[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1451 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1451

  Establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of 
                            Representatives.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2008

Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Berman, and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of 
                            Representatives.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Tom Lantos Human Rights 
Commission Establishment Resolution''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOM LANTOS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the House of 
Representatives the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (hereafter in 
this resolution referred to as the ``Commission''), which shall promote 
and advocate in a nonpartisan manner, both within and outside of 
Congress, internationally recognized human rights norms as enshrined in 
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant 
international human rights instruments by carrying out the following 
activities:
            (1) Developing congressional strategies to promote, defend, 
        and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms 
        reflecting the role and responsibilities of the Congress.
            (2) Raising greater awareness among Members of the House of 
        Representatives, their staffs, and the public regarding 
        international human rights violations and developments.
            (3) Providing Members and staff with expert human rights 
        advice and information and by supporting entities of Congress 
        in their work on human rights issues.
            (4) Advocating on behalf of individuals and entities whose 
        internationally recognized human rights have been violated or 
        are in danger of being violated.
            (5) Collaborating closely with other professional staff 
        members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
            (6) Collaborating closely with the President, other 
        officials of the executive branch, and recognized national and 
        international human rights entities and nongovernmental 
        organizations in promoting human rights initiatives within 
        Congress.
            (7) Encouraging and supporting Members, especially Members 
        who have been recently elected to the House, to become active 
        in supporting human rights issues so that the United States 
        will continue to be recognized throughout the world as a leader 
        in the defense of internationally recognized human rights 
        norms.
    (b) Eligibility.--Any Member of the House of Representatives may 
join the Commission by submitting a written statement to that effect to 
the co-chairs of the Commission.
    (c) Relationship With Senate.--In carrying out its activities, the 
Commission is encouraged to establish a cooperative working 
relationship with Members and other entities of the Senate, and to 
invite Members and other entities of the Senate to work cooperatively 
with the Commission to promote human rights.
    (d) Definition.--In this resolution, the term ``Member of the House 
of Representatives'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to 
the Congress.

SEC. 3. CO-CHAIRS OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Appointment.--Two members of the Commission shall be appointed 
to serve as co-chairs of the Commission as follows:
            (1) One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives after consultation with the Chairman 
        of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
            (2) One member shall be appointed by the minority leader of 
        the House of Representatives after consultation with the 
        ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
    (b) Term of Service.--A member's term as co-chair of the Commission 
shall continue throughout the Congress during which the member is 
appointed as a co-chair under this section until the member leaves the 
Commission, resigns from the position of co-chair, or is removed 
pursuant to subsection (c).
    (c) Removal.--The co-chair appointed pursuant to subsection (a)(1) 
may be removed by the Speaker after consultation with the Chairman of 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the co-chair appointed pursuant 
to subsection (a)(2) may be removed by the minority leader after 
consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs.
    (d) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the position of any of the co-chairs of 
the Commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 
appointment was made.
    (e) Duties.--The co-chairs shall be responsible for setting the 
general agenda of the Commission.

SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall have an Executive Committee 
which shall consist of 8 members of the Commission equally divided 
between members of the majority and minority parties selected jointly 
by the co-chairs of the Commission with the approval of the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of 
Representatives.
    (b) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the membership of the Executive 
Committee shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 
selection was made.

SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

    (a) Use of Committee Staff and Resources.--Subject to subsection 
(b), the Commission shall carry out its duties using the staff and 
resources of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, including the use of 
consultants or temporary employees, such as individuals with expertise 
in human rights issues, related legislative matters, and technology 
systems management, as appropriate.
    (b) Requirements for Staff.--
            (1) Appointment.--The staff of the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs who may be used by the Commission under subsection (a) 
        to carry out its duties shall be professional staff members of 
        the Committtee who are appointed for this purpose by the 
        Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, of whom half of 
        the full-time equivalent positions shall be appointed from 
        among a list of individuals presented to the Chairman of the 
        Committee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to section 3(a)(1) 
        and half of the full-time equivalent positions shall be 
        appointed from among a list of individuals presented to the 
        Chairman of the Committee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to 
        section 3(a)(2).
            (2) Special rule for determination of number of committee 
        staff members.--Any professional staff member of the Committee 
        on Foreign Affairs who is used by the Commission to carry out 
        its duties on a full-time basis shall not be included in 
        determining the number of professional staff members of the 
        Committee under subparagraphs (1) and (2) of clause 9(a) of 
        rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 6. OTHER POWERS AND DUTIES.

    (a) Bylaws.--The Commission shall adopt and publish such bylaws to 
govern its organization and operation (including the duties of the 
Executive Committee) as it considers appropriate, subject to the 
applicable Rules of the House of Representatives.
    (b) No Legislative Authority.--The Commission shall not have 
legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority to take 
legislative action on any bill or resolution.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    In addition to any other amounts made available for salaries and 
expenses of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives during a Congress, there are authorized to be 
appropriated from the applicable accounts of the House of 
Representatives such sums as may be necessary for the Committee to 
provide staff and resources for the Commission pursuant to section 5.

SEC. 8. TRANSITION FOR CURRENT MEMBERS OF CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS 
              CAUCUS.

    For purposes of this resolution--
            (1) each Member of the House of Representatives who is a 
        member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as of the date 
        of the adoption of this resolution shall be deemed to have 
        joined the Commission; and
            (2) the 2 Members of the House of Representatives who are 
        the co-chairs of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as of 
        the date of the adoption of this resolution shall be deemed to 
        have been appointed as co-chairs of the Commission.
                                 <all>