Federal Sunset Commission Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8554 To establish the Federal Sunset Commission. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 9, 2020 Mr. CLOUD (for himself, Mr. GOODEN, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. OLSON, Mr. WEBER of Texas, and Mr. BABIN) 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 determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Federal 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 Sunset Com- 4 mission Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. REVIEW AND ABOLISHMENT OF FEDERAL AGEN- 6 CIES. 7 (a) SCHEDULE FOR REVIEW.—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 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8554 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. Such date of abolishment shall 3 occur at least once every 12 years (or less, if determined 4 appropriate by Congress). 5 (b) REVIEW OF AGENCIES PERFORMING RELATED 6 FUNCTIONS.—In determining the schedule for review of 7 agencies under subsection (a), the Commission shall pro- 8 vide that agencies that perform similar or related func- 9 tions be reviewed concurrently to promote efficiency and 10 consolidation. 11 (c) ABOLISHMENT OF AGENCIES.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall be re- 13 viewed and abolished according to the schedule cre- 14 ated pursuant to this section and approved under 15 section 9, unless the agency is reauthorized by the 16 Congress. 17 (2) EXTENSION.—The date of abolishment for 18 an agency may be extended for an additional 2 years 19 if the Congress enacts legislation extending such 20 date by a vote of a supermajority of the House of 21 Representatives and the Senate. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8554 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) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com- 5 posed of 12 members (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘mem- 6 bers’’) who shall be appointed as follows: 7 (1) Six members shall be appointed by the 8 Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of 9 whom may include the Speaker of the House of Rep- 10 resentatives, with minority members appointed with 11 the consent of the minority leader of the House of 12 Representatives. 13 (2) Six members shall be appointed by the ma- 14 jority leader of the Senate, one of whom may include 15 the majority leader of the Senate, with minority 16 members appointed with the consent of the minority 17 leader of the Senate. 18 (c) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 20 (A) APPOINTED BY THE SPEAKER OF THE 21 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Of the mem- 22 bers appointed under subsection (b)(1), 4 shall 23 be members of the House of Representatives 24 (not more than 2 of whom may be of the same 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8554 IH political party), and two shall be an individual 1 described in subparagraph (C). 2 (B) APPOINTED BY THE MAJORITY LEAD- 3 ER OF THE SENATE.—Of the members ap- 4 pointed under subsection (b)(2), 4 shall be 5 members of the Senate (not more than 2 of 6 whom may be of the same political party) and 7 two shall be an individual described in subpara- 8 graph (C). 9 (C) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An indi- 10 vidual under this subparagraph is an indi- 11 vidual— 12 (i) who is not a member of Congress; 13 and 14 (ii) with expertise in the operation 15 and administration of Government pro- 16 grams. 17 (2) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a 18 member was appointed to the Commission as a 19 Member of Congress and the member ceases to be 20 a Member of Congress, that member shall cease to 21 be a member of the Commission. The validity of any 22 action of the Commission shall not be affected as a 23 result of a member becoming ineligible to serve as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8554 IH a member for the reasons described in this para- 1 graph. 2 (d) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—All initial appoint- 3 ments to the Commission shall be made not later than 90 4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 5 (e) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 6 (1) INITIAL CHAIRMAN.—An individual shall be 7 designated by the Speaker of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives from among the members initially ap- 9 pointed under subsection (b)(1) to serve as chairman 10 of the Commission for a period of 2 years. 11 (2) INITIAL VICE-CHAIRMAN.—An individual 12 shall be designated by the majority leader of the 13 Senate from among the individuals initially ap- 14 pointed under subsection (b)(2) to serve as vice- 15 chairman of the Commission for a period of 2 years. 16 (3) ALTERNATE APPOINTMENTS OF CHAIRMEN 17 AND VICE-CHAIRMEN.—Following the termination of 18 the 2-year period described in paragraphs (1) and 19 (2), the Speaker and the majority leader shall alter- 20 nate every two years in appointing the chairman and 21 vice-chairman of the Commission. 22 (f) TERMS OF MEMBERS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member appointed to 24 the Commission shall serve for a term of 6 years, ex- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8554 IH cept that, of the members first appointed under 1 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), 2 members 2 shall be appointed to serve a term of 3 years under 3 each such paragraph. 4 (2) TERM LIMIT.— 5 (A) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—A member 6 of the Commission who is a member of Con- 7 gress and who serves more than 3 years of a 8 term may not be appointed to another term as 9 a member. 10 (B) NOT A MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—A 11 member of the Commission who is not a mem- 12 ber of Congress and who serves as a member of 13 the Commission for more than 4 years may not 14 be appointed to another term as a member. 