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I 114TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2615 To establish the Virgin Islands of the United States Centennial Commission. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 2, 2015 Ms. PLASKETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To establish the Virgin Islands of the United States Centennial Commission. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Virgin Islands of the 4 United States Centennial Commission Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ means 7 each of the several States, the District of Columbia, each 8 territory or possession of the United States, and each fed- 9 erally recognized Indian tribe. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2615 IH SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 1 There is established a commission to be known as the 2 ‘‘Virgin Islands of the United States Centennial Commis- 3 sion’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 4 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 5 The Commission shall— 6 (1) plan, develop, and carry out such activities 7 as the Commission considers fitting and proper to 8 commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Virgin 9 Islands of the United States becoming an unincor- 10 porated territory of the United States; 11 (2) provide advice and assistance to Federal, 12 State, and local governmental agencies, as well as 13 civic groups to carry out activities to commemorate 14 the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Islands of the 15 United States becoming an unincorporated territory 16 of the United States; and 17 (3) submit to the President and Congress re- 18 ports pursuant to section 8. 19 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP. 20 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 21 shall be composed of 8 members as follows: 22 (1) The Assistant Secretary of the Interior for 23 Insular Affairs or his designee. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2615 IH (2) One member appointed by the Governor of 1 the Virgin Islands of the United States or his des- 2 ignee. 3 (3) Two Members of the House of Representa- 4 tives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Rep- 5 resentatives. 6 (4) One Member of the House of Representa- 7 tives appointed by the minority leader of the House 8 of Representatives. 9 (5) Two Members of the Senate appointed by 10 the majority leader of the Senate. 11 (6) One Member of the Senate appointed by the 12 minority leader of the Senate. 13 (b) ALTERNATIVE APPOINTMENT.—If the Governor 14 of the Virgin Islands of the United States or his designee 15 declines to make such appointment under subsection 16 (a)(2), such member shall be appointed by the Delegate 17 of the Virgin Islands of the United States. 18 (c) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission shall 19 be appointed for the life of the Commission. 20 (d) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of 21 the Commission shall be appointed not later than 90 days 22 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 23 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 24 shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2615 IH (1) not affect the powers of the Commission; 1 and 2 (2) be filled in the manner in which the original 3 appointment was made. 4 (f) RATES OF PAY.—Members shall not receive com- 5 pensation for the performance of their duties on behalf 6 of the Commission. 7 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com- 8 mission shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem in lieu 9 of subsistence expenses during the performance of duties 10 of the Commission while away from home or his or her 11 regular place of business, in accordance with applicable 12 provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 13 United States Code. 14 (h) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 15 Commission shall constitute a quorum to conduct busi- 16 ness, but two or more members may hold hearings. 17 (i) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the Commis- 18 sion shall be selected by the Delegate of the United States 19 Virgin Islands. 20 SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION. 21 (a) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.—The Commission shall 22 appoint an executive director considering the recommenda- 23 tion of the Delegate of the Virgin Islands of the United 24 States, and shall appoint such other additional personnel 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2615 IH as are necessary to enable the Commission to perform its 1 duties. 2 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 3 LAWS.—The executive director and staff of the Commis- 4 sion may be appointed without regard to the provisions 5 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 6 the competitive service, and may be paid without regard 7 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap- 8 ter 53 of such title relating to classification and General 9 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the 10 executive director and other staff may not exceed the rate 11 payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under sec- 12 tion 5316 of such title. 13 (c) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Upon re- 14 quest of the Commission, the Secretary of the Interior or 15 the Archivist of the United States may detail, on a reim- 16 bursable basis, any of the personnel of that department 17 or agency to the Commission to assist it in carrying out 18 its duties under this Act. 19 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 20 may procure such temporary and intermittent services 21 from experts and consultants as are necessary to enable 22 the Commission to perform its duties. 23 (e) VOLUNTEER AND UNCOMPENSATED SERVICES.— 24 Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2615 IH Code, the Commission may accept and use voluntary and 1 uncompensated services as the Commission determines 2 necessary. 3 SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 4 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur- 5 pose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act 6 at times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence 7 as the Commission considers appropriate. 8 (b) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 9 States mails in the same manner and under the same con- 10 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 11 States. 12 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 13 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 14 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 15 out its duties under this Act. Upon request of the chair- 16 person of the Commission, the head of that department 17 or agency shall furnish that information to the Commis- 18 sion. 19 (d) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, DEVISES.—The Commission 20 may solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or 21 devises of money, services, or property, both real and per- 22 sonal, for the purpose of aiding or facilitating its work. 23 (e) AVAILABLE SPACE.—Upon the request of the 24 Commission, the Administrator of General Services shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2615 IH make available to the Commission, at a normal rental rate 1 for Federal agencies, such assistance and facilities as may 2 be necessary for the Commission to carry out its duties 3 under this Act. 4 (f) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission may 5 enter into contracts with and compensate government and 6 private agencies or persons to enable the Commission to 7 discharge its duties under this Act. 8 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 9 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Commission shall sub- 10 mit to the President and the Congress annual reports on 11 the activities of the Commission as well as the revenue 12 and expenditures of the Commission, including a list of 13 each gift, bequest, or devise to the Commission with a 14 value of more than $250, together with the identity of the 15 donor of each gift, bequest, or devise. 16 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 17 2018, the Commission shall submit a final report to the 18 President and the Congress containing— 19 (1) a summary of the activities of the Commis- 20 sion; and 21 (2) a final accounting of funds received and ex- 22 pended by the Commission. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2615 IH SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 1 The Commission may terminate on such date as the 2 Commission may determine after it submits its final re- 3 port under section 8(b), but not later than September 30, 4 2018. 5 SEC. 10. ANNUAL AUDIT. 6 The Inspector General of the Department of the Inte- 7 rior may perform an audit of the Commission, shall make 8 the results of any audit performed available to the public, 9 and shall transmit such results to the Committee on Over- 10 sight and Government Reform of the House of Represent- 11 atives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- 12 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:57 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS