II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4038 

To establish the bipartisan and independent Commission on Global Resources, 

Environment, and Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 

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

referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish the bipartisan and independent Commission on 

Global Resources, Environment, and Security, 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 ‘‘Global Resources, En5 vironment, and Security Commission Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) humans are placing increasing and poten9 tially unsustainable pressures on— 

10 (A) the Earth; 


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1 (B) ecosystems; and 

2 (C) natural resources; 

3 (2) economic prosperity, human health, and 

4 peaceful international relations depend on the con5 tinued existence of— 

6 (A) a clean environment; and 

7 (B) the sustainability of natural resources 

8 and ecosystem services; 

9 (3) increasing scarcities of natural resources 

10 and environmental degradation can cause economic 

11 losses and contribute to— 

12 (A) disease; 

13 (B) famine; 

14 (C) increased vulnerability to natural dis15 asters; 

16 (D) mass migration; 

17 (E) disruption of trade; and 

18 (F) violent conflict; 

19 (4) those potential disasters can— 

20 (A) weaken all members of the inter21 national community; and 

22 (B) create serious threats to the national 

23 security of the United States; 

24 (5) many scientific studies reveal that the rapid 

25 increases in global population and the new global seVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:24 Oct 07, 2006 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4038.IS S4038

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1 curity problems have, and will likely continue to 

2 have, serious impacts on the United States, includ3 ing— 

4 (A) inadequate access to sources of healthy 

5 freshwater; 

6 (B) loss of biodiversity; 

7 (C) climate change; 

8 (D) marine overfishing and pollution; 

9 (E) transboundary air pollution; 

10 (F) nuclear and chemical contamination; 

11 (G) deforestation; 

12 (H) invasive species migration; and 

13 (I) soil degradation and desertification; 

14 (6) the complex and interconnected nature of 

15 those problems requires new forms of cooperation 

16 between— 

17 (A) the stakeholders of the United States; 

18 and 

19 (B) the United States and other countries; 

20 (7) according to the National Environmental 

21 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), it is 

22 the national policy of the United States— 

23 (A) to recognize the worldwide and long24 range character of environmental problems; and 


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1 (B) to lend appropriate support to initia2 tives, resolutions, and programs designed to 

3 maximize international cooperation in antici4 pating and preventing a decline in the quality 

5 of the world environment; 

6 (8) the United States is in a unique position to 

7 be able to share scientific and technical expertise on 

8 the world stage in ways that— 

9 (A) benefit all persons; and 

10 (B) provide opportunities in the United 

11 States for— 

12 (i) economic growth; 

13 (ii) investment; and 

14 (iii) innovation; and 

15 (9) the leadership of the United States on the 

16 advancement of global environmental security serves 

17 the domestic interests of the United States while 

18 strengthening relationships between the United 

19 States and other countries. 

20 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab21 lish a bipartisan and independent commission to make rec22 ommendations for a coordinated, comprehensive, and long23 range national policy for new and existing strategies initi24 ated by the United States to promote global environmental 

25 security. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com3 mission to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Global Re4 sources, Environment, and Security’’ (referred to in this 

5 Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

8 composed of 18 members who are knowledgeable in 

9 matters relating to global environmental security 

10 and population (including individuals with experience 

11 from the Federal Government, State, and local gov12 ernments, academic and technical institutions, and 

13 public interest organizations), of whom— 

14 (A) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

15 President, of whom not more than 1 may be 

16 from the same political party as the President; 

17 (B) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

18 majority leader of the Senate, in consultation 

19 with the Chairpersons of— 

20 (i) the Committee on Environment 

21 and Public Works of the Senate; 

22 (ii) the Committee on Foreign Rela23 tions of the Senate; 

24 (iii) the Committee on Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

26 and 


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1 (iv) the Committee on Homeland Se2 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

3 Senate; 

4 (C) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

5 minority leader of the Senate, in consultation 

6 with the ranking members of— 

7 (i) the Committee on Environment 

8 and Public Works of the Senate; 

9 (ii) the Committee on Foreign Rela10 tions of the Senate; 

11 (iii) the Committee on Commerce, 

12 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

13 and 

14 (iv) the Committee on Homeland Se15 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

16 Senate; 

17 (D) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

18 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in 

19 consultation with the Chairpersons of— 

20 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

21 Commerce of the House of Representa22 tives; 

23 (ii) the Committee on International 

24 Relations of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (iii) the Committee on Resources of 

2 the House of Representatives; 

