY.—The term ‘territory’

2 means Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin

3 Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the

4 Northern Mariana Islands.’’.

5 (b) GOALS.—Section 658A(b) (42 U.S.C. 9801 note)

6 is amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’;

8 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and

9 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(6) to assist States in improving the quality of

12 child care for infants and children.’’.

13 (c) APPLICATION; USE OF FUNDS.—Section 658E

14 (42 U.S.C. 9858c) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end

16 the following:

17 ‘‘(I) QUALITY BENCHMARKS.—In an appli18 cation in which the State requests amounts

19 available under section 418(c) of the Social Se20 curity Act, list established goals for quantifiable

21 improvements in child care quality within the

22 State, that accomplish the following:

23 ‘‘(i) Increased training for child care

24 providers and administrators.
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1 ‘‘(ii) Enhanced licensing standards

2 (including at a minimum health and safe3 ty, adult-to-child ratios, groups sizes, and

4 criminal background checks) that will

5 apply to a broader range of child care fa6 cilities.

7 ‘‘(iii) Reduced number of unlicensed

8 facilities offering child care.

9 ‘‘(iv) Increased State monitoring and

10 enforcement of licensed providers.

11 ‘‘(v) Decreased caregiver turnover

12 rates at child care facilities through incen13 tives such as increased compensation.

14 ‘‘(vi) Higher levels of accreditation

15 among licensed child care facilities.

16 ‘‘(vii) Other standards and practices

17 to improve the quality of child care.’’;

18 (2) in paragraph (c)(3), by striking ‘‘(3) USE’’

19 and inserting ‘‘(3) GENERAL USE’’;

20 (3) in subparagraph (c)(3)(B)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘(6)’’;

22 and

23 (B) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘The State shall use amounts provided to the

25 State for each fiscal year under section 418(c)
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1 of the Social Security Act only for activities

2 that the State deems appropriate to realize the

3 goal specified in section 658A(b)(6) of this Act

4 and the goals set forth in the State’s plan pur5 suant to section 658E(c)(2) of this Act. Child

6 care providers that meet the definition in sec7 tion 658P(5)(B) of this Act and family child

8 care providers (unless the family child care pro9 vider is an eligible child care provider under

10 section 658P(5)(A) of this Act) shall not be eli11 gible for amounts provided to the State under

12 section 418(c) of the Social Security Act.’’;

13 (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub14 section (e); and

15 (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the follow16 ing:

17 ‘‘(d) GRANTS TO LOCAL COLLABORATIVES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives

19 amounts provided under section 418(c) of the Social

20 Security Act shall use such amounts, to the extent

21 possible, to make grants, on a competitive basis, to

22 local collaboratives to carry out child care quality

23 improvement activities.
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1 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A local collaborative that

2 receives a grant made under paragraph (1) may use

3 funds made available through the grant—

4 ‘‘(A) to provide, in the community, activi5 ties designed to strengthen the quality of child

6 care for young children and expand the supply

7 of high quality child care services for young

8 children; and

9 ‘‘(B) to pay for the salary and expenses of

10 the administrator described in paragraph

11 (5)(D), in accordance with such regulations as

12 the Secretary shall prescribe.

13 ‘‘(3) MULTI-YEAR FUNDING.—In making grants

14 under this subsection, a State may make grants for

15 grant periods of more than 1 year to local

16 collaboratives with demonstrated success in carrying

17 out young child assistance activities.

18 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a

19 grant under this subsection for a community, a local

20 collaborative shall demonstrate that the local collabo21 rative—

22 ‘‘(A) is able to provide, through a coordi23 nated effort, child care quality improvement ac24 tivities; and

25 ‘‘(B) includes—
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1 ‘‘(i) parents of young children in the

2 community;

3 ‘‘(ii) all public agencies primarily pro4 viding services to young children in the

5 community;

6 ‘‘(iii) businesses in the community;

7 ‘‘(iv) representatives of the local gov8 ernment for the county or other political

9 subdivision in which the community is lo10 cated;

11 ‘‘(v) officers of community organiza12 tions serving low-income individuals, as de13 fined by the Secretary, in the community;

14 ‘‘(vi) community-based organizations

15 providing services to young children and

16 the parents of young children, such as or17 ganizations providing child care, carrying

18 out Head Start programs, or providing

19 pre-kindergarten education, mental health,

20 or family support services; and

21 ‘‘(vii) nonprofit organizations that

22 serve the community and that are de23 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal

24 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from
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1 taxation under section 501(a) of such

2 Code.

3 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a

4 grant under this subsection, a local collaborative

5 shall submit an application to the State at such

6 time, in such manner, and containing such informa7 tion as the State may require. At a minimum, the

8 application shall contain—

9 ‘‘(A) sufficient information about the en10 tity described in paragraph (4)(B) to enable the

11 State to determine whether the entity complies

12 with the requirements of such paragraph; and

13 ‘‘(B) a comprehensive plan for carrying out

14 child care quality improvement activities in the

15 community, including information indicating—

16 ‘‘(i) the availability and cost of quality

17 child care in the community, as of the date

18 of submission of the plan, including infor19 mation on efforts to improve the quality;

20 ‘‘(ii) the unmet needs of young chil21 dren, and parents of young children, in the

22 community for quality child care;

23 ‘‘(iii) the manner in which funds made

24 available through the grant will be used to

25 improve child care quality in the commu-
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1 nity and assist the State in accomplishing

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(I) Increased training for child

4 care providers and administrators.

