I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5468

To establish the United States Commission on Security in an Open Society.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 12, 2000

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To establish the United States Commission on Security in

an Open Society.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Commis5 sion on Security in an Open Society Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) an open society which affords free access to

9 public facilities and spaces and which protects the

10 right to engage in open discussion is an essential
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1 premise of American governmental institutions and

2 democratic values;

3 (2) the United States is currently facing a chal4 lenge to the safety and security of the public, public

5 employees, and public facilities and spaces that is

6 unique in the history of this Nation;

7 (3) to meet this challenge without eroding or

8 harming any of the basic tenets of the Republic and

9 of our democracy, this Nation needs to assemble the

10 best thinking available; and

11 (4) a commission of experts from a broad base

12 of disciplines and backgrounds is necessary to exam13 ine all the factors that should be considered in se14 curing public safety while maintaining the highest

15 level of free and open access to the public.

16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com18 mission to be known as the ‘‘United States Commission

19 on Security in an Open Society’’ (hereinafter in this Act

20 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

21 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com22 posed of 21 members appointed by the President from

23 among individuals representing such fields or groups as

24 the following: architecture, technology, civil libertarians,

25 humanists, members of the armed forces, city planners,
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1 business leaders, lawyers, artists, public building security,

2 engineers, philosophers, historians, sociologists, and psy3 chologists. The President shall designate one of those

4 members to be the Chairperson of the Commission.

5 (c) TERMS; QUORUM; MEETINGS; VACANCIES.—

6 Members shall be appointed for the life of the Commission.

7 Nine members of the Commission shall constitute a

8 quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings. After its

9 initial meeting, the Commission shall meet at the call of

10 the Chairperson of the Commission or a majority of its

11 members. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

12 its powers, and shall be filled in the same manner as the

13 original appointment.

14 (d) APPOINTMENTS; INITIAL MEETING.—

15 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—It is the sense of the

16 Congress that the members of the Commission

17 should be appointed by not later than 90 days after

18 the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—If, after 90 days fol20 lowing the date of enactment of this Act, 9 or more

21 members of the Commission have been appointed,

22 the members who have been appointed may meet,

23 and the Chairperson shall have the authority to

24 begin the operations of the Commission, including

25 the hiring of staff.
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1 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall study and

3 make findings and recommendations relating to the ques4 tion of how the Government of the United States may,

5 in a balanced manner, provide for both security in and

6 public access to Federal buildings and spaces.

7 (b) MATTERS TO BE EXAMINED.—In carrying out

8 this Act, the Commission shall specifically examine mat9 ters that relate to the security of, and open access to, pub10 lic facilities and spaces, including—

11 (1) Federal, other governmental, and private se12 curity practices and proposals, building design, pub13 lic space management, counterterrorism needs, and

14 refurbishment of existing Federal facilities;

15 (2) effect of access to public facilities and

16 spaces on—

17 (A) maintenance of security and safety;

18 (B) free speech, the right to petition the

19 government, and other constitutional rights and

20 civil liberties;

21 (C) economies of affected jurisdictions or

22 parts thereof;

23 (D) physical changes and architectural aes24 thetics of affected areas;

25 (E) traffic and congestion; and
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1 (F) job performance of employees within

2 the affected facilities;

3 (3) current and potential uses of technology to

4 augment or replace traditional modes of security;

5 (4) practices of and comparisons with other en6 tities and nations; and

7 (5) current and potential analytical methods of

8 assessing the risks posed by terrorist and similar

9 threats, balanced against the specific needs and val10 ues of open access.

11 (c) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Commis12 sion shall take appropriate measures to avoid unnecessary

13 duplication of efforts previously or then currently being

14 undertaken by any other person or entity.

15 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission or, on the au17 thorization of the Commission, any member or agent of

18 the Commission, may hold such hearings, sit and act at

19 such times and places, take such testimony, and receive

20 such evidence, as the Commission considers appropriate

21 to carry out this Act.

