Federal Sunset Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 111 To provide for the periodic review of the efficiency and public need for Federal agencies, to establish a commission for the purpose of reviewing the efficiency and public need of such agencies, and to provide for the abolishment of agencies for which a public need does not exist. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 4, 2021 Mr. HUDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To provide for the periodic review of the efficiency and public need for Federal agencies, to establish a commis- sion for the purpose of reviewing the efficiency and pub- lic need of such agencies, and to provide for the abolish- ment of agencies for which a public need does not exist. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Federal Sunset Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 111 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Review and abolishment of Federal agencies. Sec. 3. Establishment of Commission. Sec. 4. Review of efficiency and need for Federal agencies. Sec. 5. Criteria for review. Sec. 6. Commission oversight. Sec. 7. Rulemaking authority. Sec. 8. Relocation of Federal employees. Sec. 9. Program inventory. Sec. 10. Definition of agency. Sec. 11. Offset of amounts appropriated. SEC. 2. REVIEW AND ABOLISHMENT OF FEDERAL AGEN- 1 CIES. 2 (a) SCHEDULE FOR REVIEW.—Not later than one 3 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Fed- 4 eral Agency Sunset Commission established under section 5 3 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall sub- 6 mit to Congress a schedule for review by the Commission, 7 at least once every 12 years (or less, if determined appro- 8 priate by Congress), of the abolishment or reorganization 9 of each agency. 10 (b) REVIEW OF AGENCIES PERFORMING RELATED 11 FUNCTIONS.—In determining the schedule for review of 12 agencies under subsection (a), the Commission shall pro- 13 vide that agencies that perform similar or related func- 14 tions be reviewed concurrently to promote efficiency and 15 consolidation. 16 (c) ABOLISHMENT OF AGENCIES.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall— 18 (A) be reviewed according to the schedule 19 created pursuant to this section; and 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 111 IH (B) be abolished not later than one year 1 after the date that the Commission completes 2 its review of the agency pursuant to such sched- 3 ule, unless the agency is reauthorized by the 4 Congress. 5 (2) EXTENSION.—The deadline for abolishing 6 an agency may be extended for an additional two 7 years after the date described in paragraph (1)(B) 8 if the Congress enacts legislation extending such 9 deadline by a vote of a super majority of the House 10 of Representatives and the Senate. 11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 13 mission to be known as the ‘‘Federal Agency Sunset Com- 14 mission’’. 15 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com- 16 posed of 12 members (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘mem- 17 bers’’) who shall be appointed as follows: 18 (1) Six members shall be appointed by the 19 Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of 20 whom may include the Speaker of the House of Rep- 21 resentatives, with minority members appointed with 22 the consent of the minority leader of the House of 23 Representatives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 111 IH (2) Six members shall be appointed by the ma- 1 jority leader of the Senate, one of whom may include 2 the majority leader of the Senate, with minority 3 members appointed with the consent of the minority 4 leader of the Senate. 5 (c) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Of the members ap- 7 pointed under subsection (b)(1), four shall be mem- 8 bers of the House of Representatives (not more than 9 two of whom may be of the same political party), 10 and two shall be an individual described in subpara- 11 graph (C). 12 (B) Of the members appointed under subsection 13 (b)(2), four shall be members of the Senate (not 14 more than two of whom may be of the same political 15 party) and two shall be an individual described in 16 subparagraph (C). 17 (C) An individual under this subparagraph is 18 an individual— 19 (i) who is not a member of Congress; and 20 (ii) with expertise in the operation and ad- 21 ministration of Government programs. 22 (2) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a 23 member was appointed to the Commission as a 24 Member of Congress and the member ceases to be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 111 IH a Member of Congress, that member shall cease to 1 be a member of the Commission. The validity of any 2 action of the Commission shall not be affected as a 3 result of a member becoming ineligible to serve as 4 a member for the reasons described in this para- 5 graph. 6 (d) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—All initial appoint- 7 ments to the Commission shall be made not later than 90 8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 9 (e) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 10 (1) INITIAL CHAIRMAN.—An individual shall be 11 designated by the Speaker of the House of Rep- 12 resentatives from among the members initially ap- 13 pointed under subsection (b)(1) to serve as chairman 14 of the Commission for a period of 2 years. 15 (2) INITIAL VICE-CHAIRMAN.—An individual 16 shall be designated by the majority leader of the 17 Senate from among the individuals initially ap- 18 pointed under subsection (b)(2) to serve as vice- 19 chairman of the Commission for a period of two 20 years. 21 (3) ALTERNATE APPOINTMENTS OF CHAIRMEN 22 AND VICE-CHAIRMEN.—Following the termination of 23 the two-year period described in paragraphs (1) and 24 (2), the Speaker and the majority leader shall alter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 111 IH nate every two years in appointing the chairman and 1 vice-chairman of the Commission. 2 (f) TERMS OF MEMBERS.— 3 (1) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Each member 4 appointed to the Commission who is a member of 5 Congress shall serve for a term of six years, except 6 that, of the members first appointed under para- 7 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), 2 members 8 shall be appointed to serve a term of three years 9 under each such paragraph. 10 (2) OTHER MEMBERS.—Each member of the 11 Commission who is not a member of Congress shall 12 serve for a term of three years. 13 (3) TERM LIMIT.—(A) A member of the Com- 14 mission who is a member of Congress and who 15 serves more than three years of a term may not be 16 appointed to another term as a member. 17 (B) A member of the Commission who is not a 18 member of Congress and who serves as a member of 19 the Commission for more than 56 months may not 20 be appointed to another term as a member. 