II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4132 

To establish the Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the United 

States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 1, 2020 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. CASEY, 

Mr. REED, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HIRONO, 

Mr. CARPER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. 

SMITH, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To establish the Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic 

in the United States. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the 

6 United States Act’’. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 


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1 (1) it is important to consider what the 

2 coronavirus disease 19 (COVID–19) pandemic re3 veals about the vulnerabilities to the national secu4 rity of the United States, especially how prepared 

5 the United States would be for a biological attack 

6 that not only causes public health confusion and fear 

7 but also public fear similar to the level caused by a 

8 terrorist attack; 

9 (2) the purpose of establishing the commission 

10 under section 2 is not just to look back at prior 

11 practices and mistakes but to learn lessons as quick12 ly as possible to better protect the United States 

13 going forward; and 

14 (3) it is crucial to better understand the in15 creasing likelihood of pandemic threats (such as the 

16 recent threats of severe acute respiratory syndrome 

17 (SARS), Ebola, the 2009–H1N1 influenza, and 

18 COVID–19) and health issues that the United 

19 States could face during the next several decades. 

20 SEC. 2. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE COVID–19 PAN21 DEMIC IN THE UNITED STATES. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is es23 tablished in the legislative branch the National Commis24 sion on the COVID–19 Pandemic in the United States (in 

25 this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Commission are 

2 to— 

3 (1) examine and report upon the facts and cir4 cumstances relating to the outbreak and spread of 

5 coronavirus disease 19 (COVID–19) caused by the 

6 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 

7 (SARS–CoV–2) (in this section referred to as 

8 ‘‘COVID–19’’) in the United States; 

9 (2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi10 dence developed by any relevant governmental and 

11 nongovernmental entities regarding the facts and 

12 circumstances surrounding COVID–19; 

13 (3) make a full and complete assessment and 

14 accounting of the circumstances surrounding the 

15 outbreak and spread of COVID–19 in the United 

16 States; 

17 (4) make a full and complete assessment and 

18 accounting of the preparedness of the Federal Gov19 ernment, State governments, local governments, and 

20 the private sector for the outbreak and spread of 

21 COVID–19 in the United States; 

22 (5) make a full and complete assessment and 

23 accounting of the actions by the Federal Govern24 ment, State governments, local governments, and the 


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1 private sector in response to the outbreak and 

2 spread of COVID–19 in the United States; and 

3 (6) investigate and report to the President and 

4 Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec5 ommendations to improve the ability of the United 

6 States to prepare for, detect, prevent, and, if nec7 essary, respond to epidemics and pandemics such as 

8 COVID–19, whether naturally occurring or caused 

9 by State or non-State actors. 

10 (c) COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.— 

11 (1) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be com12 posed of 10 members, of whom— 

13 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

14 President, who shall serve as chair of the Com15 mission; 

16 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

17 leader of the Senate (majority or minority lead18 er, as the case may be) of the political party 

19 that is not the same political party as the Presi20 dent, 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 leader, who shall serve as 

24 vice chair of the Commission; 


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1 (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

2 senior member of the Senate leadership of the 

3 Democratic Party; 

4 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

5 senior member of the leadership of the House 

6 of Representatives of the Republican Party; 

7 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

8 senior member of the Senate leadership of the 

9 Republican Party; and 

10 (F) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

11 senior member of the leadership of the House 

12 of Representatives of the Democratic Party. 

13 (2) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

14 (A) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not 

15 more than 5 members of the Commission shall 

16 be from the same political party. 

17 (B) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.— 

18 An individual appointed to the Commission may 

19 not be an officer or employee of the Federal 

20 Government or any State or local government. 

21 (C) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 

22 Congress that individuals appointed to the 

23 Commission should be prominent United States 

24 citizens, with national recognition and signifi25 cant depth of experience in such professions as 


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1 public health, medicine (including epidemi2 ology), governmental service, academia, home3 land security, the armed services, emergency 

4 preparedness and management, law, public ad5 ministration, and intelligence. 

6 (D) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All 

7 members of the Commission shall be appointed 

8 during the period beginning January 21, 2021, 

9 and ending February 5, 2021. 

10 (E) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission 

11 shall meet and begin the operations of the Com12 mission as soon as practicable. 

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 pow18 ers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which 

19 the original appointment was made. 

