I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 649 

To establish the National Commission on Domestic Terrorist Attacks on 

the United States by Antifa, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 31, 2023 

Mr. BACON (for himself, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. BABIN, and Ms. TENNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the National Commission on Domestic Terrorist 

Attacks on the United States by Antifa, 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 Do5 mestic Terrorist Attacks on the United States by Antifa 

6 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of the Commission are to— 


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1 (1) examine and report upon the facts and 

2 causes relating to the involvement of Antifa in the 

3 2020 riots, including the costly and deadly riots in— 

4 (A) Minneapolis, Minnesota; 

5 (B) Rochester, New York; 

6 (C) Los Angeles, California; 

7 (D) Washington, DC; 

8 (E) Miami, Florida; 

9 (F) Portland, Oregon; 

10 (G) Seattle, Washington; 

11 (H) Atlanta, Georgia; 

12 (I) Chicago, Illinois; and 

13 (J) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 

14 (2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi15 dence developed by all relevant governmental agen16 cies regarding the facts and circumstances sur17 rounding the involvement of Antifa in the 2020 

18 riots; 

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

20 circumstances surrounding involvement of Antifa in 

21 the 2020 riots, and the extent of the United States 

22 preparedness for, and response to, such riots and 

23 the Antifa organization; and 

24 (4) investigate and report to the President and 

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1 ommendations for corrective measures that can be 

2 taken to prevent further attacks and violent riots 

3 perpetrated by Antifa. 

4 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION. 

5 (a) MEMBERS.—Subject to the requirements of sub6 section (b), the Commission shall be composed of 10 mem7 bers, of whom— 

8 (1) 3 members shall be appointed by the major9 ity leader of the Senate; 

10 (2) 2 members shall be appointed by the Speak11 er of the House of Representatives; 

12 (3) 3 members shall be appointed by the minor13 ity leader of the Senate; and 

14 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor15 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

16 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

17 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

18 than 5 members of the Commission shall be from 

19 the same political party. 

20 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—No 

21 member of the Commission shall be an officer or em22 ployee of the Federal Government or any State or 

23 local government, or a Member of Congress. 

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

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1 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

2 with national recognition and significant depth of ex3 perience in such professions as governmental service, 

4 law enforcement, the armed services, legal practice, 

5 public administration, intelligence gathering, com6 merce, including domestic terrorism, and foreign af7 fairs. 

8 (c) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirement 

10 of paragraph (2), the Chairperson and Vice Chair11 person of the Commission shall be elected by the 

12 members. 

13 (2) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—The 

14 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall not be from 

15 the same political party. 

16 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—If 60 days after the date of 

17 enactment of this Act, 6 or more members of the Commis18 sion have been appointed, those members who have been 

19 appointed may meet and, if necessary, select a temporary 

20 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, who may begin the op21 erations of the Commission, including the hiring of staff. 

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

23 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chair24 person or a majority of its members. Six members of the 

25 Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the 


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1 Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled 

2 in the same manner in which the original appointment was 

3 made. 

4 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The functions of the Commission 

6 are to— 

7 (1) investigate the relevant facts and cir8 cumstances relating to the involvement of Antifa in 

9 the 2020 riots, including any relevant legislation, 

10 Executive order, regulation, plan, policy, practice, or 

11 procedure; 

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

13 learned from such riots, regarding the structure, co14 ordination, management policies, and procedures of 

15 the Federal Government, and, if appropriate, State 

16 and local governments and nongovernmental entities, 

17 relative to detecting, preventing, and responding to 

18 Antifa; and 

19 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 

20 reports as are required by this Act containing such 

21 findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 

22 Commission shall determine, including proposing or23 ganization, coordination, planning, management ar24 rangements, procedures, rules, and regulations. 


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1 (b) SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION.—For purposes of sub2 section (a)(1), the term ‘‘facts and circumstances’’ in3 cludes facts and circumstances relating to— 

4 (1) intelligence agencies; 

5 (2) law enforcement agencies; 

6 (3) diplomacy; 

7 (4) immigration, nonimmigrant visas, and bor8 der control; 

9 (5) the flow of assets to terrorist organizations, 

10 including Antifa; and 

11 (6) other areas of the public and private sectors 

12 determined relevant by the Commission for its in13 quiry. 

