§ 1330. Organization of Commission
(a)
Membership
The United States International Trade Commission (referred to in this subtitle 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 January 3, 1975) 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 alternately as nearly as may be practicable.
(b)
Terms of office
The terms of office of the commissioners holding office on January 3, 1975, 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, 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—
(c)
Chairman and vice chairman; quorum
(1)
The chairman and the vice chairman of the Commission shall be designated by the President from among the members of the Commission not ineligible, under paragraph (3), for designation. The President shall notify the Congress of his designations under this paragraph. If, as of the date on which a term begins under paragraph (2), the President has not designated the chairman of the Commission for such term, the Commissioner [1] who, as of such date—
(A)
is a member of a different political party than the chairman of the Commission for the immediately preceding term, and
shall serve as chairman of the Commission for the portion of such term preceding the date on which an individual designated by the President takes office as chairman.
(2)
After June 16, 1978, the terms of office for the chairman and vice chairman of the Commission shall be as follows:
(3)
(A)
The President may not designate as the chairman of the Commission for any term any commissioner who is a member of the political party of which the chairman of the Commission for the immediately preceding term is a member, or who has less than 1 year of continuous service as a commissioner as of the date such designation is being made.
(B)
The President may not designate as the vice chairman of the Commission for any term any commissioner who is a member of the political party of which the chairman for that term is a member.
(C)
If any commissioner does not complete a term as chairman or vice chairman by reason of death, resignation, removal from office as a commissioner, or expiration of his term of office as a commissioner, the President shall designate as the chairman or vice chairman, as the case may be, for the remainder of such term a commissioner who is a member of the same political party. Designation of a chairman under this subparagraph may be made without regard to the 1-year continuous service requirement under subparagraph (A).
(4)
The vice chairman shall act as chairman in case of the absence or disability of the chairman. During any period in which there is no chairman or vice chairman, the commissioner having the longest period of continuous service as a commissioner shall act as chairman.
(d)
Effect of divided vote in certain cases
(1)
In a proceeding in which the Commission is required to determine—
(A)
under section
2252 of this title, whether increased imports of an article are a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, as described in subsection (b)(1) of that section (hereafter in this subsection referred to as “serious injury”), or
and the commissioners voting are equally divided with respect to such determination, then the determination, agreed upon by either group of commissioners may be considered by the President as the determination of the Commission.
(2)
If under section
2252
(b) or
2436 of this title there is an affirmative determination of the Commission, or a determination of the Commission which the President may consider an affirmative determination under paragraph (1), that serious injury or market disruption exists, respectively, and a majority of the commissioners voting are unable to agree on a finding or recommendation described in section
2252
(e)(1) of this title or the finding described in section
2436
(a)(3) of this title, as the case may be (hereafter in this subsection referred to as a “remedy finding”), then—
(A)
if a plurality of not less than three commissioners so voting agree on a remedy finding, such remedy finding shall, for purposes of section
2253 of this title, be treated as the remedy finding of the Commission, or
(B)
if two groups, both of which include not less than 3 commissioners, each agree upon a remedy finding and the President reports under section
2254
(a) of this title that—
(i)
he is taking the action agreed upon by one such group, then the remedy finding agreed upon by the other group shall, for purposes of section
2253 of this title, be treated as the remedy finding of the Commission, or
(ii)
he is taking action which differs from the action agreed upon by both such groups, or that he will not take any action, then the remedy finding agreed upon by either such group may be considered by the Congress as the remedy finding of the Commission and shall, for purposes of section
2253 of this title, be treated as the remedy finding of the Commission.
(3)
In any proceeding to which paragraph (1) applies in which the commissioners voting are equally divided on a determination that serious injury exists, or that market disruption exists, the Commission shall report to the President the determination of each group of commissioners. In any proceeding to which paragraph (2) applies, the Commission shall report to the President the remedy finding of each group of commissioners voting.
(4)
In a case to which paragraph (2)(B)(ii) applies, for purposes of section
2253
(a) of this title, notwithstanding section
2192
(a)(1)(A) of this title, the second blank space in the joint resolution described in such section
2192
(a)(1)(A) of this title shall be filled with the appropriate date and the following: “The action which shall take effect under section 203(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 is the finding or recommendation agreed upon by Commissioners XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX, and XXXXXX.” The three blank spaces shall be filled with the names of the appropriate Commissioners.
(5)
Whenever, in any case in which the Commission is authorized to make an investigation upon its own motion, upon complaint, or upon application of any interested party, one-half of the number of commissioners voting agree that the investigation should be made, such investigation shall thereupon be carried out in accordance with the statutory authority covering the matter in question. Whenever the Commission is authorized to hold hearings in the course of any investigation and one-half of the number of commissioners voting agree that hearings should be held, such hearings shall thereupon be held in accordance with the statutory authority covering the matter in question.
(e)
Authorization of appropriations
(1)
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.
(2)
(A)
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for necessary expenses (including the rental of conference rooms in the District of Columbia and elsewhere) not to exceed the following:
(3)
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for each fiscal year after September 30, 1977, in addition to any other amount authorized to be appropriated for such fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary for increases authorized by law in salary, pay, retirement, and other employee benefits.
(4)
By not later than the date on which the President submits to Congress the budget of the United States Government for a fiscal year, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate the projected amount of funds for the succeeding fiscal year that will be necessary for the Commission to carry out its functions.
[1] So in original. Probably should not be capitalized.