H. R. 2539—131
term. When the term of office of a member ends, the member
may continue to serve until a successor is appointed and qualified,
but for a period not to exceed one year. The President may remove
a member for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
‘‘(4) On the effective date of this section, the members of the
Interstate Commerce Commission serving unexpired terms on the
date of the enactment of the ICC Termination Act of 1995 shall
become members of the Board, to serve for a period of time equal
to the remainder of the term for which they were originally
appointed to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Any member
of the Interstate Commerce Commission whose term expires on
December 31, 1995, shall become a member of the Board, subject
to paragraph (3).
‘‘(5) No individual may serve as a member of the Board for
more than 2 terms. In the case of an individual who becomes
a member of the Board pursuant to paragraph (4), or an individual
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the
term for which the predecessor of that individual was appointed,
such individual may not be appointed for more than one additional
term.
‘‘(6) A member of the Board may not have a pecuniary interest
in, hold an official relation to, or own stock in or bonds of, a
carrier providing transportation by any mode and may not engage
in another business, vocation, or employment.
‘‘(7) A vacancy in the membership of the Board does not impair
the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers
of the Board. The Board may designate a member to act as Chair-
man during any period in which there is no Chairman designated
by the President.
‘‘(c) CHAIRMAN.—(1) There shall be at the head of the Board
a Chairman, who shall be designated by the President from among
the members of the Board. The Chairman shall receive compensa-
tion at the rate prescribed for level III of the Executive Schedule
under section 5314 of title 5.
‘‘(2) Subject to the general policies, decisions, findings, and
determinations of the Board, the Chairman shall be responsible
for administering the Board. The Chairman may delegate the pow-
ers granted under this paragraph to an officer, employee, or office
of the Board. The Chairman shall—
‘‘(A) appoint and supervise, other than regular and full-
time employees in the immediate offices of another member,
the officers and employees of the Board, including attorneys
to provide legal aid and service to the Board and its members,
and to represent the Board in any case in court;
‘‘(B) appoint the heads of offices with the approval of the
Board;
‘‘(C) distribute Board business among officers and employ-
ees and offices of the Board;
‘‘(D) prepare requests for appropriations for the Board and
submit those requests to the President and Congress with
the prior approval of the Board; and
‘‘(E) supervise the expenditure of funds allocated by the
Board for major programs and purposes.
‘‘§ 702. Functions
‘‘Except as otherwise provided in the ICC Termination Act
of 1995, or the amendments made thereby, the Board shall perform
H. R. 2539—132
all functions that, immediately before the effective date of such
Act, were functions of the Interstate Commerce Commission or
were performed by any officer or employee of the Interstate Com-
merce Commission in the capacity as such officer or employee.
‘‘§ 703. Administrative provisions
‘‘(a) EXECUTIVE REORGANIZATION.—Chapter 9 of title 5, United
States Code, shall apply to the Board in the same manner as
it does to an independent regulatory agency, and the Board shall
be an establishment of the United States Government.
‘‘(b) OPEN MEETINGS.—For purposes of section 552b of title
5, United States Code, the Board shall be deemed to be an agency.
‘‘(c) INDEPENDENCE.—In the performance of their functions, the
members, employees, and other personnel of the Board shall not
be responsible to or subject to the supervision or direction of any
officer, employee, or agent of any other part of the Department
of Transportation.
‘‘(d) REPRESENTATION BY ATTORNEYS.—Attorneys designated by
the Chairman of the Board may appear for, and represent the
Board in, any civil action brought in connection with any function
carried out by the Board pursuant to this chapter or subtitle IV
or as otherwise authorized by law.
‘‘(e) ADMISSION TO PRACTICE.—Subject to section 500 of title
5, the Board may regulate the admission of individuals to practice
before it and may impose a reasonable admission fee.
‘‘(f) BUDGET REQUESTS.—In each annual request for appropria-
tions by the President, the Secretary of Transportation shall identify
the portion thereof intended for the support of the Board and
include a statement by the Board—
‘‘(1) showing the amount requested by the Board in its
budgetary presentation to the Secretary and the Office of
Management and Budget; and
‘‘(2) an assessment of the budgetary needs of the Board.
‘‘(g) DIRECT TRANSMITTAL
TO CONGRESS.—The Board shall
transmit to Congress copies of budget estimates, requests, and
information (including personnel needs), legislative recommenda-
tions, prepared testimony for congressional hearings, and comments
on legislation at the same time they are sent to the Secretary
of Transportation. An officer of an agency may not impose conditions
on or impair communications by the Board with Congress, or a
committee or Member of Congress, about the information.
‘‘§ 704. Annual report
‘‘The Board shall annually transmit to the Congress a report
on its activities.
‘‘§ 705. Authorization of appropriations
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the activities
of the Board—
‘‘(1) $8,421,000 for fiscal year 1996;
‘‘(2) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and
‘‘(3) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.
‘‘§ 706. Reporting official action
‘‘(a) REPORTS ON PROCEEDINGS.—The Board shall make a writ-
ten report of each proceeding conducted on complaint or on its
own initiative and furnish a copy to each party to that proceeding.