5 ‘‘(II) Enhanced licensing stand6 ards (including at a minimum health

7 and safety, adult-to-child ratios,

8 groups sizes, and criminal background

9 checks) that will apply to a broader

10 range of child care facilities.

11 ‘‘(III) Reduced number of unli12 censed facilities offering child care.

13 ‘‘(IV) Increased State monitoring

14 and enforcement of licensed providers.

15 ‘‘(V) Decreased caregiver turn16 over rates at child care facilities

17 through incentives such as increased

18 compensation.

19 ‘‘(VI) Higher levels of accredita20 tion among licensed child care facili21 ties.

22 ‘‘(VII) Other standards and prac23 tices to improve the quality of child

24 care;
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1 ‘‘(iv) how the local cooperative will use

2 at least 60 percent of the funds made

3 available through the grant to improve

4 child care quality as described in para5 graph (6);

6 ‘‘(v) the comprehensive methods that

7 the collaborative will use to ensure that—

8 ‘‘(I) each entity carrying out

9 child care quality activities through

10 the collaborative will coordinate the

11 activities with such activities carried

12 out by other entities through the col13 laborative; and

14 ‘‘(II) the local collaborative will

15 coordinate the activities of the local

16 collaborative with—

17 ‘‘(aa) other services provided

18 to young children, and the par19 ents of young children, in the

20 community; and

21 ‘‘(bb) the activities of other

22 local collaboratives serving young

23 children and families in the com24 munity, if any; and
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1 ‘‘(vi) the manner in which the collabo2 rative will—

3 ‘‘(I) evaluate the results achieved

4 by the collaboratives for improving

5 child care quality for young children

6 through activities carried out through

7 the grant; and

8 ‘‘(II) prepare and submit to the

9 State annual reports describing the

10 results;

11 ‘‘(C) an assurance that the local collabo12 rative will comply with the requirements of

13 clauses (iv), (v), and (vi) of subparagraph (B),

14 and paragraph (7); and

15 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the local collabo16 rative will hire an administrator to oversee the

17 provision of the activities described in para18 graph (2).

19 ‘‘(6) DISTRIBUTION.—In making grants under

20 this subsection, the State shall ensure that at least

21 60 percent of the funds made available through each

22 grant are used to improve child care quality for

23 young children who reside in school districts in

24 which half or more of the students receive free or re-
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1 duced price lunches under the National School

2 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).

3 ‘‘(7) LOCAL SHARE.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The local collaborative

5 shall contribute a percentage (referred to in this

6 paragraph as the ‘local share’) of the cost of

7 carrying out child care improvement activities.

8 ‘‘(B) PERCENTAGE.—The Secretary shall

9 by regulation specify the percentage referred to

10 in subparagraph (A).

11 ‘‘(C) FORM.—The local share of the cost

12 shall be in cash.

13 ‘‘(D) SOURCE.—The local collaborative

14 shall provide for the local share of the cost

15 through donations from private entities.

16 ‘‘(E) WAIVER.—The State shall waive the

17 requirement of subparagraph (A) for poor rural

18 and urban areas, as defined by the Secretary.

19 ‘‘(8) MONITORING.—The State shall monitor

20 the activities of local collaboratives that receive

21 grants under this subsection to ensure compliance

22 with the requirements of this subsection.’’.

23 (d) IMPROVEMENTS ON EXISTING FACILITIES.—Sec24 tion 658F(b) (42 U.S.C. 9858d(b)) is amended by adding

25 at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this

2 subsection, funds available under section 418(c) of

3 the Social Security Act may be used to renovate or

4 repair a child care facility, other than a private resi5 dence, to the extent that such renovation or repair

6 is necessary to bring the facility into compliance

7 with State licensing requirements or requirements

8 for accreditation by organizations with nationally

9 recognized standards for providing high-quality care

10 to children.’’.

