Collapse to view only § 4602. Definitions
- § 4601. Congressional declaration of findings and purposes
- § 4602. Definitions
- § 4603. United States Institute of Peace
- § 4604. Powers and duties
- § 4605. Board of Directors
- § 4606. Officers and employees
- § 4607. Procedures and records
- § 4608. Independence and limitations
- § 4609. Funding
- § 4610. Dissolution or liquidation
- § 4611. Biennial reports to President and Congress; comments, findings, and recommendations; Congressional Committee hearings
There is hereby established the United States Institute of Peace.
The Institute is an independent nonprofit corporation and an organization described in section 170(c)(2)(B) of title 26. The Institute does not have the power to issue any shares of stock or to declare or pay any dividends.
As determined by the Board, the Institute may establish, under the laws of the District of Columbia, a legal entity which is capable of receiving, holding, and investing public funds for purposes in furtherance of the Institute under this chapter. The Institute may designate such legal entity as the “Endowment of the United States Institute for Peace”.
The Institute is liable for the acts of its directors, officers, employees, and agents when acting within the scope of their authority.
The Institute may exercise the powers conferred upon a nonprofit corporation by the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act consistent with this chapter, except for section 5(o) of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act.
The Institute may respond to the request of a department or agency of the United States Government to investigate, examine, study, and report on any issue within the Institute’s competence, including the study of past negotiating histories and the use of classified materials.
The Institute may enter into personal service and other contracts for the proper operation of the Institute.
The Institute may fix the duties of its officers, employees, and agents, and establish such advisory committees, councils, or other bodies, as the efficient administration of the business and purposes of the Institute may require.
The Institute may charge and collect subscription fees and develop, for publication or other public communication, and disseminate, periodicals and other materials.
The Institute may charge and collect fees and other participation costs from persons and institutions participating in the Institute’s direct activities authorized in subsection (b).
The Institute may sue and be sued, complain, and defend in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The Institute may adopt, alter, use, and display a corporate seal, emblem, badge, and other mark of recognition and colorable simulations thereof.
The Institute may do any and all lawful acts and things necessary or desirable to carry out the objectives and purposes of this chapter.
The Institute shall not itself undertake to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by the Congress of the United States or by any State or local legislative bodies, or by the United Nations, except that personnel of the Institute may testify or make other appropriate communication when formally requested to do so by a legislative body, a committee, or a member thereof.
The Institute may obtain administrative support services from the Administrator of General Services and use all sources of supply and services of the General Services Administration on a reimbursable basis.
The powers of the Institute shall be vested in a Board of Directors unless otherwise specified in this chapter.
Not more than eight voting members of the Board (including members described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b)) may be members of the same political party.
No member of the Board may participate in any decision, action, or recommendation with respect to any matter which directly and financially benefits the member or pertains specifically to any public body or any private or nonprofit firm or organization with which the member is then formally associated or has been formally associated within a period of two years, except that this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit an ex officio member of the Board from participation in actions of the Board which pertain specifically to the public body of which that member is an officer.
A director appointed by the President under subsection (b)(4) shall be entitled to receive the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5 for each day during which the director is engaged in the performance of duties as a member of the Board.
While away from his home or regular place of business in the performance of duties for the Institute, a director shall be allowed travel expenses, including a per diem in lieu of subsistence, not to exceed the expenses allowed persons employed intermittently in Government service under section 5703(b) 1
The Board shall appoint the president of the Institute and such other officers as the Board determines to be necessary. The president of the Institute shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the Board. All officers shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. The president shall be appointed for an explicit term of years. Notwithstanding any other provision of law limiting the payment of compensation, the president and other officers appointed by the Board shall be compensated at rates determined by the Board, but no greater than that payable for level I of the Executive Schedule under chapter 53 of title 5.
Subject to the provisions of section 4604(h)(3) of this title, the Board shall authorize the president and any other officials or employees it designates to receive and disburse public moneys, obtain and make grants, enter into contracts, establish and collect fees, and undertake all other activities necessary for the efficient and proper functioning of the Institute.
The president, subject to Institute’s bylaws and general policies established by the Board, may appoint, fix the compensation of, and remove such employees of the Institute as the president determines necessary to carry out the purposes of the Institute. In determining employee rates of compensation, the president shall be governed by the provisions of title 5 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
No officer or full-time employee of the Institute may receive any salary or other compensation for services from any source other than the Institute during the officer’s or employee’s period of employment by the Institute, except as authorized by the Board.
