Trade Act of 1974/Title I/Chapter 7

TITLE I, CHAPTER 7 — UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Sec. 171. Change of name of Tariff Commission.

(a) The United States Tariff Commission (established by section 330 of the Tariff Act of 1930) is renamed as the United States International Trade Commission.

(b) Any reference in any law of the United States, or in any order, rule, regulation, or other document, to the United States Tariff Commission (or the Tariff Commission) shall be considered to refer to as the United States International Trade Commission.

Sec. 172. Organization of the Commission.

(a) Subsections (a) and (b) of section 330 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1330) are amended to read as follows:

"(a) MEMBERSHIP—The United States International Trade Commission (referred to in this title as the "Commission") shall be composed of six commissioners who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. No person shall be eligible for appointment as a commissioner unless he is a citizen of the United States, and, in the judgment of the President, is possessed of qualifications requisite for developing expert knowledge of international trade problems and efficiency in administering the duties and functions of the Commission. A person who has served as a commissioner for more than 5 years (excluding service as a commissioner before the date of the enactment of the Trade Act of 1974) shall not be eligible for reappointment as a commissioner. Not more than three of the commissioners shall be members of the same political party, and in making appointments members of different political parties shall be appointed alternatively as nearly as may be practicable.

"(b) TERMS OF OFFICE—The terms of office of the commissioners holding office on the date of the enactment of the Trade Act of 1974 which (but for this sentence) would expire on June 16, 1975, June 16, 1976, June 16, 1977, June 16, 1978, June 16, 1979, and June 16, 1980, shall expire on December 16, 1976, June 16, 1978, June 16, 1979, December 16, 1979, June 16, 1981, December 16, 1982, and June 16, 1984, respectively. The term of office of each commissioner appointed after such date shall expire 9 years from the date of the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed, except that any commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term."

(b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended—

(1) by striking out "The" in the first sentence and inserting in lieu thereof "(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the"; and

(2) by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:

"(2) Effective on and after June 17, 1975, the commissioner whose term is first to expire and who has at least 18 months remaining in his term shall serve as chairman during the last 18 months of his term (or, in the case of a commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy occurring during such 18-month period, during the remainder of his term), and the commissioner whose term is second to expire and who has at least 36 months remaining in his term shall serve as vice chairman during the same 18-month period (or, in the case of a commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy occurring during such 18-month period, during the remainder of such 18-month period."

(c) (1) Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:

"(61) Chairman, United States International Trade Commission."

(2) Section 5315 of such title is amended by striking out paragraph (24) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

"(24) Members, United States International Trade Commission."

(3) Section 5316 of such title is amended by striking out paragraph (93).

Sec. 173. Voting record of commissioners.

Section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (31 U.S.C. 1332(g)) is amended—

(1) by striking out "and" before "a summary", and

(2) by inserting before the period at the end ", and a list of all votes taken by the commission during the year, showing those commissioners voting in the affirmative and the negative on each vote and those commissioners not voting on each vote and the reasons for not voting".

Sec. 174. Representation in court proceedings.

Section 333(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1333(c)) is amended—

(1) by striking out "Upon application of the Attorney General of the United States, at" in subsection (c) and inserting in lieu thereof "At", and

(2) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(g) REPRESENTATION IN COURT PROCEEDINGS—The Commission shall be represented in all judicial proceedings by attorneys who are employees of the commission or, at the request of the commission, by the Attorney General of the United States."

Sec. 175. Independent budget and authorization of appropriations.

(a) (1) Effective with respect to the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1976, for purposes of the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921 (31 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for the United States International Trade Commission shall be transmitted to the President on or before October 15 of the year preceding the beginning of each fiscal year and shall be included by him in the Budget without revision, and the Commission shall not be considered to be a department or establishment for purposes of such Act.

(2) Section 3679 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 665) is amended by inserting "the United States International Trade Commission," before ", or the District of Columbia" each place it appears in subsections (d) and (g).

(b) Section 330 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1330) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS—For the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1976, and each fiscal year thereafter, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission only such sums as may hereafter be provided by law.".

(c) (1) Paragraph (2) is enacted as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and with full recognition of the constitutional right of the Senate to change its rules at any time.

(2) Paragraph 6(a) of rule XVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the end of the table contained therein the following:

"Committee on Finance ---------- For the International Trade Commission.".