I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2567 

To suspend the authority for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security 

Cooperation (the successor institution to the United States Army School 

of the Americas) in the Department of Defense, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. PLATTS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. LEWIS of 

Georgia, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. 

TONKO, Mr. WU, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. CLAY, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 

HINCHEY, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. ELLSWORTH, Mr. WELCH, 

Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. FARR, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts, 

Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. HOLT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HODES, Mr. CUMMINGS, 

Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. KIND, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, 

Mr. OBERSTAR, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. 

CARSON of Indiana, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. DRIEHAUS, and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To suspend the authority for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (the successor institution 

to the United States Army School of the Americas) in 

the Department of Defense, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Latin America Military 

3 Training Review Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR WESTERN HEMI5 SPHERE INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY CO6 OPERATION. 

7 (a) SUSPENSION OF INSTITUTE.—The Secretary of 

8 the Army shall suspend the operation of the Western 

9 Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation until the 

10 submission of the report under section 4(e). 

11 (b) SUSPENSION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of 

12 the Secretary of Defense to operate an education and 

13 training facility under section 2166 of title 10, United 

14 States Code, is suspended until the submission of the re15 port under section 4(e). 

16 (c) LIMITATION ON ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW EDU17 CATION AND TRAINING FACILITY.—No training or edu18 cation facility may be established in the Department of 

19 Defense for Latin American military personnel (as a suc20 cessor to the United States Army School of the Americas, 

21 the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Coopera22 tion, or otherwise) until the submission of the report under 

23 section 4(e). 

24 SEC. 3. JOINT CONGRESSIONAL TASK FORCE. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a joint 

26 congressional task force to conduct an assessment of the 


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1 kind of education and training that is appropriate for the 

2 Department of Defense to provide to military personnel 

3 of Latin American nations. 

4 (b) COMPOSITION.—The task force shall be composed 

5 of eight Members of Congress, of whom two each shall 

6 be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representa7 tives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, 

8 the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader 

9 of the Senate. 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the task force shall submit 

12 to Congress a report on the assessment conducted under 

13 subsection (a). The report shall include— 

14 (1) a critical assessment of courses, curriculum, 

15 and procedures appropriate for education and train16 ing of military personnel of Latin American nations; 

17 and 

18 (2) an evaluation of the effect of such education 

19 and training on the performance of Latin American 

20 military personnel in the areas of human rights and 

21 adherence to democratic principles and the rule of 

22 law. 

23 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Mem24 ber’’ includes a Delegate to, or Resident Commissioner in, 

25 Congress. 


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1 SEC. 4. COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE HUMAN RIGHTS 

2 ABUSES AT THE UNITED STATES ARMY 

3 SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com5 mission to investigate the activities of the United States 

6 Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, 

7 the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Coopera8 tion. 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The commission shall be 

11 composed of eight members, of whom two each shall 

12 be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Rep13 resentatives, the minority leader of the House of 

14 Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, 

15 and the minority leader of the Senate. 

16 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the commis17 sion shall be selected from among individuals with 

18 knowledge and experience in foreign military train19 ing and international human rights who are not offi20 cers or employees of the Federal Government. 

21 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—The mem22 bers of the commission shall be appointed not later 

23 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act. 

25 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy of the commis26 sion shall not affect the powers of the commission 


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1 and shall be filled in the manner in which the origi2 nal appointment was made. 

3 (5) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

4 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the commission 

5 shall be elected by the members. 

6 (6) COMPENSATION.—Members of the commis7 sion shall serve without pay. 

8 (7) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the 

9 commission shall receive travel expenses, including 

10 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 

11 applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 

12 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (c) POWERS.— 

14 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The commis15 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out this sec16 tion, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, 

17 take testimony, and receive evidence as the commis18 sion considers appropriate. 

19 (2) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

20 The commission may secure directly from any Fed21 eral department or agency such information as the 

22 commission considers necessary to carry out the pro23 visions of this section. Upon request of the Chair24 person of the commission, the head of such departVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:15 May 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2567.IH H2567

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1 ment or agency shall furnish such information to the 

2 commission. 

3 (d) INVESTIGATION.—Not later than two years after 

4 the date on which all members of the commission have 

5 been appointed, the commission shall complete an inves6 tigation into the activities of the United States Army 

7 School of the Americas and its successor institution, the 

8 Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. 

9 The investigation shall— 

10 (1) identify those individuals responsible for 

11 drafting or approving manuals for use at either such 

12 institution advocating tactics that violate inter13 national law or the laws of the United States; 

14 (2) determine how such manuals were used in 

15 training conducted by either such institution; 

16 (3) determine the effect of such training; and 

17 (4) identify those individuals responsible for 

18 teaching such tactics. 

19 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the com20 pletion of the investigation under subsection (d), the com21 mission shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of De22 fense a report containing the results of the investigation 

23 and recommendations for actions in response to any viola24 tions of human rights to which training at the United 

25 States Army School of the Americas or its successor instiVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:15 May 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2567.IH H2567

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1 tution, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Co2 operation, contributed. 

3 (f) TERMINATION.—The commission shall terminate 

4 30 days after the date of the submission of the report 

5 under subsection (e). 

Æ 


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