To establish the National Commission on the Insurrectionist Attack Upon the United States Capitol.

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 410 To establish the National Commission on the Insurrectionist Attack Upon the United States Capitol. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 21, 2021 Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. LYNCH, and Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Homeland Security A BILL To establish the National Commission on the Insurrectionist Attack Upon the United States Capitol. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 3 There is established in the legislative branch the Na- 4 tional Commission on the Insurrectionist Attack Upon the 5 United States Capitol (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Com- 6 mission’’). 7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 8 The purposes of the Commission are to— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 410 IH (1) make a full and complete accounting of the 1 circumstances surrounding the insurrectionist attack 2 of January 6, 2021, occurring at the United States 3 Capitol, and the extent of the United States pre- 4 paredness for, and immediate response to, the at- 5 tack; and 6 (2) report to the President and Congress on its 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations for cor- 8 rective measures that can be taken to prevent acts 9 of insurrection and domestic terrorism. 10 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 11 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 12 of 10 members, of whom— 13 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi- 14 dent, who shall serve as Chair of the Commission; 15 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader 16 of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the 17 case may be) of the Republican Party, in consulta- 18 tion with the leader of the House of Representatives 19 (majority or minority leader, as the case may be) of 20 the Republican Party, who shall serve as Vice Chair 21 of the Commission; 22 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 23 member of the Senate leadership of the Democratic 24 Party; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 410 IH (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 1 member of the leadership of the House of Represent- 2 atives of the Republican Party; 3 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 4 member of the Senate leadership of the Republican 5 Party; and 6 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 7 member of the leadership of the House of Represent- 8 atives of the Democratic Party. 9 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 10 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 11 than 5 members of the Commission shall be from 12 the same political party. 13 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in- 14 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an 15 officer or employee of the Federal Government or 16 any State or local government. 17 (3) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 18 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis- 19 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 20 with national recognition and significant depth of ex- 21 perience in such professions as governmental service, 22 law enforcement, the armed services, law, public ad- 23 ministration, intelligence gathering, and racial jus- 24 tice. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 410 IH (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem- 1 bers of the Commission shall be appointed not later 2 than one month after the date of the enactment of 3 this Act. 4 (5) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 5 meet and begin the initial operation of the Commis- 6 sion as soon as practicable. 7 (c) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting, 8 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chair or 9 a majority of its members. Six members of the Commis- 10 sion shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the Com- 11 mission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 12 the same manner in which the original appointment was 13 made. 14 (d) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis- 15 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva- 16 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 17 at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 18 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which 19 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 20 duties of the Commission. 21 (e) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com- 22 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 23 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 410 IH sions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 1 States Code. 2 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 3 The functions of the Commission are to— 4 (1) conduct an investigation that— 5 (A) investigates relevant facts and cir- 6 cumstances relating to the insurrectionist at- 7 tack of January 6, 2021, including any relevant 8 legislation, Executive order, regulation, plan, 9 policy, practice, or procedure; 10 (B) ascertains, evaluates, and reports on 11 the evidence developed by all relevant govern- 12 mental agencies and nongovernmental sources 13 regarding the facts and circumstances sur- 14 rounding the attack; 15 (C) builds upon the investigations of other 16 entities, and avoids unnecessary duplication, by 17 reviewing the findings, conclusions, and rec- 18 ommendations of prior executive branch, con- 19 gressional, or independent commission inves- 20 tigations into the insurrectionist attack of Jan- 21 uary 6, 2021, other insurrectionist and domes- 22 tic terrorist attacks, and domestic terrorism 23 generally; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 410 IH (D) may include relevant facts and cir- 1 cumstances relating to— 2 (i) intelligence agencies; 3 (ii) law enforcement agencies, includ- 4 ing the impact, if any, of the race of the 5 attackers on the response of law enforce- 6 ment; 7 (iii) the flow of assets to insurrec- 8 tionist and domestic terrorist organiza- 9 tions; 10 (iv) the role of congressional oversight 11 and resource allocation; and 12 (v) other areas of the public and pri- 13 vate sectors determined relevant by the 14 Commission for its inquiry; 15 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 16 learned from the insurrectionist attack of January 6, 17 2021, regarding the structure, coordination, man- 18 agement policies, and procedures of the Federal 19 Government, and, if appropriate, State and local 20 governments and nongovernmental entities, relative 21 to detecting, preventing, and responding to such in- 22 surrectionist attacks; and 23 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 24 reports as are required by this Act containing such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 410 IH findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 1 Commission shall determine, including proposing or- 2 ganization, coordination, planning, management ar- 3 rangements, procedures, rules, and regulations. 