I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6501 

To establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil 

liberties. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 8, 2010 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, and Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Select Intelligence (Permanent Select), for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a national commission on presidential war 

powers and civil liberties. 

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 

5 Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties (hereinafter 

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

7 the broad range of executive branch national security poli8 cies undertaken since the terrorist attacks of September 


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1 11, 2001, including detention by the United States Armed 

2 Forces and the intelligence community, the use by the 

3 United States Armed Forces or the intelligence commu4 nity of enhanced interrogation techniques or interrogation 

5 techniques not authorized by the Uniform Code of Military 

6 Justice, ‘‘ghosting’’ or other policies intended to conceal 

7 the fact that an individual has been captured or detained, 

8 extraordinary rendition, domestic warrantless electronic 

9 surveillance, targeted killings away from conventional bat10 tlefields, the use of the state secrets or other litigation tac11 tics or privileges to avoid judicial review of executive 

12 branch national security actions, and any other policies 

13 that the Commission may determine to be relevant to its 

14 investigation (hereinafter in this Act referred to as ‘‘the 

15 activities’’). 

16 SEC. 2. DUTIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

18 (1) investigate relevant facts, circumstances and 

19 law surrounding the activities; and 

20 (2) report to the President and Congress the 

21 findings and conclusions of the Commission and any 

22 recommendations the Commission considers appro23 priate. 

24 (b) CONSIDERATION AND USE OF OTHER INVESTIGA25 TIONS.—In carrying out its duties, the Commission shall 


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1 consider and use, to the extent it deems appropriate, the 

2 investigations that have been conducted by other entities 

3 so as to avoid unnecessary duplication. 

4 (c) PROTECTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY.—The 

5 Commission shall carry out its duties in a manner con6 sistent with the need to protect national security.

7 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION. 

8 (a) MEMBERS.—Subject to the requirements of sub9 section (b), the Commission shall be composed of 9 mem10 bers, of whom— 

11 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi12 dent of the United States; 

13 (2) 2 members shall be appointed by the major14 ity leader of the Senate; 

15 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor16 ity leader of the Senate; 

17 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the major18 ity leader of the House of Representatives; and 

19 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the minor20 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

21 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

22 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

23 than 5 members of the Commission shall be from 

24 the same political party. 


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1 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—No 

2 member of the Commission shall be an officer or em3 ployee of the Federal Government or any State or 

4 local government. 

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

6 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis7 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

8 with national recognition and significant depth of ex9 perience in such professions as governmental service, 

10 law enforcement, the armed services, constitutional 

11 law, civil liberties, intelligence gathering, national se12 curity, and foreign affairs. 

13 (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem14 bers of the Commission should be appointed within 

15 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (5) INITIAL MEETING.—If, 60 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, six or more members 

18 of the Commission have been appointed, those mem19 bers who have been appointed may meet and, if nec20 essary, select a temporary Chairperson and Vice 

21 Chairperson, who may begin the operations of the 

22 Commission, including the hiring of staff. 

23 (6) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial 

24 meeting, the Commission shall meet upon the call of 

25 the Chairperson or a majority of its members. Five 


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1 members of the Commission shall constitute a 

2 quorum. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not 

3 affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same 

4 manner in which the original appointment was 

5 made. 

6 (c) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

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

8 of paragraph (2), the Chairperson shall be appointed 

9 by the President and the Vice Chairperson of the 

10 Commission shall be appointed by the Senate minor11 ity leader. 

12 (2) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—The 

13 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall not be from 

14 the same political party. 

15 SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

16 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 

17 may, for purposes of carrying out this Act— 

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

19 places, take testimony, receive evidence, and admin20 ister oaths; and 

21 (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at22 tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc23 tion of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 

24 papers, and documents. 

25 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 


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1 (1) ISSUANCE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, 

3 by a majority vote, issue subpoenas requiring 

4 the attendance and testimony of witnesses and 

5 the production of any evidence relating to any 

6 matter that the Commission is empowered to 

7 investigate under this section. The attendance 

8 of witnesses and the production of evidence may 

9 be required from any place within the United 

10 States at any designated place of hearing within 

11 the United States. 

12 (B) SIGNATURE.—Subpoenas issued under 

13 this paragraph may be issued under the signa14 ture of the Chair of the Commission, the chair 

15 of any subcommittee created by a majority of 

16 the Commission, or any member designated by 

17 a majority of the Commission and may be 

18 served by any person designated by such Chair, 

19 subcommittee chair, or member. 