No part of the financial resources, income, or assets of the Institute or of any legal entity created by the Institute shall inure to any agent, employee, officer, or director or be distributable to any such person during the life of the corporation or upon dissolution or final liquidation. Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the payment of reasonable compensation for services or expenses to the directors, officers, employees, and agents of the Institute in amounts approved in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The Institute shall not make loans to its directors, officers, employees, or agents, or to any legal entity created by the Institute. A director, officer, employee, or agent who votes for or assents to the making of a loan or who participates in the making of a loan shall be jointly and severally liable to the Institute for the amount of the loan until repayment thereof.
The Institute shall monitor and evaluate and provide for independent evaluation if necessary of programs supported in whole or in part under this chapter to ensure that the provisions of this chapter and the bylaws, rules, regulations, and guidelines promulgated pursuant to this chapter are adhered to.
The Institute shall prescribe procedures to ensure that grants, contracts, and financial support under this chapter are not suspended unless the grantee, contractor, or person or entity receiving financial support has been given reasonable notice and opportunity to show cause why the action should not be taken.
In selecting persons to participate in Institute activities, the Institute may consider a person’s practical experience or equivalency in peace study and activity as well as other formal requirements.
The Institute shall keep correct and complete books and records of account, including separate and distinct accounts of receipts and disbursements of Federal funds. The Institute’s annual financial report shall identify the use of such funding and shall present a clear description of the full financial situation of the Institute.
The Institute shall keep minutes of the proceedings of its Board and of any committees having authority under the Board.
The Institute shall keep a record of the names and addresses of its Board members; copies of this chapter, of any other Acts relating to the Institute, and of all Institute bylaws, rules, regulations, and guidelines; required minutes of proceedings; a record of all applications and proposals and issued or received contracts and grants; and financial records of the Institute. All items required by this subsection may be inspected by any Board member or the member’s agent or attorney for any proper purpose at any reasonable time.
The accounts of the Institute shall be audited annually in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by independent certified public accountants or independent licensed public accountants, certified or licensed by a regulatory authority of a State or other political subdivision of the United States. The audit shall be conducted at the place or places where the accounts of the Institute are normally kept. All books, accounts, financial records, files, and other papers, things, and property belonging to or in use by the Institute and necessary to facilitate the audit shall be made available to the person or persons conducting the audit, and full facilities for verifying transactions with the balances or securities held by depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians shall be afforded to such person or persons.
The Institute shall provide a report of the audit to the President and to each House of Congress no later than six months following the close of the fiscal year for which the audit is made. The report shall set forth the scope of the audit and include such statements, together with the independent auditor’s opinion of those statements, as are necessary to present fairly the Institute’s assets and liabilities, surplus or deficit, with reasonable detail, including a statement of the Institute’s income and expenses during the year, including a schedule of all contracts and grants requiring payments in excess of $5,000 and any payments of compensation, salaries, or fees at a rate in excess of $5,000 per year. The report shall be produced in sufficient copies for the public.
The Institute and its directors, officers, employees, and agents shall be subject to the provisions of section 552 of title 5 (relating to freedom of information).
For the purpose of carrying out this chapter, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
Funds appropriated pursuant to the authority of paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended.
The Board of Directors may transfer to the legal entity authorized to be established under section 4603(c) of this title any funds not obligated or expended from appropriations to the Institute for a fiscal year, and such funds shall remain available for obligation or expenditure for the purposes of such legal entity without regard to fiscal year limitations. Any use by such legal entity of appropriated funds shall be reported to each House of the Congress and to the President of the United States.
Any authority provided by this chapter to enter into contracts shall be effective for a fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts.
Any authorization of appropriations made for the purposes of carrying out this chapter shall be extended in the same manner as applicable programs are extended under section 1226a of title 20.
Beginning two years after October 19, 1984, and at intervals of two years thereafter, the Chairman of the Board shall prepare and transmit to the Congress and the President a report detailing the progress the Institute has made in carrying out the purposes of this chapter during the preceding two-year period. The President may prepare and transmit to the Congress within a reasonable time after the receipt of such report the written comments and recommendations of the appropriate agencies of the United States with respect to the contents of such report and their recommendations with respect to any legislation which may be required concerning the Institute. After receipt of such report by the Congress, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate may hold hearings to review the findings and recommendations of such report and the written comments received from the President.