I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3003 

To establish an independent Commission to investigate detainee abuses. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2005 

Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. HOYER, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. SPRATT, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. 

MURTHA, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. OBEY, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BACA, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BECERRA, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. 

BERMAN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. CORRINE

BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. CAPPS, 

Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CLAY, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of 

Florida, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. 

DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. 

EMANUEL, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FARR, Mr. 

FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. 

GORDON, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

HINCHEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Ms. 

HOOLEY, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. JONES

of Ohio, Mr. KANJORSKI, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, 

Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. KIND, Mr. KUCINICH, 

Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 

Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Ms. MCCOLLUM of 

Minnesota, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. 

MCNULTY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MEEHAN, 

Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. 

MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORAN

of Kansas, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, 

Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, 

Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, 

Mr. RAHALL, Mr. REYES, Mr. ROSS, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. ROYBAL-AL-
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LARD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABO, Ms. LINDA T. 

SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, 

Mr. SNYDER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. STARK, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK, 

Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL

of New Mexico, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WATT, Mr. WEINER, Mr. 

WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, Mr. WYNN, Ms. CARSON, and Mr. 

CASE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To establish an independent Commission to investigate 

detainee abuses. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

4 There is established in the legislative branch the 

5 Independent Commission on the Investigation of Detainee 

6 Abuses (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

7 SEC. 2. DUTIES. 

8 (a) INVESTIGATION.—The Commission shall conduct 

9 a full, complete, independent, and impartial investigation 

10 of the abuses of detainees in connection with Operation 

11 Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any op12 eration within the Global War on Terrorism, including but 

13 not limited to the following: 

14 (1) The extent of the abuses. 
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1 (2) Why the abuses occurred. 

2 (3) Who is responsible for the abuses. 

3 (4) Whether any particular Department of De4 fense, Department of State, Department of Justice, 

5 Central Intelligence Agency, National Security 

6 Council, or White House policies, procedures, or de7 cisions facilitated the detainee abuses. 

8 (5) What policies, procedures, or mechanisms 

9 failed to prevent the abuses. 

10 (6) What legislative or executive actions should 

11 be taken to prevent such abuses from occurring in 

12 the future. 

13 (7) The extent, if any, to which Guantanamo 

14 Detention Center policies influenced policies at the 

15 Abu Ghraib prison and other detention centers in 

16 and outside Iraq. 

17 (b) ASSESSMENT, ANALYSIS, AND EVALUATION.— 

18 During the course of its investigation, the Commission 

19 shall assess, analyze, and evaluate relevant persons, poli20 cies, procedures, reports, and events, including but not 

21 limited to the following: 

22 (1) The Military Chain of Command. 

23 (2) The National Security Council. 

24 (3) The Department of Justice. 

25 (4) The Department of State. 
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1 (5) The Office of the White House Counsel. 

2 (6) The Defense Intelligence Agency and the 

3 Central Intelligence Agency. 

4 (7) The approval process for interrogation tech5 niques used at detention facilities in Iraq, Cuba, Af6 ghanistan, and elsewhere. 

7 (8) The integration of military police and mili8 tary intelligence operations to coordinate detainee 

9 interrogation. 

10 (9) The roles and actions of private civilian con11 tractors in the abuses and whether they violated the 

12 Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act or any 

13 other United States statutes or international treaties 

14 to which the United States is a party. 

15 (10) The role of nongovernmental organiza16 tions’ warnings to United States officials about the 

17 abuses. 

18 (11) The role of Congress and whether it was 

19 fully informed throughout the process that uncov20 ered these abuses. 

21 (12) The extent to which the United States 

22 complied with the applicable provisions of the Gene23 va Conventions of 1949, and the extent to which the 

24 United States may have violated international law by 
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1 restricting the access of the International Committee 

2 of the Red Cross to detainees. 

3 (13) The extent to which the United States 

4 complied with the applicable provisions of other 

5 human rights treaties, including the International 

6 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Con7 vention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman 

8 or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 

9 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

10 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 

11 of 10 members, of whom— 

12 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi13 dent; 

14 (2) 1 member shall be jointly appointed by the 

15 minority leader of the Senate and the minority lead16 er of the House of Representatives; 

17 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the major18 ity leader of the Senate; 

19 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the Speak20 er of the House of Representatives; 

21 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor22 ity leader of the Senate; and 

23 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor24 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

25 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 
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1 (1) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in2 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an 

3 officer or employee of the Federal Government or 

4 any State or local government. 

