[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6795 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6795

     To establish an Emergency Commission To End the Trade Deficit.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2008

Mr. DeFazio (for himself, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Costello, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. 
   Kaptur, and Mr. Ellison) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To establish an Emergency Commission To End the Trade Deficit.

    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 ``End the Trade Deficit Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 1998, the United States trade balance was 
        $166,140,000,000, leading the Congress to authorize the Trade 
        Deficit Review Commission. The Commission was tasked to study 
        ``the nature, causes, and consequences of the United States 
        merchandise trade and current account deficits''.
            (2) In 2007, the trade deficit ballooned to 
        $700,258,000,000. And in 2006, the United States amassed the 
        largest negative trade balance in its history, amounting to 
        $753,283,000,000.
            (3) The United States has had 32 years of consecutive 
        annual trade deficits, totaling $6,432,445,000,000. And in the 
        last ten years, the annual trade balance has increased by a 
        magnitude of seven.
            (4) The positive net international asset position that the 
        United States built up over 100 years was eliminated in the 
        1980s. The United States today has become the world's largest 
        debtor nation, with a net debt of more than $2,441,800,000,000.
            (5) In recent times, the trade deficit has retarded growth 
        in the Nation's gross domestic product, increased the costs of 
        servicing higher net foreign debt, and made the United States 
        more dependent on international financial considerations.
            (6) The United States merchandise trade deficit is 
        characterized by large bilateral trade imbalances with a 
        handful of countries. In 2007, 15 countries accounted for 75 
        percent of the United States trade deficit in goods. The 
        People's Republic of China, Canada, Mexico, and Japan account 
        for one-half of the trade deficit alone.
            (7) The United States manufacturing sector employed 
        13,919,000 people in 2007. But decline in manufacturing has 
        meant the United States has lost 3,718,000 manufacturing jobs 
        since 1998.
            (8) Elimination of the United States trade deficit by the 
        year 2019 would support millions of additional manufacturing 
        jobs in the United States.
            (9) While the United States has one of the most open 
        borders and economies in the world, the United States faces 
        significant tariff and nontariff trade barriers with its 
        trading partners. Current overall trade balances do not reflect 
        the actual competitiveness or productivity of the United States 
        economy. Instead, they demonstrate the underlying structural 
        nature of the trade deficits.
            (10) The United States is once again at a critical juncture 
        in trade policy development. The structural nature of the 
        United States trade deficit and its persistent growth must be 
        reversed. The causes and consequences of the trade deficit must 
        be documented and a plan must be developed to eliminate the 
        merchandise trade deficit within the next 10 years.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known 
as the Emergency Commission To End the Trade Deficit (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Commission is to develop a trade 
policy plan to eliminate the United States merchandise trade deficit by 
January 1, 2019, and to develop a competitive trade policy for the 21st 
century. The plan shall include strategies necessary to achieve a 
balance of trade that fully reflects the competitiveness and 
productivity of the United States and also improves the standard of 
living of United States citizens.
    (c) Membership of Commission.--
            (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 11 
        members, of whom--
                    (A) three shall be appointed by the President, of 
                whom one shall be appointed to represent labor 
                interests, one shall be appointed to represent small 
                businesses, and one shall be appointed to represent 
                consumer protection interests;
                    (B) one Senator and one other person shall be 
                appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, 
                upon the recommendation of the majority leader of the 
                Senate;
                    (C) one Senator and one other person shall be 
                appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, 
                upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the 
                Senate;
                    (D) one Member of the House of Representatives and 
                one other person shall be appointed by the Speaker of 
                the House of Representatives; and
                    (E) one Member of the House of Representatives and 
                one other person shall be appointed by the minority 
                leader of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Qualifications of members.--
                    (A) Presidential appointments.--Of the persons 
                appointed under paragraph (1)(A), not more than one may 
                be an officer, employee, or paid consultant of the 
                executive branch.
                    (B) Other appointments.--Persons appointed under 
                subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph (1) who 
                are not Members of Congress shall be persons who--
                            (i) have expertise in economics, 
                        international trade, manufacturing, labor, 
                        environment, or business, or have other 
                        pertinent qualifications or experience; and
                            (ii) are not officers or employees of the 
                        United States.
                    (C) Other considerations.--In appointing members of 
                the Commission, every effort shall be made to ensure 
                that the members--
                            (i) are representative of a broad cross-
                        section of economic and trade perspectives 
                        within the United States; and
                            (ii) provide fresh insights to achieving a 
                        trade deficit reduction plan.
    (d) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.--
            (1) In general.--Members shall be appointed not later than 
        60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and the 
        appointment shall be for the life of the Commission.
            (2) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Commission shall not 
        affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as 
        the original appointment was made.
    (e) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which all members of the Commission have been appointed, the Commission 
shall hold its first meeting.
    (f) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson.
    (g) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.--The members of the 
Commission shall elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from among 
the members of the Commission.
    (h) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
    (i) Voting.--Each member of the Commission shall be entitled to one 
vote, which shall be equal to the vote of every other member of the 
Commission.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall be responsible for developing 
a comprehensive trade policy plan, by examining the economic policies, 
trade, tax, and investment laws, and other legal incentives and 
restrictions that are relevant to reducing the United States trade 
deficit.
    (b) Recommendations.--The Commission shall examine and make 
recommendations to Congress and the President on the following:
            (1) The manner in which the Government of the United States 
        establishes and administers the Nation's fundamental trade 
        policies and objectives, including--
                    (A) the relationship of the merchandise trade 
                balance to the overall well-being of the United States 
                economy and, in particular, the impact the trade 
                balance has on wages and employment in the different 
                sectors of the United States economy;
                    (B) the relationship of United States foreign 
                policy objectives to trade policy and the extent to 
                which foreign policy considerations receive a priority 