14 SEC. 5. POWER OF THE COMMISSION. 

15 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 

16 may, for purposes of carrying out this Act— 

17 (1) hold hearings, sit and act at times and 

18 places, take testimony, receive evidence, and admin19 ister oaths; and 

20 (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at21 tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc22 tion of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 

23 papers, and documents. 

24 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 


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1 (1) SERVICE.—Subpoenas issued under sub2 section (a)(2) may be served by any person des3 ignated by the Commission. 

4 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of contu6 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

7 under subsection (a)(2), the United States dis8 trict court for the judicial district in which the 

9 subpoenaed person resides, is served, or may be 

10 found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 

11 may issue an order requiring such person to ap12 pear at any designated place to testify or to 

13 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 

14 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

15 punished by the court as a contempt of that 

16 court. 

17 (B) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—Sec18 tions 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

19 of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 

20 194) shall apply in the case of any failure of 

21 any witness to comply with any subpoena or to 

22 testify when summoned under authority of this 

23 section. 

24 (c) CLOSED MEETINGS.—Notwithstanding any other 

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1 mission to be open to the public, any portion of a meeting 

2 of the Commission may be closed to the public if the Presi3 dent determines that such portion is likely to disclose mat4 ters that could endanger national security. 

5 (d) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 

6 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria7 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

8 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

9 (e) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

10 Commission may secure directly from any department, 

11 agency, or instrumentality of the United States any infor12 mation related to any inquiry of the Commission con13 ducted under this Act. Each such department, agency, or 

14 instrumentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur15 nish such information directly to the Commission upon re16 quest. 

17 (f) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

18 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

20 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis21 trative support and other services for the perform22 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

23 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

24 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

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


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1 are authorized to provide to the Commission such 

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

3 services as they may determine advisable and as may 

4 be authorized by law. 

5 (g) GIFTS.—The Commission may, to such extent 

6 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation 

7 Acts, accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv8 ices or property. 

9 (h) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

10 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

11 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

12 United States. 

13 (i) POWERS OF SUBCOMMITTEES, MEMBERS, AND

14 AGENTS.—Any subcommittee, member, or agent of the 

15 Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 

16 any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 

17 this section. 

18 SEC. 6. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION. 

19 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc20 tor who shall be appointed by the Chairperson and the 

21 Vice Chairperson, acting jointly. 

22 (b) STAFF.—The Chairperson, in consultation with 

23 the Vice Chairperson, may appoint additional personnel as 

24 may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out 

25 its functions. 


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1 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

2 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may 

3 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

4 United States Code, governing appointments in the com5 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the 

6 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 

7 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule 

8 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub9 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 

10 position at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

11 5316 of title 5, United States Code. Any individual ap12 pointed under subsection (a) or (b) shall be treated as an 

13 employee for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 

14 89, and 90 of that title. 

15 (d) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

16 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

17 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

18 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ19 ment without interruption. 

20 (e) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au21 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

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

23 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per24 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 


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1 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 SEC. 7. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

4 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis5 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva6 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 

7 at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

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

9 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 

10 duties of the Commission. 

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

12 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

13 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis14 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

15 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em16 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al17 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

18 States Code. 

19 SEC. 8. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM20 BERS AND STAFF. 

21 The appropriate executive departments and agencies 

22 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro23 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

24 security clearances in a manner consistent with existing 

25 procedures and requirements, except that no person shall 


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1 be provided with access to classified information under 

2 this section who would not otherwise qualify for such secu3 rity clearance. 

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

5 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Com7 mission shall submit to the President and Congress an ini8 tial report containing such findings, conclusions, and rec9 ommendations for corrective measures as have been 

10 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

11 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

12 the submission of the initial report of the Commission, the 

13 Commission shall submit to the President and Congress 

14 a final report containing such findings, conclusions, and 

15 recommendations for corrective measures as have been 

16 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

17 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

19 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after 

20 the date on which the final report is submitted 

21 under subsection (b). 

22 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER23 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

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

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1 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re2 ports and disseminating the second report. 

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com5 mission to carry out this Act $3,000,000, to remain avail6 able until expended. 

Æ 


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