I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3422
To establish a Congressional Trade Office.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 6, 2001
Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To establish a Congressional Trade Office.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Congress has responsibility under the Con-
stitution for international commerce.
(2) Congressional oversight of trade policy has
often been hampered by a lack of resources.
(3) The United States has entered into numer-
ous trade agreements with foreign trading partners,
including bilateral, regional, and multilateral agree-
ments.
(4) Foreign country performance under certain
agreements has been less than contemplated, and in
some cases rises to the level of noncompliance.
(5) The credibility of, and support for, the
United States Government’s trade policy is, to a sig-
nificant extent, a function of the belief that trade
agreements made are trade agreements enforced.
(6) The accession of the People’s Republic of
China to the World Trade Organization will create
unprecedented challenges and it is important to the
world trading system that China comply with the
numerous and significant commitments China makes
as part of the accession process. Congress must play
a key role in ensuring full and continuous moni-
toring of the People’s Republic of China’s compli-
ance with its commitments.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established an office in
Congress to be known as the Congressional Trade Office
(in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Office’’).
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office are as
follows:
(1) To reassert the constitutional responsibility
of Congress with respect to international trade.
(2) To provide Congress with additional inde-
pendent, nonpartisan, neutral trade expertise.
(3) To assist Congress in providing more effec-
tive and active oversight of trade policy.
(4) To assist Congress in providing to the exec-
utive branch more effective direction on trade policy.
(5) To provide Congress with long-term, institu-
tional memory on trade issues.
(6) To provide Congress with more analytical
capability on trade issues.
(7) To advise relevant committees on the im-
pact of trade negotiations, including past, ongoing,
and future negotiations, with respect to the areas of
jurisdiction of the respective committees.
(c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are as
follows:
(1) ASSISTANCE TO CONGRESS.—To provide the
appropriate committees of Congress or joint commit-
tees of Congress information which will assist the
committees in the discharge of the matters within
their jurisdiction.
(2) MONITOR COMPLIANCE.—To monitor com-
pliance with major bilateral, regional, and multilat-
eral trade agreements by—
(A) consulting with the affected industries
and interested parties;
(B) analyzing the success of those agree-
ments based on the effect of the agreements on
specific industries and the economy;
(C) recommending actions, including legis-
lative action, necessary to ensure that foreign
countries that have made commitments through
those agreements with the United States fully
abide by their commitments;
(D) annually assessing the extent to which
those agreements comply with environmental
goals; and
(E) annually assessing the extent to which
those agreements comply with labor goals.
(3) ANALYSES.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—To perform the fol-
lowing analyses:
(i) By not later than 60 days after the
date the national trade policy agenda is de-
livered to Congress each year under section
165(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, to ana-
lyze that agenda, including alternative
goals, strategies, and tactics, as appro-
priate.
(ii) By not later than 60 days after
the date the National Trade Estimate re-
port is delivered to Congress each year
under section 181(b) of the Trade Act of
1974, to analyze the major outstanding
trade barriers based on cost to the United
States economy.
(iii) To analyze the overall trade bal-
ance of the United States and the trade
balances of the United States with the
major trading partners of the United
States.
(B) ANALYSES
REQUESTED
BY
COM-
MITTEE.—To perform analyses relating to trade
as directed by any committee which will assist
the committee in the discharge of the matters
within the committee’s jurisdiction, including,
but not limited to—
(i) analyzing proposed trade legisla-
tion;
(ii) analyzing proposed trade agree-
ments, including agreements that do not
require implementing legislation; and
(iii) analyzing the impact of the trade
policy and actions of the executive branch,
including assessing the decisions not to ac-
cept unfair trade practices cases.
(4) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT DELIBERATIONS.—
To perform the following functions with respect to
dispute resolution:
(A) Participate as observers on the United
States delegation at dispute settlement panel
meetings of the World Trade Organization.
(B) Evaluate the results obtained by the
United States in dispute settlement proceedings
at the World Trade Organization, under the
North American Free Trade Agreement, and
under any trade agreement entered into after
the enactment of this Act, including the effect
of the outcome of the proceedings on specific in-
dustries and the economy.
(5) PARTICIPATION IN TRADE NEGOTIATIONS.—
To participate as observers in bilateral, regional, and
multilateral trade negotiations.
(6) OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE.—
(A) To provide Congress with quarterly re-
ports regarding the activities of the Office.
(B) To be available for consultation with
congressional committees on trade-related legis-
lation.
(C) To perform such other functions relat-
ing to trade as the chairman and ranking mem-
ber of the Committee on Finance of the Senate
and the chairman and ranking member of the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives may request.
(d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out its
functions, the Office may—
(1) receive and review classified information
and participate in classified briefings in the same
manner as the staff of the Committee on Finance of
the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives; and
(2) consult nongovernmental experts and use
nongovernmental resources.
(e) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.—
(1) DIRECTOR.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be at the
head of the Office a Director. The Director
shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate after considering the rec-
ommendations of the chairman and ranking
member of the Committee on Finance of the
Senate and the chairman and ranking member
of the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives. The Director shall be
chosen without regard to political affiliation and
solely on the basis of the Director’s expertise
and fitness to perform the duties of the Direc-
tor.