                over trade objectives;
                    (C) the effects the trade deficits in the areas of 
                manufacturing and technology have on defense production 
                and innovation capabilities of the United States;
                    (D) the extent to which United States monetary 
                policies and the need for foreign capital to finance 
                the current account deficit influence trade objectives;
                    (E) the coordination, allocation, and 
                accountability of trade responsibilities among Federal 
                departments and agencies; and
                    (F) the methods for improving and enhancing 
                systematic congressional review of foreign policy and 
                trade policy as part of a plan to establish a 
                coordinated set of national economic priorities.
            (2) The causes and consequences of both the overall trade 
        deficit and specific bilateral trade deficits, including--
                    (A) identification and quantification of the 
                macroeconomic, sectoral, and bilateral trade factors 
                contributing to the United States trade deficit with 
                different countries;
                    (B) identification and quantification of the impact 
                of the trade deficit on the domestic economy, on the 
                industrial base, on manufacturing capacity, on the 
                number and quality of jobs, on productivity, on wages, 
                on health, safety, and environmental standards, and on 
                the standard of living in the United States;
                    (C) identification and quantification of individual 
                industrial, manufacturing, and production sectors, and 
                intra-industry and intra-company transactions that 
                contribute to or are affected by United States trade 
                deficits;
                    (D) a review of the adequacy of the current 
                collection and reporting of trade data, and the 
                identification and development of additional databases 
                and economic measurements that may be needed to 
                properly quantify the factors described in 
                subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C);
                    (E) the relationship that tariff and nontariff 
                barriers have to trade deficits and the extent to which 
                trade deficits have become structural;
                    (F) the extent to which there is reciprocal market 
                access in each country with which the United States has 
                a persistent and substantial bilateral trade deficit; 
                and
                    (G) the role of transhipments on bilateral trade, 
                including foreign imports and exports, with special 
                attention to transhipments through countries receiving 
                trade preferences under the North American Free Trade 
                Agreement.
            (3) The relationship of United States trade deficits to 
        both comparative and competitive trade advantages within the 
        global economy, including--
                    (A) a systematic analysis of the United States 
                trade patterns with different trading partners, to what 
                extent the trade patterns are based on comparative and 
                competitive trade advantages, and how the trade 
                advantages relate to the goods that are exported to and 
                imported from different trading partners;
                    (B) the extent to which the increased mobility of 
                capital and technology has changed both comparative and 
                competitive trade advantages;
                    (C) identification and quantification of goods 
                imported into the United States that are produced with 
                child or forced labor, or under social and 
                environmental conditions that do not comply with United 
                States law;
                    (D) the impact that labor standards (including the 
                ability of labor to organize, bargain collectively, and 
                exercise human rights) have on world trade;
                    (E) the impact that currency exchange rates and the 
                manipulation of exchange rates have on world trade and 
                trade deficits;
                    (F) the effect that offset and technology transfer 
                agreements have on the long-term competitiveness of the 
                United States manufacturing sectors; and
                    (G) the extent to which international agreements 
                affect United States competitiveness.
            (4) The flow of investments both into and out of the United 
        States, including--
                    (A) the impact such investments have on the United 
                States trade deficit and living standards of United 
                States production workers;
                    (B) the impact such investments have on United 
                States labor, community, environmental, health, and 
                safety standards;
                    (C) the extent to which United States tax laws, 
                such as income deferral, contribute to the movement of 
                manufacturing facilities and jobs to foreign locations;
                    (D) the identification and quantification of 
                domestic plant closures and the movement of such plants 
                to foreign locations for production of goods for the 
                United States market;
                    (E) the impact of implied or threatened plant 
                closings and movement of jobs to foreign locations on 
                United States wage rates and working conditions;
                    (F) the effect of investment flows on wages in 
                countries with developed economies and on countries of 
                the former Soviet Union; and
                    (G) the effect of barriers to United States foreign 
                direct investment in developed and developing 
                countries, particularly countries with which the United 
                States has a trade deficit.
            (5) Evaluation of current policies and suggestions for 
        alternative strategies for the United States to systematically 
        reduce the trade deficit and improve the economic well-being of 
        United States citizens, including suggestions for--
                    (A) the development of bilateral and multilateral 
                trade relationships based on market access reciprocity;
                    (B) the retention and expansion of the 
                manufacturing, agricultural, and technology sectors in 
                the United States;
                    (C) the discouragement of the expatriation of 
                United States plants, jobs, and production to countries 
                that have achieved competitive advantages by permitting 
                lower wages or lower health, safety, and environmental 
                standards, or by imposing requirements with respect to 
                investment, performance, or other obligations;
                    (D) methods by which the United States can 
                effectively compete in a global economy while improving 
                the labor, social, and environmental standards of its 
                trading partners, particularly developing countries;
                    (E) methods by which the United States can respond 
                to substantial shifts or manipulation of currency 
                exchange rates that distort trade relationships;
                    (F) methods for overcoming and offsetting trade 
                barriers that are either not subject to or otherwise 
                inadequately addressed by the World Trade Organization 
                or other multilateral arrangements;
                    (G) specific strategies for achieving improved 
                trade balances with those countries with which the 
                United States has significant, persistent sectoral or 
                bilateral trade deficits, including Canada, the 
                People's Republic of China, Mexico, and Japan;
                    (H) methods for the United States to respond to the 
                particular needs and circumstances of developing and 
                developed countries in a manner that is mutually 
                beneficial; and
                    (I) changes that may be required to current trade 
                agreements and organizations to allow the United States 
                to pursue and nurture economic growth for its 
                manufacturing, agriculture, and other production 
                sectors in a manner that ensures improved compensation 
                and quality of life for United States citizens.

