United States Commission on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Act of 2017
This bill establishes the United States Commission on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to investigate and address any practices on the part of OPEC that prevent or reduce competition in the global oil market.
The Commission shall be composed of a bipartisan group of 16 experts on energy and related matters chosen by the leadership of both parties in Congress and appointed by the President. All members of the Commission must be U.S. citizens.
The bill requires the Commission to:
The Commission must submit a report of its findings and recommendations to Congress and the President within 12 months. The Commission shall terminate within 90 days after submission of its report. On receipt of the Commission's report, the President will have 90 days to submit Congress a proposal to implement or respond to the recommendations.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 545 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 545
To establish the United States Commission on the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 13, 2017
Mr. Cramer (for himself, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Peterson, and Mr.
David Scott of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 establish the United States Commission on the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries, and for other purposes.
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 ``United States Commission on the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is hereby established a commission to be known as the United
States Commission on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.
(a) In General.--The Commission shall investigate any anti-
competitive involvement of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), its member nations, and affiliated entities in oil
markets and make recommendations to reduce the adverse impacts on the
United States of such involvement.
(b) Specific Duties.--The Commission shall--
(1) investigate behavior of OPEC, its member nations, and
affiliated entities, including national oil companies, designed
to disadvantage United States oil producers and secure market
power through anti-competitive behavior;
(2) assess the impact of OPEC's policies on United States
economic and energy security interests, including on innovation
in both energy production and the transportation of goods and
people;
(3) assess existing relationships of Federal agencies with
OPEC and the extent to which Federal officials are making
efforts to mitigate the impact of any potential anti-
competitive actions by OPEC; and
(4) produce recommendations on reducing the adverse impacts
on the United States of such activities, including through
policy reform in the areas of taxes, trade, defense, and
research and development, and diplomacy, among others.
SEC. 4. MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.
(a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 16
members appointed by the President as follows:
(1) 4 members shall be appointed from among individuals
independently determined by the President to be qualified for
appointment.
(2) 4 members shall be appointed from a list of 8
individuals who shall be nominated by the majority leader of
the Senate in consultation with the chairman of the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(3) 4 members shall be appointed from a list of 8
individuals who shall be nominated by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives in consultation with the chairman of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce and the chairman of the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
(4) 2 members shall be appointed from a list of 4
individuals who shall be nominated by the minority leader of
the Senate in consultation with the ranking member of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(5) 2 members shall be appointed from a list of 4
individuals who shall be nominated by the minority leader of
the House of Representatives in consultation with the ranking
member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the ranking
member of the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Qualifications.--
(1) In general.--In making appointments under this section,
the President shall give consideration to individuals who are
knowledgeable on energy issues, including oil market dynamics,
oil and gas exploration and production, crude oil refining, oil
and gas pipelines, transportation-related fuel consumption, oil
use efficiency, national security, foreign policy,
macroeconomics, labor, environment, logistics, shipping,
tourism, consumer goods, manufacturing, and tourism.
(2) Balance of expertise areas.--In making appointments
under this section, the President shall seek to ensure the
membership of the Commission is balanced by area of expertise
to the extent consistent with maintaining the highest level of
expertise on the Commission.
(3) U.S. citizen requirement.--Members of the Commission
shall be United States citizens.
(c) Timing of Appointments.--Appointments to the Commission shall
be made not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Terms; Vacancies.--Each member shall be appointed for the
duration of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not
affect its powers, and shall be filled in the manner in which the
original appointment was made.
(e) Chairman.--The chairman of the Commission shall be selected by
the President. The chairman of the Commission shall be responsible
for--
(1) the assignment of duties and responsibilities among
staff personnel and their continuing supervision; and
(2) the use and expenditure of funds available to the
Commission.
(f) Meetings.--
(1) Administration.--All meetings of the Commission shall
be open to the public, except that a meeting or any portion of
it may be closed to the public if it concerns matters or
information described in section 552b(c) of title 5, United
States Code. Interested persons shall be permitted to appear at
open meetings and present oral or written statements on the
subject matter of the meeting. The Commission may administer
oaths or affirmations to any person appearing before it.
(2) Notice; minutes; public availability of documents.--
(A) Notice.--All open meetings of the Commission
shall be preceded by timely public notice in the
Federal Register of the time, place, and subject of the
meeting.
(B) Minutes.--Minutes of each meeting shall be kept
and shall contain a record of the people present, a
description of the discussion that occurred, and copies
of all statements filed. Subject to section 552 of
title 5, United States Code, the minutes and records of
all meetings and other documents that were made
available to or prepared for the Commission shall be
available for public inspection and copying at a single
location in the offices of the Commission.
(3) Initial meeting.--The Commission shall hold its first
meeting within 30 days after all members of the Commission have
been appointed.
SEC. 5. STAFFING AND RESOURCES.
(a) Staffing.--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 for the Commission to perform its duties. The executive
director shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate payable
for Level IV of the Executive Schedule under chapter 53 of title 5,
United States Code. The chairman shall select staff from among
qualified individuals who are citizens of the United States.
(b) Resources.--In carrying out its duties under section 3, the
Commission--
(1) is authorized to secure directly from any Federal
department or agency any information it deems necessary to
carry out its functions under this Act, and each such
department or agency is authorized to cooperate with the
Commission and, to the extent permitted by law, to furnish such
information (other than information described in section
552(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code) to the Commission,
upon the request of the Commission;
(2) may enter into contracts, subject to the availability
of appropriations for contracting, and employ such staff
experts and consultants as may be necessary to carry out the
duties of the Commission, as provided by section 3109 of title
5, United States Code; and
(3) shall establish a multidisciplinary science and
technical advisory panel of experts in the field of energy to
assist the Commission in preparing its report, including
ensuring that the scientific and technical information
considered by the Commission is based on the best information
available.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
(a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress and the President
a report of its findings and recommendations regarding the activities
required by section 3.
(b) Administrative Procedure for Report and Review.--Chapter 5 and
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, do not apply to the
preparation, review, or submission of the report required by subsection
(a).
SEC. 7. TERMINATION.
The Commission shall terminate not later than 90 days after the
date on which the Commission submits its report under section 6.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act $10,000,000 for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
(b) Availability.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated under
subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 9. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
Not later than 90 days after receiving the report of the Commission
under section 6, the President shall submit to Congress a statement of
proposals to implement or respond to the Commission's recommendations
contained in the report.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
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