National Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the United States Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6548 To establish the Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 17, 2020 Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. COHEN, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. TRONE, Mr. HECK, Mr. CROW, Ms. DEAN, and Ms. WILD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish the Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘National Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the 5 United States Act’’. 6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 7 gress that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6548 IH (1) it is crucial to understand the vulnerabilities 1 to the national security of the United States re- 2 vealed by the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID–19) 3 pandemic, especially how prepared the United States 4 would be in the future for a biological attack that 5 not only causes public health confusion and alarm 6 but also public fear similar to the level caused by a 7 terrorist attack; 8 (2) the purpose of establishing the commission 9 under section 2 is not just to look back at prior 10 practices and mistakes but to learn lessons as quick- 11 ly as possible to better protect the United States 12 going forward in the future; 13 (3) it is crucial to better understand the in- 14 creasing likelihood of pandemic threats (such as the 15 recent threats of severe acute respiratory syndrome 16 (SARS), Ebola, the 2009–H1N1 influenza, and 17 COVID–19) and health issues that the United 18 States could face during the next several decades; 19 and 20 (4) the commission established under section 2 21 should use the authority under subsection (j)(1) of 22 such section to provide the President, Congress, and 23 the public interim reports during the course of the 24 investigation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6548 IH SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON THE COVID–19 PANDEMIC IN THE 1 UNITED STATES. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is es- 3 tablished in the legislative branch the National Commis- 4 sion on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the United States (in 5 this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Commission are 7 to— 8 (1) examine and report upon the facts and cir- 9 cumstances relating to, and make a full and com- 10 plete assessment and accounting of, the outbreak 11 and spread of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID–19) 12 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome 13 coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2) in the United States 14 (in this section referred to as ‘‘COVID–19’’); 15 (2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi- 16 dence developed by any relevant governmental and 17 nongovernmental entities regarding the facts and 18 circumstances surrounding COVID–19; 19 (3) make a full and complete assessment and 20 accounting of the preparedness of the Federal Gov- 21 ernment, State governments, local governments, and 22 the private sector for the outbreak and spread of 23 COVID–19 in the United States; 24 (4) make a full and complete assessment and 25 accounting of the actions by the Federal Govern- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6548 IH ment, State governments, local governments, and the 1 private sector in response to the outbreak and 2 spread of COVID–19 in the United States; and 3 (5) investigate and report to the President, 4 Congress, and the public on its findings, conclusions, 5 and recommendations to improve the ability of the 6 United States to prepare for, detect, prevent, and, if 7 necessary, respond to epidemics and pandemics such 8 as COVID–19, whether naturally occurring or 9 caused by State or non-State actors. 10 (c) COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.— 11 (1) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be com- 12 posed of 10 members, of whom— 13 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 14 President, who shall serve as chair of the Com- 15 mission; 16 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 17 leaders of the Senate (majority or minority 18 leader, as the case may be) of the political 19 party that is not the same political party as the 20 President, in consultation with the leader of the 21 House of Representatives (majority or minority 22 leader, as the case may be) of the same political 23 party as such Senate leaders, who shall serve as 24 vice chair of the Commission; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6548 IH (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 1 senior member of the Senate leadership of the 2 Democratic Party; 3 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 4 senior member of the leadership of the House 5 of Representatives of the Republican Party; 6 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 7 senior member of the Senate leadership of the 8 Republican Party; and 9 (F) 2 members shall be appointed by the 10 senior member of the leadership of the House 11 of Representatives of the Democratic Party. 12 (2) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 13 (A) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not 14 more than 5 members of the Commission shall 15 be from the same political party. 16 (B) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.— 17 An individual appointed to the Commission may 18 not be an officer or employee of the Federal 19 Government or any State or local government. 20 (C) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 21 Congress that individuals appointed to the 22 Commission should be prominent United States 23 citizens, with national recognition and signifi- 24 cant depth of experience in such professions as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6548 IH public health, medicine (including epidemi- 1 ology), governmental service, academia, home- 2 land security, the armed services, emergency 3 preparedness and management, law, public ad- 4 ministration, and intelligence. 5 (D) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All 6 members of the Commission shall be appointed 7 during the period beginning January 21, 2021, 8 and ending February 5, 2021. 9 (E) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission 10 shall meet and begin the operations of the Com- 11 mission as soon as practicable, but not later 12 than March 5, 2021. 