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ognized throughout the world as a leader in the defense 
of internationally recognized human rights norms. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Any Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives may join the Commission by submitting a written 
statement to that effect to the co-chairs of the Commission. 
(c) RELATIONSHIP WITH SENATE.—In carrying out its 
activities, the Commission is encouraged to establish a coop-
erative working relationship with Members and other entities 
of the Senate, and to invite Members and other entities of the 
Senate to work cooperatively with the Commission to promote 
human rights. 
(d) DEFINITION.—In this resolution, the term ‘‘Member 
of the House of Representatives’’ includes a Delegate or Resi-
dent Commissioner to the Congress. 
SEC. 3. CO-CHAIRS OF THE COMMISSION. 
(a) APPOINTMENT.—Two members of the Commission 
shall be appointed to serve as co-chairs of the Commission as 
follows: 
(1) One member shall be appointed by the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives after consultation with 
the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 
(2) One member shall be appointed by the minority 
leader of the House of Representatives after consultation 
with the ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs.
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(b) TERM OF SERVICE.—A member’s term as co-chair of 
the Commission shall continue throughout the Congress dur-
ing which the member is appointed as a co-chair under this 
section until the member leaves the Commission, resigns from 
the position of co-chair, or is removed pursuant to subsection 
(c). 
(c) REMOVAL.—The co-chair appointed pursuant to sub-
section (a)(1) may be removed by the Speaker after consulta-
tion with the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
and the co-chair appointed pursuant to subsection (a)(2) may 
be removed by the minority leader after consultation with the 
ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs. 
(d) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the position of any of the 
co-chairs of the Commission shall be filled in the same man-
ner in which the original appointment was made. 
(e) DUTIES.—The co-chairs shall be responsible for set-
ting the general agenda of the Commission. 
SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall have an Exec-
utive Committee which shall consist of 8 members of the 
Commission equally divided between members of the majority 
and minority parties selected jointly by the co-chairs of the 
Commission with the approval of the Speaker of the House
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of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of 
Representatives. 
(b) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the membership of the Ex-
ecutive Committee shall be filled in the same manner in 
which the original selection was made. 
SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 
(a) USE OF COMMITTEE STAFF AND RESOURCES.—Sub-
ject to subsection (b), the Commission shall carry out its du-
ties using the staff and resources of the Committee on For-
eign Affairs, including the use of consultants or temporary 
employees, such as individuals with expertise in human rights 
issues, related legislative matters, and technology systems 
management, as appropriate. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR STAFF.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The staff of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs who may be used by the Commission 
under subsection (a) to carry out its duties shall be pro-
fessional staff members of the Committtee who are ap-
pointed for this purpose by the Chairman of the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, of whom half of the full-time 
equivalent positions shall be appointed from among a list 
of individuals presented to the Chairman of the Com-
mittee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to section 
3(a)(1) and half of the full-time equivalent positions 
shall be appointed from among a list of individuals pre-
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sented to the Chairman of the Committee by the co-chair 
appointed pursuant to section 3(a)(2). 
(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR DETERMINATION OF NUM-
BER OF COMMITTEE STAFF MEMBERS.—Any professional 
staff member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs who 
is used by the Commission to carry out its duties on a 
full-time basis shall not be included in determining the 
number of professional staff members of the Committee 
under subparagraphs (1) and (2) of clause 9(a) of rule 
X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 
SEC. 6. OTHER POWERS AND DUTIES. 
(a) BYLAWS.—The Commission shall adopt and publish 
such bylaws to govern its organization and operation (includ-
ing the duties of the Executive Committee) as it considers ap-
propriate, subject to the applicable Rules of the House of 
Representatives. 
(b) NO LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY.—The Commission 
shall not have legislative jurisdiction and shall have no au-
thority to take legislative action on any bill or resolution. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
In addition to any other amounts made available for sal-
aries and expenses of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives during a Congress, there are 
authorized to be appropriated from the applicable accounts of 
the House of Representatives such sums as may be necessary
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for the Committee to provide staff and resources for the 
Commission pursuant to section 5. 
SEC. 8. TRANSITION FOR CURRENT MEMBERS OF CONGRES-
SIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS. 
For purposes of this resolution— 
(1) each Member of the House of Representatives 
who is a member of the Congressional Human Rights 
Caucus as of the date of the adoption of this resolution 
shall be deemed to have joined the Commission; and 
(2) the 2 Members of the House of Representatives 
who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Human 
Rights Caucus as of the date of the adoption of this res-
olution shall be deemed to have been appointed as co- 
chairs of the Commission. 
Attest: 
Clerk.