article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``HELP Commission Act''. SEC. 2. PURPOSE. The Congress finds that, despite the long-standing efforts and resources of the United States dedicated to helping needy people around the world, despair remains and in many areas is growing. Therefore, a commission should be established to bring together the best minds associated with development and humanitarian assistance to make a comprehensive review of-- (1) policy decisions, including why certain development projects are funded and others are not; (2) delivery obstacles, including the roles of United States agencies and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations; (3) methodology, including whether the delivery of United States development assistance always represents best practices and whether it can be improved; and (4) results, including measuring improvements in human capacity instead of in purely economic terms. An examination of these issues should present new approaches and ideas to ensure that United States development assistance reaches its intended recipients. SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. (a) Establishment.--There is established the Helping Enhance the Livelihood of People (HELP) Around the Globe Commission (in this Act referred to as the ``Commission''). (b) Functions.--The Commission shall-- (1) identify the past and present objectives of United States development assistance, identify cases in which those objectives have been met, identify the beneficiaries of such assistance, and what percentage of the funds provided actually reached the intended beneficiaries; (2) identify cases in which United States development assistance has been most successful, and analyze why such successes have not been transferable to other countries or areas; (3) study ways to expand educational opportunities and investments in people, and assess infrastructure needs; (4) because of the difficulty in measuring results in lesser developed countries, study whether additional resources should be dedicated in order to bring about tangible results; (5) analyze how the United States could place conditions on governments in countries receiving United States development assistance, in light of and notwithstanding the objectives of the Millennium Challenge Account; (6) analyze ways in which the United States can coordinate its development assistance programs with those of other donor countries and international organizations; (7) analyze ways in which the safety of development assistance workers can be ensured, particularly in the midst of conflicts; (8) compare the effectiveness of increased and open trade with development assistance, and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of such trade and whether such trade could be a more effective alternative to United States development assistance; (9) analyze ways in which the United States can strengthen the capacity of indigenous nongovernmental organizations to be more effective in grassroots development; (10) analyze how political pressures affect the decisionmaking process on providing development assistance; (11) analyze ways in which decisions on providing development assistance can involve more of the people of the recipient countries; (12) analyze ways in which results can be measured if United States development assistance is targeted to the least developed countries; (13) recommend standards that should be set for ``graduating'' recipient countries from United States development assistance; (14) analyze whether United States development assistance should be used as a means to achieve United States foreign policy objectives; (15) analyze how the United States can evaluate the performance of its development assistance programs not only against economic indicators, but in other ways, including how to measure the success of United States development assistance in democratization efforts; and (16) study any other areas that the Commission considers necessary relating to United States development assistance. SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. (a) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 21 members as follows: (1) Six members shall be appointed by the President, of whom at least two shall be representatives of nongovernmental organizations. (2) Four members shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, and three members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. (3) Four members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and three members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (4) The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall serve as a member of the Commission, ex officio. Members under paragraphs (1) through (3) shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. (b) Selection.--Members of the Commission shall be selected from among individuals noted for their knowledge and experience in foreign assistance, particularly development and humanitarian assistance. (c) Time of Appointment.--The appointments under subsection (a) shall be made not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (d) Chair.--The President shall designate one of the members of the Commission from private life as the Chair of the Commission. (e) Regional Subcommittees.--In order to facilitate the workload of the Commission, the Commission shall divide the membership of the Commission into three subcommittees representing the different regions of the world to which the United States provides development assistance, the membership of each subcommittee to be proportional to the percentage of United States development assistance provided to the region represented by the subcommittee. Each subcommittee shall elect one of its members as Chair of the subcommittee. (f) Quorum and Meetings.-- (1) Commission.--Eleven members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for purposes of transacting the business of the Commission. The Commission shall meet at the call of the Chair. (2) Subcommittees.--A majority of the members of each regional subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for purposes of transacting the business of the subcommittee. Each subcommittee shall meet at the call of the Chair of the subcommittee. (g) Vacancies.--Any vacancy of the Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. (h) Administrative Support.--The Administrator of General Services shall provide to the Commission on a reimbursable basis (or, in the discretion of the Administrator, on a nonreimbursable basis) such administrative support services as the Commission may request to carry out this Act. (i) Compensation.-- (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), members of the Commission shall serve without pay. (2) Prohibition on additional compensation of federal employees.--Members of the Commission who are full-time officers or employees of the United States or Members of Congress may not receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Commission. (j) Travel Expenses.--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 services for the Commission. (k) Staff.-- (1) In general.--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 to enable the Commission to perform its duties. The employment of an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the Commission. (2) Compensation.--To the extent or in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts-- (A) the executive director shall be compensated at the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code; and (B) the Chairman of the Commission may fix the compensation of 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 such personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. (a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out its functions under this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places in the United States and in countries which receive United States development assistance, take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act. (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 the provisions of this Act. Upon request of the Chair of the Commission, the head of such department or agency shall furnish such information to the Commission, subject to applicable law. (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. (d) Administrative Procedures.--The Commission may adopt such rules and regulations, relating to administrative procedure, as may be reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out the provisions of this Act. (e) Travel.-- (1) In general.--The Members of the Commission may, with the approval of the Commission, conduct such travel as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Each trip must be approved by a majority of the Commission. (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that members of the Commission should, in order to carry out the functions of the Commission most effectively, travel to countries that receive United States development assistance. The Commission is encouraged to invite Members of Congress to accompany members of the Commission on such travel. (f) Staff and Services of Other Federal Agencies.--Upon the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Commission to assist it in carrying out its functions under this Act. The detail of any such personnel shall be without interruption or loss of civil service or Foreign Service status or privilege. SEC. 6. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the members of the Commission are appointed under section 4(a), the Commission shall submit a report to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress setting forth its findings and recommendations under section 3(b). (b) Classified Form of Report.--The report may be submitted in classified form, together with a public summary of recommendations, if the classification of information would further the purposes of this Act. (c) Individual or Dissenting Views.--Each member of the Commission may include the individual or dissenting views of the member. SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. SEC. 8. DEFINITION. In this Act, the term ``United States development assistance'' means-- (1) assistance provided by the United States under chapters 1, 10, 11, and 12 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and (2) assistance provided under any other provision of law to carry out purposes comparable to those set forth in the provisions referred to in paragraph (1). SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act. (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended, but not later than the date of termination of the Commission. SEC. 10. TERMINATION. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the submission of its report under section 6.
summary: HELP Commission Act - Establishes the Helping Enhance the Livelihood of People (HELP) Around the Globe Commission to: (1) identify objectives and beneficiaries of U.S. development assistance; (2) evaluate cases in which assistance has been successful; (3) study ways of expanding educational opportunities and investments in people, coordinating U.S. assistance programs with those of other countries and international organizations, ensuring the safety of development assistance workers, strengthening indigenous nongovernmental organizations in grassroots development, placing conditions on governments receiving assistance, and measuring results of targeting U.S. assistance to the least developed countries; (4) assess infrastructure needs; (5) study whether additional resources are needed for tangible results; (6) compare the effectiveness of increased and open trade with development assistance; (7) analyze how political pressures affect the assistance decision making process and how assistance decisions can involve more people of the recipient countries; (8) recommend standards for graduating recipient countries from U.S. assistance; (9) analyze whether assistance should be used to achieve foreign policy objectives; and (10) analyze how to evaluate the performance of the U.S. assistance programs, including in democratization efforts.