I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 851
To assess the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement and 
the entry of the People’s Republic of China into the World Trade Organi-
zation on American jobs, the environment, and worker rights. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2003
Ms. SLAUGHTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To assess the impact of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement and the entry of the People’s Republic of 
China into the World Trade Organization on American 
jobs, the environment, and worker rights.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trade Accountability 
Study Act’’.
SEC. 2. TRADE IMPACT COMMISSION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
‘‘Trade Impact Review Commission’’ (in this Act referred 
to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—
(1) determine—
(A) the extent to which exports of goods of 
the United States to NAFTA countries, and 
imports of goods of NAFTA countries into the 
United States, have increased or decreased 
since January 1, 1994; and 
(B) the number of jobs in the United 
States that have been created as a result of in-
creased exports of goods of the United States to 
NAFTA countries, and the number of jobs in 
the United States that have been lost as a re-
sult of increased imports of goods of NAFTA 
countries into the United States, since January 
1, 1994; and 
(2) determine—
(A) the extent to which exports of goods of 
the United States to the People’s Republic of 
China, and imports of goods of the People’s Re-
public of China into the United States, have in-
creased or decreased since December 11, 2001; 
and
(B) the number of jobs in the United 
States that have been created as a result of in-
creased exports of goods of the United States to 
the People’s Republic of China, and the number 
of jobs in the United States that have been lost 
as a result of increased imports of goods of the 
People’s Republic of China into the Untied 
States, since December 11, 2001; and 
(3) submit to the appropriate committees of the 
Congress, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary 
of Labor, and the United States Trade Representa-
tive, the findings of the Commission under para-
graphs (1) and (2), as well as any recommendations 
the Commission has for strengthening the United 
States labor force in light of such findings. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com-
mission shall be composed of 5 members appointed 
as follows: 
(A) 1 member appointed by the President. 
(B) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. 
(C) 1 member appointed by the minority 
leader of the House of Representatives.
(D) 1 member appointed by the majority 
leader of the Senate. 
(E) 1 member appointed by the minority 
leader of the Senate. 
(2) PERSONS ELIGIBLE.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The members of the 
Commission shall be individuals who have 
knowledge or expertise, whether by experience 
or training, in matters to be studied by the 
Commission. The members may be from the 
public or private sector, and may include em-
ployees of the Federal Government or of State 
or local governments, members of academia, 
nonprofit organizations, or industry, or other 
interested individuals. 
(B) DIVERSITY.—It is the intent of the 
Congress that persons appointed to the Com-
mission under paragraph (1) be persons who 
represent diverse economic and professional 
backgrounds from different regions of the 
United States. 
(3) CONSULTATION AND APPOINTMENT.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The President, Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, minority lead-
er of the House of Representatives, majority