H. R. 2539—133
The report shall include the findings, conclusions, and the order
of the Board and, if damages are awarded, the findings of fact
supporting the award. The Board may have its reports published
for public use. A published report of the Board is competent evidence
of its contents.
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR MATTERS RELATED TO RAIL CARRIERS.—
(1) When action of the Board in a matter related to a rail carrier
is taken by the Board, an individual member of the Board, or
another individual or group of individuals designated to take official
action for the Board, the written statement of that action (including
a report, order, decision and order, vote, notice, letter, policy state-
ment, or regulation) shall indicate—
‘‘(A) the official designation of the individual or group tak-
ing the action;
‘‘(B) the name of each individual taking, or participating
in taking, the action; and
‘‘(C) the vote or position of each participating individual.
‘‘(2) If an individual member of a group taking an official
action referred to in paragraph (1) does not participate in it, the
written statement of the action shall indicate that the member
did not participate. An individual participating in taking an official
action is entitled to express the views of that individual as part
of the written statement of the action. In addition to any publication
of the written statement, it shall be made available to the public
under section 552(a) of title 5.
‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—ADMINISTRATIVE
‘‘§ 721. Powers
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall carry out this chapter and
subtitle IV. Enumeration of a power of the Board in this chapter
or subtitle IV does not exclude another power the Board may
have in carrying out this chapter or subtitle IV. The Board may
prescribe regulations in carrying out this chapter and subtitle IV.
‘‘(b) INQUIRIES, REPORTS, AND ORDERS.—The Board may—
‘‘(1) inquire into and report on the management of the
business of carriers providing transportation and services sub-
ject to subtitle IV;
‘‘(2) inquire into and report on the management of the
business of a person controlling, controlled by, or under common
control with those carriers to the extent that the business
of that person is related to the management of the business
of that carrier;
‘‘(3) obtain from those carriers and persons information
the Board decides is necessary to carry out subtitle IV; and
‘‘(4) when necessary to prevent irreparable harm, issue
an appropriate order without regard to subchapter II of chapter
5 of title 5.
‘‘(c) SUBPOENA WITNESSES.—(1) The Board may subpoena wit-
nesses and records related to a proceeding of the Board from any
place in the United States, to the designated place of the proceeding.
If a witness disobeys a subpoena, the Board, or a party to a
proceeding before the Board, may petition a court of the United
States to enforce that subpoena.
‘‘(2) The district courts of the United States have jurisdiction
to enforce a subpoena issued under this section. Trial is in the
H. R. 2539—134
district in which the proceeding is conducted. The court may punish
a refusal to obey a subpoena as a contempt of court.
‘‘(d) DEPOSITIONS.—(1) In a proceeding, the Board may take
the testimony of a witness by deposition and may order the witness
to produce records. A party to a proceeding pending before the
Board may take the testimony of a witness by deposition and
may require the witness to produce records at any time after
a proceeding is at issue on petition and answer.
‘‘(2) If a witness fails to be deposed or to produce records
under paragraph (1), the Board may subpoena the witness to take
a deposition, produce the records, or both.
‘‘(3) A deposition may be taken before a judge of a court of
the United States, a United States magistrate judge, a clerk of
a district court, or a chancellor, justice, or judge of a supreme
or superior court, mayor or chief magistrate of a city, judge of
a county court, or court of common pleas of any State, or a notary
public who is not counsel or attorney of a party or interested
in the proceeding.
‘‘(4) Before taking a deposition, reasonable notice must be given
in writing by the party or the attorney of that party proposing
to take a deposition to the opposing party or the attorney of record
of that party, whoever is nearest. The notice shall state the name
of the witness and the time and place of taking the deposition.
‘‘(5) The testimony of a person deposed under this subsection
shall be taken under oath. The person taking the deposition shall
prepare, or cause to be prepared, a transcript of the testimony
taken. The transcript shall be subscribed by the deponent.
‘‘(6) The testimony of a witness who is in a foreign country
may be taken by deposition before an officer or person designated
by the Board or agreed on by the parties by written stipulation
filed with the Board. A deposition shall be filed with the Board
promptly.
‘‘(e) WITNESS FEES.—Each witness summoned before the Board
or whose deposition is taken under this section and the individual
taking the deposition are entitled to the same fees and mileage
paid for those services in the courts of the United States.
‘‘§ 722. Board action
‘‘(a) EFFECTIVE DATE OF ACTIONS.—Unless otherwise provided
in subtitle IV, the Board may determine, within a reasonable time,
when its actions, other than an action ordering the payment of
money, take effect.
‘‘(b) TERMINATING AND CHANGING ACTIONS.—An action of the
Board remains in effect under its own terms or until superseded.
The Board may change, suspend, or set aside any such action
on notice. Notice may be given in a manner determined by the
Board. A court of competent jurisdiction may suspend or set aside
any such action.
‘‘(c) RECONSIDERING ACTIONS.—The Board may, at any time
on its own initiative because of material error, new evidence, or
substantially changed circumstances—
‘‘(1) reopen a proceeding;
‘‘(2) grant rehearing, reargument, or reconsideration of an
action of the Board; or
‘‘(3) change an action of the Board.
An interested party may petition to reopen and reconsider an action
of the Board under this subsection under regulations of the Board.