[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1530 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1530

           To establish the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2011

 Mr. Wolf (for himself and Mr. Hunter) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
           To establish the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN STUDY GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the legislative branch 
the Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group (in this Act referred to as the 
``Group'').
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, to the 
maximum extent practicable, the Group should be modeled on the Iraq 
Study Group.

SEC. 2. COMPOSITION OF GROUP.

    (a) Members.--The Group shall be composed of 10 members, of whom--
            (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the President, who shall 
        serve as a co-chair of the Group;
            (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader of the Senate 
        (majority or minority leader, as the case may be) of the 
        Republican Party, in consultation with the leader of the House 
        of Representatives (majority or minority leader, as the case 
        may be) of the Republican Party, who shall serve as a co-chair 
        of the Group;
            (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the Senate leadership of the Democratic Party;
            (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the leadership of the House of Representatives of the 
        Republican Party;
            (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the Senate leadership of the Republican Party; and
            (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the leadership of the House of Representatives of the 
        Democratic Party.
    (b) Qualifications; Other Membership Requirements.--
            (1) Political party affiliation.--Not more than 5 members 
        of the Group shall be from the same political party. An 
        individual appointed to the Group may not be a full-time 
        officer or employee of the Federal Government.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        individuals appointed to the Group should be prominent United 
        States citizens, with national recognition and significant 
        depth of experience in such professions as diplomacy, the armed 
        services, governmental service, law, intelligence gathering, 
        and foreign affairs.
    (c) Deadline for Appointment.--All members of the Group shall be 
appointed not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (d) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Group shall not affect its 
powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 
appointment was made.
    (e) Compensation.--
            (1) Prohibition on basic pay.--Members of the Group shall 
        serve without pay in connection with their service for the 
        Group.
            (2) Travel expenses.--While away from their homes or 
        regular places of business in the performance of services for 
        the Group, members of the Group shall be allowed travel 
        expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 
        same manner as persons employed intermittently in the 
        Government service are allowed expenses under section 5703(b) 
        of title 5, United States Code.
    (f) Initial Meeting.--The Group shall meet and begin the operations 
of the Group as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (g) Quorum.--After its initial meeting, the Group shall meet upon 
the call of the co-chairs of the Group or a majority of the members of 
the Group. Six members of the Group shall constitute a quorum.

SEC. 3. DUTIES.

    (a) In General.--The Group shall conduct a forward-looking, 
independent assessment of the current and prospective situation on the 
ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, its impact on the surrounding 
region, and its consequences for United States interests. The Group 
shall examine four broad topic areas to include the strategic 
environment in and around Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as 
security, political, and economic and reconstruction developments in 
those two countries.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Group shall submit to the President and 
Congress a report on the assessment conducted under this subsection, 
including relevant policy recommendations relating thereto.

SEC. 4. POWERS OF GROUP.

    (a) Rules of Procedure.--The Group may establish rules for the 
conduct of the Group's business, if such rules are not inconsistent 
with this Act or other applicable law.
    (b) Hearings and Evidence.--The Group or, on the authority of the 
Group, any subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the purpose of 
carrying out this Act--
            (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and 
        places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence; and
            (2) require the attendance and testimony of such witnesses 
        and the production of such books, records, correspondence, 
        memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Group or such 
        designated subcommittee or designated member may determine 
        advisable.
    (c) Contracting.--The Group may, to such extent and in such amounts 
as are provided in appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 
the Group to discharge its duties under this Act.
    (d) Information From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--The Group is authorized to secure directly 
        from any executive department, bureau, agency, board, 
        commission, office, independent establishment, or 
        instrumentality of the Government, information, suggestions, 
        estimates, and statistics for the purposes of this Act. Each 
        department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 
        independent establishment, or instrumentality shall, to the 
        extent authorized by law, furnish such information, 
        suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Group, 
        upon request made by the co-chairs, the chairman of any 
        subcommittee created by a majority of the Group, or any member 
        designated by a majority of the Group.
            (2) Receipt, handling, storage, and dissemination.--
        Information shall only be received, handled, stored, and 
        disseminated by members of the Group and its staff consistent 
        with all applicable statutes, regulations, and Executive 
        orders.
    (e) Assistance From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) General services administration.--The Administrator of 
        General Services shall provide to the Group on a reimbursable 
        basis administrative support and other services for the 
        performance of the Group's duties.
            (2) Other departments and agencies.--In addition to the 
        assistance prescribed in paragraph (1), departments and 
        agencies of the United States may provide to the Group such 
        services, funds, facilities, and other support services as they 
        may determine advisable and as may be authorized by law.
    (f) Gifts.--The Group may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or 
donations of services or property for the purpose of facilitating the 
work of the Group.
    (g) Postal Services.--The Group may use the United States mails in 
the same manner and under the same conditions as departments and 
agencies of the United States.

SEC. 5. STAFF OF GROUP.

    (a) Appointment and Compensation.--The co-chairs, in accordance 
with rules agreed upon by the Group, may appoint and fix the 
compensation of a staff director and such other personnel as may be 
necessary to enable the Group to carry out its duties, without regard 
to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the 
provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title 
relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that 
no rate of pay fixed under this subsection may exceed the equivalent of 
that payable for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
    (b) Prohibition on Personnel as Federal Employees.--The positions 
of staff director and other personnel of the Group described in 
subsection (a) may not be filled by individuals who are Federal 
Government employees.
    (c) Expert and Consultant Services.--The Group is authorized to 
procure the services of experts and consultants in accordance with 
section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed 
the daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level IV of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
    (d) Volunteer Services.--Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, 
United States Code, the Group may accept and use voluntary and 
uncompensated services as the Group determines necessary.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

    (a) In General.--The Group, and all the authorities of this Act, 
shall terminate 60 days after the date on which the report is submitted 
under section 3(b).
    (b) Administrative Activities Before Termination.--The Group may 
use the 60-day period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of 
concluding its activities, including providing testimony to committees 
of Congress concerning its report and disseminating the report.

SEC. 7. FUNDING.

    (a) Transfer of Funds From Bureau of South and Central Asian 
Affairs.--Of the amounts made available under the heading 
``Administration of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic and Consular Programs'' 
for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs for fiscal year 2011, 
$1,000,000 shall be available for transfer to the Group for purposes of 
carrying out this Act.
    (b) Prohibition on Additional Funds.--No additional funds are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>