11 (e) CONSUMER EDUCATION; INFORMATION SHAR12 ING.—Section 658I(a) (42 U.S.C. 9858g(a)) is amend13 ed—

14 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

15 end;

16 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and

17 inserting a semicolon; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(4) collect, publish, and make available to

20 States, child care providers, and the general public

21 consumer education information designed to promote

22 informed child care choices; and

23 ‘‘(5) provide technical assistance to enable

24 States and local organizations—
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1 ‘‘(A) to share information on best child

2 care practices with the public; and

3 ‘‘(B) to conduct activities designed to im4 prove the quality and availability of child

5 care.’’.

6 (f) COMPLIANCE.—Section 658I(b)(1) (42 U.S.C.

7 9858g(b)(1)) is amended by inserting before the period

8 the following: ‘‘, including the extent to which the State

9 is achieving the goals listed in the plan pursuant to section

10 658E(c)(2)(I)’’.

11 (g) REPORTS BY STATES.—Section 658K (42 U.S.C.

12 9858i) is amended—

13 (1) in the heading for such section, by striking

14 ‘‘REPORTS’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORTS’’;

15 (2) in paragraph (a)(2)—

16 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end;

18 (B) in subparagraph (E), by adding ‘‘and’’

19 at the end; and

20 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E)

21 the following:

22 ‘‘(F) in the case of a State that receives

23 amounts from funds provided under section

24 418(c) of the Social Security Act—
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1 ‘‘(i) the amount of such funds which

2 were provided to local collaboratives under

3 section 658E(d) of this Act;

4 ‘‘(ii) the manner in which such funds

5 were used;

6 ‘‘(iii) the number of child care provid7 ers that received funds from such amounts

8 as separately identified based on the types

9 of providers listed in section 658P(5) of

10 this Act;

11 ‘‘(iv) the total number (without dupli12 cation) of children and families served with

13 such amounts; and

14 ‘‘(v) the progress, if any, that the

15 State has made in attaining the goals list16 ed under section 658E(c)(2)(I) of this Act

17 in the plan submitted by the State.’’.

18 (h) REPORTS BY SECRETARY.—Section 658L (42

19 U.S.C. 9858j) is amended—

20 (1) in the heading for such section by striking

21 ‘‘REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORTS’’;

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a) ACCESS TO CHILD CARE

23 REPORTS.—’’ before ‘‘Not later than’’;

24 (3) in subsection (a), as so designated by para25 graph (2) of this subsection—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘and the Committee on

2 Ways and Means’’ after ‘‘Opportunities’’; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘and progress on development and results of re5 search and demonstration projects as carried

6 out under section 658U’’ after ‘‘under section

7 658K’’; and

8 (4) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(b) QUALITY OF CHILD CARE REPORTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) BENCHMARK REPORTS.—Not later 1 year

11 after the date of the enactment of the Child Care

12 Quality Improvement Act of 1998, and annually

13 thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress

14 a report that contains a summary and analysis of

15 the information provided to the Secretary in the

16 State reports submitted pursuant to section

17 658K(a)(2)(F).

18 ‘‘(2) IMPROVEMENT REPORTS.—Not later 5

19 years after the date of the enactment of the Child

20 Care Quality Improvement Act of 1998, the Sec21 retary shall transmit to Congress a report that con22 tains a summary and analysis of the extent to which

23 funds provided under section 418(c) of the Social

24 Security Act have improved the quality of child

25 care.’’.
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1 (i) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEM2 ONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.—The Child Care and Develop3 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.)

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 658U. RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATIONS.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized, ei7 ther directly or through grants, contracts, cooperative

8 agreements, or other arrangements, to carry out research,

9 demonstration projects, and other activities relating to

10 child care, including activities designed to improve the

11 quality and increase the availability of child care. Such

12 activities shall be coordinated with activities under the De13 partment of Education’s Office of Educational Research

14 and Improvement.

15 ‘‘(b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—Activities under this

16 section may include the following:

17 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH ON CHILD CARE NEEDS OF

18 LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.—Research designed to iden19 tify and overcome barriers restricting availability, af20 fordability, and quality of child care for low-income

21 families.

22 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH ON GOOD POLICIES AND PRAC23 TICES.—Research designed to identify good child

24 care policies and practices, including the types of

25 child care settings, parent activities, and provider
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1 training that most benefit the early development of

2 children.

3 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH ON RETENTION OF CHILD CARE

4 PROVIDER STAFF.—Research on factors affecting re5 tention of child care provider staff, including the

6 National Child Care Provider Scholarship Program

7 under section 658G(b) and its subsequent effect on

8 outcomes for children.

9 ‘‘(4) DEMONSTRATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY10 BASED EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—Demonstration

11 projects testing use of remote site and interactive

12 computer technology to provide education and train13 ing to child care providers and parents.

14 ‘‘(5) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR NEW

15 METHODS.—Demonstration projects addressing ways

16 to assist parents, such as parents who choose to stay

17 at home with their children and parents with par18 ticular child care needs, including parents of chil19 dren with special health care needs or disabilities,

20 homeless families, migrant families, teen parents

21 and foster parents.

