I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1178 

To establish the National Commission on Domestic Terrorism, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 18, 2021 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. REED, Ms. SHERRILL, and Mr. GARBARINO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To establish the National Commission on Domestic 

Terrorism, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on Domes5 tic Terrorism Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

7 There is established in the legislative branch the Na8 tional Commission on Domestic Terrorism (in this Act re9 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

2 Consistent with the functions described in section 5, 

3 the purposes of the Commission are to— 

4 (1) examine and report upon the Federal Gov5 ernment’s failure to respond to and prevent domestic 

6 terrorist attacks in the United States in the past 20 

7 years; 

8 (2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi9 dence developed by all relevant governmental agen10 cies regarding the facts and circumstances sur11 rounding domestic terrorist attacks in the United 

12 States in the past 20 years; 

13 (3) make a full and complete accounting of the 

14 circumstances surrounding domestic terrorist attacks 

15 that occurred in the past 20 years, and the extent 

16 of the United States preparedness for, and response 

17 to, the attacks; and 

18 (4) investigate and report to the President, 

19 Congress, and the public on its findings, conclusions, 

20 and recommendations for corrective measures that 

21 can be taken to prevent acts of domestic terrorism. 

22 SEC. 4. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

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

24 of 10 members, of whom— 

25 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi26 dent, who shall serve as Chair of the Commission; 


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1 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader 

2 of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the 

3 case may be) of the Republican Party, in consulta4 tion with the leader of the House of Representatives 

5 (majority or minority leader, as the case may be) of 

6 the Republican Party, who shall serve as Vice-Chair 

7 of the Commission; 

8 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

9 member of the Senate leadership of the Democratic 

10 Party; 

11 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

12 member of the leadership of the House of Represent13 atives of the Republican Party; 

14 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

15 member of the Senate leadership of the Republican 

16 Party; and 

17 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

18 member of the leadership of the House of Represent19 atives of the Democratic Party. 

20 (b) TIMING FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of the 

21 Commission shall be appointed not later than 30 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (c) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 


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1 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

2 than 5 members of the Commission shall be from 

3 the same political party. 

4 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in5 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an 

6 officer or employee of the Federal Government or 

7 any State or local government. 

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

9 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis10 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

11 with national recognition and significant depth of ex12 perience in such professions as governmental service, 

13 law enforcement, the armed services, legal practice, 

14 including experts in national security law, criminal 

15 law, and civil rights law, public administration, intel16 ligence gathering, online disinformation and misin17 formation, online radicalization, technology, and so18 cial sciences. 

19 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

20 meet and begin the initial operation of the Commis21 sion as soon as practicable. 

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

23 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chair or 

24 a majority of its members. Eight members of the Commis25 sion shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1178.IH H1178

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1 mission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

2 the same manner in which the original appointment was 

3 made. 

4 SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 

5 The functions of the Commission are to— 

6 (1) conduct an investigation that— 

7 (A) investigates relevant facts and cir8 cumstances relating to the Federal Govern9 ment’s failure to respond to and prevent acts of 

10 domestic terrorism in the past 20 years, includ11 ing, but not limited to, relevant facts and cir12 cumstances relating to the domestic terrorist 

13 attack on the United States Capitol on January 

14 6, 2021, including any relevant legislation, plan, 

15 policy, practice, or procedure; and 

16 (B) may include relevant facts and cir17 cumstances relating to— 

18 (i) intelligence agencies; 

19 (ii) law enforcement agencies; 

20 (iii) homeland security agencies; 

21 (iv) the Armed Forces; 

22 (v) communications platforms; 

23 (vi) financial services platforms; 

24 (vii) the role of congressional over25 sight and resource allocations; and 


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1 (viii) other areas 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 acts of domestic terrorism in the past 

6 20 years, including, but not limited to, the domestic 

7 terrorist attack on the United States Capitol on 

8 January 6, 2021, regarding the structure, coordina9 tion, and management arrangements of the Federal 

10 Government, and, if appropriate, State and local 

11 governments and nongovernmental entities, relative 

12 to detecting, preventing, and responding to such do13 mestic terrorist attacks; and 

14 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 

15 reports as are required by this Act containing such 

16 findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 

17 Commission shall determine, including proposing or18 ganization, coordination, planning, management ar19 rangements, procedures, rules, and regulations. 

20 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis23 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 

24 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur25 pose of carrying out this Act— 


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

2 such times and places, take such testimony, re3 ceive such evidence, administer such oaths; and 

4 (B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, 

5 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 

6 testimony of such witnesses and the production 

7 of such books, records, correspondence, memo8 randa, papers, and documents, as the Commis9 sion or such designated subcommittee or des10 ignated member may determine advisable. 

