[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3416 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3416

  To prohibit the application of the foreign affairs exemption to the 
 rule making requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act with 
 respect to actions of the Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
                              Agreements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2005

  Mr. Weller introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the application of the foreign affairs exemption to the 
 rule making requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act with 
 respect to actions of the Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
                              Agreements.

    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 ``CITA Transparency Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 
        Code (commonly referred to as the ``Administrative Procedure 
        Act''), was enacted into law, among other things, to protect 
        the interest of the public in administrative justice and fair 
        play, to prevent ad hoc, arbitrary decisionmaking, and to 
        ensure administrative accountability.
            (2) The Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
        Agreements, an interagency group established by Executive Order 
        11651 (March 3, 1972), performs regulatory and policy functions 
        that regulate, impact, or otherwise affect the United States 
        textile and apparel industry, importers of textiles and 
        apparel, and the general public.
            (3) The Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
        Agreements has maintained that it is generally exempt from the 
        notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure 
        Act by virtue of the foreign affairs exemption contained in 
        section 553(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code.
            (4) Other Federal agencies that exercise trade-related 
        functions under United States law follow procedures that fully 
        comply with the notice-and-comment requirements of the 
        Administrative Procedures Act.
            (5) Full compliance by the Committee for the Implementation 
        of Textile Agreements with the notice-and-comment requirements 
        of the Administrative Procedure Act will not provoke 
        undesirable international consequences and will ensure fairness 
        and accountability in the administration of textile agreements.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON APPLICATION OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS EXEMPTION UNDER 
              THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT WITH RESPECT TO ACTIONS 
              OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 
              AGREEMENTS.

    The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements shall 
not invoke the foreign affairs exemption contained in section 553(a)(1) 
of title 5, United States Code, with respect to any of its actions 
related to textile trade.
                                 <all>