I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 62 

To provide for the establishment of an independent, Presidentially-appointed 

Commission to assess the circumstances related to the damage caused 

by Hurricane Katrina on or between Friday, August 26, 2005, and 

Tuesday, August 30, 2005. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of an independent, Presidentially-appointed Commission to assess the circumstances related to the damage caused by Hurricane 

Katrina on or between Friday, August 26, 2005, and 

Tuesday, August 30, 2005. 

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 ‘‘Hurricane Katrina 

5 Disaster Inquiry Commission Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

2 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Commission’’ 

3 means the Commission established under this Act. 

4 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

6 an independent, nonpartisan Commission within the exec7 utive branch to discover and assess the circumstances re8 lated to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on or 

9 between Friday, August 26, 2005, and Tuesday, August 

10 30, 2005. 

11 (b) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The Presi12 dent shall issue an executive order establishing a Commis13 sion within 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 

15 SEC. 4. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

16 (a) NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS.—The Commission 

17 shall consist of 15 members. 

18 (b) SELECTION.—The members of the Commission 

19 shall be chosen in the following manner: 

20 (1) The President of the United States Con21 ference of Mayors shall be a member of the Commis22 sion. 

23 (2) The President shall appoint the remaining 

24 14 members, and shall designate the Chairman and 

25 Vice Chairman of the Commission from among its 

26 members. 


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1 (3) Five of the 14 members appointed by the 

2 President shall be selected by the President in the 

3 following manner: 

4 (A) The majority leader of the Senate, the 

5 minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of 

6 the House of Representatives, the minority 

7 leader of the House of Representatives, and the 

8 President of the collective-bargaining organiza9 tion including the largest number of emergency 

10 medical responders, shall each provide to the 

11 President a list of candidates for membership 

12 on the Commission. 

13 (B) The President shall select one of the 

14 candidates from each of the 5 lists for member15 ship on the Commission. 

16 (4)(A) No officer or employee of the Federal 

17 Government shall serve as a member of the Commis18 sion. 

19 (B) No member of the Commission shall have, 

20 or have pending, a contractual relationship with the 

21 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

22 (C) The President may waive the prohibitions 

23 in subparagraphs (A) and (B) with respect to the se24 lection of not more than 2 members of the Commis25 sion. 


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1 (5) The President shall not appoint any indi2 vidual as a member of the Commission who has a 

3 current or former relationship with the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency that the President 

5 determines would constitute a conflict of interest. 

6 (6) To the extent practicable, the President 

7 shall ensure that the members of the Commission in8 clude some individuals with experience relative to 

9 local government administration, as well as some in10 dividuals with investigative experience and some in11 dividuals with legal experience. 

12 (7) To the extent practicable, the President 

13 shall seek diversity in the membership of the Com14 mission. 

15 (c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of 

16 the Commission shall be appointed no later than 60 days 

17 after issuance of the executive order establishing the Com18 mission. 

19 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall meet 

20 and begin operations as soon as practicable. 

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

22 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chairman 

23 or a majority of its members. Eight members of the Com24 mission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the 

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


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1 in the same manner in which the original appointment was 

2 made. 

3 SEC. 5. TASKS OF THE COMMISSION. 

4 The Commission shall, to the extent possible, under5 take the following tasks: 

6 (1) Chronicle the trajectory of Hurricane 

7 Katrina, including the timetable and locations of its 

8 path, and the responses made by the Federal, State, 

9 and local governments. 

10 (2) Issue a statement of an estimate as to the 

11 loss of life, physical and structural damage, and dis12 placement of residents as a result of the disaster. 

13 (3) Make recommendations for corrective ac14 tions. 

15 (4) Provide any additional findings or rec16 ommendations considered by the Commission to be 

17 important, whether or not they are related to emer18 gency disaster management. 

19 (5) Prepare a report to Congress, the Presi20 dent, and the public. 

21 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis24 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 


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1 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur2 pose of carrying out this Act— 

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

4 such times and places, take such testimony, re5 ceive such evidence, administer such oaths; and 

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

7 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 

8 testimony of such witnesses and the production 

9 of such books, records, correspondence, memo10 randa, papers, and documents, 

11 as the Commission or such designated subcommittee 

12 or designated member may determine advisable. 

13 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

14 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

16 issued under this subsection only— 

17 (I) by the agreement of the 

18 Chairman and the Vice Chairman; or 

19 (II) by the affirmative vote of 8 

20 members of the Commission. 

21 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 

22 (i), subpoenas issued under this subsection 

23 may be issued under the signature of the 

24 Chairman or any member designated by a 

25 majority of the Commission, and may be 


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1 served by any person designated by the 

2 Chairman or by a member designated by a 

3 majority of the Commission. 

4 (B) ENFORCEMENT.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con6 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

7 issued under subparagraph (A), the United 

8 States district court for the judicial district 

9 in which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

10 served, or may be found, or where the sub11 poena is returnable, may issue an order re12 quiring such person to appear at any des13 ignated place to testify or to produce docu14 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 

15 obey the order of the court may be pun16 ished by the court as a contempt of that 

17 court. 

18 (ii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In 

19 the case of a failure of a witness to comply 

20 with a subpoena or to testify when sum21 moned under authority of this section, the 

22 Commission may, by majority vote, certify 

23 a statement of fact constituting such fail24 ure to the appropriate United States attor25 ney, who may bring the matter before a 


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1 grand jury for its action, under the same 

2 statutory authority and procedures as if 

3 the United States attorney had received a 

4 certification under sections 102 through 

5 104 of the Revised Statutes of the United 

6 States (2 U.S.C. 192 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 may secure 

13 directly from any executive department, bureau, 

14 agency, board, commission, office, independent es15 tablishment, or instrumentality of the Government, 

16 information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 

17 for the purposes of this Act. Each department, bu18 reau, agency, board, commission, office, independent 

19 establishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent 

20 authorized by law, furnish such information, sugges21 tions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Com22 mission, upon request made by the Chairman, the 

23 chairman of any subcommittee created by a majority 

24 of the Commission, or any member designated by a 

25 majority of the Commission. 


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1 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS2 SEMINATION.—Information shall be received, han3 dled, stored, and disseminated by members of the 

4 Commission and its staff consistent with all applica5 ble 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 tasks. 

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 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

16 facilities, staff, and other support services as they 

17 may determine advisable and as may be authorized 

18 by law. 

19 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

20 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

21 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

22 United States. 

23 SEC. 7. PUBLIC MEETINGS, INFORMATION, AND HEARINGS. 

24 (a) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

25 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 


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1 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex2 tent appropriate; and 

3 (2) release public versions of the reports re4 quired under this Act. 

5 (b) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

6 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

7 with the protection of information provided to or developed 

8 for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 

9 statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

10 SEC. 8. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

13 Chairman, in consultation with Vice Chairman, in 

14 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis15 sion, may appoint and fix the compensation of a 

16 staff director and such other personnel as may be 

17 necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 

18 functions, without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

19 United States Code, governing appointments in the 

20 competitive service, and without regard to the provi21 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 

22 of such title relating to classification and General 

23 Schedule pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed 

24 under this paragraph may exceed the equivalent of 

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1 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

2 States Code. Employees of the Federal Emergency 

3 Management Agency shall not be appointed to the 

4 staff of the Commission. 

5 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

7 and any personnel of the Commission shall be 

8 considered employees under section 2105 of 

9 title 5, United States Code, for purposes of 

10 chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of 

11 that title. 

12 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara13 graph (A) does not apply to members of the 

14 Commission. 

15 (b) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government em16 ployee, except for an employee of the Federal Emergency 

17 Management Agency, may be detailed to the Commission 

18 without reimbursement from the Commission, and such 

19 detailee shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of 

20 his or her regular employment without interruption. 

21 (c) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission may 

22 procure the services of experts and consultants in accord23 ance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but 

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1 pying a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 

2 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 SEC. 9. 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. 10. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM20 BERS AND STAFF. 

21 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments 

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

24 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex25 isting procedures and requirements. No person shall be 


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1 provided with access to classified information under this 

2 Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

3 SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND TERMINATION. 

4 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub5 mit to the President and Congress interim reports con6 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

7 for corrective actions as have been agreed to by a majority 

8 of Commission members. 

9 (b) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall submit 

10 to the President and Congress, and make concurrently 

11 available to the public, a final report containing such find12 ings, conclusions, and recommendations for corrective ac13 tions as have been agreed to by a majority of Commission 

14 members. Such report shall include any minority views or 

15 opinions not reflected in the majority report. 

16 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

18 authorities of this Act with respect to the Commis19 sion, shall terminate 60 days after the date on which 

20 the final report is submitted under subsection (b). 

21 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER22 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

23 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 final report. 

3 SEC. 12. FUNDING. 

4 Such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act are 

5 authorized to be appropriated. Sums authorized by this 

6 Act shall remain available until the termination of the 

7 Commission. 

Æ 


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