I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 347
To provide additional authority to the Office of Ombudsman of the 
Environmental Protection Agency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2003
Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. MILLER of 
Florida, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. NADLER, and Ms. SOLIS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To provide additional authority to the Office of Ombudsman 
of the Environmental Protection Agency.
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 ‘‘Ombudsman Reauthor-
ization Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN. 
The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 
seq.) is amended by striking section 2008 (42 U.S.C. 
6917) and inserting the following:
‘‘SEC. 2008. OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘Agency’ means the 
Environmental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(2) DEPUTY OMBUDSMAN.—The term ‘Deputy 
Ombudsman’ means any individual appointed by the 
Ombudsman under subsection (e)(1)(A)(i). 
‘‘(3) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of-
fice of the Ombudsman established by subsection 
(b)(1). 
‘‘(4) OMBUDSMAN.—The term ‘Ombudsman’ 
means the director of the Office. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 
the Agency an office to be known as the ‘Office of 
the Ombudsman’. 
‘‘(2) OVERSIGHT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be an 
independent office within the Agency. 
‘‘(B) STRUCTURE.—To the maximum ex-
tent practicable, the structure of the Office 
shall conform to relevant professional guide-
lines, standards, and practices. 
‘‘(3) HEAD OF OFFICE.—
‘‘(A) OMBUDSMAN.—The Office shall be 
headed by an Ombudsman, who shall—
‘‘(i) be appointed by the President by 
and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate; and 
‘‘(ii) report directly to the Adminis-
trator. 
‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS FOR AND RESTRIC-
TIONS ON EMPLOYMENT.—A person appointed 
as Ombudsman—
‘‘(i) shall have experience as an om-
budsman in a Federal, State, or local gov-
ernment entity; and 
‘‘(ii) shall not have been an employee 
of the Agency at any time during the 1-
year period before the date of appointment. 
‘‘(C) TERM.—The Ombudsman—
‘‘(i) shall serve for a term of 5 years; 
and 
‘‘(ii) may be reappointed for not more 
than 1 additional term. 
‘‘(D) REMOVAL.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The President 
may remove or suspend the Ombudsman 
from office only for neglect of duty or mal-
feasance in office.
‘‘(ii) 
COMMUNICATION
TO
CON-
GRESS.—If the President removes or sus-
pends the Ombudsman, the President shall 
communicate the reasons for the removal 
or suspension to Congress. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Ombudsman shall—
‘‘(1) receive, and render assistance concerning, 
any complaint, grievance, or request for information 
submitted by any person relating to any program or 
requirement under—
‘‘(A) this Act; 
‘‘(B) the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); or 
‘‘(C) any other program administered by 
the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Re-
sponse of the Agency; and 
‘‘(2) conduct investigations, make findings of 
fact, and make nonbinding recommendations to the 
Administrator concerning the programs and require-
ments described in paragraph (1).
‘‘(d) POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying 
out this section, the Ombudsman—
‘‘(1) may investigate any action of the Agency 
without regard to the finality of the action;
‘‘(2) may select appropriate matters for action 
by the Office; 
‘‘(3) may—
‘‘(A) prescribe the methods by which com-
plaints shall be made to, and received and ad-
dressed by, the Office; 
‘‘(B) determine the scope and manner of 
investigations made by the Office; and 
‘‘(C) determine the form, frequency, and 
distribution of conclusions and recommenda-
tions of the Office; 
‘‘(4) may request the Administrator to provide 
the Ombudsman notification, within a specified pe-
riod of time, of any action taken on a recommenda-
tion of the Ombudsman; 
‘‘(5) may request, and shall be granted by any 
Federal agency or department, assistance and infor-
mation that the Ombudsman determines to be nec-
essary to carry out this section; 
‘‘(6) may examine any record of, and enter and 
inspect without notice any property under the ad-
ministrative jurisdiction of—
‘‘(A) the Agency; or 
‘‘(B) any other Federal agency or depart-
ment involved in a matter under the adminis-
trative jurisdiction of the Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response of the Agency; 
‘‘(7) may—
‘‘(A) issue a subpoena to compel any per-
son to appear to give sworn testimony con-
cerning, or to produce documentary or other 
evidence determined by the Ombudsman to be 
reasonable in scope and relevant to, an inves-
tigation by the Office; and 
‘‘(B) seek enforcement of a subpoena 
issued under subparagraph (A) in a court of 
competent jurisdiction; 
‘‘(8) may carry out and participate in, and co-
operate with any person or agency involved in, any 
conference, inquiry on the record, public hearing on 
the record, meeting, or study that, as determined by 
the Ombudsman—
‘‘(A) is material to an investigation con-
ducted by the Ombudsman; or 
‘‘(B) may lead to an improvement in the 
performance of the functions of the Agency; 
‘‘(9) may administer oaths and hold hearings in 
connection with any matter under investigation by 
the Office;
‘‘(10) may engage in alternative dispute resolu-
tion, mediation, or any other informal process that 
the Ombudsman determines to be appropriate to 
carry out this section; 
‘‘(11) may communicate with any person, in-
cluding Members of Congress, the press, and any 
person that submits a complaint, grievance, or re-
quest for information under subsection (c)(1); and 
‘‘(12) shall administer a budget for the Office. 
