,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ede ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #ac1 #bjag,mr4 ,cramer 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,franks of ,arizona1 ,mr4 ,peterson1 and ,mr4 ,david ,scott of ,georgia7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 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 ,countries1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,united ,states ,commission on the ,organization of ,petroleum ,exporting ,countries ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,establishment ,there is hereby established a commission to be known as the ,united ,states ,commission on the ,organization of ,petroleum ,exporting ,countries 7in this ,act referred to as the ,commission74 #c4 ,duties of ,commission 7a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall investigate any anti-competitive involvement of the ,organization of ,petroleum ,exporting ,countries 7,,opec71 its member nations1 and affiliated entities in oil markets and make recommendations to reduce the adverse impacts on the ,united ,states of such involvement4 7b7 ,specific duties ,the ,commission shall-- 7#a7 investigate behavior of ,,opec1 its member nations1 and affiliated entities1 including national oil companies1 designed to disadvantage ,united ,states oil producers and secure market power through anti-competitive behavior2 7#b7 assess the impact of ,,opec's policies on ,united ,states economic and energy security interests1 including on innovation in both energy production and the transportation of goods and people2 7#c7 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 ,,opec2 and 7#d7 produce recommendations on reducing the adverse impacts on the ,united ,states of such activities1 including through policy reform in the areas of taxes1 trade1 defense1 and research and development1 and diplomacy1 among others4 #d4 ,members of ,commission 7a7 ,number and appointment ,the ,commission shall be composed of #af members appointed by the ,president as follows3 7#a7 #d members shall be appointed from among individuals independently determined by the ,president to be qualified for appointment4 7#b7 #d members shall be appointed from a list of #h 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 ,senate4 7#c7 #d members shall be appointed from a list of #h 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 ,representatives4 7#d7 #b members shall be appointed from a list of #d 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 ,senate4 7#e7 #b members shall be appointed from a list of #d 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 ,representatives4 7b7 ,qualifications 7#a7 ,in general ,in making appointments under this section1 the ,president shall give consideration to individuals who are knowledgeable on energy issues1 including oil market dynamics1 oil and gas exploration and production1 crude oil refining1 oil and gas pipelines1 transportation-related fuel consumption1 oil use efficiency1 national security1 foreign policy1 macroeconomics1 labor1 environment1 logistics1 shipping1 tourism1 consumer goods1 manufacturing1 and tourism4 7#b7 ,balance of expertise areas ,in making appointments under this section1 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 ,commission4 7#c7 ,u4,s4 citizen requirement ,members of the ,commission shall be ,united ,states citizens4 7c7 ,timing of appointments ,appointments to the ,commission shall be made not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7d7 ,terms2 vacancies ,each member shall be appointed for the duration of the ,commission4 ,any vacancy in the ,commission shall not affect its powers1 and shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made4 7e7 ,chairman ,the chairman of the ,commission shall be selected by the ,president4 ,the chairman of the ,commission shall be responsible for-- 7#a7 the assignment of duties and responsibilities among staff personnel and their continuing supervision2 and 7#b7 the use and expenditure of funds available to the ,commission4 7f7 ,meetings 7#a7 ,administration ,all meetings of the ,commission shall be open to the public1 except that a meeting or any portion of it may be closed to the public if it concerns matters or information described in section #eeb;b7c7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,interested persons shall be permitted to appear at open meetings and present oral or written statements on the subject matter of the meeting4 ,the ,commission may administer oaths or affirmations to any person appearing before it4 7#b7 ,notice2 minutes2 public availability of documents 7,a7 ,notice ,all open meetings of the ,commission shall be preceded by timely public notice in the ,federal ,register of the time1 place1 and subject of the meeting4 7,b7 ,minutes ,minutes of each meeting shall be kept and shall contain a record of the people present1 a description of the discussion that occurred1 and copies of all statements filed4 ,subject to section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 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 ,commission4 7#c7 ,initial meeting ,the ,commission shall hold its first meeting within #cj days after all members of the ,commission have been appointed4 #e4 ,staffing and resources 7a7 ,staffing ,the chairman of the ,commission may1 without regard to the civil service laws and regulations1 appoint and terminate an executive director and such other additional personnel as may be necessary for the ,commission to perform its duties4 ,the executive director shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate payable for ,level ,,iv of the ,executive ,schedule under chapter #ec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,the chairman shall select staff from among qualified individuals who are citizens of the ,united ,states4 7b7 ,resources ,in carrying out its duties under section #c1 the ,commission-- 7#a7 is authorized to secure directly from any ,federal department or agency any information it deems necessary to carry out its functions under this ,act1 and each such department or agency is authorized to cooperate with the ,commission and1 to the extent permitted by law1 to furnish such information 7other than information described in section #eeb7;b77#a77;,a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code7 to the ,commission1 upon the request of the ,commission2 7#b7 may enter into contracts1 subject to the availability of appropriations for contracting1 and employ such staff experts and consultants as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the ,commission1 as provided by section #caji of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7#c7 shall establish a multidisciplinary science and technical advisory panel of experts in the field of energy to assist the ,commission in preparing its report1 including ensuring that the scientific and technical information considered by the ,commission is based on the best information available4 #f4 ,report 7a7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall submit to ,congress and the ,president a report of its findings and recommendations regarding the activities required by section #c4 7b7 ,administrative procedure for report and review ,chapter #e and chapter #g of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 do not apply to the preparation1 review1 or submission of the report required by subsection 7a74 #g4 ,termination ,the ,commission shall terminate not later than #ij days after the date on which the ,commission submits its report under section #f4 #h4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act #aj1jjj1jjj for fiscal years #bjah and #bjai4 7b7 ,availability ,amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 7a7 are authorized to remain available until expended4 #i4 ,policy recommendations ,not later than #ij days after receiving the report of the ,commission under section #f1 the ,president shall submit to ,congress a statement of proposals to implement or respond to the ,commission's recommendations contained in the report4