Leadership Institute for Transatlantic Engagement Act or the LITE Act
This bill establishes the Leadership Institute for Transatlantic Engagement to develop a diverse community of transatlantic leaders who are committed to democratic institutions.
The institute shall award grants and develop programs, activities, and services that it considers appropriate for entities and individuals in the United States and abroad to (1) provide training and professional development opportunities for diverse leaders on democratic governance and international affairs, (2) enable international exchanges between leaders to increase understanding and knowledge of democratic models of governance, and (3) increase awareness of the importance of international public service careers in diverse communities.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1135 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1135
To establish the Leadership Institute for Transatlantic Engagement to
develop a diverse community of transatlantic leaders committed to
democratic institutions, processes, and values.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 18, 2021
Mr. Hastings (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr.
Cohen, and Mr. Meeks) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Leadership Institute for Transatlantic Engagement to
develop a diverse community of transatlantic leaders committed to
democratic institutions, processes, and values.
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 ``Leadership Institute for
Transatlantic Engagement Act'' or ``LITE Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR TRANSATLANTIC
ENGAGEMENT.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the legislative branch
the Leadership Institute for Transatlantic Engagement.
(b) Board of Trustees.--The Institute shall be subject to the
supervision and direction of a Board of Trustees which shall be
composed of five members as follows:
(1) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, one of whom shall be designated by the
majority leader of the House of Representatives and one of whom
shall be designated by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Two members appointed by the President pro tempore of
the Senate, one of whom shall be designated by the majority
leader of the Senate and one of whom shall be designated by the
minority leader of the Senate.
(3) The Executive Director of the Institute, who shall
serve as an ex officio member of the Board.
(c) Term.--Each member of the Board appointed under this section
shall serve for a term of three years. Any vacancy shall be filled in
the same manner as the original appointment and the individual so
appointed shall serve for the remainder of the term. A Member of
Congress appointed to the Board may not consecutively serve as a member
of the Board for more than a total of six years.
(d) Chair and Vice-Chair.--At the first meeting and at its first
regular meeting in each calendar year thereafter the Board shall elect
a Chair and Vice-Chair from among the members of the Board. The Chair
and Vice-Chair may not be members of the same political party.
(e) Pay Not Authorized; Expenses.--Members of the Board (other than
the Executive Director) shall serve without pay, but shall be entitled
to reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.
(f) Location of Institute and Regional Offices.--The Institute
shall be located in Washington, DC, and the Executive Director may also
establish other offices for the Institute in regions of the United
States and Europe.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES AND AUTHORITY OF LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR
TRANSATLANTIC ENGAGEMENT.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of the Institute shall be to develop a
diverse community of transatlantic leaders, including emerging leaders,
committed to democratic institutions, processes, and values by--
(1) providing training and professional development
opportunities for racially and ethnically diverse leaders on
democratic governance and international affairs;
(2) enabling international exchanges between leaders to
increase understanding and knowledge of democratic models of
governance; and
(3) increasing awareness of the importance of international
public service careers in racially and ethnically diverse
communities.
(b) Authority.--The Institute is authorized, consistent with this
Act, to develop such programs, activities, and services as it considers
appropriate to carry out the purposes described in subsection (a). Such
authority shall include the following:
(1) The development and implementation of training and
educational programs and tools for leaders and for students in
secondary and postsecondary schools and colleges, including
minority serving institutions.
(2) The development and implementation of media and
telecommunications productions, as well as online and social
media methods, to assist the Institute in expanding the reach
of its programs throughout the United States and abroad.
(3) The establishment of library and research facilities
for the collection, publication, compilation, and distribution
of research materials for use in carrying out the programs of
the Institute.
(c) Program Priorities.--The Executive Director shall determine the
priority of the programs to be carried out under this Act and the
amount of funds to be allocated for such programs.
(d) Grant Program.--
(1) Grant program.--The Institute shall establish a program
to awards grants in the United States and abroad on an annual
basis to colleges and universities, other research institutions
and organizations, public departments and Federal agencies
(including State, territorial, and overseas departments), and
individuals for the purposes of assisting the Institute's work
in conducting research, international exchanges, education or
training activities, to develop such programs, activities, and
services as it considers appropriate to carry out the purposes
described in subsection (a).
(2) Application.--Each organization that seeks a grant
under this subsection shall submit an application to the
Institute at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the Institute may reasonably require.
(3) Set-aside for centers of excellence.--The Institute
shall ensure that not less than 50 percent of amounts made
available to carry out this subsection are used to provide
grants to minority-serving institutions and entities that have
made significant efforts to work with racially and ethnically
diverse populations in the United States or abroad.
(4) Consortium.--One or more research institutions may
constitute themselves as a consortium for purposes of seeking a
grant under this subsection.
SEC. 4. LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR TRANSATLANTIC ENGAGEMENT TRUST FUND.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a trust fund to be known as the ``Leadership Institute
for Transatlantic Engagement Trust Fund''. The Fund shall consist of
amounts which may be appropriated, credited, or transferred to it under
this section.
(b) Donations.--Any money or other property donated, bequeathed, or
devised to the Institute under the authority of this section shall be
credited to the Fund.
(c) Fund Management and Investment.--
(1) Investment.--At the request of the Institute, it shall
be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to invest in full
the amounts appropriated to the Fund. Such investments may be
made only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States
issued directly to the Fund.