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsman shall—
‘‘(A)(i) appoint a Deputy Ombudsman for 
each region of the Agency; and 
‘‘(ii) hire such other assistants and em-
ployees as the Ombudsman determines to be 
necessary to carry out this section; and 
‘‘(B) supervise, evaluate, and carry out 
personnel actions (including hiring and dis-
missal) with respect to any employee of the Of-
fice.
‘‘(2) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Om-
budsman may delegate to other employees of the Of-
fice any responsibility of the Ombudsman under this 
section except—
‘‘(A) the power to delegate responsibility;
‘‘(B) the power to issue subpoenas; and 
‘‘(C) the responsibility to make rec-
ommendations to the Administrator. 
‘‘(3) CONTACT
INFORMATION.—The Ombuds-
man shall maintain, in each region of the Agency, a 
telephone number, facsimile number, electronic mail 
address, and post office address for the Ombudsman 
that are different from the numbers and addresses 
of the regional office of the Agency located in that 
region. 
‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The Ombudsman—
‘‘(A) shall, at least annually, publish in the 
Federal Register and submit to the Adminis-
trator, the President, the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce of the House of Representatives, 
and the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate a report on the status of 
health and environmental concerns addressed in 
complaints and cases brought before the Om-
budsman in the period of time covered by the 
report; 
‘‘(B) may issue reports, conclusions, or 
recommendations concerning any other matter 
under investigation by the Office;
‘‘(C) shall solicit comments from the Agen-
cy concerning any matter under investigation by 
the Office; and 
‘‘(D) shall include any comments received 
by the Office in written reports, conclusions, 
and recommendations issued by the Office 
under this section. 
‘‘(f) PENALTIES.—An investigation conducted by the 
Ombudsman under this section constitutes—
‘‘(1) a matter under section 1001 of title 18, 
United States Code; and 
‘‘(2) a proceeding under section 1505 of title 
18, United States Code. 
‘‘(g) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No employer may discharge 
any employee, or otherwise discriminate against any 
employee with respect to compensation, terms, con-
ditions, or privileges of employment of the employee, 
because the employee (or any person acting at the 
request of the employee) complied with any provision 
of this section. 
‘‘(2) COMPLAINT.—Any employee that, in the 
opinion of the employee, is discharged or otherwise 
discriminated against by any person in violation of 
paragraph (1) may, not later than 180 days after
the date on which the violation occurs, file a com-
plaint in accordance with section 211 of the Energy 
Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5851). 
‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section—
‘‘(A) does not limit any remedy or right of 
appeal; and 
‘‘(B) may be carried out notwithstanding 
any provision of law to the contrary that pro-
vides that an agency action is final, not review-
able, or not subject to appeal. 
‘‘(2) EFFECT
ON
PROCEDURES
FOR
GRIEV-
ANCES, APPEALS, OR ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—
The establishment of the Office does not affect any 
procedure concerning grievances, appeals, or admin-
istrative matters under this Act or any other law 
(including regulations). 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section—
‘‘(A) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2004 and 2005; 
‘‘(B) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2006 through 2009; and
‘‘(C) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2010 through 2013. 
‘‘(2) SEPARATE LINE ITEM.—In submitting the 
annual budget for the Federal Government to Con-
gress, the President shall include a separate line 
item for the funding for the Office.’’.
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