22 ‘‘(6) NATIONAL CENTER ON CHILD CARE STA23 TISTICS.—Establishment and operation of a Na24 tional Center on Child Care Statistics for the collec-
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1 tion and dissemination of data and information on

2 child care.

3 ‘‘(7) HOTLINE AND CONSUMER EDUCATION.—

4 Establishment and operation of a hotline to assist

5 parents to locate their local child care resource and

6 referral agency and public education activities to as7 sist parents in becoming informed consumers of

8 quality child care.

9 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

10 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

11 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003.’’.

12 SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMISSION.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com14 mission to be known as the ‘‘Advisory Commission on

15 Quality Child Care’’.

16 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—

17 (1) identify and study—

18 (A) the most important issues affecting the

19 quality of child care;

20 (B) the most efficient and effective manner

21 of ensuring that families in the United States

22 will receive quality child care; and

23 (C) other related topics that the Commis24 sion considers appropriate; and
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1 (2) develop and make recommendations regard2 ing—

3 (A) feasible goals and targets for child care

4 programs operated by the States to improve the

5 quality of child care provided in accordance

6 with such programs;

7 (B) national standards for the quality of

8 child care; and

9 (C) other related topics that the Commis10 sion considers appropriate.

11 (c) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—

12 The Commission shall be composed of 9 members who

13 shall be appointed by the President before the expiration

14 of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enact15 ment of this Act.

16 (d) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—Each of the in17 dividuals appointed under subsection (a) shall be an indi18 vidual with distinctive expertise or experience in child care

19 or early childhood development.

20 (e) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 5

21 members appointed may be of the same political party.

22 (f) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the

23 life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission

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

25 in which the original appointment was made.
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1 (g) BASIC PAY.—Each member shall serve without

2 pay.

3 (h) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive

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

5 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5,

6 United States Code.

7 (i) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

8 Commission shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number

9 may hold hearings.

10 (j) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis11 sion shall be designated by the President. The term of of12 fice of the Chairperson shall be for the life of the Commis13 sion. A vacancy in the office of the Chairperson shall be

14 filled in the manner in which the original designation was

15 made.

16 (k) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet not less

17 than 4 times. The initial meeting of the Commission shall

18 be at the call of the Chairperson and shall occur within

19 the 90-day period beginning on the date on which all mem20 bers of the Commission have been appointed. After the

21 initial meeting, the Commission shall meet at the call of

22 the Chairperson or a majority of its members.

23 (l) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc24 tor who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health and
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1 Human Services. The Secretary of Health and Human

2 Services shall fix the pay of the Director.

3 (m) STAFF.—Upon request of the Commission, the

4 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall detail, and

5 the head of any other Federal department or agency may

6 detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of

7 that department or agency to the Commission to assist

8 it in carrying out its duties under this Act.

9 (n) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

10 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen11 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim12 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec13 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

14 under this Act.

15 (o) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

16 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear17 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and

18 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate.

19 (p) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem20 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

21 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au22 thorized to take by this section.

23 (q) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

24 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

25 United States information necessary to enable the Com-
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1 mission to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair2 person, the head of the department or agency shall furnish

3 the information to the Commission.

4 (r) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis5 sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or

6 devises of services or property, both real and personal, for

7 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com8 mission. Gifts, bequests, or devises of money and proceeds

9 from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests,

10 or devises shall be deposited in the Treasury and shall be

11 available for disbursement upon order of the Commission.

12 (s) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

13 States mails in the same manner and under the same con14 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

15 States.

16 (t) REPORTS.—

17 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—As soon as practicable

18 after any hearing held by the Commission, the Com19 mission shall submit to the President, Congress, and

20 the Secretary of Health and Human Services an in21 terim report summarizing the hearing and contain22 ing any other information the Commission considers

23 appropriate.

24 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years

25 after the date of the initial meeting of the Commis-
27

•HR 4844 IH

1 sion, the Commission shall submit to the President,

2 Congress, and the Secretary of Health and Human

3 Services a final report that—

4 (A) shall set forth the consensus findings

5 and recommendations of the Commission; and

6 (B) may set forth the majority but non7 consensus findings and recommendations of the

8 Commission and any other information that the

9 Commission considers appropriate.

10 (3) REPORT BY SECRETARY.—Not later than 2

11 years after the date on which the Commission sub12 mits its final report, the Secretary of Health and

13 Human Services shall submit to Congress a report

14 describing any actions that the Secretary of Health

15 and Human Services has taken with respect to the

16 final report of the Commission.

17 (u) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

18 2 years after the date of its initial meeting, or on the date

19 on which the Commission submits its final report, which20 ever occurs first.

Æ