Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2729 To establish a commission to study how Federal laws and policies affect United States citizens living in foreign countries. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 19, 2023 Ms. TITUS (for herself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. BEATTY, and Ms. SALA- ZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, the Judiciary, House Administra- tion, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a commission to study how Federal laws and policies affect United States citizens living in foreign countries. 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 ‘‘Commission on Ameri- 4 cans Living Abroad Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2729 IH SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 1 There is established a commission to be known as the 2 ‘‘Commission on Americans Living Abroad’’ (in this Act 3 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 4 SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP. 5 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 6 shall be composed of 10 members appointed by the Presi- 7 dent, of whom— 8 (1) two members shall be appointed from 9 among individuals recommended by the Speaker of 10 the House of Representatives; 11 (2) two members shall be appointed from 12 among individuals recommended by the minority 13 leader of the House of Representatives; 14 (3) two members shall be appointed from 15 among individuals recommended by the majority 16 leader of the Senate; and 17 (4) two members shall be appointed from 18 among individuals recommended by the minority 19 leader of the Senate. 20 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.— 21 (1) LIMIT ON OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF 22 THE UNITED STATES.—Not more than 6 members 23 shall be officers or employees of the United States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2729 IH (2) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 1 than 6 members of the Commission may be of the 2 same political party. 3 (3) EXPERTISE.— 4 (A) OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF THE 5 UNITED STATES.—Members of the Commission 6 who are officers or employees of the United 7 States shall be appointed from among individ- 8 uals whose employment is directly related to the 9 matters to be studied by the Commission under 10 section 4(a)(2). 11 (B) OTHER MEMBERS.—Members of the 12 Commission who are not officers or employees 13 of the United States shall be appointed from 14 among individuals who— 15 (i) have lived in a foreign country for 16 not less than one year; 17 (ii) are members of organizations that 18 represent United States citizens living in 19 foreign countries; or 20 (iii) have other experience that is rel- 21 evant to the matters to be studied by the 22 Commission under section 4(a)(2). 23 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem- 24 bers shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2729 IH vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the same man- 1 ner in which the original appointment was made. Any va- 2 cancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers. 3 (d) FIRST MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after 4 the date on which all members of the Commission have 5 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet- 6 ing. 7 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 8 call of the Chairperson. 9 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 10 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num- 11 ber of members may hold hearings. 12 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall select a 13 Chairperson for the Commission from among its members. 14 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 15 (a) STUDY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con- 17 duct a study on how Federal laws and policies affect 18 United States citizens living in foreign countries, in- 19 cluding civilians and members of the Armed Forces. 20 (2) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters studied 21 shall include the following: 22 (A) Federal financial reporting require- 23 ments for a United States citizen living in a 24 foreign country, including the requirements 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2729 IH under section 5314 of title 31, United States 1 Code. 2 (B) Federal policies and requirements that 3 affect the ability of a United States citizen liv- 4 ing in a foreign country to access foreign and 5 domestic financial institutions, including re- 6 quirements under chapter 4 of the Internal 7 Revenue Code of 1986 (commonly known as the 8 ‘‘Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act’’) and 9 requirements affecting financial institutions im- 10 posed by the Uniting and Strengthening Amer- 11 ica by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to 12 Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 13 (USA Patriot Act) (Public Law 107–56). 14 (C) Federal requirements for a spouse, 15 child, or another family member of a United 16 States citizen living in a foreign country who is 17 not a United States citizen to become a United 18 States citizen. 19 (D) The ability of a United States citizen 20 living in a foreign country to vote in Federal, 21 State, and local elections in the United States, 22 and the process for such a citizen to vote in 23 such elections. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2729 IH (E) The processes by which a United 1 States citizen living in a foreign country inter- 2 acts with Federal programs such as Social Se- 3 curity and Medicare. 4 (F) Which Federal agencies have jurisdic- 5 tion over each Federal program that serves 6 United States citizens who live in foreign coun- 7 tries and possible methods to improve the col- 8 laboration of and coordination between such 9 Federal agencies. 10 (b) CONSULTATION WITH OUTSIDE ORGANIZA- 11 TIONS.—In conducting the study under subsection (a), the 12 Commission shall consult with organizations that rep- 13 resent United States citizens living in foreign countries. 14 (c) REPORTS.— 15 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis- 17 sion shall submit a report to the President, Con- 18 gress, and the head of any Federal agency identified 19 in subsection (a)(2)(F), which shall contain a de- 20 tailed statement of the findings and conclusions of 21 the Commission, together with its recommendations 22 for such legislative and administrative actions as it 23 considers appropriate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2729 IH (2) UPDATE.—Not later than one year after the 1 date on which the Commission submits the report 2 under paragraph (1), the Commission shall submit 3 an update to the President, Congress, and the head 4 of any Federal agency identified in subsection 5 (a)(2)(F), which shall describe any administrative 6 actions taken by the head of any Federal agency 7 pursuant to the recommendations in such report. 8 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 9 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 10 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear- 11 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 12 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate. 13 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem- 14 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 15 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au- 16 thorized to take by this section. 17 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—Subject to section 18 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Commis- 19 sion may secure directly from any Federal department or 20 agency such information as the Commission considers nec- 21 essary to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair- 22 person of the Commission, the head of such department 23 or agency shall furnish such information to the Commis- 24 sion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2729 IH (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 1 States mails in the same manner and under the same con- 2 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 3 States. 4 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 5 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 6 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 7 United States shall be compensated at a rate equal to the 8 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 9 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 10 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 11 travel time) during which such member is engaged in the 12 performance of the duties of the Commission. All members 13 of the Commission who are officers or employees of the 14 United States shall serve without compensation in addi- 15 tion to that received for their services as officers or em- 16 ployees of the United States. 17 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com- 18 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 19 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ- 20 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 21 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 22 regular places of business in the performance of services 23 for the Commission. 24 (c) STAFF.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2729 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 1 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 2 laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec- 3 utive director and such other additional personnel as 4 may be necessary to enable the Commission to per- 5 form its duties. The employment of an executive di- 6 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com- 7 mission. 8 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 9 Commission may fix the compensation of the execu- 10 tive director and other personnel without regard to 11 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 12 5, United States Code, relating to classification of 13 positions and General Schedule pay rates, except 14 that the rate of pay for the executive director and 15 other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for 16 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 17 of such title. 18 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 19 United States employee may be detailed to the Commis- 20 sion without reimbursement, and such detail shall be with- 21 out interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege. 22 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT- 23 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 24 may procure temporary and intermittent services under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2729 IH section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 1 for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent of 2 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the 3 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 4 SEC. 7. FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSE. 5 Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 6 Commission submits the report under section 4(c)(1), the 7 head of any Federal agency that is affected by a rec- 8 ommendation in such report shall submit to the President, 9 Congress, and the Commission a response to such rec- 10 ommendation, including any plans to take administrative 11 action pursuant to such recommendation. 12 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 13 The Commission shall terminate on the date on which 14 it submits its update under section 4(c)(2). 15 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 16 There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 17 for each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to the Commission 18 to carry out this Act, to remain available until the termi- 19 nation of the Commission. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2729.IH H2729 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB