III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 763 

Establishing a Senate Select Committee on the United States withdrawal 

from Afghanistan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 

Mr. HAWLEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Rules and Administration 

RESOLUTION 

Establishing a Senate Select Committee on the United States 

withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Senate Select 

4 Committee on the Afghanistan Withdrawal Resolution’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE. 

6 There is established a select committee of the Senate, 

7 to be known as the Select Committee on the United States 

8 Withdrawal from Afghanistan (referred to in this resolu9 tion as the ‘‘Senate Select Committee’’), to investigate and 

10 report on the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan. 


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1 SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Senate Select Committee 

3 shall be composed of 20 Members of the Senate appointed 

4 according to the following: 

5 (1) The majority leader of the Senate shall ap6 point 2 members. 

7 (2) The minority leader of the Senate shall ap8 point 2 members. 

9 (3) The chairman of the Committee on Armed 

10 Services shall appoint 2 members. 

11 (4) The ranking member of the Committee on 

12 Armed Services shall appoint 2 members. 

13 (5) The chairman of the Committee on Foreign 

14 Relations shall appoint 2 members. 

15 (6) The ranking member of the Committee on 

16 Foreign Relations shall appoint 2 members. 

17 (7) The chairman of the Committee on Home18 land Security and Governmental Affairs shall ap19 point 2 members. 

20 (8) The ranking member of the Committee on 

21 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs shall 

22 appoint 2 members. 

23 (9) The chairman of the Select Committee on 

24 Intelligence shall appoint 2 members. 

25 (10) The ranking member of the Select Com26 mittee on Intelligence shall appoint 2 members. 


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1 (b) APPOINTMENT OF CO-CHAIRS.—The majority 

2 leader and the minority leader of the Senate shall each 

3 appoint 1 co-chair of the Senate Select Committee from 

4 the members appointed to the Senate Select Committee. 

5 (c) DATE.—Members of the Senate Select Committee 

6 shall be appointed not later than 14 calendar days after 

7 the date on which the Senate agrees to this resolution. 

8 (d) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members of the 

9 Senate Select Committee shall be appointed for the life 

10 of the Senate Select Committee. 

11 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Senate Select 

12 Committee— 

13 (1) shall not affect the powers of the Senate Se14 lect Committee; and 

15 (2) shall be filled in the same manner as the 

16 original appointment. 

17 SEC. 4. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Senate Select Committee 

19 shall investigate and, not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of agreement to this resolution, shall submit a report to 

21 the Senate on the United States withdrawal from Afghani22 stan. 

23 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub24 section (a) shall address the following: 


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1 (1) Intelligence products available to the United 

2 States Government over the course of the with3 drawal, including as related to— 

4 (A) anticipated timelines for a Taliban 

5 takeover of Afghanistan, especially as the 

6 Taliban seized control of Afghanistan districts 

7 and provinces, often without fighting, in early 

8 to mid 2021; 

9 (B) the ability of the Afghan National De10 fense and Security Forces to prevent a Taliban 

11 takeover of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of 

12 the United States Armed Forces and associated 

13 combat, logistical, and other support; 

14 (C) the willingness of then-President of the 

15 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani 

16 and other Afghan political leaders to remain in 

17 Afghanistan as the military situation deterio18 rated, including any plans such leaders may 

19 have made to escape Afghanistan as the 

20 Taliban advanced; 

21 (D) any other intelligence that may have 

22 informed decisions by the United States Gov23 ernment regarding the timeline for the with24 drawal of its forces, moving of its embassy in 

25 Kabul, initiation of a noncombatant evacuation 


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1 operation, force requirements for a noncombat2 ant evacuation operation, or related matters; 

3 and 

4 (E) any dissenting views shared in writing 

5 or other formats, including verbally, by United 

6 States diplomats, military commanders, or 

7 other government officials regarding the topics 

8 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

9 (2) The failure to secure Hamid Karzai Inter10 national Airport, relocate the United States Em11 bassy in Kabul, and initiate a noncombatant evacu12 ation operation prior to Kabul’s imminent collapse, 

13 despite warnings by military commanders on the 

14 ground that such a collapse was increasingly likely 

15 and could occur rapidly, including— 

16 (A) the failure by the United States Gov17 ernment to accelerate the fortification of the 

