America Forward Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3699 To establish the America Forward Commission to create a strategy to re- open the economy, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 12, 2020 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BENNET, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish the America Forward Commission to create a strategy to re-open the economy, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘America Forward Act 4 of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 (1) the coronavirus disease 2019 (referred to in 8 this Act as ‘‘COVID-19’’) pandemic is a public 9 health and economic crisis; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3699 IS (2) most of the Nation and the economy are 1 currently shut down to mitigate and prevent the 2 spread of COVID-19; 3 (3) the response to the pandemic and steps to 4 reopen the United States should be based on public 5 health and other expert guidelines; 6 (4) to restore the full functioning of the Nation, 7 an official advisory body to the Federal Government 8 to provide external, expert guidance and real-time 9 recommendations is necessary; and 10 (5) such recommendations should be available 11 to the public. 12 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 13 The purpose of this Act is to establish an America 14 Forward Commission to create a strategy to re-open the 15 economy in light of the coronavirus disease pandemic. 16 SEC. 4. AMERICA FORWARD COMMISSION. 17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde- 18 pendent commission to be known as the America Forward 19 Commission (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commis- 20 sion’’). 21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 22 (1) SELECTION.—The Comptroller General of 23 the United States is authorized to enter into a con- 24 tract with the National Academies of Science, Engi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3699 IS neering, and Medicine to appoint the members of the 1 Commission, in accordance with the requirements of 2 this subsection. 3 (2) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—The Commission 4 shall consist of not less than 10 nor more than 15 5 members. 6 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 8 include— 9 (i) not less than 1 expert in each of 10 the fields of economics, transportation, 11 medicine, and national security; and 12 (ii) not less than 1 officer (which may 13 include an elected official) or employee of 14 a State or local government. 15 (B) NO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—No em- 16 ployee of the Federal Government may serve on 17 the Commission. 18 (4) APPOINTMENT.—The appointments of the 19 members of the Commission shall be made not later 20 than 7 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 21 (5) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—A member of 22 the Commission shall be appointed for the life of the 23 Commission. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3699 IS (6) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 1 The Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice 2 Chairperson from among the members of the Com- 3 mission. 4 (7) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis- 5 sion— 6 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com- 7 mission; and 8 (B) shall be filled in the same manner, and 9 subject to all requirements, as described in this 10 section. 11 (c) MEETINGS.— 12 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 14 days 13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis- 14 sion shall hold the first meeting of the Commission. 15 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Commission shall meet 16 at the call of the Chairperson. 17 SEC. 5. DUTIES. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 19 (1) examine the tools and techniques necessary 20 to ensure that Federal, State, and local governments 21 can diagnose, isolate, and mitigate the public health 22 and economic impacts of the coronavirus, including 23 seasonal reoccurrence; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3699 IS (2) evaluate information-sharing policies and 1 practices for essential information between Federal, 2 State, and local stakeholders; 3 (3) develop recommendations for necessary 4 medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and 5 other materials; 6 (4) evaluate proposals to strengthen the resil- 7 ience of economic sectors and protect workers of the 8 United States who are most vulnerable to disruption 9 from viral pandemics; 10 (5) advise on best practices for strengthening 11 international trade, business, and tourism in a man- 12 ner that reduces the risk of foreign traveler-related 13 transmission of viral disease; and 14 (6) perform other advisory and research activi- 15 ties as determined necessary by the Commission. 16 (b) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—On a roll- 17 ing basis as the Commission completes its findings or rec- 18 ommendations regarding any paragraph of subsection (a), 19 the Commission shall— 20 (1) submit such findings or recommendations to 21 the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Con- 22 gress; and 23 (2) make such findings or recommendations 24 available to the public. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3699 IS (c) RESPONSE BY WHITE HOUSE.—Not later than 1 7 days after receiving any findings or recommendations 2 by the Commission under subsection (b), the White House 3 Coronavirus Task Force shall— 4 (1) respond, in writing, to the Commission’s 5 recommendations or findings; and 6 (2) make the Task Force’s response publicly 7 available through the internet website of the White 8 House. 9 (d) TRANSFERENCE OF DUTIES.—If, before the ter- 10 mination of the Commission, the White House Coronavi- 11 rus Task Force ceases to be in existence— 12 (1) any submissions to the Task Force required 13 under subsection (b)(1) shall be made to the Presi- 14 dent; and 15 (2) the President shall carry out the actions re- 16 quired under subsection (c). 17 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 18 (a) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 20 directly from a Federal department or agency such 21 information as the Commission considers necessary 22 to carry out this Act. 23 (2) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On request of 24 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3699 IS department or agency shall furnish the information 1 to the Commission. 2 (b) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 3 the United States mails in the same manner and under 4 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 5 the Federal Government. 6 (c) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 7 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 8 SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 9 (a) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A 10 member of the Commission shall not be compensated, but 11 shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 12 of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agen- 13 cies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 14 States Code, while away from their homes or regular 15 places of business in the performance of services for the 16 Commission. 17 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL SUP- 18 PORT.—The Comptroller General of the United States is 19 authorized to enter into a contract with the National 20 Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to pro- 21 vide administrative and operational support, including as- 22 sistance in procuring meeting space, for the Commission. 23 (c) STAFF.—The Commission may, without regard to 24 the civil service laws (including regulations), appoint such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3699 IS personnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission 1 to perform its duties. The annual rate of basic pay for 2 an individual appointed under this subsection shall be 3 comparable to the annual rate of basic pay for an em- 4 ployee who occupies a position within the General Sched- 5 ule under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 6 States Code, and has a similar level of experience as that 7 individual. 8 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A Fed- 9 eral Government employee may, upon the request of the 10 Commission, be detailed to the Commission without reim- 11 bursement in order to provide technical and operational 12 support, and such detail shall be without interruption or 13 loss of civil service status or privilege. 14 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT- 15 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 16 may procure temporary and intermittent services under 17 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 18 for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent of 19 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the 20 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 21 (f) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Notwithstanding sec- 22 tion 8(a), the Chairperson shall ensure that the interests 23 and affiliations of members of the Commission conform 24 with the conflict of interest statutes, regulations issued by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3699 IS the Director of Office of Government Ethics including any 1 supplemental agency requirements, and other Federal eth- 2 ics rules that apply to members of advisory committees. 3 SEC. 8. GENERAL RULES; TERMINATION. 4 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Advi- 5 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with 6 respect to the Commission or the activities of the Commis- 7 sion. 8 (b) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis- 9 sion shall terminate not later than 1 year after the expira- 10 tion of the public health emergency declared by the Sec- 11 retary of Health and Human Service under section 319 12 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on Jan- 13 uary 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 14 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 16 this Act such sums as may be necessary. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3699.IS S3699 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS