I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3878

To establish the Commission on American Jobs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2004

Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To establish the Commission on American Jobs.

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 Amer5 ican Jobs Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a commis8 sion to be known as the ‘‘Commission on American Jobs’’. 

9 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

10 On an annual basis, the Commission shall—

11 (1) collect data on outsourcing by companies of 

12 interest from reports transmitted to the Commission 
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1 pursuant to section 6(d) and any other information 

2 that the Commission may consider under this Act; 

3 (2) identify the number of jobs outsourced by 

4 companies of interest, the dates that the jobs were 

5 outsourced, and the locations to which the jobs were 

6 outsourced; 

7 (3) conduct studies on why the jobs identified 

8 under paragraph (2) were outsourced; and 

9 (4) propose possible measures to prevent 

10 outsourcing by companies of interest. 

11 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

12 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

13 shall be composed of six members appointed by the Presi14 dent. 

15 (b) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than three 

16 members of the Commission appointed under subsection 

17 (a) may be affiliated with the same political party. 

18 (c) LABOR AFFILIATION.—At least two members of 

19 the Commission appointed under subsection (a) shall be 

20 representatives of labor organizations certified by the Na21 tional Labor Relations Board. 

22 (d) TERMS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be ap24 pointed for a term of six years, except as provided 
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1 in paragraphs (2) and (3). A member may be ap2 pointed for more than one term. 

3 (2) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As des4 ignated by the President at the time of appointment, 

5 of the members first appointed—

6 (A) two, not affiliated with the same polit7 ical party, shall be appointed for a term of six 

8 years; 

9 (B) two, not affiliated with the same polit10 ical party, shall be appointed for a term of four 

11 years; and 

12 (C) two, not affiliated with the same polit13 ical party, shall be appointed for a term of two 

14 years. 

15 (3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 

16 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 

17 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap18 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

19 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 

20 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 

21 office. 

22 (e) BASIC PAY.—

23 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Except as provided in 

24 paragraph (2), members shall each be paid at the 
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1 maximum rate of basic pay for GS–15 of the Gen2 eral Schedule. 

3 (2) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF FED4 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Except as provided in sub5 section (f), members of the Commission who are full6 time officers or employees of the United States or 

7 Members of Congress may not receive additional 

8 pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their serv9 ice on the Commission. 

10 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 

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

12 in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter 

13 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (g) QUORUM.—Three members of the Commission 

15 shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold 

16 hearings. 

17 (h) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Com18 mission shall be designated by the President. The term 

19 of office of the Chairperson shall be one year. The position 

20 of Chairperson shall rotate among the members of the 

21 Commission, and a member may serve as Chairperson only 

22 once during each six-year term. 

23 (i) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

24 call of either the Chairperson or a majority of the Commis-
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1 sion’s members. The Commission shall meet at least once 

2 annually. 

3 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

4 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

5 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear6 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 

7 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

8 The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to 

9 witnesses appearing before it. 

10 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem11 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

12 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au13 thorized to take by this section. 

14 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

15 may secure directly from any agency of the United States 

16 information necessary to enable it to carry out this Act. 

17 Upon request of the Chairperson or any three members 

18 of the Commission, the head of that agency shall furnish 

19 that information to the Commission. 

20 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

21 States mails in the same manner and under the same con22 ditions as other agencies of the United States. 

23 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

24 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen25 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim-
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1 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec2 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

3 under this Act. 

4 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue 

6 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 

7 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat8 ing to any matter under investigation by the Com9 mission. The attendance of witnesses and the pro10 duction of evidence may be required from any place 

11 within the United States at any designated place of 

12 hearing within the United States. 

13 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per14 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued by the Com15 mission under paragraph (1), the Commission may 

16 apply to a United States district court for an order 

17 requiring that person to appear before the Commis18 sion to give testimony, produce evidence, or both, re19 lating to the matter under investigation. The appli20 cation may be made within the judicial district in 

21 which that person is found, resides, or transacts 

22 business. Any failure to obey the order of the court 

23 may be punished by the court as civil contempt. 

24 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas 

25 of the Commission shall be served in the manner 
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1 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 

2 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro3 cedure for the United States district courts. 

4 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any 

5 court to which application is made under paragraph 

6 (2) may be served in the judicial district in which 

7 the person required to be served resides or may be 

8 found. 

9 (g) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency of the 

10 United States for purpose of part V of title 18, United 

11 States Code (relating to immunity of witnesses). 

12 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

13 (a) COMMISSION REPORTS.—The Commission shall 

14 transmit to—

15 (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Com16 mittee on Education and the Workforce, the Com17 mittee on Energy and Commerce, and the Com18 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep19 resentatives; 

20 (2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

22 the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on 

23 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen24 ate; and 
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1 (3) the Joint Economic Committee of the Con2 gress, 

3 annual reports including the content described in sub4 section (c). 

5 (b) TIMING.—The Commission shall transmit its first 

6 annual report under subsection (a)—

7 (1) not later than six months after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, if such date of enactment is 

9 on or before September 30, 2004; and 

10 (2) not later than May 1, 2005, if such date of 

11 enactment is after September 30, 2004. 

12 The Commission shall transmit subsequent annual reports 

13 not later than May 1 of each year. 

14 (c) CONTENT.—The annual reports required under 

15 subsection (a) shall include—

16 (1) detailed summaries of the data collected 

17 under section 3(1); 

18 (2) detailed summaries of the information iden19 tified under section 3(2); 

20 (3) the results of the studies conducted pursu21 ant to section 3(3); and 

22 (4) the possible measures to prevent 

23 outsourcing proposed under section 3(4). 

24 (d) COMPANY OF INTEREST REPORTS.—A company 

25 of interest shall transmit to the Commission annual re-
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1 ports stating the number of jobs, if any, that the company 

2 of interest has outsourced during the previous year, the 

3 dates that the jobs were outsourced, and the locations to 

4 which the jobs were outsourced. A company of interest 

5 shall transmit its first annual report under this sub6 section—

7 (1) not later than three months after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, if such date of enactment 

9 is on or before September 30, 2004; and 

10 (2) not later than March 1, 2005, if such date 

11 of enactment is after September 30, 2004. 

12 A company of interest shall transmit subsequent annual 

13 reports not later than March 1 of each year. 

14 SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 

15 Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

16 (5 U.S.C. App.; relating to the termination of advisory 

17 committees) shall not apply to the Commission. 

18 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary of Commerce $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, to 

21 remain available until expended, to carry out this Act. 

22 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

23 For purposes of this Act: 
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1 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Commission on American Jobs estab3 lished under this Act. 

4 (2) COMPANIES OF INTEREST.—The term 

5 ‘‘companies of interest’’ means—

6 (A) corporations and other legal entities 

7 organized under the laws of the United States; 

8 (B) subsidiaries of corporations and legal 

9 entities described in subparagraph (A); 

10 (C) corporations and other legal entities 

11 that employed at least 50 employees to perform 

12 services in the United States at any one time 

13 on or after January 1, 1980; and 

14 (D) corporations and other legal entities 

15 with $1,000,000 or more annual gross income 

16 that is effectively connected with the conduct of 

17 a trade or business within the United States. 

18 (3) OUTSOURCING.—The term ‘‘outsourcing’’ 

19 means hiring employees to perform services outside 

20 the United States when the services previously had 

21 been performed in the United States. 

22 (4) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

23 States’’ means the several States, the District of Co24 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Com25 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Amer-
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1 ican Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and any 

2 other territory or possession of the United States.

Æ