21 (g) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 22 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commis- 23 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, 24 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 111 IH places, take such testimony, and receive such evi- 1 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. The 2 Commission may administer oaths to witnesses ap- 3 pearing before it. 4 (2) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—The Commis- 5 sion may secure directly from any department or 6 agency of the United States information necessary 7 to enable it to carry out its duties under this Act. 8 Upon request of the Chairman, the head of that de- 9 partment or agency shall furnish that information to 10 the Commission in a full and timely manner. 11 (3) SUBPOENA POWER.—(A) The Commission 12 may issue a subpoena to require the attendance and 13 testimony of witnesses and the production of evi- 14 dence relating to any matter under investigation by 15 the Commission. 16 (B) If a person refuses to obey an order or sub- 17 poena of the Commission that is issued in connection 18 with a Commission proceeding, the Commission may 19 apply to the United States district court in the judi- 20 cial district in which the proceeding is held for an 21 order requiring the person to comply with the sub- 22 poena or order. 23 (4) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency 24 of the United States for purposes of part V of title 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 111 IH 18, United States Code (relating to immunity of wit- 1 nesses). 2 (5) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission 3 may contract with and compensate government and 4 private agencies or persons for services without re- 5 gard to section 6101 of title 41, United States Code. 6 (h) COMMISSION PROCEDURES.— 7 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 8 the call of the Chairman. 9 (2) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commis- 10 sion shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number 11 may hold hearings. 12 (i) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 13 (1) COMPENSATION.—Members shall not be 14 paid by reason of their service as members. 15 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 16 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 17 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 18 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 19 (3) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a 20 Director who shall be appointed by the Chairman. 21 The Director shall be paid at a rate not to exceed 22 the maximum rate of basic pay payable for GS–15 23 of the General Schedule. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 111 IH (4) STAFF.—The Director may appoint and fix 1 the pay of additional personnel as the Director con- 2 siders appropriate. 3 (5) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 4 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission 5 shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 6 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 7 the competitive service, and shall be paid in accord- 8 ance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- 9 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to 10 classification and General Schedule pay rates. 11 (j) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 12 (1) POSTAL AND PRINTING SERVICES.—The 13 Commission may use the United States mails and 14 obtain printing and binding services in the same 15 manner and under the same conditions as other de- 16 partments and agencies of the United States. 17 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.— 18 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis- 19 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com- 20 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 21 support services necessary for the Commission to 22 carry out its duties under this Act. 23 (3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com- 24 mission may procure temporary and intermittent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 111 IH services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 1 States Code. 2 (k) SUNSET OF COMMISSION.—The Commission shall 3 terminate on December 31, 2037, unless reauthorized by 4 Congress. 5 SEC. 4. REVIEW OF EFFICIENCY AND NEED FOR FEDERAL 6 AGENCIES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall review the 8 efficiency and public need for each agency in accordance 9 with the criteria described in section 5. 10 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS; REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 11 The Commission shall submit to Congress and the Presi- 12 dent not later than September 1 of each year a report 13 containing— 14 (1) an analysis of the efficiency of operation 15 and public need for each agency to be reviewed in 16 the year in which the report is submitted pursuant 17 to the schedule submitted to Congress under section 18 2; 19 (2) recommendations on whether each such 20 agency should be abolished or reorganized; 21 (3) recommendations on whether the functions 22 of any other agencies should be consolidated, trans- 23 ferred, or reorganized in an agency to be reviewed 24 in the year in which the report is submitted pursu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 111 IH ant to the schedule submitted to Congress under 1 section 2; and 2 (4) recommendations for administrative and 3 legislative action with respect to each such agency, 4 but not including recommendations for appropriation 5 levels. 6 (c) DRAFT LEGISLATION.—The Commission shall 7 submit to Congress and the President not later than Sep- 8 tember 1 of each year a draft of legislation to carry out 9 the recommendations of the Commission under subsection 10 (b). 11 (d) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Commission 12 shall— 13 (1) conduct public hearings on the abolishment 14 of each agency reviewed under subsection (b); 15 (2) provide an opportunity for public comment 16 on the abolishment of each such agency; 17 (3) require the agency to provide information to 18 the Commission as appropriate; and 19 (4) consult with the Government Accountability 20 Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the 21 Comptroller General of the United States, and the 22 chairman and ranking minority members of the com- 23 mittees of Congress with oversight responsibility for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H111.IH H111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 111 IH the agency being reviewed regarding the operation of 1 the agency. 2 (e) USE OF PROGRAM INVENTORY.—The Commis- 3 sion shall use the program inventory prepared under sec- 4 tion 9 in reviewing the efficiency and public need for each 5 agency under subsection (a). 6 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW. 7 The Commission shall evaluate the efficiency and 8 public need for each agency pursuant to section 4 using 9 the following cr [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]