II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2747

To establish a Commission on the Future of the United States Economy 

to make recommendations on public policy and the reorganization of 

the Federal Government to promote efficiency and economy of operation, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2004

Mr. LIEBERMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL

To establish a Commission on the Future of the United 

States Economy to make recommendations on public policy and the reorganization of the Federal Government 

to promote efficiency and economy of operation, 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 ‘‘Commission on the 

5 Future of the United States Economy Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) The United States economy has entered an 

2 information age in which innovation and knowledge, 

3 including worker skills and creativity, are the keys 

4 to competitive advantage. 

5 (2) The need for bold innovation and ever-in6 creasing knowledge imposes increasingly demanding 

7 competitive challenges for United States workers 

8 and companies. 

9 (3) In 1984, in response to concerns over the 

10 condition of the manufacturing sector in the United 

11 States, President Ronald Reagan appointed the bi12 partisan President’s Commission on Industrial Com13 petitiveness (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

14 ‘‘Young Commission’’) that addressed the issue of 

15 United States competitiveness in a new way and de16 veloped a framework that has guided policymaking 

17 for the past 2 decades. 

18 (4) The Young Commission proposed a reorga19 nization of the performance of the economic and 

20 trade functions of the Federal Government, which 

21 was never implemented. 

22 (5) The striking changes in world economic cir23 cumstances over the 20 years since reorganization 

24 was proposed by the Young Commission necessitate 
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1 reevaluation of the proposal in light of those 

2 changes. 

3 (6) Because the challenges facing the United 

4 States economy are different in many ways from 

5 those of 20 years ago, there is a need to renew the 

6 Young Commission’s mandate to reexamine Amer7 ica’s competitiveness. 

8 (7) Many studies and reports by governmental 

9 and nongovernmental organizations, such as the Na10 tional Innovation Initiative of the Council on Com11 petitiveness, have laid the groundwork for this reex12 amination. 

13 (8) The changed competitive challenges facing 

14 the United States today— 

15 (A) extend beyond a concern over global 

16 competition in goods and the loss of domestic 

17 manufacturing to the challenges presented by 

18 the fusion of manufacturing and services into 

19 complex networks and the opening of more 

20 service sectors earlier to international competi21 tion; 

22 (B) extend beyond concerns over produc23 tivity and quality to the challenges presented by 

24 the need for increased customization, speed, 

25 and responsiveness to customer needs; 
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1 (C) extend beyond issues of competitive2 ness of individual manufacturing firms and in3 dustries and to the challenges of ensuring 

4 robustness in the networks of manufacturing 

5 and service firms and development of new forms 

6 of business models; 

7 (D) extend beyond a concern over high8 technology research and development and to the 

9 challenges of nurturing the entire innovation 

10 system, including basic research, technological 

11 development, venture capital, new product de12 velopment, design and aesthetics, new business 

13 models, and the development of new markets; 

14 (E) shift attention from concern over rais15 ing awareness of trade to a refocusing on the 

16 problems of managing the increasing complexity 

17 of globalization; 

18 (F) extend beyond the challenges of sus19 taining a flexible and educated workforce to the 

20 challenges of exploring new or better ways to 

21 foster the types of skills needed in a knowledge 

22 and information economy; 

23 (G) extend beyond concern over cost of 

24 capital to the challenges of achieving the dual 

25 objectives of unlocking the value of underuti-
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1 lized knowledge assets and insuring the effi2 ciency and stability of the global financial sys3 tem; 

4 (H) extend beyond a concern over competi5 tion from Japan and the Southeast Asian 

6 Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) to the 

7 challenges of integrating many countries, such 

8 as India, China, and Eastern European nations, 

9 into the global economy; and 

10 (I) include the challenges of new demo11 graphic dynamics, including the aging of the so12 called ‘‘baby boom’’ generation, increased life 

13 expectancy, below replacement fertility rates in 

14 most of the developed world, and increasing 

15 populations in the developing world. 

16 (9) In this information age, new ideas, business 

17 models, and technologies, including computer and 

18 telecommunications, the Internet, and the digital 

19 revolution, have combined to alter the economy 

20 structurally. 

