Agency Accountability Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3708 To establish a Federal Agency Sunset Commission, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 13, 2020 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. CRAPO, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish a Federal Agency Sunset Commission, 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 ‘‘Agency Accountability 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘advi- 8 sory committee’’ has the meaning given the term in 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3708 IS section 3(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 1 (5 U.S.C. App.). 2 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 3 meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5, 4 United States Code. 5 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 6 means the Federal Agency Sunset Commission es- 7 tablished under section 3. 8 (4) JOINT RESOLUTION.—The term ‘‘joint reso- 9 lution’’ means a joint resolution consisting of the 10 proposed legislative language submitted by the Com- 11 mission under section 4(a)(3) and introduced or re- 12 introduced under section 7(a). 13 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCY SUNSET 14 COMMISSION. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Fed- 16 eral Agency Sunset Commission. 17 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 18 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 19 composed of 13 members of whom— 20 (A) 1 shall be appointed by the President; 21 (B) 3 shall be appointed by the majority 22 leader of the Senate, of whom— 23 (i) 2 shall be from among the mem- 24 bers of the Senate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3708 IS (ii) 1 shall not be a member of Con- 1 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 2 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 3 ernment programs; 4 (C) 3 shall be appointed by the minority 5 leader of the Senate, of whom— 6 (i) 2 shall be from among the mem- 7 bers of the Senate; and 8 (ii) 1 shall not be a member of Con- 9 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 10 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 11 ernment programs; 12 (D) 3 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 13 the House of Representatives, of whom— 14 (i) 2 shall be from among the mem- 15 bers of the House of Representatives; and 16 (ii) 1 shall not be a member of Con- 17 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 18 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 19 ernment programs; and 20 (E) 3 shall be appointed by the minority 21 leader of the House of Representatives, of 22 whom— 23 (i) 2 shall be from among the mem- 24 bers of the House of Representatives; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3708 IS (ii) 1 shall not be a member of Con- 1 gress and shall have expertise in the oper- 2 ation and administration of Federal Gov- 3 ernment programs. 4 (2) DATE.—The appointments of the members 5 of the Commission shall be made not later than 180 6 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 7 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Commis- 9 sion shall be appointed for the life of the Commis- 10 sion. 11 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis- 12 sion— 13 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com- 14 mission; and 15 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 16 the original appointment not later than 30 days 17 after the date on which the vacancy occurs. 18 (d) MEETINGS.— 19 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 45 days 20 after the date on which all members of the Commis- 21 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 22 the first meeting of the Commission. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3708 IS (2) FREQUENCY.—The Commission shall meet 1 at the call of the Chairperson and not less than 2 2 times per year. 3 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 4 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 5 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 6 (e) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 7 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair- 8 person from among the members of the Commission. 9 (f) VOTING.—A majority of the members of the Com- 10 mission is required to make a recommendation under sec- 11 tion 4. 12 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 14 (1) review and evaluate the efficiency and pub- 15 lic need for each agency or advisory commission not 16 less frequently than once every 6 years using criteria 17 established by the Commission; 18 (2) recommend whether each agency or advisory 19 commission should be continued, abolished, or reor- 20 ganized; 21 (3) based on the recommendations of the Com- 22 mission, submit to Congress proposed legislative lan- 23 guage for abolishing, or reorganizing an agency or 24 advisory commission; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3708 IS (4) if the Commission recommends to continue 1 an agency or advisory commission without any 2 change, submit to Congress a report that includes 3 the reasons for the recommendation. 4 (b) AGENCY SUBMISSIONS.—When the Commission 5 is considering whether to recommend continuing, abol- 6 ishing, or reorganizing an agency or advisory commission, 7 the agency or advisory commission, as applicable, shall 8 submit timely responses to a questionnaire provided by the 9 Commission, which shall include— 10 (1) an explanation of why the functions of the 11 agency or advisory committee continue to be nec- 12 essary; 13 (2) what efficiencies taxpayers realize by the 14 continued operation of the agency or advisory com- 15 mittee; and 16 (3) why the responsibilities of the agency or ad- 17 visory committee cannot be better performed by the 18 private sector or another agency or advisory com- 19 mittee. 20 (c) RESEARCH SERVICES.—The Government Ac- 21 countability Office and the Congressional Budget Office, 22 in coordination with the Congressional Research Service, 23 shall provide primary research services to the Commission 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3708 IS to assist the Commission in carrying out the duties under 1 this Act. 2 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 3 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 4 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 5 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 6 considers advisable to carry out this Act. 7 (b) INFORMATION FROM AGENCIES AND ADVISORY 8 COMMITTEES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 10 directly from an agency or advisory committee such 11 information as the Commission considers necessary 12 to carry out this Act. 13 (2) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On request of 14 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of the 15 agency, or the Chair of the advisory committee shall 16 furnish the information to the Commission. 