3 (iv) the Committee on Science of the 

4 House of Representatives; 

5 (v) the Committee on Homeland Secu6 rity of the House of Representatives; and 

7 (vi) the Committee on Government 

8 Reform of the House of Representatives; 

9 and 

10 (E) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

11 minority leader of the House of Representa12 tives, in consultation with the ranking members 

13 of— 

14 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

15 Commerce of the House of Representa16 tives; 

17 (ii) the Committee on International 

18 Relations of the House of Representatives; 

19 (iii) the Committee on Resources of 

20 the House of Representatives; 

21 (iv) the Committee on Science of the 

22 House of Representatives; 

23 (v) the Committee on Homeland Secu24 rity of the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (vi) the Committee on Government 

2 Reform of the House of Representatives. 

3 (2) REPRESENTATION OF COMMISSION.—To the 

4 extent consistent with paragraph (1), the member5 ship of the Commission shall be balanced by area of 

6 expertise. 

7 (3) PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

8 EMPLOYMENT.—A member of the Commission ap9 pointed under paragraph (1)(A) shall not be an em10 ployee or former employee of the Federal Govern11 ment. 

12 (4) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT.— 

13 (A) BACKGROUND OF MEMBERS.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—All members of the 

15 Commission shall have experience in— 

16 (I) State and local governments; 

17 (II) academic and technical insti18 tutions; 

19 (III) businesses and industries 

20 relating to resource and economic de21 velopment; or 

22 (IV) public interest organiza23 tions. 

24 (ii) PREFERENCE TO INDIVIDUALS

25 WITH INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPERTISE.—In 


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1 appointing members to the Commission, 

2 preference shall be given to individuals who 

3 have interdisciplinary experience. 

4 (B) POLITICAL AFFILIATION OF MEM5 BERS.—Members of the Commission shall be 

6 appointed so that not more than 9 members of 

7 the Commission are members of any 1 political 

8 party. 

9 (5) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint10 ment of a member of the Commission shall be made 

11 not later than March 30, 2007. 

12 (6) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

13 (A) TERM.—A member of the Commission 

14 shall be appointed for the life of the Commis15 sion. 

16 (B) VACANCIES.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

18 Commission shall be filled in the same 

19 manner in which the original appointment 

20 was made. 

21 (ii) PARTIAL TERM.—A member ap22 pointed to fill a vacancy on the Commis23 sion shall serve for the remainder of the 

24 term for which the predecessor of the 

25 member was appointed. 


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1 (7) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the date on which all members of the Commis3 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

4 the initial meeting of the Commission. 

5 (8) MEETINGS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

7 meet— 

8 (i) at least twice each year; or 

9 (ii) at the call of the Chairperson or 

10 the majority of the members of the Com11 mission. 

12 (B) PUBLIC ACCESS TO MEETINGS.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

14 in clause (ii), each meeting of the Commis15 sion shall be open to the general public. 

16 (ii) EXCEPTION.—If a meeting of the 

17 Commission addresses a matter described 

18 in section 552b(c) of title 5, United States 

19 Code, the Commission may close the meet20 ing, or a portion of the meeting, to the 

21 general public. 

22 (9) QUORUM.—A majority of voting members 

23 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may 

24 hold meetings. 

25 (10) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 


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1 (A) ELECTION.—The Commission shall 

2 elect the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson 

3 of the Commission on an annual basis. 

4 (B) ABSENCE OF THE CHAIRPERSON.— 

5 The Vice Chairperson shall serve as the Chair6 person in the absence of the Chairperson. 

7 (11) VOTING.—The Commission shall act only 

8 on an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting 

9 members of the Commission. 

10 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

11 (a) STUDY.—The Commission shall— 

12 (1) review and affirm current scientific under13 standing on the health of the global environment 

14 and the long-term availability of natural resources 

15 through the use of independent, consensus-based as16 sessments and peer reviewed studies undertaken by 

17 the United States, the United Nations, and any 

18 other international entity; 

19 (2) study the impacts of— 

20 (A) global and transnational environmental 

21 problems, natural resource scarcity, and global 

22 population pressure on the interests of the 

23 United States, including— 

24 (i) national security; 

25 (ii) public health; 


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1 (iii) industry and trade; and 

2 (iv) international relations; and 

3 (B) the actions of the United States on 

4 global environmental security; 

5 (3) assess— 

6 (A) the effectiveness of Federal and State 

7 efforts to enhance global environmental secu8 rity, including— 

9 (i) the integration of related activities; 

10 (ii) the interagency coordination of re11 lated activities; and 

12 (iii) the funding of related activities; 

13 (B) the evolving roles of— 

14 (i) government; 

15 (ii) business; and 

16 (iii) nongovernmental organizations; 

17 and 

18 (C) the adequacy of efforts initiated by 

19 public and private partnerships that strive to 

20 meet the goals of— 

21 (i) global environmental protection; 

22 (ii) natural resource sustainability; 

23 and 

24 (iii) economic prosperity; and 


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1 (4) determine the progress of the United States 

2 in— 

3 (A) achieving relevant international goals 

4 and obligations; and 

5 (B) meeting the challenges outlined by the 

6 scientific studies described under paragraph 

7 (1). 