20 (d) FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.—The functions of 

21 the Commission are to— 

22 (1) conduct an investigation that— 

23 (A) addresses the matters specified in sub24 section (b); 


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1 (B) investigates relevant facts and cir2 cumstances relating to the outbreak and spread 

3 of COVID–19 in the United States, and the re4 sponse to such outbreak and spread, including 

5 with respect to any relevant legislation, Execu6 tive order, regulation, plan, policy, practice, or 

7 procedure; and 

8 (C) may include relevant facts and cir9 cumstances relating to— 

10 (i) Federal, State, and local authori11 ties with responsibilities relevant to the 

12 outbreak and spread of COVID–19 in the 

13 United States, including such authorities 

14 with responsibilities relating to public 

15 health, emergency management, and epi16 demic and pandemic preparedness and re17 sponse; 

18 (ii) private sector organizations; 

19 (iii) intelligence agencies and law en20 forcement agencies; 

21 (iv) diplomacy and international co22 ordination; 

23 (v) immigration and border control; 

24 (vi) the role of congressional oversight 

25 and resource allocation; and 


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1 (vii) other activities of the public and 

2 private sectors determined relevant by the 

3 Commission for its inquiry; 

4 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 

5 learned from the outbreak and spread of COVID–19 

6 in the United States, and the response to such out7 break and spread, regarding the structure, coordina8 tion, management, policies, procedures, and actions 

9 of Federal, State, and local governments and non10 governmental entities relative to preparing for, de11 tecting, preventing, and responding to epidemics and 

12 pandemics, whether naturally occurring or caused by 

13 a State or non-State actor; and 

14 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 

15 reports as are required by this section containing 

16 such findings, conclusions, and recommendations as 

17 the Commission shall determine, including proposing 

18 organization, coordination, planning, management 

19 arrangements, procedures, rules, and regulations. 

20 (e) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (A) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The 

23 Commission or, on the authority of the Com24 mission, any subcommittee or member thereof, 


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1 may, for the purpose of carrying out this sec2 tion— 

3 (i) hold such hearings and sit and act 

4 at such times and places, take such testi5 mony, receive such evidence, and admin6 ister such oaths, as the Commission or 

7 such designated subcommittee or des8 ignated member may determine advisable; 

9 and 

10 (ii) subject to subparagraph (B)(i), 

11 require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at12 tendance and testimony of such witnesses 

13 and the production of such books, records, 

14 correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 

15 documents, as the Commission or such 

16 designated subcommittee or designated 

17 member may determine advisable. 

18 (B) ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

20 issued under this paragraph only— 

21 (I) by the agreement of the chair 

22 and the vice chair; or 

23 (II) by the affirmative vote of 6 

24 members of the Commission. 


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1 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 

2 (i), subpoenas issued under this paragraph 

3 may be issued under the signature of the 

4 chair or any member designated by a ma5 jority of the Commission, and may be 

6 served by any person designated by the 

7 chair or by a member designated by a ma8 jority of the Commission. 

9 (C) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENAS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con11 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

12 issued under this paragraph, the United 

13 States district court for the judicial district 

14 in which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

15 served, or may be found, or where the sub16 poena is returnable, may issue an order re17 quiring such person to appear at any des18 ignated place to testify or to produce docu19 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 

20 obey the order of the court may be pun21 ished by the court as a contempt of that 

22 court. 

23 (ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In 

24 the case of any failure of any witness to 

25 comply with any subpoena or to testify 


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1 when summoned under authority of this 

2 subsection, the Commission may, by major3 ity vote, certify a statement of fact consti4 tuting such failure to the appropriate 

5 United States attorney, who shall bring the 

6 matter before the grand jury for its action, 

7 under the same statutory authority and 

8 procedures as if the United States attorney 

9 had received a certification under sections 

10 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

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

12 through 194). 

13 (2) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to 

14 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 

15 appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 

16 the Commission to discharge its duties under this 

17 section. 

18 (3) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is au20 thorized to secure directly from any executive 

21 department, bureau, agency, board, commission, 

22 office, independent establishment, or instrumen23 tality of the Government, information, sugges24 tions, estimates, and statistics for the purposes 

25 of this section. Each department, bureau, agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4132.IS S4132

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1 cy, board, commission, office, independent es2 tablishment, or instrumentality shall, to the 

3 fullest extent permitted by law, furnish such in4 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 

5 directly to the Commission, upon request made 

6 by the chair, the chair of any subcommittee cre7 ated by a majority of the Commission, or any 

8 member designated by a majority of the Com9 mission. 

