< HOME >  5-24-2021


117TH CONGRES          1ST SESSION             H. R. ll

To establish the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

lllllllllllllll

A BILL

To establish the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

  1. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  2. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act’’.

  1. SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
  2. There is established in the legislative branch the Na3 tional Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on
  1. the United States Capitol Complex (hereafter referred to
  2. as the ‘‘Commission’’).
     
  3. SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
  4. Consistent with the functions described in section 4,
    8 the purposes of the Commission are the following:
  1. (1) To investigate and report upon the facts
  2. and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domes11 tic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol
  1. Complex (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘domestic ter-
  2. rorist attack on the Capitol’’) and relating to the in-
  3. terference with the peaceful transfer of power, in15 cluding facts and causes relating to the preparedness
  1. and response of the United States Capitol Police and
  2. other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in
  3. the National Capitol Region and other instrumen19 tality of government, as well as the influencing fac-
  1. tors that fomented such attack on American rep-
  2. resentative democracy while engaged in a constitu22 tional process.
  1. (2) To examine and evaluate evidence developed
  2. by relevant Federal, State, and local governmental
  3. agencies, in a manner that is respectful of ongoing
  4. law enforcement activities and investigations regarding the domestic terrorist attack upon the Capitol, regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding such terrorist attack and targeted violence and do-
  5. mestic terrorism relevant to such terrorist attack.
  6. (3) To build upon the investigations of other
  7. entities and avoid unnecessary duplication by review7 ing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations

8 of other executive branch, congressional, or inde
9 pendent bipartisan or non-partisan commission in
10 vestigations into the domestic terrorist attack on the

  1. Capitol and targeted violence and domestic terrorism
  2. relevant to such terrorist attack, including investiga-
  3. tions into influencing factors related to such ter14 rorist attack.
  1. (4) To investigate and report to the President
  2. and Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec-
  3. ommendations for corrective measures that may in18 clude changes in law, policy, procedures, rules, or
  1. regulations that could be taken to prevent future
  2. acts of targeted violence and domestic terrorism, in21 cluding to prevent domestic terrorist attacks against

22 American democratic institutions, improve the secu23 rity posture of the United States Capitol Complex

  1. while preserving accessibility of the Capitol Complex
  2. for all Americans, and strengthen the security and resilience of the nation and American democratic institutions against domestic terrorism.

SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

  1. The functions of the Commission are to—
  2. (1) conduct an investigation of the relevant
  3. facts and circumstances relating to the domestic ter
    7 rorist attack on the Capitol, including relevant facts
    8 and circumstances relating to—
  1. (A) activities of intelligence agencies, law
  2. enforcement agencies, and the Armed Forces,
  3. including with respect to intelligence collection,
  4. analysis, and dissemination and information
  5. sharing among relevant instrumentality of gov-
  6. ernment;
  7. (B) influencing factors that contributed to
  8. the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and
  9. how technology, including online platforms, fi
    18 nancing, and malign foreign influence oper
    19 ations and campaigns may have factored into
  1. the motivation, organization, and execution of
  2. the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and
  3. targeted violence and domestic terrorism rel-
  4. evant to such attack; and
    (C) other entities of the public and private sector as determined relevant by the Commission for such investigation;
  5. (2) identify, review, and evaluate the causes of
  6. and the lessons learned from the domestic terrorist
  7. attack on the Capitol and targeted violence and do7 mestic terrorism relevant to such attack regarding—
  8. (A) the command, control, and commu-
  9. nications of the United States Capitol Police,
  10. the National Guard, the Metropolitan Police
  11. Department of the District of Columbia, and
  12. other Federal, State, and local law enforcement
  13. in the National Capitol Region on or before 14 January 6, 2021;
  1. (B) the structure, coordination, operational
  2. plans, policies, and procedures of the Federal
  3. Government, including as such relate to State
  4. and local governments and nongovernmental en
    19 tities, and particularly with respect to detecting,

20 preventing, preparing for, and responding to
21 targeted violence and domestic terrorism;

  1. (C) the structure, authorities, training,
  2. manpower utilization, operational planning, and
  3. use of force policies of the United States Cap-
  4. itol Police;

(D) the policies, protocols, processes, procedures, and systems for sharing of intelligence and other information by Federal, State, and

  1. local agencies with the United States Capitol
  2. Police, the Sergeants at Arms of the House of
  3. Representatives and the Senate, the Govern
    7 ment of the District of Columbia, including the

8 Metropolitan Police Department of the District
9 of Columbia, the National Guard, and other

10 Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the
11 National Capitol Region on or before January

  1. 6, 2021, and the related the policies, protocols,
  2. processes, procedures, and systems for moni14 toring, assessing, disseminating, and acting on
  1. intelligence and other information, including
  2. elevating the security posture of the United
  3. States Capitol Complex, derived from instru-
  4. mentality of government, open sources, and on19 line platforms; and
  1. (E) the policies, protocols, processes, pro-
  2. cedures, and systems for interoperability be
    22 tween the United States Capitol Police and the

23 National Guard, the Metropolitan Police De
24 partment of the District of Columbia, and other

25                     Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capitol Region on or before January 6, 2021; and

(3) submit to the President and Congress re4 ports required pursuant to section 10 containing

  1. such findings, conclusions, and recommendations,
  2. which may include changes in law, policy, proce7 dures, rules, or regulations, to improve the detection,

8 prevention, preparedness for, and response to tar9 geted violence and domestic terrorism and improve

  1. the security posture of the United States Capitol
  2. Complex and ensure the security of Members of
  3. Congress and staff.
     