13 (3) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial 14 meeting, the Commission shall meet upon the call of 15 the chair or a majority of its members. Six members 16 of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any 17 vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its pow- 18 ers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which 19 the original appointment was made. 20 (4) IN-PERSON MEETINGS.—The members of 21 the Commission shall conduct its meetings in person 22 unless such in-person meetings would pose a health 23 risk or significant practical challenges. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6548 IH (d) FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.—The functions of 1 the Commission are to— 2 (1) conduct an investigation that— 3 (A) addresses the matters specified in sub- 4 section (b); 5 (B) investigates relevant facts and cir- 6 cumstances relating to the outbreak and spread 7 of COVID–19 in the United States, and the re- 8 sponse to such outbreak and spread, including 9 with respect to any relevant legislation, Execu- 10 tive order, regulation, plan, policy, practice, or 11 procedure; and 12 (C) may include relevant facts and cir- 13 cumstances relating to— 14 (i) Federal, State, and local authori- 15 ties with responsibilities relevant to the 16 outbreak and spread of COVID–19 in the 17 United States, including such authorities 18 with responsibilities relating to public 19 health, emergency management, and epi- 20 demic and pandemic preparedness and re- 21 sponse; 22 (ii) private sector organizations; 23 (iii) intelligence agencies and law en- 24 forcement agencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6548 IH (iv) diplomacy and international co- 1 ordination; 2 (v) immigration and border control; 3 (vi) the role of congressional oversight 4 and resource allocation; and 5 (vii) other activities of the public and 6 private sectors determined relevant by the 7 Commission for its inquiry; 8 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 9 learned from the outbreak and spread of COVID–19 10 in the United States, and the response to such out- 11 break and spread, regarding the structure, coordina- 12 tion, management, policies, procedures, and actions 13 of Federal, State, and local governments and non- 14 governmental entities relative to preparing for, de- 15 tecting, preventing, and responding to epidemics and 16 pandemics, whether naturally occurring or caused by 17 a State or non-State actor; and 18 (3) submit to the President and Congress, and 19 make publicly available, such reports as are required 20 by this section containing such findings, conclusions, 21 and recommendations as the Commission shall de- 22 termine, including proposing organization, coordina- 23 tion, planning, management arrangements, proce- 24 dures, rules, and regulations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6548 IH (e) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.— 2 (A) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The 3 Commission or, as delegated by the chair and 4 vice chair, any subcommittee or member there- 5 of, may, for the purpose of carrying out this 6 section— 7 (i) hold such hearings and sit and act 8 at such times and places, take such testi- 9 mony, receive such evidence, administer 10 such oaths, as the Commission or such 11 designated subcommittee or designated 12 member may determine advisable; and 13 (ii) subject to subparagraph (B)(i), 14 require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at- 15 tendance and testimony of such witnesses 16 and the production of such books, records, 17 correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 18 documents, as the Commission or such 19 designated subcommittee or designated 20 member may determine advisable. 21 (B) ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS.— 22 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 23 issued under this paragraph only— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6548 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 paragraph 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 (C) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENAS.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con- 14 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 15 issued under this paragraph, 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 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6548 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 subsection, the Commission may, by major- 7 ity vote, certify a statement of fact consti- 8 tuting such failure to the appropriate 9 United States attorney, who shall 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 (2) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to 18 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 19 appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 20 the Commission to discharge its duties under this 21 section. 22 (3) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is au- 24 thorized to secure directly from any executive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6548 IH department, bureau, agency, board, commission, 1 office, independent establishment, or instrumen- 2 tality of the Government, information, sugges- 3 tions, estimates, and statistics for the purposes 4 of this section. Each department, bureau, agen- 5 cy, board, commission, office, independent es- 6 tablishment, or instrumentality shall, to the 7 fullest extent permitted by law, furnish such in- 8 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 9 directly to the Commission, upon request made 10 by the chair, the chair of any subcommittee cre- 11 ated by a majority of the Commission, or any 12 member designated by a majority of the Com- 13 mission. 14 (B) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND 15 DISSEMINATION.—Information shall only be re- 16 ceived, handled, stored, and disseminated by 17 members of the Commission and its staff con- 18 sistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, 19 and Executive orders. 20 (4) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 21 (A) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRA- 22 TION.—The Administrator of General Services 23 shall provide to the Commission on a reimburs- 24 able basis administrative support and other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6548.IH H6548 pamtmann on DSKBC [Text truncated for display. 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