SEC. 5. REPORT; CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS.

    (a) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 16 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the 
        President and the Congress a report that contains--
                    (A) the findings and conclusions of the Commission 
                described in section 4;
                    (B) a detailed plan for reducing both the overall 
                trade deficit and specific bilateral trade deficits; 
                and
                    (C) any recommendations for administrative and 
                legislative actions that may be necessary to achieve 
                such reductions.
            (2) Separate views.--Any member of the Commission may 
        submit additional findings and recommendations as part of the 
        report.
    (b) Congressional Hearings.--Not later than 6 months after the 
report described in subsection (a) is submitted, the Committee on Ways 
and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate shall hold hearings on the report.

SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out this Act. 
The Commission shall hold at least seven public hearings, one or more 
in Washington, DC, and four in different regions of the United States.
    (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 this Act. Upon request of 
the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such department or 
agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.
    (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.

SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Members.--Each member of the Commission who is 
not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be 
compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 
of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 
travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of 
the duties of the Commission. All members of the Commission who are 
officers or employees of the United States shall serve without 
compensation in addition to that received for their services as 
officers or employees of the United States.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--The 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 duties of the 
Commission.
    (c) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The Chairperson 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.--The Chairperson of the Commission may 
        fix the compensation of the executive director and 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 the executive 
        director and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable 
        for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 
        such title.
    (d) Detail of Government Employees.--Any Federal Government 
employee may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement, and 
such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 
status or privilege.
    (e) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The 
Chairperson of the Commission may procure temporary and intermittent 
services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 
for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 
rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule 
under section 5316 of such title.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; GAO AUDIT.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 
to the Commission to carry out this Act.
    (b) GAO Audit.--Not later than 6 months after the date on which the 
Commission terminates, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall complete an audit of the financial books and records of the 
Commission and shall submit a report on the audit to the President and 
the Congress.

SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

    The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the date on which the 
Commission submits its report under section 5(a).

SEC. 10. MORATORIUM ON FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS.

    The President shall not submit to the Congress any free trade 
agreement, or any legislation implementing a free trade agreement, 
until--
            (1) the report of the Commission has been delivered to the 
        Congress and the President under section 5(a); and
            (2) the committees of Congress referred to in section 5(b) 
        have completed the hearings required under such section.
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