[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3286 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3286

    To establish a commission to improve United States development 
               assistance and food aid around the globe.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2003

  Mr. Wolf (for himself and Mr. Hyde) introduced the following bill; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish a commission to improve United States development 
               assistance and food aid around the globe.

    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 ``HELP Commission Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The Congress finds that, despite the long-standing efforts and 
resources of the United States dedicated to helping needy people around 
the world, despair remains and in many areas is growing. Therefore, a 
commission should be established to bring together the best minds 
associated with development and humanitarian assistance to make a 
comprehensive review of--
            (1) policy decisions, including why certain development 
        projects are funded and others are not;
            (2) delivery obstacles, including the roles of United 
        States agencies and other governmental and nongovernmental 
        organizations;
            (3) methodology, including whether the delivery of United 
        States development assistance always represents best practices 
        and whether it can be improved; and
            (4) results, including measuring improvements in human 
        capacity instead of in purely economic terms.
An examination of these issues should present new approaches and ideas 
to ensure that United States development assistance reaches its 
intended recipients.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Helping Enhance the 
Livelihood of People (HELP) Around the Globe Commission (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Functions.--The Commission shall--
            (1) identify the past and present objectives of United 
        States development assistance, identify cases in which those 
        objectives have been met, identify the beneficiaries of such 
        assistance, and what percentage of the funds provided actually 
        reached the intended beneficiaries;
            (2) identify cases in which United States development 
        assistance has been most successful, and analyze why such 
        successes have not been transferable to other countries or 
        areas;
            (3) study ways to expand educational opportunities and 
        investments in people, and assess infrastructure needs;
            (4) because of the difficulty in measuring results in 
        lesser developed countries, study whether additional resources 
        should be dedicated in order to bring about tangible results;
            (5) analyze how the United States could place conditions on 
        governments in countries receiving United States development 
        assistance, in light of and notwithstanding the objectives of 
        the Millennium Challenge Account;
            (6) analyze ways in which the United States can coordinate 
        its development assistance programs with those of other donor 
        countries and international organizations;
            (7) analyze ways in which the safety of development 
        assistance workers can be ensured, particularly in the midst of 
        conflicts;
            (8) compare the effectiveness of increased and open trade 
        with development assistance, and analyze the advantages and 
        disadvantages of such trade and whether such trade could be a 
        more effective alternative to United States development 
        assistance;
            (9) analyze ways in which the United States can strengthen 
        the capacity of indigenous nongovernmental organizations to be 
        more effective in grassroots development;
            (10) analyze how political pressures affect the 
        decisionmaking process on providing development assistance;
            (11) analyze ways in which decisions on providing 
        development assistance can involve more of the people of the 
        recipient countries;
            (12) analyze ways in which results can be measured if 
        United States development assistance is targeted to the least 
        developed countries;
            (13) recommend standards that should be set for 
        ``graduating'' recipient countries from United States 
        development assistance;
            (14) analyze whether United States development assistance 
        should be used as a means to achieve United States foreign 
        policy objectives;
            (15) analyze how the United States can evaluate the 
        performance of its development assistance programs not only 
        against economic indicators, but in other ways, including how 
        to measure the success of United States development assistance 
        in democratization efforts; and
            (16) study any other areas that the Commission considers 
        necessary relating to United States development assistance.

SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 21 members as 
follows:
            (1) Six members shall be appointed by the President, of 
        whom at least two shall be representatives of nongovernmental 
        organizations.
            (2) Four members shall be appointed by the majority leader 
        of the Senate, and three members shall be appointed by the 
        minority leader of the Senate.
            (3) Four members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives, and three members shall be appointed 
        by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
            (4) The Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development shall serve as a member of the 
        Commission, ex officio.
Members under paragraphs (1) through (3) shall be appointed for the 
life of the Commission.
    (b) Selection.--Members of the Commission shall be selected from 
among individuals noted for their knowledge and experience in foreign 
assistance, particularly development and humanitarian assistance.
    (c) Time of Appointment.--The appointments under subsection (a) 
shall be made not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (d) Chair.--The President shall designate one of the members of the 
Commission from private life as the Chair of the Commission.
    (e) Regional Subcommittees.--In order to facilitate the workload of 
the Commission, the Commission shall divide the membership of the 
Commission into three subcommittees representing the different regions 
of the world to which the United States provides development 
assistance, the membership of each subcommittee to be proportional to 
the percentage of United States development assistance provided to the 
region represented by the subcommittee. Each subcommittee shall elect 
one of its members as Chair of the subcommittee.
    (f) Quorum and Meetings.--
            (1) Commission.--Eleven members of the Commission shall 
        constitute a quorum for purposes of transacting the business of 
        the Commission. The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
        Chair.
            (2) Subcommittees.--A majority of the members of each 
        regional subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 
        transacting the business of the subcommittee. Each subcommittee 
        shall meet at the call of the Chair of the subcommittee.
    (g) Vacancies.--Any vacancy of the Commission shall not affect its 
powers, but shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made.
    (h) Administrative Support.--The Administrator of General Services 
shall provide to the Commission on a reimbursable basis (or, in the 
discretion of the Administrator, on a nonreimbursable basis) such 
administrative support services as the Commission may request to carry 
out this Act.
    (i) Compensation.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), members of the 
        Commission shall serve without pay.
            (2) Prohibition on additional compensation of federal 
        employees.--Members of the Commission who are full-time 
        officers or employees of the United States or Members of 
        Congress may not receive additional pay, allowances, or 
        benefits by reason of their service on the Commission.
    (j) Travel Expenses.--Members of the Commission shall be allowed 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 
authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 
of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular 
places of business in the performance of services for the Commission.
    (k) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The Chairman of the Commission may, 
        without regard to the civil service laws and regulations, 
        appoint and terminate an executive director and such other 
        additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the 
        Commission to perform its duties. The employment of an 
        executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the 
        Commission.
            (2) Compensation.--To the extent or in the amounts provided 
        in advance in appropriations Acts--
                    (A) the executive director shall be compensated at 
                the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 
                under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code; and
                    (B) the Chairman of the Commission may fix the 
                compensation of other personnel without regard to the 
                provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
                53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to 
                classification of positions and General Schedule pay 
                rates, except that the rate of pay for such personnel 
                may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the 
                Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of 
carrying out its functions under this Act, hold hearings, sit and act 
at times and places in the United States and in countries which receive 
United States development assistance, take testimony, and receive 
evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out the 
purposes of this Act.
    (b) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Commission may secure 
directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the 
Commission considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
Upon request of the Chair of the Commission, the head of such 
department or agency shall furnish such information to the Commission, 
subject to applicable law.
    (c) Postal Services.--The Commission may use the United States 
mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other 
departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
    (d) Administrative Procedures.--The Commission may adopt such rules 
and regulations, relating to administrative procedure, as may be 
reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out the provisions of this 
Act.
    (e) Travel.--
            (1) In general.--The Members of the Commission may, with 
        the approval of the Commission, conduct such travel as is 
        necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Each trip must 
        be approved by a majority of the Commission.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
        that members of the Commission should, in order to carry out 
        the functions of the Commission most effectively, travel to 
        countries that receive United States development assistance. 
        The Commission is encouraged to invite Members of Congress to 
        accompany members of the Commission on such travel.
    (f) Staff and Services of Other Federal Agencies.--Upon the request 
of the Commission, the head of any Federal department or agency may 
detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, any of the 
personnel of that department or agency to the Commission to assist it 
in carrying out its functions under this Act. The detail of any such 
personnel shall be without interruption or loss of civil service or 
Foreign Service status or privilege.

SEC. 6. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the members of the 
Commission are appointed under section 4(a), the Commission shall 
submit a report to the President, the Secretary of State, and the 
Congress setting forth its findings and recommendations under section 
3(b).
    (b) Classified Form of Report.--The report may be submitted in 
classified form, together with a public summary of recommendations, if 
the classification of information would further the purposes of this 
Act.
    (c) Individual or Dissenting Views.--Each member of the Commission 
may include the individual or dissenting views of the member.

SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.

    The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
to the Commission.

SEC. 8. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``United States development assistance'' 
means--
            (1) assistance provided by the United States under chapters 
        1, 10, 11, and 12 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
        1961; and
            (2) assistance provided under any other provision of law to 
        carry out purposes comparable to those set forth in the 
        provisions referred to in paragraph (1).

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Commission such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated 
under subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended, 
but not later than the date of termination of the Commission.

SEC. 10. TERMINATION.

    The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the submission of its 
report under section 6.
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