17 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 18 the United States mails in the same manner and under 19 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 20 the Federal Government. 21 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 22 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3708 IS SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 1 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member of the 2 Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Fed- 3 eral Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to 4 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre- 5 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec- 6 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in- 7 cluding travel time) during which the member is engaged 8 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. 9 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis- 10 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 11 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees 12 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 13 United States Code, while away from their homes or reg- 14 ular places of business in the performance of services for 15 the Commission. 16 (c) STAFF.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 18 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 19 laws (including regulations), appoint and terminate 20 an executive director and such other additional per- 21 sonnel as may be necessary to enable the Commis- 22 sion to perform its duties, except that the employ- 23 ment of an executive director shall be subject to con- 24 firmation by the Commission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3708 IS (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 1 Commission may fix the compensation of the execu- 2 tive director and other personnel without regard to 3 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 4 5, United States Code, relating to classification of 5 positions and General Schedule pay rates, except 6 that the rate of pay for the executive director and 7 other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for 8 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 9 of that title. 10 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A Fed- 11 eral Government employee may be detailed to the Commis- 12 sion without reimbursement, and such detail shall be with- 13 out interruption or 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 SEC. 7. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF 22 JOINT RESOLUTIONS. 23 (a) INTRODUCTION OF PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE 24 LANGUAGE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3708 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The proposed legislative lan- 1 guage submitted by the Commission under section 2 4(a)(3)— 3 (A) shall be introduced in the Senate (by 4 request) by the majority leader or minority 5 leader of the Senate or by a Member of the 6 Senate designated by the majority leader or mi- 7 nority leader of the Senate not later than 60 8 days after the date on which the proposed legis- 9 lation is submitted to Congress; and 10 (B) shall be introduced in the House of 11 Representatives (by request) by the Speaker of 12 the House of Representatives or the minority 13 leader of the House of Representatives or by a 14 Member of the House of Representatives des- 15 ignated by the Speaker of the House of Rep- 16 resentatives or the minority leader of the House 17 of Representatives not later than 60 days after 18 the date on which the proposed legislation is 19 submitted to Congress. 20 (2) REINTRODUCTION.—The proposed legisla- 21 tive language submitted by the Commission under 22 section 4(a)(3) shall be reintroduced as described in 23 paragraph (1) not later than 60 days after the first 24 day of a Congress if— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3708 IS (A) the proposed legislative language was 1 introduced during the previous Congress after 2 the date that was 210 days before the date of 3 the sine die adjournment of such previous Con- 4 gress; and 5 (B) there was not a vote in either House 6 of Congress on passage of the joint resolution 7 introduced under subparagraph (A) during the 8 previous Congress by which the joint resolution 9 was not agreed to. 10 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 11 RESENTATIVES.— 12 (1) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com- 13 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 14 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 15 House of Representatives not later than 90 days 16 after the date on which the joint resolution is intro- 17 duced or reintroduced in the House of Representa- 18 tives under subsection (a). If a committee fails to re- 19 port the joint resolution within that period, the com- 20 mittee shall be discharged from further consider- 21 ation of the joint resolution and the joint resolution 22 shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 23 (2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3708 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—After each committee 1 authorized to consider a joint resolution reports 2 it to the House of Representatives or has been 3 discharged from its consideration, it shall be in 4 order, not later than 120 days after the date on 5 which the joint resolution is introduced or re- 6 introduced in the House of Representatives 7 under subsection (a), to move to proceed to con- 8 sider the joint resolution in the House of Rep- 9 resentatives. 10 (B) PROCEDURE.—For a motion to pro- 11 ceed to consideration of a joint resolution— 12 (i) all points of order against the mo- 13 tion are waived; 14 (ii) such a motion shall not be in 15 order after the House of Representatives 16 has disposed of a motion to proceed on the 17 joint resolution; 18 (iii) the previous question shall be 19 considered as ordered on the motion to its 20 adoption without intervening motion; 21 (iv) the motion shall not be debatable; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3708.IS S3708 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3708 IS (v) a motion to reconsider the vote by 1 which the motion is disposed of shall not 2 be in order. 3 (3) CONSIDERATION.—If the House of Rep- 4 resentatives proceeds to consideration [Text truncated for display. 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