21 (10) Information, knowledge, and other intan22 gible assets now power our innovation process, which 

23 is based both on science-based research and informal 

24 creativity and produces the productivity and im25 provement gains needed to maintain prosperity.
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1 (11) The range of knowledge, information, and 

2 intellectual capital-based intangible assets driving 

3 economic prosperity include worker skills and know4 how, informal relationships that feed creativity and 

5 new ideas, high-performance work organizations, 

6 new business methods, intellectual property such as 

7 patents and copyrights, brand names, and innova8 tion and creativity skills. 

9 (12) Economic statistics and accounting prin10 ciples have not caught up with this new economic 

11 environment. 

12 (13) All sectors of the economy are affected by 

13 this new economic environment. 

14 (14) Small and medium-size firms are especially 

15 in need of ways to better develop and utilize their in16 formation, knowledge, and other intangible assets. 

17 (15) It is vital to the future strength of the 

18 United States economy that, as new ideas, scientific 

19 discoveries, and knowledge pervade the domestic and 

20 international economies, United States firms be able 

21 to assess, absorb, and deploy these opportunities 

22 quickly for competitive advantage. 

23 (16) While United States firms and workers 

24 lead the world in creating and using information, 

25 knowledge, and other intangible assets, increasing 
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1 global competition means that the United States 

2 Government and the private sector must continue to 

3 develop the information economy in the United 

4 States in order to ensure that the people of the 

5 United States prosper in this new economic environ6 ment. 

7 (17) There is a need for an independent, bipar8 tisan undertaking comparable to the Young Commis9 sion to review the new competitive challenges facing 

10 the United States and to recommend a framework to 

11 guide the making of responsive public policy, includ12 ing the reorganization of the Federal Government to 

13 promote efficiency and economy of operation, to pro14 mote private initiatives, and to guide individual deci15 sionmaking about the future of the United States 

16 economy as governments, business, labor unions, and 

17 the people of the United States struggle with ways 

18 to utilize information, foster the development of in19 tangible assets, and promote innovation and com20 petitiveness in the new global information economy. 

21 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com23 mission on the Future of the United States Economy 

24 (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the Commission are 

2 as follows: 

3 (1) To analyze the worldwide competitive chal4 lenges to United States companies and workers. 

5 (2) To make recommendations in accordance 

6 with this Act, for the making of responsive public 

7 policy, including the reorganization of the Federal 

8 Government— 

9 (A) to promote efficiency and economy of 

10 operation; 

11 (B) to foster the skills and knowledge the 

12 people of the United States need to prosper in 

13 the 21st century; 

14 (C) to strengthen the entire innovation sys15 tem undergirding the United States economy; 

16 and 

17 (D) to stimulate the creation of knowledge, 

18 inventions, partnerships, and other intangible 

19 assets in order to maintain economic growth, 

20 income generation, and job creation. 

21 SEC. 4. COMPOSITION AND MEETINGS. 

22 (a) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com23 posed of 22 members as follows: 

24 (1) 17 voting members of whom— 
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1 (A) 9 members shall be appointed by the 

2 President; 

3 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

4 majority leader of the Senate; 

5 (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

6 minority leader of the Senate; 

7 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 

9 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

10 minority leader of the House of Representa11 tives. 

12 (2) 5 non-voting ex officio members appointed 

13 by the President from among the following officials: 

14 (A) The Secretary of the Treasury. 

15 (B) The Secretary of Commerce. 

16 (C) The Secretary of Labor. 

17 (D) The Secretary of Defense. 

18 (E) The United States Trade Representa19 tive. 

20 (F) The Chairman of the Council of Eco21 nomic Advisors. 

22 (G) The Director of the Office of Science 

23 and Technology Policy. 

24 (b) QUALIFICATIONS FOR VOTING MEMBERS.— 
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1 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Persons appointed as 

2 voting members under subsection (a)(1) shall be se3 lected from among persons who— 

4 (A) are leaders or recognized experts in in5 dustry, labor unions, research institutions, aca6 demia, and other important social and economic 

7 institutions; 

8 (B) have expertise in economics, inter9 national trade, services, manufacturing, labor, 

10 science and technology, education, business, or 

11 have other qualifications or experience pertinent 

12 to the duties of the Commission; and 

13 (C) are not officers or employees of the 

14 United States Government. 

15 (2) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—To the 

16 maximum extent practicable, persons who are ap17 pointed as voting members shall be persons who can 

18 provide new insights into analysis of the nature and 

19 consequences of a knowledge-based economy. 

20 (c) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

21 President shall designate one voting member of the Com22 mission as Chairperson. The voting members of the Com23 mission shall elect a Vice Chairperson from among the vot24 ing members of the Commission appointed by the majority 

25 leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate,
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1 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the mi2 nority leader of the House of Representatives. The Vice 

3 Chairman shall not be affiliated with the same political 

4 party as the Chairman. 

5 (d) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS; VACANCIES.— 

6 (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Members shall be 

7 appointed not later than 60 days after the date of 

8 the enactment of an Act making appropriations au9 thorized under section 9. 

10 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis11 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

12 the same manner as the original appointment. 

13 (e) MEETINGS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 

15 at the call of the Chairperson. 

16 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

17 hold its first meeting not later than 30 days after 

18 all voting members of the Commission have been ap19 pointed under subsection (a). 

20 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting members of 

21 the Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

22 (g) VOTING.—Each voting member of the Commis23 sion shall be entitled to 1 equal vote. 

24 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

25 (a) STUDY.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con2 duct a study of the United States economy and the 

3 competitiveness of United States companies and 

4 workers. 

5 (2) SCOPE.—In conducting the study under this 

6 subsection, the Commission shall— 

7 (A) review the findings and recommenda8 tions of previous commissions, including the 

9 Young Commission, and the studies (including 

10 resulting findings and recommendations) of oth11 ers that are relevant to the work of the Com12 mission, including the National Innovation Ini13 tiative of the Council on Competitiveness; 

14 (B) analyze the current economic environ15 ment and competitive challenges facing United 

16 States workers and companies; 

17 (C) review the strategies of other nations 

18 for responding to the competitive challenges of 

19 the new economic environment, and analyze the 

20 impact of those strategies on the future of the 

21 United States economy; 

22 (D) formulate specific recommendations on 

23 a broad range of issues related to the develop24 ment of the skill-base and innovative capacity 

25 within the private and public sectors of the 
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1 United States economy and other priorities re2 lated to the knowledge and information econ3 omy, including recommendations regarding— 

4 (i) the reorganization of the Federal 

5 Government to promote efficiency and 

6 economy of operation; 

7 (ii) education and training policy; 

8 (iii) labor policy; 

9 (iv) economic development; 

10 (v) science and technology policy and 

11 organization; 

12 (vi) intellectual property rights; 

13 (vii) telecommunications policy; 

14 (viii) international economic policy, in15 cluding trade and finance and the manage16 ment of globalization; 

17 (ix) macroeconomic policy; 

18 (x) financial regulation and account19 ing policy; 

20 (xi) antitrust policy; 

21 (xii) public and private infrastructure 

22 development and entrepreneurship; and 

23 (xiii) small business development; 

24 (E) formulate recommended policies and 

25 actions for— 
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1 (i) transforming the education and 

2 training process in the United States as 

3 necessary to ensure effectiveness for facili4 tating life-long learning; 

5 (ii) upgrading the skills of the United 

6 States workforce to compete effectively in 

7 the new economic environment, including 

8 mathematics and science skills, critical 

9 thinking skills, communication skills, lan10 guage and intercultural awareness, cre11 ativity, and interpersonal relations essen12 tial for success in the information age; 

13 (iii) promoting a broad system of in14 novation and knowledge diffusion, includ15 ing nontechnological ingenuity and cre16 ativity as well as science-based research 

17 and development; 

18 (iv) fostering the development of 

19 knowledge and information assets in all 

20 sectors of the United States economy, par21 ticularly those sectors of the economy in 

22 which rates of productivity and innovation 

23 have lagged, and in United States compa24 nies of all sizes, particularly small and me25 dium-size companies; 
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1 (v) developing jobs that are rooted in 

2 local skills and local knowledge assets in 

3 order to lessen displacement resulting from 

4 ongoing global competition; 

5 (vi) improving access to, and lowering 

6 the cost of, capital by unlocking the value 

7 to financial markets of underutilized 

8 knowledge assets; 

9 (vii) strengthening the efficiency and 

10 stability of the international financial sys11 tem (taking into account the roles of for12 eign capital and domestic savings in eco13 nomic growth); 

14 (viii) developing policies and mecha15 nisms for managing the increasing com16 plexity of globalization; 

17 (ix) adjusting to the impacts of global 

18 demographic changes in the United States, 

19 other developed countries, and developing 

20 countries; 

21 (x) improving economic statistics and 

22 accounting principles to adequately meas23 ure all sectors of the new economic envi24 ronment, including the value of informa-
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1 tion, innovation, knowledge, and other in2 tangible assets; and 

3 (xi) improving understanding of how 

4 the Federal Government supports and in5 vests in knowledge and other intangible as6 sets; 

7 (b) REPORTS.— 

8 (1) REQUIRED REPORT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

10 submit to Congress and the President a report 

11 regarding the competitive challenges facing the 

12 United States. The report shall include conclu13 sions and specific recommendations for legisla14 tive and executive actions. 

15 (B) TIME FOR REPORT.—The report under 

16 this paragraph shall be submitted not later 

17 than the later of— 

18 (i) March 1, 2006; or 

19 (ii) the date that is 18 months after 

20 the date of the initial meeting of the Com21 mission. 

22 (2) OPTIONAL REPORTS.—The Commission 

23 may submit to Congress and the President interim 

24 or special reports as the Commission determines ap25 propriate. 
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1 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission or, at its direction, 

3 any panel or regular member of the Commission, may hold 

4 hearings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, 

5 and receive evidence as the Commission considers advis6 able to carry out this Act. 

7 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

8 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart9 ment or agency such information as the Commission con10 siders necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of 

11 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such de12 partment or agency shall furnish such information to the 

13 Commission. 

14 (c) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

15 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

16 (d) ANALYSIS, REPORTS, AND STUDIES.—The Com17 mission may procure analyses, reports, and studies from 

18 organizations or individuals other than Commission staff, 

19 notwithstanding the restrictions under section 7(e) of this 

20 Act. 

21 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

22 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

23 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 

24 the Federal Government. 

25 (f) SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon request of the Chair26 person of the Commission, the Administrator of General 
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1 Services shall provide to the Commission on a reimburs2 able basis the administrative support necessary for the 

3 Commission to carry out its duties under this Act. 

4 SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

5 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 

6 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 

7 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal 

8 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre9 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec10 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in11 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged 

12 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All 

13 members of the Commission who are officers or employees 

14 of the United States shall serve without compensation in 

15 addition to that received for their services as officers or 

16 employees of the United States. 

17 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com18 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

19 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ20 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

21 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 

22 regular places of business in the performance of services 

23 for the Commission. 

24 (c) STAFF.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

2 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

3 laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec4 utive director and such other additional personnel as 

5 may be necessary to enable the Commission to per6 form its duties. The employment of an executive di7 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com8 mission. 

9 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 

10 Commission may fix the compensation of the execu11 tive director and other personnel without regard to 

12 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

13 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating 

14 to classification of positions and General Schedule 

15 pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the execu16 tive director and other personnel may not exceed the 

17 rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 

18 under section 5316 of such title. 

19 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 

20 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 

21 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall 

22 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 

23 privilege. 

24 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT25 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 
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1 may procure temporary and intermittent services to sup2 port and supplement Commission staff under section 

3 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ4 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 

5 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive 

6 Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 

7 (f) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PAY AUTHORI8 TIES.—An individual who is a member of the Commission 

9 and is an annuitant or otherwise covered by section 8344 

10 or 8468 of title 5, United States Code, by reason of mem11 bership on the Commission shall not be subject to the pro12 visions of section 8344 or 8468, as the case may be, with 

13 respect to such membership. 

14 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION. 

15 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 

16 date on which the Commission submits the report required 

17 under section 5(b)(1). 

18 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Com20 mission $10,000,000 to carry out activities under this Act, 

21 to remain available until expended.

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