16 U.S.C. § 952 — Commissioners

(a) Commissioners. The United States must be represented on the Commission by four United States Commissioners. The President appoints them. After consulting the Secretary, the Secretary of State supervises and may remove them. The President must choose people knowledgeable or experienced about highly migratory fish stocks in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, and one must be an officer or employee of the Department of Commerce. No more than two may live in a State other than a State whose vessels maintain a substantial fishery in the Convention area. (b) Alternate Commissioners. After consulting the Secretary, the Secretary of State may designate Alternate United States Commissioners from time to time for appropriate periods. When a commissioner appointed under subsection (a) is absent for any reason, an alternate may exercise all that commissioner’s powers and duties at a meeting of the Commission, the General Advisory Committee, or the Scientific Advisory Subcommittee established under section 953(b). For each meeting, the number of alternates may not exceed the number of appointed commissioners who will not attend. (c) Administrative matters. (1) Employment status. A United States Commissioner who is not a United States Government officer or employee is not a Federal employee, except for injury compensation and tort-claims liability under chapter 81 of title 5 and chapter 171 of title 28. (2) Compensation. Commissioners and alternates are officers of the United States while serving, but receive no compensation for this service. (3) Travel expenses. (A) The Secretary of State must pay the necessary travel expenses of commissioners and alternates to meetings of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and other meetings the Secretary of State considers necessary for their duties, under the Federal Travel Regulations and the listed provisions of title 5. (B) The Secretary may reimburse the Secretary of State for amounts spent under this subsection.