No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines terms used throughout the Act, including "child" as an individual from birth to age 18, "child impact statement" as an analysis of the direct and indirect outcomes that changes in laws, policy, regulations, or Federal appropriations will have on children, and "marginalized youth" as individuals aged 13 or older who face systemic barriers including discrimination, foster care, juvenile justice involvement, homelessness, disabilities, or exploitation.
This section establishes the Children’s Commission, composed of 15 members appointed by the Comptroller General in consultation with the Board on Children, Youth, and Families at the National Academies. Members must include experts such as pediatricians, child psychologists, educators, and advocates for marginalized youth, with requirements for geographic and demographic diversity, a majority of non-providers, and public disclosure of conflicts of interest. The Commission must hold an initial meeting within 60 days of full appointment, meet at least four times per year (including one focused on children’s voices), incorporate children’s perspectives, and employ a Children’s Commissioner as executive director subject to a two-year bar on prior for-profit employment and similar conflict disclosures. Members serve three-year terms.
This section directs the Commission to promote awareness of the views and interests of children and marginalized youth, receive and review complaints about agency services for children, advocate for child well-being in federal legislation and policy, advise Congress and agencies, publish reports, review regulations, make findings publicly available, and consult with children from diverse racial, ethnic, sex, disability, immigration, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It also requires a study and report to Congress on the feasibility of agency child impact statements within 180 days after all members are appointed, and an annual report on the status of recommendations from prior commissions on children.
This section authorizes the Commission to hold hearings, obtain information directly from federal agencies, conduct or fund original research when existing data is inadequate, and accept gifts or donations of services or property. It grants the Comptroller General unrestricted access to Commission deliberations and nonproprietary records and subjects the Commission to periodic audits. The Children’s Commissioner may appear as amicus curiae in federal court actions reviewing agency rules or guidance affecting children, and courts must grant such appearances.
This section compensates non-federal Commission members at the daily equivalent of level IV of the Executive Schedule and provides travel expenses at standard federal rates. It authorizes the Children’s Commissioner to appoint and terminate staff without competitive service rules, including a Director of Children and Youth Outreach and Engagement, with pay capped at level V of the Executive Schedule. It permits detailing federal employees without reimbursement or loss of status and procuring temporary services at level V rates.
This section authorizes appropriations of $7,500,000 annually to the Commission for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2034 to carry out the Act. Funds remain available until expended.