I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 481
To provide for the establishment of a Professional Trade Service Corps,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 21, 1997
Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Commit-
tee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of a Professional Trade
Service Corps, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Professional Trade Service Corps Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—THE PROFESSIONAL TRADE SERVICE CORPS
Sec. 101. Definitions; references.
Sec. 102. Establishment.
Sec. 103. Tier I.
Sec. 104. Tier II.
Sec. 105. The Councils.
Sec. 106. Rights of former members.
Sec. 107. Effective date.
TITLE II—THE TRADE SERVICE INSTITUTE
Sec. 201. Establishment.
Sec. 202. Director of the Trade Service Institute.
Sec. 203. Staff.
Sec. 204. Acquisition of property.
Sec. 205. Service agreements.
TITLE III—POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS
Sec. 301. Postemployment restrictions.
Sec. 302. Effective date.
TITLE I—THE PROFESSIONAL
TRADE SERVICE CORPS
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS; REFERENCES.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘trade-related agency’’ means—
(A) the Office of the United States Trade
Representative;
(B) each office or other unit within the
Department of State under the Under Sec-
retary for Economic and Agricultural Affairs;
(C) the Department of Commerce, exclud-
ing the Bureau of the Census;
(D) the Foreign Agricultural Service of the
Department of Agriculture;
(E) the Bureau of International Labor Af-
fairs of the Department of Labor; and
(F) each office or other unit within the De-
partment of the Treasury under—
(i) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Trade and Investment Policy; or
(ii) the Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Regulatory, Tariff and Trade Enforce-
ment;
(2) the term ‘‘Corps’’ means the Professional
Trade Service Corps, as established under this title;
(3) the term ‘‘Tier I’’ means Tier I of the
Corps, as described in section 103;
(4) the term ‘‘Tier II’’ means Tier II of the
Corps, as described in section 104;
(5) the term ‘‘certified member of Tier I’’
means an employee in a position, in grade GS–12
(or a higher grade) of the General Schedule, within
a trade-related agency, who—
(A) has received certification under section
103(d); and
(B) has not had such certification termi-
nated under section 103(f) or otherwise;
(6) the term ‘‘member of the Corps’’ means any
individual who—
(A) is a certified member of Tier I; or
(B) holds a position in Tier II (excluding
any individual under subparagraph (A));
(7) the term ‘‘Institute’’ means the Trade Serv-
ice Institute, as described in title II;
(8) the term ‘‘Policy Council’’ means the Policy
Trade Service Interagency Council referred to in sec-
tion 105(a)(1);
(9) the term ‘‘Career Council’’ means the Ca-
reer Trade Service Interagency Council referred to
in section 105(a)(2);
(10) the term ‘‘Government’’ means the United
States Government; and
(11) the term ‘‘Director of the Institute’’ or
‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Trade Service
Institute under section 202.
(b) REFERENCES.—A reference in this Act to a grade
of the General Schedule shall, with respect to the trade-
related agency under subsection (a)(1)(B), be considered
to be a reference to the corresponding grade of the For-
eign Service Schedule, as determined under regulations
prescribed by the member of the Policy Council under sec-
tion 105(a)(1)(B).
SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established within
the trade-related agencies a Professional Trade Service
Corps, which shall consist of 2 tiers as described in sec-
tions 103 and 104, respectively.
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Career Council shall, in ac-
cordance with applicable provisions of this title, prescribe
regulations relating to any procedures, criteria, or other
matters (excluding any matter as to which any other en-
tity or individual is permitted or required to prescribe reg-
ulations under this title) which may be necessary to carry
out this title.
SEC. 103. TIER I.
(a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to become a can-
didate for Tier I, an individual must, as of the time of
application—
(1) hold a position, in a trade-related agency, in
grade GS–12, 13, 14, or 15 of the General Schedule;
(2) have, in the aggregate, at least—
(A) 2 years of service in 1 or more of the
trade-related agencies;
(B) 2 years of comparable experience, as a
Government employee, outside of the trade-re-
lated agencies; or
(C) any combination of service or experi-
ence, as described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B), respectively, totalling at least 2 years; and
(3) demonstrate—
(A) substantive knowledge of trade policy
or trade negotiations;
(B) aptitude for analytical thinking;
(C) effective written and oral communica-
tion skills; and
(D) familiarity, ability, and willingness to
work with the private sector, the Congress,
Government agencies, and the press.
(b) ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Any individual
who is accepted as a candidate for Tier I shall be required
to pursue, concurrent with service in such individual’s reg-
ular position in a trade-related agency or while fulfilling
the rotational requirement under subsection (c), a com-
prehensive program of study at the Institute.