22 (b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL INFORMATION.—The Com23 mission may secure directly from any department, agency,

24 or other entity of the United States information necessary

25 to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the
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1 Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such govern2 mental entity shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur3 nish such information to the Commission.

4 (c) SECURITY.—

5 (1) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The members

6 and staff of the Commission shall, as a condition of

7 appointment to or employment with the Commission,

8 hold appropriate security clearances for access to the

9 classified briefing, records, and materials to be re10 viewed by the Commission or its staff, and shall fol11 low the guidance and practices on security under ap12 plicable Executive orders and agency directives.

13 (2) CONDITIONS TO GRANTING ACCESS.—The

14 head of an agency shall, as a condition of granting

15 access to a member of the Commission or a member

16 of the staff of the Commission to classified records

17 or materials of the agency under this Act, require

18 the member or the member of the staff, as the case

19 may be, to—

20 (A) execute an agreement regarding the se21 curity of such records or materials that is ap22 proved by the head of the agency; and

23 (B) hold an appropriate security clearance

24 granted or recognized under the standard pro25 cedures and eligibility criteria of the agency, in-
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1 cluding any special access approval required for

2 access to such records or materials.

3 (3) RESTRICTION ON USE.—The members of

4 the Commission and the members of the staff of the

5 Commission may not use any information acquired

6 in the course of their official activities on the Com7 mission for nonofficial purposes.

8 (4) NEED TO KNOW.—For purposes of any law

9 or regulation governing access to classified informa10 tion that pertains to the national security of the

11 United States, and to facilitate the advisory func12 tions of the Commission under this Act, a member

13 of the Commission or a member of the staff of the

14 Commission seeking access to a record or material

15 under this Act shall be deemed for purposes of this

16 subsection to have a need to know the contents of

17 the record or material.

18 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A reference in

19 this subsection to the ‘‘staff of the Commission’’ in20 cludes individuals under section 6(d)–(e).

21 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

22 States mails in the same manner and under the same con23 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

24 States.
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1 (e) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and

2 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.

3 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Ad4 ministrator of General Services shall provide to the Com5 mission, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative sup6 port services as the Commission may request.

7 SEC. 6. PERSONNEL MATTERS.

8 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Members of the

9 Commission shall not be compensated by reason of their

10 service on the Commission.

11 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com12 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

13 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ14 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

15 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

16 regular places of business in the performance of services

17 for the Commission.

18 (c) STAFF.—Subject to such rules as the Commission

19 may prescribe, the Chairperson of the Commission may,

20 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

21 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,

22 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and

23 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title (relating to clas24 sification and General Schedule pay rates), appoint and

25 fix the pay of a staff director and such other personnel
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1 as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry

2 out its functions, except that no rate of pay fixed under

3 this subsection may exceed the maximum rate of basic pay

4 payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule.

5 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request

6 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of any

7 department or agency of the United States may detail, on

8 a nonreimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that de9 partment or agency to the Commission to assist it in car10 rying out its functions under this Act.

11 (e) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap12 proval of the Commission, the Chairperson of the Commis13 sion may procure temporary and intermittent services

14 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at

15 rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of

16 the maximum rate of basic pay payable for GS–15 of the

17 General Schedule.

18 SEC. 7. REPORT.

19 (a) SUBMISSION TO THE PRESIDENT.—The Commis20 sion shall transmit its final report to the President not

21 later than 2 years after the initial meeting of the Commis22 sion. Such report shall contain a detailed statement of the

23 findings and conclusions of the Commission, together with

24 its recommendations for such legislative, administrative,

25 or other action as the Commission considers appropriate.
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1 (b) SUBMISSION TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later than

2 6 months after receiving the final report of the Commis3 sion under subsection (a), the President shall transmit

4 such report to the Congress, together with any comments

5 or recommendations (including any proposed legislation)

6 which the President considers appropriate.

7 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

8 The Commission shall terminate on the 90th day

9 after the date on which the Commission is required to sub10 mit its final report under section 7(a).

11 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

13 this Act—

14 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

15 (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.

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