(2) Issuance of obligations.--The purposes for which
obligations of the United States may be issued under chapter 31
of title 31, United States Code, are hereby extended to
authorize the issuance at par of special obligations directly
to the Fund. Such special obligations shall bear interest at a
rate equal to the average rate of interest, computed as to the
end of the calendar month next preceding the date of such
issue, borne by all marketable interest-bearing obligations of
the United States then forming a part of the public debt,
except that if such average rate is not a multiple of one-
eighth of 1 per centum, the rate of interest of such special
obligations shall be the multiple of one-eighth of 1 per centum
next lower than such average rate. All requests of the
Institute to the Secretary of the Treasury provided for in this
section shall be binding upon the Secretary.
(d) Authority To Sell Obligations.--At the request of the
Institute, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem any obligation
issued directly to the Fund. Obligations issued to the Fund under
subsection (c)(2) shall be redeemed at par plus accrued interest. Any
other obligations issued directly to the Fund shall be redeemed at the
market price.
(e) Proceeds From Certain Transactions Credited to Fund.--In
addition to the appropriations received pursuant to this Act, the
interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any
obligations held in the Fund pursuant to this Act, shall be credited to
and form a part of the Fund.
(f) Fund Reserves.--No less than five percent of the original
amount appropriated to the Fund must remain in the Fund at all times.
(g) Expenditures.--The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to
pay to the Institute from the interests and earnings of the Fund, and
moneys credited to the Fund pursuant to this section, such sums as the
Board determines are necessary and appropriate to enable the Institute
to carry out the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Executive Director.--The Board shall appoint an Executive
Director who shall be the chief executive officer and principal
executive of the Institute and who shall supervise the affairs of,
assist the directions of, and carry out the functions of the Board to
administer the Institute. The Executive Director of the Institute shall
be compensated at an annual rate specified by the Board.
(b) Other Duties.--The Executive Director, in consultation with the
Board shall appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may
be necessary to carry out this Act, including personnel to carry out
duties at any locations of the Institute which are established outside
of Washington, DC.
(c) Institute Personnel.--
(1) Staff appointments.--All staff appointments shall be
made 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.
(2) Treatment as congressional employees.--For purposes of
pay and other employment benefits, rights, and privileges and
for all other purposes, any employee of the Institute shall be
considered to be a Congressional employee under section 2107 of
title 5, United States Code.
(3) Coverage under congressional accountability act of
1995.--
(A) Treatment of employees as covered employees.--
Section 101(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301(3)) is amended--
(i) by striking ``or'' at the end of
subparagraph (J);
(ii) by striking the period at the end of
subparagraph (K) and inserting ``; or''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(L) the Leadership Institute for Transatlantic
Engagement.''.
(B) Treatment of institute as employing office.--
Section 101(9)(D) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1301(9)(D)) is
amended by striking ``and the John C. Stennis Center''
and inserting ``the Leadership Institute for
Transatlantic Engagement, and the John C. Stennis
Center''.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
In order to carry out this Act, the Institute may carry out any of
the following:
(1) Prescribe such regulations as it considers necessary
for governing the manner in which its functions shall be
carried out.
(2) Procure temporary and intermittent services of experts
and consultants as are necessary to the extent authorized by
section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) Accept and utilize the services of voluntary and
uncompensated personnel and reimburse them for travel expenses,
including per diem, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5,
United States Code.
(4) Request and utilize the assignment of any Federal
officer or employee from a department, agency, or Congressional
office to the Institute, including on a rotating basis, by
entering into an agreement for such assignment.
(5) Solicit and receive money and other property donated,
bequeathed, or devised, without condition or restriction other
than it be used for the purposes of the Institute, and to use,
sell, or otherwise dispose of such property for the purpose of
carrying out its functions.
(6) Enter into contracts, grants, or other arrangements, or
modifications thereof, to carry out the provisions of this Act,
including with any office of the Federal government or of any
State or any subdivision thereof, and international public and
private sector entities.
(7) Make expenditures for any expenses in connection with
official training sessions or other authorized programs or
activities of the Institute.
(8) Apply for, receive, and use for the purposes of the
Institute grants or other assistance from Federal sources.
(9) Establish, receive, and use for the purposes of the
Institute fees or other charges for goods or services provided
in fulfilling the Institute's purposes.
(10) Invest, as specified in section 4(c), monies
authorized to be received under this Act.
(11) Establish advisory committees or other bodies composed
of persons eminent in international affairs, global security,
and civil and human rights, to advise the Board without
compensation (other than travel related expenses) on matters
determined to be necessary by the Board.
(12) Respond to the request of offices of Congress and
other departments or agencies of the Federal government to
examine, study, or report on any issue within the Institute's
competence, including the use of classified materials if
necessary.
(13) Work with the appropriate security offices of the
House of Representatives and Senate to obtain or retain need-
based security clearances for Institute personnel.
(14) Assign Institute personnel to temporary duty with
offices of the Federal government, international organizations,
agencies and other entities to fulfill this Act.
(15) Make other necessary expenditures.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``Institute'' means the ``Leadership Institute
for Transatlantic Engagement'' established under section 2.
(2) The term ``Board'' means the Board of Trustees of the
Institute.
(3) The term ``Fund'' means the Leadership Institute for
Transatlantic Engagement Trust Fund under section 4.
(4) The term ``minority serving institutions'' as defined
in section 365(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1067k(3)).
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; DISBURSEMENTS.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
(2) Availability.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated
under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until
expended.
(b) Disbursements.--Amounts made available to the Institution shall
be disbursed on vouchers approved by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the
Board or by a majority vote of the Board.
(c) Use of Foreign Currencies.--For purposes of section 502(b) of
the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)), the Institute
shall be deemed to be a standing committee of the Congress and shall be
entitled to use funds in accordance with such section.
(d) Foreign Travel.--Foreign travel for official purposes by
Members of the Institute who are Members of Congress and Institute
staff may be authorized by the Chair, Vice-Chair, or Executive Director
of the Institute.
(e) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date of
enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E144)
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
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