10 (B) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND

11 DISSEMINATION.—Information shall only be re12 ceived, handled, stored, and disseminated by 

13 members of the Commission and its staff con14 sistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, 

15 and Executive orders. 

16 (4) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

17 (A) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRA18 TION.—The Administrator of General Services 

19 shall provide to the Commission on a reimburs20 able basis administrative support and other 

21 services for the performance of the Commis22 sion’s functions. 

23 (B) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN24 CIES.—In addition to the assistance prescribed 

25 in subparagraph (A), departments and agencies 


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1 of the United States may provide to the Com2 mission such services, funds, facilities, staff, 

3 and other support services as they may deter4 mine advisable and as may be authorized by 

5 law. 

6 (5) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, 

7 and dispose of gifts or donations of services or prop8 erty. 

9 (6) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may 

10 use the United States mails in the same manner and 

11 under the same conditions as departments and agen12 cies of the United States. 

13 (f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM14 MITTEE ACT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com16 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

17 Commission. 

18 (2) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUB19 LIC VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission 

20 shall— 

21 (A) hold public hearings and meetings to 

22 the extent appropriate; and 

23 (B) release public versions of the reports 

24 required under subsection (j). 


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1 (3) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of 

2 the Commission shall be conducted in a manner con3 sistent with the protection of information provided 

4 to or developed for or by the Commission as re5 quired by any applicable statute, regulation, or Ex6 ecutive order. 

7 (g) STAFF OF COMMISSION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (A) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

10 The chair, in consultation with vice chair, in ac11 cordance with rules agreed upon by the Com12 mission, may appoint and fix the compensation 

13 of a staff director and such other personnel as 

14 may be necessary to enable the Commission to 

15 carry out its functions, without regard to the 

16 provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov17 erning appointments in the competitive service, 

18 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 

19 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

20 title relating to classification and General 

21 Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay 

22 fixed under this subsection may exceed the 

23 equivalent of that payable for a position at level 

24 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 

25 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (B) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOY2 EES.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—The staff director 

4 and any personnel of the Commission who 

5 are employees shall be employees under 

6 section 2105 of title 5, United States 

7 Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 

8 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 

9 (ii) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.— 

10 Clause (i) shall not be construed to apply 

11 to members of the Commission. 

12 (2) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government em13 ployee may be detailed to the Commission without 

14 reimbursement from the Commission, and such 

15 detailee shall retain the rights, status, and privileges 

16 of his or her regular employment without interrup17 tion. 

18 (3) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission 

19 is authorized to procure the services of experts and 

20 consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 

21 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the 

22 daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level 

23 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

24 title 5, United States Code. 

25 (h) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 


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1 (1) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the 

2 Commission may be compensated at not to exceed 

3 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 

4 in effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 

5 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, for each day during which that member 

7 is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 

8 of the Commission. 

9 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

10 their homes or regular places of business in the per11 formance of services for the Commission, members 

12 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

13 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

14 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

15 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

16 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (i) SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM18 BERS AND STAFF.—The appropriate Federal agencies or 

19 departments shall cooperate with the Commission in expe20 ditiously providing to the Commission members and staff 

21 appropriate security clearances to the extent possible pur22 suant to existing procedures and requirements, except that 

23 no person shall be provided with access to classified infor24 mation under this section without the appropriate security 

25 clearances. 


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1 (j) REPORTS OF COMMISSION.— 

2 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may 

3 submit to the President and Congress interim re4 ports containing such findings, conclusions, and rec5 ommendations for corrective measures as have been 

6 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

7 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than August 31, 

8 2022, the Commission shall submit to the President, 

9 Congress, and the public a final report containing 

10 such findings, conclusions, and recommendations for 

11 corrective measures as have been agreed to by a ma12 jority of Commission members. 

13 (k) TERMINATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the 

15 authorities of this section, shall terminate 60 days 

16 after the date on which the final report is submitted 

17 under subsection (j)(2). 

18 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER19 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

20 period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose 

21 of concluding its activities, including providing testi22 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re23 ports and disseminating the final report. 

24 (l) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Com3 mission such sums as may be necessary for any fis4 cal year, half of which shall be derived from the ap5 plicable account of the House of Representatives, 

6 and half of which shall be derived from the contin7 gent fund of the Senate. 

8 (2) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 

9 made available to the Commission under paragraph 

10 (1) shall remain available until the termination of 

11 the Commission. 

Æ 


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