(B) TERM.—The term of office of the Di-
rector shall be 5 years and the Director may be
reappointed for subsequent terms.
(C) VACANCY.—Any individual appointed
as Director to fill a vacancy occurring before
the expiration of the term for which the individ-
ual’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap-
pointed only for the remainder of that term.
(D) REMOVAL.—The Director may be re-
moved by either House of Congress by resolu-
tion.
(E) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall
receive compensation at the annual rate of pay
in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule
under section 5314 of title 5, United States
Code.
(2) STAFF.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ap-
point and fix the compensation of such per-
sonnel as may be necessary to carry out the du-
ties and functions of the Office. All personnel
shall be appointed without regard to political
affiliation and solely on the basis of their fit-
ness to perform their duties. The personnel of
the Office shall consist of individuals with ex-
pertise in international trade, including exper-
tise in economics, trade law, various industrial
sectors, and various geographical regions.
(B) BENEFITS.—For purposes of pay
(other than the pay of the Director) and em-
ployment, benefits, rights, and privileges, all
personnel of the Office shall be treated as if
they were employees of the House of Represent-
atives.
(3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—In carrying
out the duties and functions of the Office, the Direc-
tor may procure the temporary (not to exceed 1
year) or intermittent services of experts or consult-
ants or organizations thereof by contract as inde-
pendent contractors, or, in the case of individual ex-
perts or consultants, by employment at rates of pay
not in excess of the daily equivalent of the highest
rate of basic pay payable under the General Sched-
ule under section 5332 of title 5, United States
Code.
(4) RELATIONSHIP TO EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—
The Director may secure information, data, esti-
mates, and statistics directly from any department,
agency, or establishment of the executive branch of
Government and any regulatory agency or commis-
sion of the Government. All such departments, agen-
cies, establishments, and regulatory agencies and
commissions shall furnish the Director any available
material which the Director determines to be nec-
essary in the performance of his or her duties and
functions (other than material the disclosure of
which would be a violation of law). The Director
may, upon agreement with the head of any such de-
partment, agency, establishment, or regulatory agen-
cy or commission, use its services and facilities with
or without reimbursement; and the head of each
such department, agency, establishment, or regu-
latory agency or commission may provide such serv-
ices and facilities to the Office.
(5) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
AGENCIES
OF
CONGRESS.—In carrying out the duties and func-
tions of the Office, and for the purpose of coordi-
nating the operations of the Office with those of
other congressional agencies in order to use most ef-
fectively the information, services, and capabilities of
all such agencies in carrying out the responsibilities
assigned to each, the Director may obtain informa-
tion, data, estimates, and statistics developed by the
General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress,
and other offices of Congress, and (upon agreement
with them) may utilize their services and facilities
with or without reimbursement. The Comptroller
General, the Librarian of Congress, and the head of
such other offices of Congress are authorized to pro-
vide the Office with the information, data, estimates,
statistics, services, and facilities referred to in the
preceding sentence.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections
(b) and (c), the Director—
(1) shall post on an Office website all informa-
tion, data, estimates, and statistics obtained under
this Act;
(2) shall make such information, data, esti-
mates, and statistics available for public copying
during normal business hours, subject to reasonable
rules and regulations; and
(3) shall to the extent practicable, at the re-
quest of any person, furnish a copy of any such in-
formation, data, estimates, or statistics upon pay-
ment by such person of the cost of making and fur-
nishing such copy.
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—
(1) BASIS FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION.—
Information, data, estimates, and statistics may be
withheld from disclosure under subsection (a) only
to the extent that such information, data, estimates,
or statistics (as the case may be)—
(A) are specifically exempted from disclo-
sure by law; or
(B) as determined by the Director, will
disclose—
(i) matters necessary to be kept secret
in the interests of national defense or the
confidential conduct of the foreign rela-
tions of the United States;
(ii) information relating to trade se-
crets or financial or commercial informa-
tion pertaining specifically to a given per-
son if the information has been obtained
by the Government on a confidential basis,
other than through an application by such
person for a specific financial or other ben-
efit, and is required to be kept secret in
order to prevent undue injury to the com-
petitive position of such person; or
(iii) personnel or medical data or simi-
lar data the disclosure of which would con-
stitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy.
(2) NOTICE OF WITHHELD INFORMATION.—The
Director shall provide notice to the public of each in-
stance in which information has been withheld from
disclosure under paragraph (1), including a descrip-
tion of the information, and shall provide an oppor-
tunity for the public to petition the Director to re-
consider the determination to withhold disclosure of
the information.
(c) INFORMATION OBTAINED FOR COMMITTEES AND
MEMBERS.—Subsection (a) of this section shall apply to
any information, data, estimates, and statistics obtained
at the request of any committee, joint committee, or Mem-
ber except to the extent that such committee, joint com-
mittee, or Member has instructed the Director not to make
such information, data, estimates, or statistics available
for public copying.