  4. SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.
  5. (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed
    15 of ten members, of whom—

  1. (1) one member shall be appointed jointly by
  2. the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
  3. majority leader of the Senate to serve as Chair-
  4. person of the Commission;
  5. (2) one member shall be appointed jointly by
  6. the minority leader of the House of Representatives
  7. and the minority leader of the Senate to serve as 23 Vice Chairperson of the Commission;
  1. (3) two members shall be appointed by the
  2. Speaker of the House of Representatives;

two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

  1. two members shall be appointed by the ma4 jority leader of the Senate; and
  1. (6) two members shall be appointed by the mi-
  2. nority leader of the Senate.
  3. (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.—

8                           (1) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in-

  1. dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an
  2. officer or employee of an instrumentality of govern-
  3. ment.
  4. (2) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of
  5. Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis14 sion should be prominent United States citizens,
  1. with national recognition and significant depth of ex-
  2. perience in at least two of the following areas:
  3. (A) Governmental service.
  4. (B) Law enforcement.
  5. (C) Civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.
  6. (D) The Armed Forces.
  7. (E) Intelligence.
  8. (F) Counterterrorism.
  9. (G) Cybersecurity.
  10. (H) Technology.
  11. (I) Law.

(3) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall meet and begin the initial operation of the Commission as soon as practicable, but not earlier than 15

  1. days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
  2. (c) TIMING FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of the 6 Commission shall be appointed not later than 10 days 7 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
  1. (d) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting,
  2. the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chair-
  3. person or a majority of its members. A majority of mem11 bers of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any
  1. vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but
  2. shall be promptly filled in the same manner in which the
    14 original appointment was made.
  1. (e) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis-
  2. sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva
    17 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position
    18 at level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314
  1. of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which
  2. that member is engaged in the actual performance of the
    21 duties of the Commission.
  1. (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com-
  2. mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem
  3. in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provision under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United

States Code.

SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

4             (a) IN GENERAL.—

5                           (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis-

  1. sion or, as delegated by the Chairperson and the
  2. Vice-Chairperson, any subcommittee or member
  3. thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this
  4. Act—
  5. (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at
  6. such times and places, take such testimony, re12 ceive such evidence, and administer such oaths
  1. as the Commission or such designated sub-
  2. committee or designated member may deter-
  3. mine advisable; and
  4. (B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require,
  5. by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and
  6. testimony of such witnesses and the production
  7. of such books, records, correspondence, memo20 randa, papers, or documents, or any other 21 paper or electronic material, as the Commission
  1. or such designated subcommittee or designated
  2. member may determine advisable.

                              (2) SUBPOENAS.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of

  1. any evidence relating to any matter which the
  2. Commission is empowered to investigate under
  3. this Act. Such subpoenas shall be issued by
  4. agreement between the Chairperson and Vice
  5. Chairperson of the Commission, or by the vote
  6. of a majority of the members of the Commis-
  7. sion. The attendance of witnesses and the pro11 duction of evidence may be required from any

12 place within the United States at any des13 ignated place of hearing within the United

14                  States.

15                                 (B) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a

  1. person does not obey a subpoena issued under
  2. subparagraph (A), the Commission is author18 ized to apply to a United States district court

19 for an order requiring that person to appear be20 fore the Commission to give testimony, produce

  1. evidence, or both, relating to the matter under
  2. investigation. The application may be made
  3. within the judicial district where the hearing is
  4. conducted or where that person is found, re-
  5. sides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order of the court may be punished by the court as a civil contempt.

(C) SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION.—

4 The United States district court in which an ac5 tion is brought under subparagraph (B) shall

  1. have original jurisdiction over any civil action
  2. brought by the Commission to enforce, secure a
  3. declaratory judgment concerning the validity of, 9 or prevent a threatened refusal or failure to
  1. comply with, any subpoena issued by the Com-
  2. mission.

12                                  (D) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub-

  1. poenas of the Commission shall be served in the
  2. manner provided for subpoenas issued by a
  3. United States district court under the Federal
  4. Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States 17 district courts.

18 (E) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of 19 any court to which application is made under 20 subparagraph (A) may be served in the judicial

21 district in which the person required to be 22 served resides or may be found.

23                (b) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such

extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria-

Frm 00012

tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this Act.