18 Hamid Karzai International Airport, the reloca19 tion of the United States Embassy in Kabul, or 

20 the initiation of the noncombatant evacuation 

21 operation in response to warnings that the Gov22 ernment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 

23 was increasingly likely to collapse and could do 

24 so rapidly; 


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1 (B) the development of a ‘‘trigger assess2 ment tool’’ or other conditions-based planning 

3 aids to support monitoring of and timely re4 sponse to the deteriorating security environ5 ment in Afghanistan, including use of such aids 

6 by Department of Defense and Department of 

7 State officials in Afghanistan; 

8 (C) table-top exercises or other planning 

9 events held at agency or interagency levels, with 

10 particular focus on planning assumptions, asso11 ciated timelines, and participant reactions to 

12 the planning events; 

13 (D) any decision by the Department of 

14 State or other Federal agency to delay or 

15 deprioritize planning for a noncombatant evacu16 ation operation, including for the purpose of 

17 demonstrating confidence in the Government of 

18 the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; 

19 (E) any suggestion by Department of 

20 State or other United States Government offi21 cials that executing a noncombatant evacuation 

22 operation would constitute failure for the 

23 United States in Afghanistan, as reported by 

24 the United States Central Command investiga25 tion of the Abbey Gate bombing; and 


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1 (F) any orders, instructions, or other guid2 ance provided to Department of Defense offi3 cials to prevent such officials from planning for 

4 a noncombatant evacuation operation with mul5 tinational partners, as reported by the United 

6 States Central Command investigation of the 

7 Abbey Gate bombing. 

8 (3) The decision to prioritize evacuating as 

9 many individuals as possible over protecting mem10 bers of the United States Armed Forces and thor11 oughly vetting all prospective evacuees, as reported 

12 by the United States Central Command investigation 

13 of the Abbey Gate bombing, including— 

14 (A) force protection measures, including 

15 obstacles, barriers, and other measures, imple16 mented at the Hamid Karzai International Air17 port prior to and during execution of the non18 combatant evacuation operation; and 

19 (B) force protection measures not imple20 mented at the Hamid Karzai International Air21 port, with an explanation for why such force 

22 protection measures were not implemented and 

23 implications of the failure to implement such 

24 measures for risk to force during execution of 

25 the noncombatant evacuation operation. 


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1 (4) Threat reporting prior to the suicide bomb2 ing at Abbey Gate, additional force protection meas3 ures implemented in response to such threat report4 ing, and additional force protection measures not 

5 implemented in response to such threat reporting, 

6 with an assessment of why certain additional force 

7 protection measures were not taken. 

8 (5) The failure to thoroughly vet evacuees prior 

9 to their transfer to United States territory, military 

10 installations, or other locations outside of Afghani11 stan, including detailed descriptions of— 

12 (A) any delays by the Department of State 

13 to send adequate numbers of consular officials 

14 to Hamid Karzai International Airport to facili15 tate thorough vetting of prospective evacuees; 

16 (B) any changes to guidance issued by the 

17 Department of State regarding the vetting of 

18 prospective evacuees over the course of the non19 combatant evacuation operation; 

20 (C) any guidance issued by the President 

21 or other United States Government officials to 

22 reduce standards for or expedite vetting of pro23 spective evacuees prior to their removal from 

24 Afghanistan; 


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1 (D) any failure by the United States Gov2 ernment to utilize all existing biometric data3 bases or proper identification standards when 

4 processing individuals to be removed from Af5 ghanistan; and 

6 (E) any criminal incidents involving evac7 uees following their transfer to United States 

8 territory. 

9 (6) The total number of United States nation10 als left in Afghanistan following the United States 

11 withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the knowledge on 

12 the part of United States Government officials of 

13 the total number of United States nationals left in 

14 Afghanistan when such officials informed Congress 

15 that the United States Government had not left 

16 Americans behind in Afghanistan. 

17 (7) Equipment provided by the United States to 

18 the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces 

19 and recovered by the Taliban following the collapse 

20 of the Afghan National Defense and Security 

21 Forces, including the type and amount of such 

22 equipment recovered by the Taliban as well as the 

23 manner in which the Taliban has been able to use 

24 such equipment. 