5 (2) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—Individuals that 

6 shall be appointed to the Commission should be 

7 prominent United States citizens, with national rec8 ognition and significant depth of experience in such 

9 professions as governmental service, law enforce10 ment, the armed services, law, public administration, 

11 intelligence gathering, international human rights 

12 and humanitarian law, and foreign affairs. 

13 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem14 bers of the Commission shall be appointed within 45 

15 days following the enactment of this Act. 

16 (4) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The 

17 chairman and vice chairman of the Commission shall 

18 be elected by a majority vote of the members. 

19 (5) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet 

20 and begin the operations of the Commission as soon 

21 as practicable. After its initial meeting, the Commis22 sion shall meet upon the call of the chairman or a 

23 majority of its members. 

24 (c) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—Six members of the Com25 mission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the 
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1 Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled 

2 in the same manner in which the original appointment was 

3 made. 

4 (d) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

5 (1) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—Each member 

6 appointed to the Commission shall submit a finan7 cial disclosure report pursuant to the Ethics in Gov8 ernment Act of 1978, notwithstanding the minimum 

9 required rate of compensation or time period em10 ployed. 

11 (2) INDEPENDENCE FROM SUBJECTS OF INVES12 TIGATIONS.—Each member appointed to the Com13 mission shall be independent of any agency, indi14 vidual, or institution that may be the subject of in15 vestigation by the Commission. 

16 SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis19 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 

20 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur21 pose of carrying out this title— 

22 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 

23 such times and places, take such testimony, re24 ceive such evidence, administer such oaths; and 
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1 (B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, 

2 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 

3 testimony of such witnesses and the production 

4 of such books, records, correspondence, memo5 randa, papers, and documents, 

6 as the Commission or such designated subcommittee 

7 or designated member may determine advisable. 

8 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

9 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

11 issued under this subsection only— 

12 (I) by the agreement of the 

13 chairman and the vice chairman; or 

14 (II) by the affirmative vote of 6 

15 members of the Commission. 

16 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 

17 (i), subpoenas issued under this subsection 

18 may be issued under the signature of the 

19 chairman or any member designated by a 

20 majority of the Commission, and may be 

21 served by any person designated by the 

22 chairman or by a member designated by a 

23 majority of the Commission. 

24 (B) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con2 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

3 issued under this subsection, the United 

4 States district court for the judicial district 

5 in which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

6 served, or may be found, or where the sub7 poena is returnable, may issue an order re8 quiring such person to appear at any des9 ignated place to testify or to produce docu10 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 

11 obey the order of the court may be pun12 ished by the court as a contempt of that 

13 court. 

14 (ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In 

15 the case of any failure of any witness to 

16 comply with any subpoena or to testify 

17 when summoned under authority of this 

18 subsection, the Commission may, by major19 ity vote, certify a statement of fact consti20 tuting such failure to the appropriate 

21 United States attorney, who may bring the 

22 matter before the grand jury for its action, 

23 under the same statutory authority and 

24 procedures as if the United States attorney 

25 had received a certification under sections 
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1 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

2 of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 

3 through 194). 

4 (3) SCOPE.—In carrying out its duties under 

5 this Act, the Commission may examine the actions 

6 and representations of the current Administration as 

7 well as prior Administrations. 

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

9 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria10 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

11 to discharge its duties of this Act. 

12 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

14 directly from any executive department, bureau, 

15 agency, board, commission, office, independent es16 tablishment, or instrumentality of the Federal Gov17 ernment, information, suggestions, estimates, and 

18 statistics for the purposes of this Act. Each depart19 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

20 independent establishment, or instrumentality shall, 

21 to the extent authorized by law, furnish such infor22 mation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics di23 rectly to the Commission, upon request made by the 

24 chairman, the chairman of any subcommittee cre-
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1 ated by a majority of the Commission, or any mem2 ber designated by a majority of the Commission. 

