H.R. 496, the "Trade Enforcement Act of 2009", introduced by Reps. Rangel and Levin, would shift some trade power from the President to Congress. It would create an "Office of the Congressional Trade Enforcer," whose purpose is "to ensure compliance by trading partners of the United States with trade agreements to which the United States and such trading partners are parties." As set out in the legislation (excerpted below), the Congressional Trade Enforcer "shall have the authority to investigate foreign trade practices that are barriers to United States exports and issue indictments in cases where such practices violate any of the Uruguay Round Agreements or any bilateral or regional trade agreement to which the United States is a party."
I wonder what the Obama team thinks of this. Will they fight to keep as much power as possible with the Executive branch? Or will they be happy to pass off some some of the responsibility to Congress so they can focus on other issues?
Here's the relevant text below the jump:
SEC. 102. OFFICE OF THE CONGRESSIONAL TRADE ENFORCER.
(a) Establishment- There is established in the legislative branch an Office of the Congressional Trade Enforcer (in this section referred to as the `Office').
(b) Congressional Trade Enforcer-
(1) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS- The head of the Office shall be a Congressional Trade Enforcer, who shall be appointed to a term of 2 years beginning on the first day of each new Congress. Appointments in odd-numbered Congresses shall be made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in consultation with the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate, after considering recommendations received from the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate. Appointments in even-numbered Congresses shall be made by the majority leader of the Senate, in consultation with the minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the minority leader of the House of Representatives, after considering recommendations received from the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. The Congressional Trade Enforcer shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the functions described in subsection (d).
(2) CONTINUED SERVICE- An individual may serve as the Congressional Trade Enforcer for more than one term, and the person making the appointment under paragraph (1) should look favorably upon reappointing the individual serving as the Congressional Trade Enforcer. An individual serving as Congressional Trade Enforcer at the expiration of a term may continue to serve until a successor is appointed. The Congressional Trade Enforcer may be removed by either the House of Representatives or the Senate by resolution.
(3) COMPENSATION- The Congressional Trade Enforcer shall receive compensation at an annual rate of pay that is equal to the lower of--
(A) the highest annual rate of compensation of any officer of the Senate; or
(B) the highest annual rate of compensation of any officer of the House of Representatives.
(c) Personnel- The Congressional Trade Enforcer shall appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the functions described in subsection (d). All personnel of the Office shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of their fitness to perform their duties. The Congressional Trade Enforcer may prescribe the duties and responsibilities of the personnel of the Office, and delegate to them authority to perform any of the duties, powers, and functions imposed on the Office. For purposes of pay (other than the pay of the Congressional Trade Enforcer) and employment benefits, rights, and privileges, all personnel of the Office shall be treated as if they were employees of the House of Representatives.
(d) Purpose and Functions-
(1) PURPOSE- The purpose of the Congressional Trade Enforcer shall be to ensure compliance by trading partners of the United States with trade agreements to which the United States and such trading partners are parties.
(2) FUNCTIONS; ACTIONS BY USTR-
(A) IN GENERAL- The Congressional Trade Enforcer shall have the authority to investigate foreign trade practices that are barriers to United States exports and issue indictments in cases where such practices violate any of the Uruguay Round Agreements or any bilateral or regional trade agreement to which the United States is a party.
(B) SUBMISSION OF INDICTMENTS- The Congressional Trade Enforcer shall submit indictments referred to in subparagraph (A) to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the United States Trade Representative.
(C) ACTION PURSUANT TO INDICTMENT- Within 30 days after receiving an indictment under subparagraph (B), the Trade Representative should commence dispute resolution procedures in the appropriate forum against the country or countries that are the subject of the indictment unless--
(i) before the date of filing, the foreign country or countries involved enter into an agreement with the United States to eliminate the practice that is inconsistent with its international obligations; or
(ii) in extraordinary cases, the filing of the case would cause serious harm to the national security of the United States.
(D) REPORT- If the Trade Representative does not commence dispute resolution procedures under subparagraph (C) pursuant to an indictment under subparagraph (B), the Trade Representative shall, not later than 60 days after receiving the indictment, submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report containing the reasons therefor and shall publish notice of the decision, together with a summary of such reasons, in the Federal Register.
(3) VOTE BY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- During the 60-day period after the Trade Representative submits a report under subparagraph (D), the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate may each vote to indicate the agreement or disagreement of the committee with the decision of the Trade Representative not to commence dispute resolution procedures.
(4) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection:
(A) INDICTMENT- The term `indictment' means a formal written analysis setting forth the legal explanation of the manner in which a foreign trade practice of a country or countries violates any of the Uruguay Round Agreements or any bilateral or regional trade agreement to which the United States is a party.
(B) URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS- The term `Uruguay Round Agreements' means any of the agreements approved by the Congress under section 101(a)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(a)(1)).