25 (8) Detailed descriptions of— 


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1 (A) orders issued by the President related 

2 to the United States withdrawal from Afghani3 stan, including with regard to the relocation of 

4 the United States Embassy in Kabul and the 

5 initiation and execution of the noncombatant 

6 evacuation operation; 

7 (B) analysis or recommendations provided 

8 by the Assistant to the President for National 

9 Security Affairs, the Secretary of State, the 

10 Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the 

11 Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander of United 

12 States Central Command, and other national 

13 security leaders related to the United States 

14 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including as re15 lated to— 

16 (i) the deteriorating military situation 

17 in Afghanistan; and 

18 (ii) the consequent need to accelerate 

19 the relocation of the United States Em20 bassy in Kabul and the initiation of the 

21 noncombatant evacuation operation; and 

22 (C) requests for forces or other requests 

23 for additional authorities or resources made to 

24 the President by the Secretary of Defense, the 

25 Secretary of State, or other national security 


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1 leaders during the United States withdrawal 

2 from Afghanistan, and the President’s re3 sponses to any such requests. 

4 (9) Any other matters identified by members of 

5 the Senate Select Committee. 

6 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

7 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 

8 a classified annex. 

9 SEC. 5. MEETINGS, HEARINGS, AND ACCESS TO INFORMA10 TION. 

11 (a) MEETINGS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Senate Select Com13 mittee shall meet at the call of the co-chairs or at 

14 the request of at least 3 members. 

15 (2) QUORUM.—Half of the members of the Sen16 ate Select Committee shall constitute a quorum. 

17 (3) VOTING.—Proxy voting shall be allowed on 

18 behalf of the members of the Senate Select Com19 mittee. 

20 (b) HEARINGS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Senate Select Com22 mittee shall, for the purposes described in section 4, 

23 hold such hearings, compel attendance of such wit24 nesses, take or compel such testimony, receive or 


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1 compel such evidence, and administer such oaths as 

2 the Senate Select Committee considers advisable. 

3 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Senate Select Com4 mittee shall hold an open hearing no less frequently 

5 than once per month until it has received open testi6 mony from all of the witnesses listed in paragraph 

7 (3). 

8 (3) WITNESSES.—The co-chairs shall hear testi9 mony from the following before the Senate Select 

10 Committee in open session, even if the person holds 

11 a different public office or no longer holds public of12 fice at the time of the hearing: 

13 (A) Assistant to the President for National 

14 Security Affairs Jake Sullivan. 

15 (B) Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

16 (C) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. 

17 (D) Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 Alejandro Mayorkas. 

19 (E) Director of National Intelligence Avril 

20 Haines. 

21 (F) Director of the Central Intelligence 

22 Agency William Burns. 

23 (G) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

24 General Mark Milley. 


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1 (H) Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 

2 Colin Kahl. 

3 (I) Former United States Ambassador to 

4 Afghanistan Ambassador John Bass. 

5 (J) Former United States Ambassador to 

6 Afghanistan Ambassador Ross Wilson. 

7 (K) Former Commander of United States 

8 Forces Afghanistan—Forward Rear Admiral 

9 Peter Vasely. 

10 (L) Former Commanding General of Joint 

11 Task Force—Crisis Response Brigadier General 

12 Farrell J. Sullivan. 

13 (M) Former Commanding General of 82nd 

14 Airborne Division Lieutenant General Chris15 topher T. Donahue. 

16 (N) Any other individuals, including 

17 former United States Government officials, 

18 identified by the co-chairs or a group of 3 mem19 bers of the Senate Select Committee. 

20 (4) TRANSPARENCY.—The Senate Select Com21 mittee may receive classified testimony in a closed 

22 session, but any witnesses questioned in a closed ses23 sion shall also testify in an open session, in the in24 terest of public transparency. 


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1 (5) QUESTIONING.—Co-chairs shall permit 

2 members of the Senate Select Committee to question 

3 witnesses at a hearing for periods longer than 5 

4 minutes or multiple periods of 5 minutes, at the re5 quest of a member. 