3 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS4 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

5 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

6 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap7 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

8 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

9 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

10 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

11 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis12 trative support and other services for the perform13 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

14 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

15 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

16 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 

17 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

18 facilities, staff, and other support services as they 

19 may determine advisable and as may be authorized 

20 by law. 

21 (e) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

22 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

23 (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

24 the United States mails in the same manner and under 
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1 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

2 United States. 

3 SEC. 5. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM4 MITTEE ACT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

6 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

7 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

8 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

9 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex10 tent appropriate; and 

11 (2) release public versions of the reports re12 quired under section 9. 

13 (c) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

14 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

15 with the protection of information provided to or developed 

16 for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 

17 statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

18 SEC. 6. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

21 chairman and the vice chairman jointly, in accord22 ance with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 

23 may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff di24 rector and such other personnel as may be necessary 

25 to enable the Commission to carry out its functions, 
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1 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

2 States Code, governing appointments in the competi3 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

4 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

5 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

6 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this 

7 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

8 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule 

9 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The staff director and 

12 any personnel of the Commission who are em13 ployees shall be employees under section 2105 

14 of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of 

15 chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of 

16 that title. 

17 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara18 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

19 members of the Commission. 

20 (b) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

21 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

22 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

23 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ24 ment without interruption. 
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1 (c) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au2 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

3 in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 

4 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per5 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

6 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

7 Code. 

8 SEC. 7. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

9 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis10 sion may be compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily 

11 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for 

12 a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec13 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day dur14 ing which that member is engaged in the actual perform15 ance of the duties of the Commission. 

16 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from their 

17 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

18 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis19 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

20 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em21 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al22 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

23 States Code. 
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1 SEC. 8. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM2 BERS AND STAFF. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the ap4 propriate Federal agencies or departments shall cooperate 

5 with the Commission in expeditiously providing to the 

6 Commission members and staff appropriate security clear7 ances to the extent possible pursuant to existing proce8 dures and requirements. 

9 (b) EXCEPTION.—No person shall be provided with 

10 access to classified information under this title without the 

11 appropriate required security clearance access. 

12 SEC. 9. REPORTS OF COMMISSION; TERMINATION. 

13 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub14 mit to Congress and the President interim reports con15 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

16 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major17 ity of Commission members. 

18 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

20 shall submit to Congress and the President a final report 

21 containing such findings, conclusions, and recommenda22 tions for corrective measures as have been agreed to by 

23 a majority of Commission members. 

24 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report prepared under 

25 this section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 

26 may contain a classified annex. 
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1 (d) RECOMMENDATION TO MAKE PUBLIC CERTAIN

2 CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—If the Commission deter3 mines that it is in the public interest that some or all of 

4 the information contained in a classified annex of a report 

5 under this section be made available to the public, the 

6 Commission shall make a recommendation to the congres7 sional intelligence committees to make such information 

8 public, and the congressional intelligence committees shall 

9 consider the recommendation pursuant to the procedures 

10 under subsection (e). 

11 (e) PROCEDURE FOR DECLASSIFYING INFORMA12 TION.— 

13 (1) The procedures referred to in subsection (d) 

14 are the procedures described in— 

15 (A) with respect to the Permanent Select 

16 Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep17 resentatives, clause 11(g) of rule X of the Rules 

18 of the House of Representatives, One Hundred 

19 Ninth Congress; and 

20 (B) with respect to the Select Committee 

21 on Intelligence of the Senate, section 8 of Sen22 ate Resolution 400, Ninety-Fourth Congress. 

23 (2) In this section, the term ‘‘congressional in24 telligence committees’’ means— 
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1 (A) the Permanent Select Committee on 

2 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

3 and 

4 (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence 

5 of the Senate. 

6 SEC. 10. TERMINATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the au8 thorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after the date 

9 on which the final report is submitted under section 9(b). 

10 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMI11 NATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day period re12 ferred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of concluding 

13 its activities, including providing testimony to committees 

14 of Congress concerning its reports and disseminating the 

15 final report. 

16 SEC. 11. FUNDING. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated funds not to exceed 

19 $5,000,000 for purposes of the activities of the Commis20 sion under this Act. 

21 (b) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made 

22 available to the Commission under subsection (a) shall re23 main available until the termination of the Commission. 

Æ