I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2199 To establish the Federal Agency Sunset Commission. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 26, 2021 Mr. CLOUD (for himself, Mr. PERRY, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Ms. HERRELL, and Mr. GOOD of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Federal Agency Sunset Commission. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Agency Sunset 4 Commission Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. REVIEW AND ABOLISHMENT OF FEDERAL AGEN- 6 CIES. 7 (a) SCHEDULE FOR REVIEW.—(1) Not later than one 8 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Fed- 9 eral Agency Sunset Commission established under section 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2199 IH 3 shall submit to Congress a schedule for review by the 1 Commission of each agency that lists the date of abolish- 2 ment for each agency. 3 (2) Such date of abolishment shall occur at least once 4 every 12 years (or less, if determine appropriate by Con- 5 gress). 6 (3) The Schedule for review will be in the form of 7 a joint resolution. 8 (b) REVIEW OF AGENCIES PERFORMING RELATED 9 FUNCTIONS.—In determining the schedule for review of 10 agencies under subsection (a), the Commission shall pro- 11 vide that agencies that perform similar or related func- 12 tions be reviewed concurrently to promote efficiency and 13 consolidation. 14 (c) ABOLISHMENT OF AGENCIES.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall be re- 16 viewed and abolished according to the schedule cre- 17 ated pursuant to this section and approved under 18 section 9, unless the agency is reauthorized by the 19 Congress. 20 (2) EXTENSION.—The date of abolishment for 21 an agency may be extended for an additional 2 years 22 if the Congress enacts legislation extending such 23 date by a vote of a supermajority of the House of 24 Representatives and the Senate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2199 IH SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 2 mission to be known as the ‘‘Federal Agency Sunset Com- 3 mission’’. 4 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 5 (1) The Commission shall be composed of 13 6 members (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘members’’) 7 who shall be appointed as follows: 8 (A) 1 shall be appointed by the President. 9 (B) 3 shall be appointed by the majority 10 leader of the Senate, of whom— 11 (i) 2 shall be from among members of 12 the Senate; and 13 (ii) 1 shall not be Member of Con- 14 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 15 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 16 ernment programs. 17 (C) 3 shall be appointed by the minority 18 leader of the Senate, of whom— 19 (i) 2 shall be from among members of 20 the Senate; and 21 (ii) 1 shall not be Member of Con- 22 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 23 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 24 ernment programs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2199 IH (D) 3 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 1 the House of Representatives, of whom— 2 (i) 2 shall be from among members of 3 the House of Representatives; and 4 (ii) 1 shall not be Member of Con- 5 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 6 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 7 ernment programs. 8 (E) 3 shall be appointed by the minority 9 leader of the House of Representatives, of 10 whom— 11 (i) 2 shall be from among members of 12 the House of Representatives; and 13 (ii) 1 shall not be Member of Con- 14 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 15 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 16 ernment programs. 17 (c) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a member 18 was appointed to the Commission as a Member of Con- 19 gress and the member ceases to be a Member of Congress, 20 that member shall cease to be a member of the Commis- 21 sion. 22 (d) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—All initial appoint- 23 ments to the Commission shall be made not later than 90 24 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2199 IH (e) TERMS OF MEMBERS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member appointed to 2 the Commission shall serve for a term of 6 years. 3 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis- 4 sion— 5 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com- 6 mission; and 7 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 8 the original appointment not later than 30 days 9 after the date on which the vacancy occurs. 10 (f) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Commission 11 shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from 12 among the members of the Commission for a term of 4 13 years. 14 (g) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 15 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commis- 16 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, 17 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 18 places, take such testimony, and receive such evi- 19 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. The 20 Commission may administer oaths to witnesses ap- 21 pearing before it. 22 (2) OBTAINING INFORMATION.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 24 secure directly from any agency or advisory 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2199 IH committee information necessary to enable it to 1 carry out its duties under this Act. 2 (B) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On re- 3 quest of the Chairperson of the Commission, 4 the head of the agency, or the Chair of the ad- 5 visory committee shall furnish information to 6 the Commission in a full and timely manner. 7 (3) SUBPOENA POWER.— 8 (A) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SUBPOENA.— 9 The Commission may issue a subpoena to re- 10 quire the attendance and testimony of witnesses 11 and the production of evidence relating to any 12 matter under investigation by the Commission. 13 (B) COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA.—If a 14 person refuses to obey an order or subpoena of 15 the Commission that is issued in connection 16 with a Commission proceeding, the Commission 17 may apply to the United States district court in 18 the judicial district in which the proceeding is 19 held for an order requiring the person to com- 20 ply with the subpoena or order. 21 (4) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency 22 of the United States for purposes of part V of title 23 18, United States Code (relating to immunity of wit- 24 nesses). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2199 IH (5) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission 1 may contract with and compensate government and 2 private agencies or persons for services without re- 3 gard to section 6101 of title 41, United States Code 4 (relating to advertising requirement for Federal Gov- 5 ernment purchases and sales). 6 (h) COMMISSION PROCEDURES.— 7 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 45 days 8 after the date on which all members of the Commis- 9 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 10 the first meeting of the Commission. 11 (2) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 12 the call of the Chairman and not less than 2 times 13 per year. 14 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 15 the Commission shall constitute a quorum. 16 (3) VOTING.—The schedule for review sub- 17 mitted pursuant to section 2(a) and the report and 18 joint resolution submitted pursuant to section 4 19 shall have the approval of not less than a majority 20 of the members of the Commission. 21 (i) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 22 (1) COMPENSATION.—Members shall not be 23 paid by reason of their service as members. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2199 IH (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 1 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 2 subsistence in accordance with applicable provisions 3 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 4 States Code. 5 (3) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have an 6 executive director who shall be appointed and termi- 7 nated by the Chairperson of the Commission. 8 (A) The executive director must be con- 9 firmed by a vote of at least seven members of 10 the Commission. 11 (B) The Director may appoint and fix the 12 pay of additional personnel as the Director con- 13 siders appropriate. 14 (4) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 15 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission 16 shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 17 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 18 the competitive service, and shall be paid in accord- 19 ance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub-chap- 20 ter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classi- 21 fication and General Schedule pay rates. 22 (j) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 23 (1) POSTAL AND PRINTING SERVICES.—The 24 Commission may use the United States mails and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2199 IH obtain printing and binding services in the same 1 manner and under the same conditions as other de- 2 partments and agencies of the Federal Government. 3 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.— 4 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis- 5 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com- 6 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 7 support services necessary for the Commission to 8 carry out its duties under this Act. 9 (3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com- 10 mission may procure temporary and intermittent 11 services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 12 States Code. 13 (4) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, 14 and dispose of gifts or donations of services or prop- 15 erty. 16 SEC. 4. REVIEW OF EFFICIENCY AND NEED FOR FEDERAL 17 AGENCIES. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall review the 19 efficiency and public need for each agency using criteria 20 described in section 5. 21 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS; REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 22 The Commission shall submit to Congress and the Presi- 23 dent not later than September 1 of each year a report 24 containing— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2199 IH (1) an analysis of the efficiency of operation 1 and public need for each agency to be reviewed in 2 the year in which the report is submitted pursuant 3 to the schedule submitted to Congress under section 4 2; 5 (2) an analysis of authority claimed by the ex- 6 ecutive branch but not specifically authorized by 7 statute; 8 (3) recommendations on whether each such 9 agency should be abolished, reorganized, or contin- 10 ued; 11 (4) recommendations on whether the functions 12 of any other agencies should be consolidated, trans- 13 ferred, or reorganized in an agency to be reviewed 14 in the year in which the report is submitted pursu- 15 ant to the schedule submitted to Congress under 16 section 2; and 17 (5) recommendations for administrative and 18 legislative action with respect to each such agency, 19 but not including recommendations for appropriation 20 levels. 21 (c) JOINT RESOLUTION.—The Commission shall sub- 22 mit to Congress and the President not later than Sep- 23 tember 1 of each year a joint resolution to carry out the 24 recommendations of the Commission under subsection (b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2199 IH (d) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Commission 1 shall— 2 (1) conduct public hearings on the abolishment 3 of each agency reviewed under subsection (b); 4 (2) provide an opportunity for public comment 5 on the abolishment of each such agency; 6 (3) require the agency to provide information to 7 the Commission as appropriate; and 8 (4) consult with the General Accountability Of- 9 fice, the Office of Management and Budget, the 10 Comptroller General, and the chairman and ranking 11 minority members of the committees of Congress 12 with oversight responsibility for the agency being re- 13 viewed regarding the operation of the agency. 14 (e) USE OF PROGRAM INVENTORY.—The Commis- 15 sion shall use the program inventory prepared under sec- 16 tion 9 in reviewing the efficiency and public need for each 17 agency under subsection (a). 18 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW. 19 The Commission shall evaluate the efficiency and 20 public need for each agency pursuant to section 4 using 21 the following criteria: 22 (1) The effectiveness, and the efficiency of the 23 operation of, the programs carried out by each such 24 agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2199.IH H2199 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2199 IH (2) Whether the programs carried out by the 1 agency are cost-effective. 2 (3) Whether the agency has acted outside the 3 scope of its original authority, and whether the origi- 4 nal objectives of the agency have been achieved. 5 (4) Whether less restrictive or alternative meth- 6 ods exist to carry out the functions of the agency. 7 (5) The extent to which the jurisdiction of, and 8 the programs administered by, the agency duplicate 9 or conflict with the jurisdiction and programs of 10 other agencies. 11 (6) The potential benefits of consolidating pro- 12 grams administered by the agency with similar or 13 duplicative programs of other agencies, and the po- 14 tential for consolidating such programs. 15 (7) The number and types of beneficiaries or 16 persons served by programs carried out by the agen- 17 cy. 18 (8) The extent to which any trends, develop- 19 ments, and emerging conditions that are likely to af- 20 fect the future nature and extent of the problems or 21 needs that the programs carried out by the agency 22 are intended to address. 23 (9) The extent to which the agency has com- 24 plied with th [Text truncated for display. 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