(c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—

  1. (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure
  2. directly from any Federal department or agency in6 formation, including any underlying information that

7 may be in the possession of the intelligence commu8 nity, that is necessary to enable it to carry out its 9 purposes and functions under this Act. Upon request

10 of the Chairperson, the chairperson of any sub11 committee created by a majority of the Commission,

  1. or any member designated by a majority of the
  2. Commission, the head of such department or agency 14 shall furnish such information to the Commission.

15 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS16 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 17 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of

18 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap19 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders.

20             (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

21                              (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.—

22 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis23 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com24 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative

25                support services and office space necessary for the

Commission to carry out its purposes and functions under this Act.

                                       (2) OTHER         FEDERAL       DEPARTMENTS       AND

4 AGENCIES.—In addition to the assistance prescribed 5 in paragraph (1), Federal departments and agencies

  1. may provide to the Commission such services, funds,
  2. facilities, staff, and other support services as deter8 mined advisable and authorized by law.

9                 (e) CONVEYANCES AND OTHER DEVISES.—The Com-

  1. mission may accept, use, and dispose of devises of services
  2. or property, both real and personal, for the purpose of 12 aiding or facilitating the work of the Commission.
  1. (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use
  2. the United States mail in the same manner and under the
  3. same conditions as Federal departments and agencies.
  4. SEC. 7. STAFF OF COMMISSION.

17            (a) APPOINTMENT.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the Chairperson, in consultation with the 20 Vice-Chairperson, in accordance with rules agreed

  1. upon by the Commission, may appoint and fix the
  2. compensation of a Staff Director and such other
  3. personnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its purposes and functions, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United

States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such

  1. title relating to classification and General Schedule
  2. pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this
  3. subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable
  4. for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 8 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the

11 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (18 12 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.)—

13 (i) the Commission shall be considered 14 an employing office; and 15 (ii) the personnel of the Commission 16 shall be considered covered employees.

17                              (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara-

18 graph (A) shall not apply to apply to members
19 of the Commission.

  1. (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission
  2. is authorized to procure temporary and intermittent serv22 ices under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code,

23 but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under level

IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

(c) DETAILEES.—The head of any Federal depart4 ment or agency may detail, on a non-reimbursable basis,

  1. any of the personnel of that department or agency to the
  2. Commission to assist the Commission in carrying out its 7 purposes and functions.
  1. SEC. 8. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF.
  2. The appropriate Federal departments or agencies
  3. shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro11 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate

12 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex13 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person

  1. may be provided with access to classified information
  2. under this Act without the appropriate security clearances.
     
  3. SEC. 9. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM-
  4. MITTEE ACT.
  5. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Committee 19 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission.

20                         (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

21 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 22 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex23 tent appropriate; and

(2) release public versions of the reports submitted pursuant to section 10.

(c) CONDUCT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public

hearings of the Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the protection of information provided

  1. to or developed for or by the Commission as required by
  2. any applicable statute, regulation, or Executive order.
  3. SEC. 10. REPORTS; TERMINATION.
  4. (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub-
  5. mit to the President and Congress interim reports con9 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations

10 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major11 ity of Commission members.

12 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 13 2021, the Commission shall submit to the President and

14 Congress a final report containing such findings, conclu
15 sions, and recommendations for corrective measures as

  1. have been agreed to by a majority of Commission mem-
  2. bers.

18           (c) TERMINATION.—

  1. (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the
  2. authorities of this Act, shall terminate upon the ex21 piration of the 60-day period which begins on the

22 date on which the Commission submits the final re23 port under subsection (b).

(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER-

MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day

period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of concluding its activities, including providing testimony to committees of Congress concerning its re-

  1. ports and disseminating the final report.
     
  2. SEC. 11. ARCHIVING.
  3. The records of the Commission shall be transferred
  4. to the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Ar8 chives and Records Administration upon termination of 9 the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of section
  1. 10(c).
     
  2. SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  3. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 14 Act.
  1. (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro-
  2. priated pursuant to the authorization under this section
  3. shall remain available until expended.
     
  4. SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.
  5. In this Act:
  6. (1) DOMESTIC TERRORISM.—The term ‘‘domes-
  7. tic terrorism’’ has the meaning given such term in 22 section 2331 of title 18, United States Code.

23                         (2) INSTRUMENTALITY OF GOVERNMENT.—The

term ‘‘instrumentality of government’’ means Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies.

(3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given such term in section 3(4) of the National Security

4             Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).

5                              (4) MALIGN FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS

6 AND CAMPAIGNS.—The term ‘‘malign foreign influ7 ence operations and campaigns’’ has the meaning

8 given such term in section 101(h) of the National 9 Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021(h)).

  1. (5) TARGETED VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘targeted
  2. violence’’ means an incident of violence in which an
  3. attacker selected a particular target in order to in-
  4. flict mass injury or death with no discernable political or ideological motivation beyond mass injury or 

15          death.

[  end]