20 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a person refuses to 

22 obey a subpoena issued under paragraph (1), 

23 the Commission may apply to a United States 

24 district court for an order requiring that person 

25 to appear before the Commission to give testiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:51 Dec 09, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6501.IH H6501

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1 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the 

2 matter under investigation. The application 

3 may be made within the judicial district where 

4 the hearing is conducted or where that person 

5 is found, resides, or transacts business. Any 

6 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

7 punished by the court as civil contempt. 

8 (B) JURISDICTION.—In the case of contu9 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

10 under paragraph (1), the United States district 

11 court for the judicial district in which the sub12 poenaed person resides, is served, or may be 

13 found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 

14 may issue an order requiring such person to ap15 pear at any designated place to testify or to 

16 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 

17 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

18 punished by the court as a contempt of that 

19 court. 

20 (C) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In the 

21 case of the failure of a witness to comply with 

22 any subpoena or to testify when summoned 

23 under authority of paragraph (1), the Commis24 sion, by majority vote, may certify a statement 

25 of fact attesting to such failure to the approVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:51 Dec 09, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6501.IH H6501

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1 priate United States attorney, who shall bring 

2 the matter before the grand jury for its action, 

3 under the same statutory authority and proce4 dures as if the United States attorney had re5 ceived a certification under sections 102 

6 through 104 of the Revised Statutes of the 

7 United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 194). 

8 (c) CLOSED MEETINGS.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law which would require meetings of the Com10 mission to be open to the public, any portion of a meeting 

11 of the Commission may be closed to the public if the Presi12 dent determines that such portion is likely to disclose mat13 ters that could endanger national security. 

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

15 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria16 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

17 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

18 (e) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

19 Commission may secure directly from any department, 

20 agency, or instrumentality of the United States any infor21 mation related to any inquiry of the Commission con22 ducted under this Act. Each such department, agency, or 

23 instrumentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur24 nish such information directly to the Commission upon re25 quest. 


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1 (f) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

2 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

3 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

4 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis5 trative support and other services for the perform6 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

7 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

8 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

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

10 are authorized to provide to the Commission such 

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

12 services as they may determine advisable and as may 

13 be authorized by law. 

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

15 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

16 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

17 United States. 

18 (h) POWERS OF SUBCOMMITTEES, MEMBERS, AND

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

20 Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 

21 any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 

22 this section. 


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1 SEC. 5. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION. 

2 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc3 tor who shall be appointed by the Chairperson and the 

4 Vice Chairperson, acting jointly. 

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

6 the Vice Chairperson, may appoint additional personnel as 

7 may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out 

8 its functions. 

9 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

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

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

12 United States Code, governing appointments in the com13 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the 

14 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 

15 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule 

16 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub17 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 

18 position at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

19 5316 of title 5, United States Code. Any individual ap20 pointed under subsection (a) or (b) shall be treated as an 

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

22 89, and 90 of that title. 

23 (d) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

24 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

25 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 


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1 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ2 ment without interruption. 

3 (e) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au4 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

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

6 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per7 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

8 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

9 Code. 

10 SEC. 6. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

11 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis12 sion may be compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily 

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

14 a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec15 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day dur16 ing which that member is engaged in the actual perform17 ance of the duties of the Commission. 

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

19 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

20 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis21 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

22 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em23 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al24 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 SEC. 7. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM2 BERS AND STAFF. 

3 The appropriate executive departments and agencies 

4 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro5 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

6 security clearances in a manner consistent with existing 

7 procedures and requirements, except that no person shall 

8 be provided with access to classified information under 

9 this section who would not otherwise qualify for such secu10 rity clearance. 

11 SEC. 8. REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION; TERMINATION. 

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

13 the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Com14 mission shall submit to the President and Congress an ini15 tial report containing such findings, conclusions, and rec16 ommendations for corrective measures as have been 

17 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

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

19 the submission of the initial report of the Commission, the 

20 Commission shall submit to the President and Congress 

21 a final report containing such findings, conclusions, and 

22 recommendations for corrective measures as have been 

23 agreed to by a majority of Commission members. 

24 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

26 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after 


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1 the date on which the final report is submitted 

2 under subsection (b). 

3 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER4 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

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

6 of concluding its activities, including providing testi7 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re8 ports and disseminating the second report. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com11 mission to carry out this Act $3,000,000, to remain avail12 able until expended or the Commission is terminated. 

Æ 


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