28 U.S.C. § 995 — Powers of the Commission

(a) By a vote of a majority of the members who are present and voting, the Commission may— (1) set the Commission’s general policies and issue the rules and regulations needed to carry out this chapter; (2) appoint the Staff Director of the Sentencing Commission, set that person’s duties and salary, and allow that person to serve at the Commission’s discretion. The salary may not be higher than the highest rate now or later set for Level 6 of the Senior Executive Service Schedule under 5 U.S.C. 5382; (3) deny, change, or approve a request for regular, supplemental, or deficiency appropriations before the Chair submits the request to the Office of Management and Budget; (4) obtain temporary and occasional services for the Commission to the same extent allowed by 5 U.S.C. 3109(b); (5) with the consent of the other entities, use their services, equipment, personnel, information, and facilities. The other entities may be Federal, State, local, or private agencies or instrumentalities. The Commission may use them with or without paying reimbursement; (6) without regard to 31 U.S.C. 3324, enter into and carry out the contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, and other transactions needed for the Commission’s work. The Commission may make these arrangements with any public agency, person, firm, association, corporation, educational institution, or nonprofit organization; (7) accept and use voluntary, unpaid services to carry out this title, despite 31 U.S.C. 1342. People who provide these services are not Federal employees, except for purposes of chapter 81 of title 5 concerning disabilities caused by their work and title 28 concerning tort claims; (8) request from any Federal agency or judicial officer the information, data, and reports that the Commission may need from time to time, as long as providing them is consistent with other law; (9) monitor probation officers’ performance in making sentencing recommendations, including how they apply the Sentencing Commission’s guidelines and policy statements; (10) issue instructions to probation officers about applying the Commission’s guidelines and policy statements; (11) arrange with the head of another Federal agency for that agency to perform a Commission function, with or without reimbursement; (12) establish a research and development program within the Commission to— (A) serve as a clearinghouse and information center for collecting, preparing, and distributing information about Federal sentencing practices; and (B) help and advise Federal courts, departments, and agencies as they develop, maintain, and coordinate sound sentencing practices; (13) systematically collect data from studies, research, and the practical experience of public and private agencies about the sentencing process; (14) publish data about the sentencing process; (15) systematically collect and distribute information about sentences that courts actually impose and how those sentences relate to the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a); (16) systematically collect and distribute information about how effective imposed sentences are; (17) design and conduct seminars and workshops in different geographic locations that provide continuing study for people working in the sentencing field; (18) design and conduct periodic training programs about sentencing techniques for judges, probation personnel, and other people connected with the sentencing process; (19) study whether it is possible to develop guidelines for deciding how to handle juvenile delinquents; (20) recommend to Congress changes to, or enactment of, laws about sentencing, penalties, and corrections that the Commission finds necessary and advisable to carry out an effective, humane, and rational sentencing policy; (21) hold hearings and call witnesses who might help the Commission use its powers or perform its duties; (22) perform other functions needed to allow Federal courts to meet their responsibilities under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) and to allow other people involved in the Federal criminal justice system to meet their related responsibilities; (23) hire private attorneys to give the Commission legal advice in its work, or to appear for or represent the Commission in a case when the law allows the Commission to represent itself or when the Commission represents itself with the Department of Justice’s consent. The Commission may choose to pay reasonable attorney’s fees to those private attorneys from its appropriated funds. When serving as United States officers or employees, those private attorneys are “special government employees” as defined in 18 U.S.C. 202(a); and (24) give incentive awards to its employees under chapter 45 of title 5. (b) The Commission also has the other powers and duties, and must perform the other functions, that may be needed to carry out this chapter. It may delegate to a member or another person it designates any powers that may be appropriate. But it may not delegate the power to establish general policy statements and guidelines under section 994(a)(1) and (2), the power to issue general policies and rules and regulations under subsection (a)(1) of this section, or decisions about which factors to consider when establishing categories of offenses and offenders under section 994(b). For its activities under subsections (a)(9), (a)(10), (a)(11), (a)(12), (a)(13), (a)(14), (a)(15), (a)(16), (a)(17), and (a)(18), the Commission must use, as far as practicable, the existing resources of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Federal Judicial Center to avoid unnecessary duplication. (c) When the Commission asks, each Federal agency is authorized and directed to make its services, equipment, personnel, facilities, and information available to the greatest practicable extent to help the Commission perform its functions. (d) A simple majority of the members then serving is a quorum for conducting business. Except when promulgating guidelines and policy statements under section 994, the Commission may use its powers and perform its duties by a simple-majority vote of the members who are present. (e) Unless another law provides otherwise, the Commission must keep a record of each member’s final vote on every action it takes and make that record available for public inspection.