6 (6) PROCEDURES.— 

7 (A) ANNOUNCEMENT.—The co-chairs of 

8 the Senate Select Committee shall make a pub9 lic announcement of the date, time, place, and 

10 subject matter of any hearing to be conducted, 

11 not less than 7 days in advance of such hearing, 

12 unless the co-chairs determine that there is 

13 good cause to begin such hearing at any earlier 

14 date. 

15 (B) WRITTEN STATEMENT.—A witness ap16 pearing before the Senate Select Committee 

17 shall file a written statement of proposed testi18 mony and respond in writing to any advance 

19 questions from the Senate Select Committee at 

20 least 2 calendar days before the appearance of 

21 the witness unless the requirement is waived by 

22 the co-chairs. 

23 (c) COOPERATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

24 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Upon written re25 quest of the co-chairs, a Federal agency shall proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Sep 14, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR763.IS SR763

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1 vide technical assistance to the Senate Select Com2 mittee in order for the Senate Select Committee to 

3 carry out its duties. 

4 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Na5 tional Security Council, the Secretary of Defense, 

6 the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the 

8 heads of the elements of the intelligence community, 

9 and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies 

10 shall expeditiously provide information requested by 

11 the Senate Select Committee related to the inves12 tigation and report under required under section 4, 

13 and in no case later than 3 weeks after a request 

14 by a member of the Senate Select Committee. 

15 (3) LIMITATION ON EXCLUSIONS.—Federal 

16 agencies shall not withhold information from the 

17 Senate Select Committee, including for reasons of 

18 classification, executive privilege, or attorney-client 

19 privilege. 

20 (d) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—Members of the Senate 

21 Select Committee are authorized to— 

22 (1) compel by subpoena the furnishing of infor23 mation by United States Government officials and 

24 other individuals, including former United States 

25 Government officials; and 


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1 (2) take or order the taking of depositions, in2 cluding pursuant to subpoena, in the same manner 

3 as a standing committee of the Senate. 

4 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

5 (a) FUNDING.—There shall be paid, out of the con6 tingent fund of the Senate from the appropriations ac7 count ‘‘Miscellaneous Items,’’ such sums as may be nec8 essary for the expenses of the Senate Select Committee, 

9 subject to the rules and regulations of the Senate. 

10 (b) EXPENSES.—In carrying out its functions, the 

11 Senate Select Committee is authorized to incur expenses 

12 in the same manner and under the same conditions as the 

13 Joint Economic Committee is authorized under section 11 

14 of the Employment Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024). 

15 (c) STAFFING.— 

16 (1) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The co-chairs, acting 

17 jointly, shall hire the staff director of the Senate Se18 lect Committee. 

19 (2) OTHER STAFF.—The co-chairs, acting joint20 ly, may employ such additional staff as they deter21 mine necessary for the Senate Select Committee to 

22 carry out its duties. 

23 (3) COMPENSATION.—The co-chairs, acting 

24 jointly, may appoint and fix the compensation of the 

25 staff director and additional staff as they determine 


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1 necessary, within the guidelines for employees of the 

2 Senate and following all applicable rules and employ3 ment requirements of the Senate. 

4 (4) ETHICAL STANDARDS.—Members and staff 

5 of the Senate Select Committee shall comply with 

6 the ethics rules of the Senate. 

7 (d) FACILITIES.—The Senate Select Committee shall 

8 have priority access to— 

9 (1) rooms of the Senate for purposes of meet10 ings, hearings, and other Senate Select Committee 

11 functions; and 

12 (2) secure facilities for purpose of receiving 

13 classified testimony and handling other classified 

14 materials. 

15 (e) TERMINATION.—The Senate Select Committee 

16 shall terminate on the later of the following: 

17 (1) 30 days after the submission of the report 

18 required under section 4(a). 

19 (2) 30 days after the Senate Select Committee 

20 has held open hearings with all of the witnesses list21 ed under section 5(b)(3). 

22 (3) The expiration of the Congressional session 

23 during which the Senate agrees to this resolution. 

24 (f) DISPOSITION OF RECORDS.—Upon the termi25 nation of the Senate Select Committee, the records of the 


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1 Senate Select Committee shall become the records of the 

2 Committee on Armed Services. 

Æ 


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