II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1821 

To establish the National Commission on the Cybersecurity of United States 

Election Systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish the National Commission on the Cybersecurity 

of United States Election Systems, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

4 There is established the National Commission on the 

5 Cybersecurity of United States Election Systems (in this 

6 Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of the Commission are— 

9 (1) to identify and document mitigation and re10 sponse actions to or in the prevention of cybersecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Sep 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1821.IS S1821

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1 rity vulnerabilities in, or threats or attacks to, the 

2 election systems in the United States in 2016; 

3 (2) to document and describe any harm or at4 tempted harm with respect to election systems in the 

5 United States in 2016; 

6 (3) to review foreign cyber interference in elec7 tions in other countries in order to understand addi8 tional cybersecurity threats, interference methods, 

9 and successful defense mechanisms; 

10 (4) to make a full and complete accounting of 

11 what emerging threats and unmitigated vulnerabili12 ties remain and to identify likely threats to election 

13 systems in the United States; and 

14 (5) to report on the recommendations of the 

15 Commission for action at the Federal, State, and 

16 local level. 

17 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION. 

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

19 of 15 members, of whom— 

20 (1) 2 members shall be appointed by the Elec21 tion Assistance Commission; 

22 (2) 3 members shall be appointed by the mem23 bers of the National Association of Secretaries of 

24 State together with the members of the National As25 sociation of State Election Directors; 


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1 (3) 5 members shall be appointed by the major2 ity leader of the Senate, in consultation with the mi3 nority leader of the Senate, from all candidates nom4 inated under subparagraphs (A) through (E), in5 cluding— 

6 (A) 3 candidates nominated by the chair7 person, in consultation with the ranking mem8 ber, of the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

9 Senate; 

10 (B) 3 candidates nominated by the chair11 person, in consultation with the ranking mem12 ber of the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

13 the Senate; 

14 (C) 3 candidates nominated by the chair15 person, in consultation with the ranking mem16 ber of the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

17 the Senate; 

18 (D) 3 candidates nominated by the chair19 person, in consultation with the ranking mem20 ber of the Committee on Homeland Security 

21 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

22 (E) 3 candidates nominated by the chair23 person, in consultation with the ranking mem24 ber of the Committee on Rules and Administra25 tion of the Senate; and 


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1 (4) 5 members shall be appointed by the Speak2 er of the House of Representatives, in consultation 

3 with the minority leader of the House of Representa4 tives, from all candidates nominated under subpara5 graphs (A) through (E), including— 

6 (A) 3 candidates nominated by the chair7 person, in consultation with the ranking mem8 ber of the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

9 House of Representatives; 

10 (B) 3 candidates nominated by the chair11 person, in consultation with the ranking mem12 ber of the Permanent Select Committee on In13 telligence of the House of Representatives; 

14 (C) 3 candidates nominated by the chair15 person, in consultation with the ranking mem16 ber of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

17 House of Representatives; 

18 (D) 3 candidates nominated by the chair19 person, in consultation with the ranking mem20 ber of the Committee on Homeland Security of 

21 the House of Representatives; and 

22 (E) 3 candidates nominated by the chair23 person, in consultation with the ranking mem24 ber of the Committee on House Administration 

25 of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall nominate 

2 a chairperson of the Commission from among the mem3 bers of the Commission. 

4 (c) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

5 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

6 than 8 members of the Commission shall be from 

7 the same political party. 

8 (2) ELECTED OFFICIALS.—An individual ap9 pointed to the Commission may not be a serving 

10 elected official of the Federal Government or any 

11 State or local government. 

12 (3) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 

13 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis14 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

15 with national recognition and significant depth of ex16 perience in such professions as governmental service, 

17 law enforcement, election law, election security, po18 litical campaign management, information warfare, 

19 public administration, cyber espionage, and cyberse20 curity. 

21 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—If 60 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, eight or more mem23 bers of the Commission have been appointed, those 

24 members who have been appointed may meet and, if 

25 necessary, select a temporary chairperson, who may 


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1 begin the operations of the Commission, including 

2 the hiring of staff. 

3 (d) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting, 

4 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the chair5 person or a majority of its members. Eight members of 

6 the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy 

7 in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall 

8 be filled in the same manner in which the original appoint9 ment was made. 

10 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 

11 The functions of the Commission are— 

12 (1) to conduct an investigation that— 

13 (A) documents the relevant facts and cir14 cumstances with respect to harm or attempted 

15 harm to the election systems in the United 

16 States in 2016, including any regulation, plan, 

17 policy, practice, or procedure; and 

18 (B) may include relevant facts and cir19 cumstances relating to— 

20 (i) intelligence agencies; 

21 (ii) international intelligence agencies 

22 with which the United States traditionally 

23 collaborates; 

24 (iii) law enforcement agencies; 


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1 (iv) election infrastructure providers, 

2 vendors, or consultants; 

3 (v) political campaign professionals, 

4 information warfare experts, or political 

5 press experts; 

6 (vi) public or private cybersecurity 

7 vendors, consultants, advisors, or staff; 

8 (vii) State and local election officials 

9 and election personnel; 

10 (viii) persons with election oversight 

11 responsibilities, including government enti12 ties and nonprofit organizations; 

13 (ix) cybersecurity; and 

14 (x) other areas of the public and pri15 vate sectors determined relevant by the 

16 Commission; 

17 (2) to identify and document successful and un18 successful mitigation and response actions in the 

19 prevention of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats, 

20 or attacks to the election systems in the United 

21 States in 2016; 

22 (3) to identify, review, and evaluate— 

23 (A) what unmitigated cybersecurity gaps 

24 remain; and 


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1 (B) what are the most likely threats to 

2 election systems in the future; 

3 (4) to develop recommendations for action at 

4 the Federal, State, and local level, including with re5 spect to the structure, coordination, management 

6 policies, and procedures of the Federal Government 

7 in— 

8 (A) assessing; 

9 (B) detecting; 

10 (C) preventing; and 

11 (D) responding to cybersecurity vulnerabil12 ities, threats, or attacks; and 

13 (5) to submit to the President and Congress the 

14 reports required by this Act containing the findings, 

15 conclusions, and recommendations as the Commis16 sion shall determine. 

17 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

19 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis20 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 

21 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur22 pose of carrying out this Act— 

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

24 such times and places, take such testimony, re25 ceive such evidence, administer such oaths; and 


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1 (B) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the 

2 attendance and testimony of such witnesses and 

3 the production of such books, records, cor4 respondence, memoranda, papers, and docu5 ments, as the Commission or such designated 

6 subcommittee or designated member may deter7 mine advisable. 

8 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

9 (A) ISSUANCE.—Subpoenas issued under 

10 paragraph (1)(B) may be issued under the sig11 nature of the chairperson of the Commission, 

12 the chairperson of any subcommittee created by 

13 a majority of the Commission, or any member 

14 designated by a majority of the Commission, 

15 and may be served by any person designated by 

16 the chairperson, subcommittee chairperson, or 

17 member. 

18 (B) ENFORCEMENT.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con20 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

21 issued under paragraph (1)(B), the United 

22 States district court for the judicial district 

23 in which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

24 served, or may be found, or where the sub25 poena is returnable, may issue an order reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Sep 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1821.IS S1821

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1 quiring such person to appear at any des2 ignated place to testify or to produce docu3 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 

4 obey the order of the court may be pun5 ished by the court as a contempt of that 

6 court. 

7 (ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 Sections 102 through 104 of the Revised 

9 Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 

10 192 through 194) shall apply in the case 

11 of any failure of any witness to comply 

12 with any subpoena or to testify when sum13 moned under authority of this section. 

14 (b) CLOSED MEETINGS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Meetings of the Commission 

16 may be closed to the public under section 10(d) of 

17 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

18 App.) or other applicable law. 

19 (c) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 

20 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria21 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

22 to discharge the duties of the Commission under this Act. 

23 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

24 Commission is authorized to secure directly from any exec25 utive department, bureau, agency, board, commission, ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Sep 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1821.IS S1821

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1 fice, independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

2 Government information, suggestions, estimates, and sta3 tistics for the purposes of this Act. Each department, bu4 reau, agency, board, commission, office, independent es5 tablishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent author6 ized by law, furnish such information, suggestions, esti7 mates, and statistics directly to the Commission, upon re8 quest made by the chairperson, the chairperson of any 

9 subcommittee created by a majority of the Commission, 

10 or any member designated by a majority of the Commis11 sion. 

12 (e) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

13 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

14 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

15 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis16 trative support and other services for the perform17 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

18 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

19 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

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

21 are authorized to provide to the Commission such 

22 services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support 

23 services as they may determine advisable and as may 

24 be authorized by law. 


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1 (f) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

2 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

3 (g) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

4 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

5 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

6 United States. 

7 SEC. 6. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

10 chairperson, in accordance with rules agreed upon 

11 by the Commission, may appoint and fix the com12 pensation of a staff director and such other per13 sonnel as may be necessary to enable the Commis14 sion to carry out the functions of the Commission, 

15 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

16 States Code, governing appointments in the competi17 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

18 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

19 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

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

21 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

22 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule 

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

24 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

2 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

3 employees shall be employees under section 

4 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur5 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

6 and 90 of that title. 

7 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara8 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

9 members of the Commission. 

10 (b) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au11 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

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

13 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per14 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

15 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

16 Code. 

17 SEC. 7. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

18 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis19 sion may be compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily 

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

21 a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec22 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day dur23 ing which that member is engaged in the actual perform24 ance of the duties of the Commission. 


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

2 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

3 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis4 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

5 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em6 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al7 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

8 States Code. 

9 SEC. 8. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM10 BERS AND STAFF. 

11 The appropriate executive departments and agencies 

12 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro13 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

14 security clearances in a manner consistent with existing 

15 procedures and requirements, except that no person shall 

16 be provided with access to classified information under 

17 this section who would not otherwise qualify for such secu18 rity clearance. 

19 SEC. 9. REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION; TERMINATION. 

20 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

21 the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Com22 mission shall submit to the President and Congress an ini23 tial report containing such findings, conclusions, and rec24 ommendations for corrective measures as have been 

25 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the submission of the initial report of the Commis3 sion, the Commission shall submit to the President and 

4 Congress a second report containing such findings, conclu5 sions, and recommendations for corrective measures as 

6 have been agreed to by a majority of Commission mem7 bers. 

8 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

10 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after 

11 the date on which the second report is submitted 

12 under subsection (b). 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER14 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

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

16 of concluding the activities of the Commission, in17 cluding providing testimony to committees of Con18 gress concerning the reports of the Commission and 

19 disseminating the second report. 

20 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com22 mission such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

23 Act, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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