(2) The purpose of the program of study shall be to
ensure that members of the Corps are well-informed with
respect to current trends as well as the history of trade
negotiations, aware of the economic and political consider-
ations relevant to trade negotiations, knowledgeable of the
affairs, cultures, and languages of other countries, and
otherwise well prepared to represent the interests of the
United States in trade negotiations, or to carry out Gov-
ernment functions relating thereto.
(3) To carry out the purpose described in paragraph
(2), the Director of the Institute, in consultation with the
Career Council and the Policy Council, shall develop the
course requirements for candidates for Tier I. At a mini-
mum, the program shall include courses relating to—
(A) the history of, and current trends in, trade
negotiations of the United States;
(B) trade-negotiation strategies;
(C) the economics and politics of trade;
(D) cultural and business practices of countries
with which the United States has significant trade
relations;
(E) foreign languages; and
(F) operations within and interrelationships
among the various trade-related agencies.
(c) ROTATIONAL REQUIREMENT.—(1) In order to af-
ford the opportunity to acquire direct experience relating
to the matter described in subsection (b)(3)(F) and other-
wise develop the qualities referred to in subsection
(a)(3)(D), candidates for Tier I shall be required to com-
plete at least 1 tour of duty either—
(A) by detail or temporary reassignment, as the
case may be, to—
(i) a position within another trade-related
agency; or
(ii) a Government position outside of the
trade-related agencies; or
(B) by temporary assignment to a position out-
side the Government.
(2) Selections under this subsection shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, take into account the interests
and abilities of the individual involved, as well as the needs
of the Government.
(3) A tour of duty under this subsection shall last
at least 12 months.
(4)(A) The provisions of section 3373 of title 5,
United States Code, relating to the continuation of level
of pay, benefits, and status, shall apply with respect to
any employee assigned to a position outside the Govern-
ment, pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), in the same way as
if it were a position to which such provisions would other-
wise apply.
(B) The Office of Personnel Management shall pre-
scribe any regulations necessary to carry out this para-
graph.
(d) CERTIFICATION.—To become a certified member
of Tier I, an individual must—
(1) successfully complete the academic require-
ments under subsection (b) in accordance with such
timetable as the Director shall establish (such time-
table to permit such longer periods of time as the
Director may consider necessary based on an indi-
vidual’s grade level at time of entry and other rel-
evant factors);
(2) successfully complete the rotational require-
ment under subsection (c) within such time as the
Director may require; and
(3) receive performance evaluations indicating
at least a fully successful level of competence
throughout the period while completing the require-
ments of the program.
(e) RIGHTS BASED ON CERTIFICATION.—A certified
member of Tier I—
(1) may be appointed to a position in Tier II,
if otherwise qualified for such position;
(2) shall be eligible for advanced courses and
continuing education through the Institute; and
(3) shall be eligible for such other forms of
training (including preferential consideration, con-
sistent with otherwise applicable provisions of law,
for additional rotations) as the trade-related agen-
cies may provide, in accordance with guidelines es-
tablished by the Policy Council.
(f) PERIODIC RECERTIFICATION.—(1) In order to en-
sure that certified members of Tier I maintain the level
of excellence necessary to carry out the purposes of this
Act, each such member shall be subject to such periodic
recertification requirements as the Career Council shall by
regulation prescribe.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any
individual holding a position within Tier II.
SEC. 104. TIER II.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Tier II shall consist of the follow-
ing positions:
(1) Within the trade-related agency described in
section 101(a)(1)(A):
(A) 1 of the Deputy United States Trade
Representative positions (as designated by the
United States Trade Representative).
(B) Assistant United States Trade Rep-
resentative.
(C) Deputy Assistant United States Trade
Representative.
(D) Deputy General Counsel.
(E) Associate General Counsel.
(2) Within the trade-related agency described in
section 101(a)(1)(B):
(A) Deputy Assistant Secretaries under the
Under Secretary of State for Economic and Ag-
ricultural Affairs.
(3) Within the trade-related agencies described
in section 101(a)(1)(C):
(A) Deputy Assistant Secretaries.
(B) Office Directors.
(4) Within the trade-related agency described in
section 101(a)(1)(D):
(A) Associate Administrator for Trade Pol-
icy and Agricultural Affairs.
(B) Assistant Administrator for Foreign
Agricultural Affairs.
(C) Deputy Assistant Administrator.
(D) Area Officer Positions.
(5) Within the trade-related agency described in
section 101(a)(1)(E):
(A) Deputy Under Secretary.
(B) Associate Deputy Under Secretary.
(C) Office Directors.
(6) Within the trade-related agency described in
section 101(a)(1)(F):
(A) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regu-
latory, Tariff and Trade Enforcement.
(B) Director, Office of Trade and Tariff
Affairs.
(C) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade
and Investment Policy.