15 U.S.C. § 7304: Briefings, hearings…

Summary

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (or someone the Director chooses) can hold hearings, give oaths, and require witnesses and evidence for a Team’s investigations. The Director must give regular public briefings on the investigation and a final briefing after the report called for in section 7307 is issued. NIST can also hold public hearings if the Director thinks it helps gather testimony or tell the public about progress. Witnesses can be ordered to appear from anywhere in the United States and get the same fee and travel pay as in a U.S. court. Only the Director can sign subpoenas, but the Director may have someone else serve them. If a person disobeys a subpoena, the Attorney General can ask a United States district court where the person lives, is found, or does business to enforce it. The court can punish people who disobey its order as contempt.

Title 15, §7304

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(a)General authority

The Director or his designee, on behalf of a Team, may conduct hearings, administer oaths, and require, by subpoena (pursuant to subsection (e)) and otherwise, necessary witnesses and evidence as necessary to carry out this chapter.

(b)Briefings

The Director or his designee (who may be the leader or a member of a Team), on behalf of a Team, shall hold regular public briefings on the status of investigative proceedings and findings, including a final briefing after the report required by section 7307 of this title is issued.

(c)Public hearings

During the course of an investigation by a Team, the National Institute of Standards and Technology may, if the Director considers it to be in the public interest, hold a public hearing for the purposes of— (1)

(2)informing the public on the progress of the investigation.

(d)Production of witnesses

A witness or evidence in an investigation under this chapter may be summoned or required to be produced from any place in the United States. A witness summoned under this subsection is entitled to the same fee and mileage the witness would have been paid in a court of the United States.

(e)Issuance of subpoenas

A subpoena shall be issued only under the signature of the Director but may be served by any person designated by the Director.

(f)Failure to obey subpoena

If a person disobeys a subpoena issued by the Director under this chapter, the Attorney General, acting on behalf of the Director, may bring a civil action in a district court of the United States to enforce the subpoena. An action under this subsection may be brought in the judicial district in which the person against whom the action is brought resides, is found, or does business. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to comply with the subpoena as a contempt of court.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a), (d), and (f), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 107–231, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1471, known as the National

Construction

Safety Team Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 7301 of this title and Tables.

§7304 Briefings, Hearings, Witnesses, and Subpoenas