[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1451 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1451
Establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of
Representatives.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 17, 2008
Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Berman, and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of
Representatives.
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Tom Lantos Human Rights
Commission Establishment Resolution''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOM LANTOS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the House of
Representatives the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (hereafter in
this resolution referred to as the ``Commission''), which shall promote
and advocate in a nonpartisan manner, both within and outside of
Congress, internationally recognized human rights norms as enshrined in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant
international human rights instruments by carrying out the following
activities:
(1) Developing congressional strategies to promote, defend,
and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms
reflecting the role and responsibilities of the Congress.
(2) Raising greater awareness among Members of the House of
Representatives, their staffs, and the public regarding
international human rights violations and developments.
(3) Providing Members and staff with expert human rights
advice and information and by supporting entities of Congress
in their work on human rights issues.
(4) Advocating on behalf of individuals and entities whose
internationally recognized human rights have been violated or
are in danger of being violated.
(5) Collaborating closely with other professional staff
members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
(6) Collaborating closely with the President, other
officials of the executive branch, and recognized national and
international human rights entities and nongovernmental
organizations in promoting human rights initiatives within
Congress.
(7) Encouraging and supporting Members, especially Members
who have been recently elected to the House, to become active
in supporting human rights issues so that the United States
will continue to be recognized throughout the world as a leader
in the defense of internationally recognized human rights
norms.
(b) Eligibility.--Any Member of the House of Representatives may
join the Commission by submitting a written statement to that effect to
the co-chairs of the Commission.
(c) Relationship With Senate.--In carrying out its activities, the
Commission is encouraged to establish a cooperative working
relationship with Members and other entities of the Senate, and to
invite Members and other entities of the Senate to work cooperatively
with the Commission to promote human rights.
(d) Definition.--In this resolution, the term ``Member of the House
of Representatives'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to
the Congress.
SEC. 3. CO-CHAIRS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Appointment.--Two members of the Commission shall be appointed
to serve as co-chairs of the Commission as follows:
(1) One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives after consultation with the Chairman
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
(2) One member shall be appointed by the minority leader of
the House of Representatives after consultation with the
ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
(b) Term of Service.--A member's term as co-chair of the Commission
shall continue throughout the Congress during which the member is
appointed as a co-chair under this section until the member leaves the
Commission, resigns from the position of co-chair, or is removed
pursuant to subsection (c).
(c) Removal.--The co-chair appointed pursuant to subsection (a)(1)
may be removed by the Speaker after consultation with the Chairman of
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the co-chair appointed pursuant
to subsection (a)(2) may be removed by the minority leader after
consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs.
(d) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the position of any of the co-chairs of
the Commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the original
appointment was made.
(e) Duties.--The co-chairs shall be responsible for setting the
general agenda of the Commission.
SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
(a) In General.--The Commission shall have an Executive Committee
which shall consist of 8 members of the Commission equally divided
between members of the majority and minority parties selected jointly
by the co-chairs of the Commission with the approval of the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the membership of the Executive
Committee shall be filled in the same manner in which the original
selection was made.
SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
(a) Use of Committee Staff and Resources.--Subject to subsection
(b), the Commission shall carry out its duties using the staff and
resources of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, including the use of
consultants or temporary employees, such as individuals with expertise
in human rights issues, related legislative matters, and technology
systems management, as appropriate.
(b) Requirements for Staff.--
(1) Appointment.--The staff of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs who may be used by the Commission under subsection (a)
to carry out its duties shall be professional staff members of
the Committtee who are appointed for this purpose by the
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, of whom half of
the full-time equivalent positions shall be appointed from
among a list of individuals presented to the Chairman of the
Committee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to section 3(a)(1)
and half of the full-time equivalent positions shall be
appointed from among a list of individuals presented to the
Chairman of the Committee by the co-chair appointed pursuant to
section 3(a)(2).
(2) Special rule for determination of number of committee
staff members.--Any professional staff member of the Committee
on Foreign Affairs who is used by the Commission to carry out
its duties on a full-time basis shall not be included in
determining the number of professional staff members of the
Committee under subparagraphs (1) and (2) of clause 9(a) of
rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 6. OTHER POWERS AND DUTIES.
(a) Bylaws.--The Commission shall adopt and publish such bylaws to
govern its organization and operation (including the duties of the
Executive Committee) as it considers appropriate, subject to the
applicable Rules of the House of Representatives.
(b) No Legislative Authority.--The Commission shall not have
legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority to take
legislative action on any bill or resolution.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
In addition to any other amounts made available for salaries and
expenses of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives during a Congress, there are authorized to be
appropriated from the applicable accounts of the House of
Representatives such sums as may be necessary for the Committee to
provide staff and resources for the Commission pursuant to section 5.
SEC. 8. TRANSITION FOR CURRENT MEMBERS OF CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
CAUCUS.
For purposes of this resolution--
(1) each Member of the House of Representatives who is a
member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as of the date
of the adoption of this resolution shall be deemed to have
joined the Commission; and
(2) the 2 Members of the House of Representatives who are
the co-chairs of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as of
the date of the adoption of this resolution shall be deemed to
have been appointed as co-chairs of the Commission.
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