15 (3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 16 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 17 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap- 18 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 19 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 20 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 21 office. A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 22 in the manner in which the original appointment was 23 made. 24 (g) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8554 IH (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commis- 1 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, 2 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 3 places, take such testimony, and receive such evi- 4 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. The 5 Commission may administer oaths to witnesses ap- 6 pearing before it. 7 (2) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—The Commis- 8 sion may secure directly from any agency informa- 9 tion necessary to enable it to carry out its duties 10 under this Act. Upon request of the Chairman, the 11 head of that agency shall furnish that information to 12 the Commission in a full and timely manner. 13 (3) SUBPOENA POWER.— 14 (A) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SUBPOENA.— 15 The Commission may issue a subpoena to re- 16 quire the attendance and testimony of witnesses 17 and the production of evidence relating to any 18 matter under investigation by the Commission. 19 (B) COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA.—If a 20 person refuses to obey an order or subpoena of 21 the Commission that is issued in connection 22 with a Commission proceeding, the Commission 23 may apply to the United States district court in 24 the judicial district in which the proceeding is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8554 IH held for an order requiring the person to com- 1 ply with the subpoena or order. 2 (4) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency 3 of the United States for purposes of part V of title 4 18, United States Code (relating to immunity of wit- 5 nesses). 6 (5) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission 7 may contract with and compensate government and 8 private agencies or persons for services without re- 9 gard to section 6101 of title 41, United States Code 10 (relating to advertising requirement for Federal Gov- 11 ernment purchases and sales). 12 (h) COMMISSION PROCEDURES.— 13 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 14 the call of the Chairman. 15 (2) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commis- 16 sion shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number 17 may hold hearings. 18 (3) VOTING.—The schedule for review sub- 19 mitted pursuant to section 2(a) and the report and 20 draft of legislation submitted pursuant to section 4 21 shall have the approval of not less than 7 of the 12 22 members of the Commission. 23 (i) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8554 IH (1) COMPENSATION.—Members shall not be 1 paid by reason of their service as members. 2 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 3 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 4 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 5 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 6 States Code. 7 (3) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a 8 Director who shall be appointed by a vote of at least 9 seven members of the Commission. The Director 10 shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum 11 rate of basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 12 (4) STAFF.—The Director may appoint and fix 13 the pay of additional personnel as the Director con- 14 siders appropriate. 15 (5) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 16 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission 17 shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 18 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 19 the competitive service, and shall be paid in accord- 20 ance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- 21 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to 22 classification and General Schedule pay rates. 23 (j) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8554 IH (1) POSTAL AND PRINTING SERVICES.—The 1 Commission may use the United States mails and 2 obtain printing and binding services in the same 3 manner and under the same conditions as other 4 agencies. 5 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.— 6 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis- 7 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com- 8 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 9 support services necessary for the Commission to 10 carry out its duties under this Act. 11 (3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com- 12 mission may procure temporary and intermittent 13 services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 14 States Code. 15 SEC. 4. REVIEW OF EFFICIENCY AND NEED FOR FEDERAL 16 AGENCIES. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall review the 18 efficiency and public need for each agency in accordance 19 with the criteria described in section 5. 20 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS; REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 21 The Commission shall submit to Congress and the Presi- 22 dent not later than September 1 of each year a report 23 containing— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8554 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) DRAFT LEGISLATION.—The Commission shall 22 submit to Congress and the President not later than Sep- 23 tember 1 of each year a draft of legislation to carry out 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8554.IH H8554 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8554 IH the recommendations of the Commission under subsection 1 (b). 2 (d) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Commission 3 shall— 4 (1) conduct public hearings on the abolishment 5 of each agency reviewed under subsection (b); 6 (2) provide an opportunity for public comment 7 on the abolishment of each such agency; 8 (3) require the agency to provide information to 9 the Commission as appropriate; and 10 (4) consult with the General Accountability Of- 11 fice, the Office of Management and Budget, the 12 Comptroller General, and the chairman and ranking 13 minority members of the committees of Congress 14 with oversight responsibility for the agency being re- 15 viewed regarding the operation of the agency. 16 (e) USE OF PROGRAM INVENTORY.—The Commis- 17 sion shall use the program inventory prepared under sec- 18 tion 9 in reviewing the efficiency and public need for each 19 agency under subsection (a). 20 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW. 21 The Commission shall evaluate the efficiency and 22 public need for each agency pursuant to section 4 using 23 the following criteria: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:37 Oct 30, 2020 Jk [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]