8 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de9 velop recommendations for creating a coordinated, com10 prehensive, and long-range national policy that promotes 

11 global environmental security. 

12 (c) REPORT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—By March 30, 2009, the 

14 Commission shall submit to the President and Con15 gress a report that contains— 

16 (A) a detailed statement of the findings 

17 and conclusions of the Commission; 

18 (B) a summary of public comments; and 

19 (C) the recommendations of the Commis20 sion for such legislation and administrative ac21 tions as the Commission considers appropriate. 

22 (2) PUBLICATION OF REPORT.—Not later than 

23 90 days before submitting the final report of the 

24 Commission to the President and Congress, the 


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1 Commission shall publish a copy of the report in the 

2 Federal Register. 

3 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before submitting the 

5 report of the Commission to the President and 

6 Congress, the Commission shall— 

7 (i) make a draft of the report avail8 able for public comment for a period of not 

9 less than 60 days; and 

10 (ii) consider public comments relating 

11 to the draft of the report. 

12 (B) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—A copy of 

13 the report of the Commission shall remain 

14 available for inspection— 

15 (i) in the offices of the Commission; 

16 and 

17 (ii) through electronically accessible 

18 formats and means, such as the World 

19 Wide Web. 

20 (4) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

22 before submitting the final report of the Com23 mission to the President and Congress, the 

24 Commission shall provide copies of the report to 

25 the Chairpersons and ranking members of— 


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1 (i) the Committee on Environment 

2 and Public Works of the Senate; 

3 (ii) the Committee on Foreign Rela4 tions of the Senate; 

5 (iii) the Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

7 (iv) the Committee on Homeland Se8 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

9 Senate; 

10 (v) the Committee on Energy and 

11 Commerce of the House of Representa12 tives; 

13 (vi) the Committee on International 

14 Relations of the House of Representatives; 

15 (vii) the Committee on Resources of 

16 the House of Representatives; 

17 (viii) the Committee on Science of the 

18 House of Representatives; 

19 (ix) the Committee on Homeland Se20 curity of the House of Representatives; 

21 and 

22 (x) the Committee on Government Re23 form of the House of Representatives. 

24 (B) OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT.—Be25 fore submitting the report to the President and 


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1 Congress, the Commission shall provide each 

2 chairperson and ranking member of a com3 mittee described in subparagraph (A) with an 

4 opportunity to comment on the report. 

5 SEC. 5. POWERS. 

6 (a) HEARINGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission or, at the 

8 direction of the Commission, any subcommittee or 

9 member of the Commission, may, for the purpose of 

10 carrying out this Act hold such hearings, meet and 

11 act at such times and places, take such testimony, 

12 receive such evidence, and administer such oaths as 

13 the Commission or such subcommittee or members 

14 considers advisable. 

15 (2) NOTICE; MINUTES; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY

16 OF DOCUMENTS.— 

17 (A) NOTICE.—Each open meeting of the 

18 Commission shall be preceded by timely public 

19 notice in the Federal Register of the time, 

20 place, and subject of the meeting. 

21 (B) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting 

22 shall— 

23 (i) be kept by the Commission; and 

24 (ii) contain— 


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1 (I) a record of the individuals 

2 present; 

3 (II) a description of the discus4 sion that occurred during the meeting; 

5 and 

6 (III) copies of all statements filed 

7 during the meeting. 

8 (iii) AVAILABILITY.—Subject to sec9 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code, the 

10 minutes and records of all meetings and 

11 other documents made available to or pre12 pared for the Commission shall be avail13 able for public inspection and copying at a 

14 single location in the offices of the Com15 mission. 

16 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

18 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

19 the Commission considers necessary to carry out this 

20 Act. 

21 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On request 

22 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of 

23 the agency shall provide the information to the Com24 mission. 

25 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBCOMMITTEES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may estab2 lish 1 or more subcommittees to provide staff sup3 port and otherwise assist in carrying out the respon4 sibilities of the Commission. 

5 (2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION OF SUBCOMMITTEE

6 MEMBERS.—Members of a subcommittee shall be appointed so that not more than 1 7 ⁄2 of the members of 

8 the subcommittee are members of any 1 political 

9 party. 

10 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY

11 SCIENCE, ECONOMIC, AND TECHNICAL ADVISORY

12 PANEL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—To assist the Commission in 

14 carrying out the duties of the Commission under this 

15 Act, the Commission may establish a multidisci16 plinary science, economic, and technical advisory 

17 panel (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Advisory 

18 Panel’’). 

19 (2) COMPOSITION OF ADVISORY PANEL.—The 

20 Advisory Panel shall be composed of individuals ap21 pointed by the Commission, each of whom shall have 

22 expertise in— 

23 (A) biological science; 

24 (B) marine science; 

25 (C) atmospheric science; 


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1 (D) environmental toxicology; 

2 (E) epidemiology; 

3 (F) biogeochemistry; 

4 (G) energy and water security; 

5 (H) renewable energy; 

6 (I) social science; or 

7 (J) economics. 

8 (3) APPOINTMENT.—The members of the Advi9 sory Panel shall be appointed by a majority vote of 

10 all members of the Commission. 

11 (4) USE OF BEST AVAILABLE DATA.—The Advi12 sory Panel shall ensure that the scientific informa13 tion considered by the Commission is based on the 

14 best available data. 

15 (e) CONTRACTS.—The Commission may make or 

16 enter into contracts, leases, or other legal agreements to 

17 carry out this Act. 

18 (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

19 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

20 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov21 ernment. 

22 (g) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

23 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

24 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

25 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 


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1 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

2 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of 

3 the Federal Government shall be compensated at a 

4 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

5 of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

6 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

7 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

8 during which the member is engaged in the perform9 ance of the duties of the Commission. 

10 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

11 Commission who is an officer or employee of the 

12 Federal Government shall serve without compensa13 tion in addition to the compensation received for the 

14 services of the member as an officer or employee of 

15 the Federal Government. 

16 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis17 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

18 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

19 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

20 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg21 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

22 of the duties of the Commission. 

23 (c) STAFF.— 

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

25 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 


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1 laws (including regulations), appoint and terminate 

2 an Executive Director and such other additional per3 sonnel as are necessary to enable the Commission to 

4 perform the duties of the Commission. 

5 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC6 TOR.—The employment of an Executive Director 

7 shall be subject to confirmation by the Commission. 

8 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may obtain 

10 the services of experts and consultants in the private 

11 and nonprofit sectors in accordance with section 

12 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (2) COMPENSATION OF EXPERTS AND CON14 SULTANTS.—A consultant or expert described in 

15 paragraph (1) shall be compensated at a rate equal 

16 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 

17 pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule 

18 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 

19 for each day (including travel time) during which the 

20 member is engaged in the performance of the duties 

21 of the Commission. 

22 (e) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

23 (1) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the 

25 Commission, the head of any Federal agency 


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1 may detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimburs2 able basis, any of the personnel of the agency 

3 to the Commission to assist the Commission in 

4 carrying out the duties of the Commission 

5 under this Act. 

6 (B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of 

7 an employee under subparagraph (A) shall be 

8 without interruption or loss of civil service sta9 tus or privilege. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this Act $8,500,000 for the period of fiscal years 2007 

13 through 2010, to remain available until expended. 

14 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

15 (a) DATE OF TERMINATION.—The Commission shall 

16 terminate 30 days after the date on which the Commission 

17 submits the report of the Commission under section 4(c). 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMI19 NATION.—The Commission may use the 30-day period re20 ferred to in subsection (a) to— 

21 (1) conclude the activities of the Commission; 

22 and 

23 (2) provide testimony before any committee of 

24 Congress concerning the report of the Commission. 


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1 (c) POST-COMMISSION ACTIVITIES.—The members 

2 and staff of the Commission, the Members of Congress, 

3 and employees of Federal agencies are encouraged to— 

4 (1) continue the multi-stakeholder dialogue 

5 started by the Commission in new forums and ca6 pacities; and 

7 (2) examine any institutional needs, including— 

8 (A) the formation of a new office; 

9 (B) improvements in organization; 

10 (C) a network; or 

11 (D) a caucus. 

12 SEC. 9. RESPONSE OF THE PRESIDENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of receipt of the report of the Commission under sec15 tion 4(c), the President shall submit to Congress and ap16 propriate Federal agencies a report containing a state17 ment of proposals to carry out or respond to the rec18 ommendations of the Commission. 

19 (b) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The report de20 scribed in subsection (a) shall be published or otherwise 

21 made available, including (to the maximum extent prac22 ticable) in electronically accessible formats and means, 

23 such as the World Wide Web. 

Æ 


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