4 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.— 6 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis- 7 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 8 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur- 9 pose of carrying out this Act— 10 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 11 such times and places, take such testimony, re- 12 ceive such evidence, administer such oaths; and 13 (B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, 14 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 15 testimony of such witnesses and the production 16 of such books, records, correspondence, memo- 17 randa, papers, and documents, as the Commis- 18 sion or such designated subcommittee or des- 19 ignated member may determine advisable. 20 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 21 (A) ISSUANCE.— 22 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 23 issued under this subsection only— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 410 IH (I) by the agreement of the Chair 1 and the Vice Chair; or 2 (II) by the affirmative vote of 6 3 members of the Commission. 4 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 5 (i), subpoenas issued under this subsection 6 may be issued under the signature of the 7 Chair or any member designated by a ma- 8 jority of the Commission, and may be 9 served by any person designated by the 10 Chair or by a member designated by a ma- 11 jority of the Commission. 12 (B) ENFORCEMENT.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con- 14 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 15 issued under subsection (a), the United 16 States district court for the judicial district 17 in which the subpoenaed person resides, is 18 served, or may be found, or where the sub- 19 poena is returnable, may issue an order re- 20 quiring such person to appear at any des- 21 ignated place to testify or to produce docu- 22 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 23 obey the order of the court may be pun- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 410 IH ished by the court as a contempt of that 1 court. 2 (ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In 3 the case of any failure of any witness to 4 comply with any subpoena or to testify 5 when summoned under authority of this 6 section, the Commission may, by majority 7 vote, certify a statement of fact consti- 8 tuting such failure to the appropriate 9 United States attorney, who may bring the 10 matter before the grand jury for its action, 11 under the same statutory authority and 12 procedures as if the United States attorney 13 had received a certification under sections 14 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 15 of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 16 through 194). 17 (b) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 18 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria- 19 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 20 to discharge its duties under this Act. 21 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 23 directly from any department or agency of the Gov- 24 ernment information necessary to enable it to carry 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 410 IH out this Act. Upon request of the Chair, the chair 1 of any subcommittee created by a majority of the 2 Commission, or any member designated by a major- 3 ity of the Commission, the head of that department 4 or agency shall furnish that information to the Com- 5 mission. 6 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS- 7 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 8 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 9 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap- 10 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 11 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 12 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 13 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis- 14 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com- 15 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 16 support services necessary for the Commission to 17 carry out its responsibilities under this Act. 18 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 19 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 20 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 21 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 22 facilities, staff, and other support services as they 23 may determine advisable and as may be authorized 24 by law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 410 IH (e) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis- 1 sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or 2 devises of services or property, both real and personal, for 3 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com- 4 mission. 5 (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 6 the United States mails in the same manner and under 7 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 8 United States. 9 SEC. 6. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 10 (a) APPOINTMENT; COMPENSATION.—The Chair, in 11 consultation with the Vice Chair, in accordance with rules 12 agreed upon by the Commission, may appoint and fix the 13 compensation of a Staff Director and such other personnel 14 as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry 15 out its functions, without regard to the provisions of title 16 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the 17 competitive service, and without regard to the provisions 18 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 19 title relating to classification and General Schedule pay 20 rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub- 21 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 22 position at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 23 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H410.IH H410 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 410 IH (b) COVERAGE UNDER CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNT- 1 ABILITY ACT OF 1995.—For purposes of the Congres- 2 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et 3 seq.)— 4 (1) the Commission shall be considered an em- 5 ploying office; and 6 (2) the personnel of the Commission shall be 7 considered covered employees. 8 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 9 is authorized to procure temporary and intermittent serv- 10 ices under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, 11 but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equiva- 12 lent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under level 13 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 14 5, United States Code. 15 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The head of 16 any Federal department or agency may detail, on a non- 17 reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that depart- 18 ment or agency to the Commission to assist it in carrying 19 out its duties under this Act. 20 SEC. 7. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF. 21 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments 22 shall cooperate with the Commission [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]