[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1431 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1431

   To provide additional authority to the Office of Ombudsman of the 
                    Environmental Protection Agency.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2001

  Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mr. Otter, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. 
 Scarborough, Mr. Shimkus, Mrs. Thurman, and Mr. Traficant) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide additional authority to the Office of Ombudsman of the 
                    Environmental Protection Agency.

    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 ``Ombudsman Reauthorization Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN.

    The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by 
striking section 2008 (42 U.S.C. 6917) and inserting the following:

``SEC. 2008. OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Assistant administrator.--The term `Assistant 
        Administrator' means the Assistant Administrator for Solid 
        Waste and Emergency Response of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency.
            ``(2) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of the 
        Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response 
        of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            ``(3) Ombudsman.--The term `Ombudsman' means the director 
        of the Office of Ombudsman established under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish within 
        the Office an Office of Ombudsman, to be directed by an 
        Ombudsman.
            ``(2) Oversight.--The Ombudsman shall report directly to 
        the Administrator.
    ``(c) Duties.--The Ombudsman shall--
            ``(1) receive, and render assistance concerning, any 
        complaint, grievance, or request for information submitted by 
        any person relating to any program or requirement under this 
        Act; and
            ``(2)(A) identify areas in which citizens have, and assist 
        citizens in resolving, problems with the Office;
            ``(B) propose changes in the administrative practices of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate or, to the 
        maximum extent practicable, mitigate those problems; and
            ``(C) conduct investigations, make findings of fact, and 
        make nonbinding recommendations concerning those problems.
    ``(d) Powers and Responsibilities.--In carrying out this section, 
the Ombudsman--
            ``(1) may, on receipt of a complaint or at the discretion 
        of the Ombudsman, investigate any action of the Assistant 
        Administrator without regard to the finality of the action;
            ``(2) may, under the authority of this section or section 
        104(e) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
        Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(e)), 
        examine any record or document of, and enter and inspect 
        without notice any property under the administrative 
        jurisdiction of, the Environmental Protection Agency;
            ``(3) in a case in which the Ombudsman experiences 
        difficulty in gathering information pertaining to an 
        investigation conducted by the Ombudsman, may request the 
        Department of Justice or applicable United States attorney to 
        subpoena any person to appear to give sworn testimony 
        concerning, or to produce documentary or other evidence 
        determined by the Ombudsman to be reasonably material to, the 
        investigation;
            ``(4) may carry out and participate in, and cooperate with 
        any person or agency involved in, any conference, inquiry on 
        the record, public hearing on the record, meeting, or study 
        that, as determined by the Ombudsman--
                    ``(A) is reasonably material to an investigation 
                conducted by the Ombudsman; or
                    ``(B) may lead to an improvement in the performance 
                of the functions of the Office;
            ``(5) shall maintain as confidential and privileged any and 
        all communications concerning any matter pending, and the 
        identities of any parties or witnesses appearing, before the 
        Ombudsman; and
            ``(6) shall administer a budget for the Office of 
        Ombudsman.
    ``(e) Administration.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Ombudsman may--
                    ``(A) appoint an Associate Ombudsman for each 
                region of the Environmental Protection Agency; and
                    ``(B) evaluate and carry out personnel actions 
                (including hiring and dismissal) with respect to any 
                employee of the Office of Ombudsman.
            ``(2) Contact information.--The Ombudsman shall maintain, 
        in each region of the Environmental Protection Agency, a 
        telephone number, facsimile number, electronic mail address, 
        and post office address for the Ombudsman that are different 
        from the numbers and addresses of the regional office of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency located in that region.
            ``(3) Cooperation.--All Federal agencies shall--
                    ``(A) assist the Ombudsman in carrying out 
                functions of the Ombudsman under this section; and
                    ``(B) promptly make available, in such format as 
                may be determined by the Ombudsman, all requested 
                information concerning--
                            ``(i) past or present agency waste 
                        management practices; and
                            ``(ii) past or present hazardous waste 
                        facilities owned, leased, or operated by the 
                        agency.
            ``(4) Reports.--The Ombudsman shall, at least annually, 
        publish in the Federal Register and submit to the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, the 
        Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, the 
        President, and, at the discretion of the Ombudsman, any other 
        governmental agency, a report on the status of health and 
        environmental concerns addressed in complaints and cases 
        brought before the Ombudsman in the period of time covered by 
        the report.
    ``(f) Penalties.--Any person that willfully--
            ``(1) obstructs or hinders the proper and lawful exercise 
        of the powers of the Ombudsman; or
            ``(2) misleads or attempts to mislead the Ombudsman in the 
        course of an investigation;
shall be subject, at a minimum, to penalties under sections 1001 and 
1505 of title 18, United States Code.
    ``(g) Applicability.--
            ``(1) In general.--This section--
                    ``(A) shall not limit any remedy or right of 
                appeal; and
                    ``(B) may be carried out notwithstanding any 
                provision of law to the contrary that provides that an 
                agency action is final, not reviewable, or not subject 
                to appeal.
            ``(2) Effect on procedures for grievances, appeals, or 
        administrative matters.--The establishment of the Office of 
        Ombudsman shall not affect any procedure concerning grievances, 
        appeals, or administrative matters under this Act or any other 
        law (including regulations).
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out this section--
                    ``(A) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 and 
                2003;
                    ``(B) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 
                through 2006; and
                    ``(C) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 
                through 2010.
            ``(2) Separate line item.--In submitting the annual budget 
        for the Federal Government to Congress, the President shall 
        include a separate line item for the funding for the Office of 
        Ombudsman.
    ``(i) Termination.--The Office of Ombudsman shall cease to exist on 
the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of the Ombudsman 
Reauthorization Act of 2001.''.
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