15 U.S.C. § 4806 — Powers of Council

Page 2176 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4806 Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organi- zation and Employees, see section 529 [title I, § 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note under section 5376 of Title 5. § 4806. Powers of Council (a) Hearings The Council may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence, as the Council considers appropriate. The Coun- cil may administer oaths or affirmations to wit- nesses appearing before the Council. (b) Information (1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Council may secure directly from any Fed- eral agency information necessary to enable the Council to carry out the provisions of this chap- ter. Upon request of the chairman of the Coun- cil, the head of such agency shall promptly fur- nish such information to the Council. (B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to mat- ters that are specifically authorized under cri- teria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order. (2) In any case in which the Council receives any information from a Federal agency, the Council shall not disclose such information to the public unless such agency is authorized to disclose such information pursuant to Federal law. (c) Consultation with President and Congress No later than 120 days after the initial mem- bers are appointed to the Council, the Council shall submit a report to the President, the Sen- ate Governmental Affairs Committee, and the appropriate committees of the House of Rep- resentatives and of the Senate, that proposes the type and scope of activities the Council shall undertake, including the extent to which the Council will coordinate activities with other ad- visory committees relating to trade and com- petitiveness in order to maximize the effective- ness of the Council. (d) Gifts The Council may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. (e) Use of mails The Council may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same condi- tions as other Federal agencies. (f) Administrative and support services The Administrator of General Services shall provide to the Council, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative and support services as the Council may request. (g) Subcouncils (1) The Council may establish, for such period of time as the Council determines appropriate, subcouncils of public and private leaders to ana- lyze specific competitive issues. (2) Any such subcouncil shall include rep- resentatives of business, labor, government, and other individuals or representatives of groups whose participation is considered by the Council to be important to developing a full under- standing of the subject with which the sub- council is concerned. (3) Any such subcouncil shall include a rep- resentative of the Federal Government. (4) Any such subcouncil shall assess the actual or potential competitiveness problems facing the industry or the specific policy issues with which the subcouncil is concerned and shall for- mulate specific recommendations for responses by business, government, and labor— (A) to encourage adjustment and moderniza- tion of the industry involved; (B) to monitor and facilitate industry re- sponsiveness to opportunities identified under section 4807(b)(1)(B) of this title; (C) to encourage the ability of the industry involved to compete in markets identified under section 4807(b)(1)(C) of this title; or (D) to alleviate the problems in a specific policy area facing more than one industry. (5) Any discussion held by any subcouncil shall not be considered to violate any Federal or State antitrust law. (6) Any discussion held by any subcouncil shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter 10 of title 5, except that a Federal representative shall attend all subcouncil meetings. (7) Any subcouncil shall terminate 30 days after making recommendations, unless the Council specifically requests that the subcouncil continue in operation. (h) Applicability of chapter 10 of title 5 The provisions of subsections (e) and (f) of sec- tion 1009 of title 5 shall not apply to the Council. (Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5207, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1459; Pub. L. 101–382, title I, § 133(c), Aug. 20, 1990, 104 Stat. 649; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(74), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4314.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (g)(6). Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(74)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘chapter 10 of title 5,’’ for ‘‘the Federal Advi- sory Committee Act,’’. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(74)(B), substituted ‘‘chapter 10 of title 5’’ for ‘‘Advisory Committee Act’’ in heading and ‘‘subsections (e) and (f) of section 1009 of title 5’’ for ‘‘subsections (e) and (f) of section 10, of the Federal Advisory Committee Act’’ in text. 1990—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–382 redesignated subsec. (d) as (c), and substituted ‘‘120’’ for ‘‘60’’. Subsecs. (d) to (i). Pub. L. 101–382, § 133(c)(1), redesig- nated subsecs. (e) to (i) as (d) to (h), respectively. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Governmental Affairs of Senate changed to Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- ernmental Affairs of Senate, effective Jan. 4, 2005, by Senate Resolution No. 445, One Hundred Eighth Con- gress, Oct. 9, 2004. § 4807. Annual report (a) Submission of report The Council shall annually on March 1 submit to the President, the Senate Governmental Af-