[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 252 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 252

   To establish a cabinet-level interagency task force to develop a 
  comprehensive legislative proposal that coordinates and reforms all 
 Federal programs that provide assistance to individuals with limited 
                                incomes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

  Mr. Neal of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on Government Operations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a cabinet-level interagency task force to develop a 
  comprehensive legislative proposal that coordinates and reforms all 
 Federal programs that provide assistance to individuals with limited 
                                incomes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cabinet-Level Interagency Task Force 
on Welfare Reform Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to establish a cabinet-level interagency 
task force to develop a comprehensive legislative proposal that 
coordinates and reforms all Federal programs that provide assistance to 
individuals with limited incomes in order to help such individuals 
achieve self-sufficiency within a reasonable period of time.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

    There is established a cabinet-level interagency task force to be 
known as the ``Cabinet-Level Interagency Task Force on Welfare Reform'' 
(in this Act referred to as the ``Task Force'').

SEC. 4. DUTIES.

    The Task Force shall--
            (1) review all Federal programs that provide assistance to 
        individuals with limited incomes;
            (2) in consultation with appropriate State and local 
        officials, develop a comprehensive legislative proposal that 
        coordinates and reforms such programs by--
                    (A) providing assistance under such programs 
                according to a coordinated plan under which services 
                are designed to meet the needs of each such individual;
                    (B) establishing eligibility standards for such 
                programs to allow maximum flexibility for such 
                individuals;
                    (C) establishing a single application form and 
                process for assistance under such programs, including a 
                single location at which an individual can apply for 
                and receive such assistance; and
                    (D) establishing as the clear purpose of all 
                assistance to individuals with limited incomes the goal 
                of self-sufficiency and independence for such 
                individuals; and
            (3) not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, submit a report to the Congress which contains the 
        legislative proposal developed under paragraph (2).

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Number.--The Task Force shall be composed of 6 members as 
follows:
            (1) The Secretary of Agriculture.
            (2) The Secretary of Education.
            (3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
            (4) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
            (5) The Secretary of Labor.
            (6) The Secretary of the Treasury.
    (b) Terms.--Each member shall be appointed for the life of the Task 
Force.
    (c) Chairperson.--The Task Force shall elect a chairperson from 
among its members.
    (d) Basic Pay.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), each 
        member shall serve without pay.
            (2) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel 
        expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
        accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
    (e) Meetings.--The Task Force shall meet at the call of the 
chairperson.
    (f) Quorum.--A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum 
for the transaction of business.

SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF.

    (a) Director.--The Task Force shall have a director who shall be 
appointed by the chairperson subject to rules prescribed by the Task 
Force.
    (b) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the chairperson, 
the head of any Federal agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any 
of the personnel of the agency to the Task Force to assist the Task 
Force in carrying out its duties.
    (c) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws.--The director and 
staff of the Task Force may be appointed without regard to title 5, 
United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, 
and may be paid without regard to the requirements of chapter 51 and 
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification 
and General Schedule pay rates, except that an individual so appointed 
may not receive pay in excess of the maximum annual rate of basic pay 
payable for GS-13 of the General Schedule.

SEC. 7. POWERS.

    (a) Obtaining Official Data.--The chairperson may secure directly 
from any Federal agency information necessary to enable the Task Force 
to carry out its duties. Upon request of the chairperson, the head of 
the agency shall furnish such information to the Task Force to the 
extent such information is not prohibited from disclosure by law.
    (b) Mails.--The Task Force may use the United States mails in the 
same manner and under the same conditions as other Federal agencies.
    (c) Administrative Support Services.--Upon the request of the 
chairperson, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Task Force, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 
services necessary for the Task Force to carry out its duties.
    (d) Contract Authority.--The chairperson may contract with and 
compensate government and private agencies or persons for the purpose 
of conducting research, surveys, and other services necessary to enable 
the Task Force to carry out its duties.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

    The Task Force shall terminate 3 months after the date on which the 
Commission submits to the Congress the report under section 4(3).

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