11 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

12 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

14 issued under this subsection only— 

15 (I) by the agreement of the Chair 

16 and the Vice-Chair; or 

17 (II) by the affirmative vote of 6 

18 members of the Commission. 

19 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 

20 (i), subpoenas issued under this subsection 

21 may be issued under the signature of the 

22 Chair or any member designated by a ma23 jority of the Commission, and may be 

24 served by any person designated by the 


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1 Chair or by a member designated by a ma2 jority of the Commission. 

3 (B) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con5 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

6 issued under paragraph (1), the United 

7 States district court for the judicial district 

8 in which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

9 served, or may be found, or where the sub10 poena is returnable, may issue an order re11 quiring such person to appear at any des12 ignated place to testify or to produce docu13 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 

14 obey the order of the court may be pun15 ished by the court as a contempt of that 

16 court. 

17 (ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In 

18 the case of any failure of any witness to 

19 comply with any subpoena or to testify 

20 when summoned under authority of this 

21 section, the Commission may, by majority 

22 vote, certify a statement of fact consti23 tuting such failure to the appropriate 

24 United States attorney, who may bring the 

25 matter before the grand jury for its action, 


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1 under the same statutory authority and 

2 procedures as if the United States attorney 

3 had received a certification under sections 

4 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

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

6 through 194). 

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

8 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria9 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

10 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

11 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is author13 ized to secure directly from any executive depart14 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

15 independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

16 Government, information, suggestions, estimates, 

17 and statistics for the purposes of this title. Each de18 partment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

19 independent establishment, or instrumentality shall, 

20 to the extent authorized by law, furnish such infor21 mation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics di22 rectly to the Commission, upon request made by the 

23 Chair, the chair of any subcommittee created by a 

24 majority of the Commission, or any member des25 ignated by a majority of the Commission. 


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1 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS2 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

3 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

4 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap5 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

6 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

7 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

9 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis10 trative support and other services for the perform11 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

12 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

13 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

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

15 are authorized to provide to the Commission such 

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

17 services as they may determine advisable and as may 

18 be authorized by law. 

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

20 dispose of in-kind gifts or devises of services or property, 

21 both real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or facili22 tating the work of the Commission. 

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. 7. 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 11. 

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. 8. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

21 Chair, in accordance with rules agreed upon by the 

22 Commission, may appoint and fix the compensation 

23 of a Staff Director and such other personnel as may 

24 be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out 

25 its functions, except that no rate of pay fixed under 


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1 this subsection may exceed the equivalent of that 

2 payable for a position at level V of the Executive 

3 Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (2) MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.—Any 

6 member of the Commission shall not be considered 

7 a Federal employee except for purposes of chapter 

8 81 of title 5 (relating to compensation for injury), 

9 and sections 2671 through 2680 of title 28 (relating 

10 to tort claims). 

11 (b) COVERAGE UNDER CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNT12 ABILITY ACT OF 1995.—For purposes of the Congres13 sional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et 

14 seq.)— 

15 (1) the Commission shall be considered an em16 ploying office; and 

17 (2) the personnel of the Commission shall be 

18 considered covered employees. 

19 (c) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

20 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

21 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

22 rights, status, and privileges of their regular employment 

23 without interruption. 

24 (d) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au25 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 


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

2 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per3 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

4 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

5 Code. 

6 SEC. 9. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

7 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis8 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva9 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 

10 at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

11 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which 

12 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 

13 duties of the Commission. 

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

15 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

16 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis17 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

18 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em19 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al20 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

21 States Code. 

22 SEC. 10. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM23 BERS AND STAFF. 

24 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments 

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1 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

2 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex3 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person 

4 shall be provided with access to classified information 

5 under this Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

6 SEC. 11. REPORTS; TERMINATION. 

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

8 the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Com9 mission shall submit to the President and Congress an ini10 tial report containing such findings, conclusions, and rec11 ommendations for corrective measures as have been 

12 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

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

14 the submission of the initial report of the Commission, the 

15 Commission shall submit to the President and Congress 

16 a final report containing such findings, conclusions, and 

17 recommendations for corrective measures as have been 

18 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

19 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

21 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after 

22 the date on which the final report is submitted 

23 under subsection (b). 

24 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER25 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 


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

2 of concluding its activities, including providing testi3 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re4 ports and disseminating the final report. 

5 SEC. 12. DOMESTIC TERRORISM DEFINED. 

6 In this Act, the term ‘‘domestic terrorism’’ has the 

7 meaning given such term in section 2331 of title 18, 

8 United States Code. 

9 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

11 as may be necessary to carry out this Act, to remain avail12 able until expended. 

Æ 


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