III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 53 

Authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2011 

Mr. LIEBERMAN, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, reported the following original resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

RESOLUTION 

Authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

3 GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In carrying out its pow5 ers, duties, and functions under the Standing Rules of the 

6 Senate, in accordance with its jurisdiction under rule XXV 

7 of such rules and S. Res. 445 (108th Congress), including 

8 holding hearings, reporting such hearings, and making in9 vestigations as authorized by paragraphs 1 and 8 of rule 

10 XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee 


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•SRES 53 RS 

1 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (referred 

2 to in this resolution as the ‘‘committee’’) is authorized 

3 from March 1, 2011, through February 28, 2013, in its 

4 discretion— 

5 (1) to make expenditures from the contingent 

6 fund of the Senate; 

7 (2) to employ personnel; and 

8 (3) with the prior consent of the Government 

9 department or agency concerned and the Committee 

10 on Rules and Administration, to use on a reimburs11 able, or nonreimbursable, basis the services of per12 sonnel of any such department or agency. 

13 (b) EXPENSES FOR PERIOD ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 

14 2011.—The expenses of the committee for the period 

15 March 1, 2011, through September 30, 2011, under this 

16 section shall not exceed $6,902,759, of which amount— 

17 (1) not to exceed $75,000, may be expended for 

18 the procurement of the services of individual consult19 ants, or organizations thereof (as authorized by sec20 tion 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 

21 1946 (2 U.S.C. 72a(i))); and 

22 (2) not to exceed $20,000, may be expended for 

23 the training of the professional staff of the com24 mittee (under procedures specified by section 202(j) 

25 of that Act). 


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1 (c) EXPENSES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012 PERIOD.— 

2 The expenses of the committee for the period October 1, 

3 2011, through September 30, 2012, under this section 

4 shall not exceed $11,833,302, of which amount— 

5 (1) not to exceed $75,000, may be expended for 

6 the procurement of the services of individual consult7 ants, or organizations thereof (as authorized by sec8 tion 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 

9 1946 (2 U.S.C. 72a(i))); and 

10 (2) not to exceed $20,000, may be expended for 

11 the training of the professional staff of the com12 mittee (under procedures specified by section 202(j) 

13 of that Act). 

14 (d) EXPENSES FOR PERIOD ENDING FEBRUARY 28, 

15 2013.—For the period October 1, 2012, through February 

16 28, 2013, expenses of the committee under this section 

17 shall not exceed $4,930,543, of which amount— 

18 (1) not to exceed $75,000, may be expended for 

19 the procurement of the services of individual consult20 ants, or organizations thereof (as authorized by sec21 tion 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 

22 1946); and 

23 (2) not to exceed $20,000, may be expended for 

24 the training of the professional staff of the comVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:44 Feb 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR53.RS SR53

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1 mittee (under procedures specified by section 202(j) 

2 of that Act). 

3 SEC. 2. REPORTING LEGISLATION. 

4 The committee shall report its findings, together with 

5 such recommendations for legislation as it deems advis6 able, to the Senate at the earliest practicable date, but 

7 not later than February 28, 2013. 

8 SEC. 3. EXPENSES; AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS; AND INVES9 TIGATIONS. 

10 (a) EXPENSES OF THE COMMITTEE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), any expenses of the committee under this 

13 resolution shall be paid from the contingent fund of 

14 the Senate upon vouchers approved by the chairman 

15 of the committee. 

16 (2) VOUCHERS NOT REQUIRED.—Vouchers shall 

17 not be required for— 

18 (A) the disbursement of salaries of employ19 ees of the committee who are paid at an annual 

20 rate; 

21 (B) the payment of telecommunications ex22 penses provided by the Office of the Sergeant at 

23 Arms and Doorkeeper; 

24 (C) the payment of stationery supplies pur25 chased through the Keeper of Stationery; 


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•SRES 53 RS 

1 (D) payments to the Postmaster of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (E) the payment of metered charges on 

4 copying equipment provided by the Office of the 

5 Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper; 

6 (F) the payment of Senate Recording and 

7 Photographic Services; or 

8 (G) for payment of franked and mass mail 

9 costs by the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, 

10 United States Senate. 

11 (b) AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS.—There are authorized 

12 such sums as may be necessary for agency contributions 

13 related to the compensation of employees of the committee 

14 for the period March 1, 2011, through September 30, 

15 2011, for the period October 1, 2011, through September 

16 30, 2012, and for the period October 1, 2012, through 

17 February 28, 2013, to be paid from the appropriations 

18 account for ‘Expenses of Inquiries and Investigations’ of 

19 the Senate. 

20 (c) INVESTIGATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The committee, or any duly 

22 authorized subcommittee of the committee, is au23 thorized to study or investigate— 

24 (A) the efficiency and economy of oper25 ations of all branches of the Government inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:44 Feb 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR53.RS SR53

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1 cluding the possible existence of fraud, misfea2 sance, malfeasance, collusion, mismanagement, 

3 incompetence, corruption, or unethical prac4 tices, waste, extravagance, conflicts of interest, 

5 and the improper expenditure of Government 

6 funds in transactions, contracts, and activities 

7 of the Government or of Government officials 

8 and employees and any and all such improper 

9 practices between Government personnel and 

10 corporations, individuals, companies, or persons 

11 affiliated therewith, doing business with the 

12 Government; and the compliance or noncompli13 ance of such corporations, companies, or indi14 viduals or other entities with the rules, regula15 tions, and laws governing the various govern16 mental agencies and its relationships with the 

17 public; 

18 (B) the extent to which criminal or other 

19 improper practices or activities are, or have 

20 been, engaged in the field of labor-management 

21 relations or in groups or organizations of em22 ployees or employers, to the detriment of inter23 ests of the public, employers, or employees, and 

24 to determine whether any changes are required 

25 in the laws of the United States in order to proVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:44 Feb 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR53.RS SR53

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1 tect such interests against the occurrence of 

2 such practices or activities; 

3 (C) organized criminal activity which may 

4 operate in or otherwise utilize the facilities of 

5 interstate or international commerce in further6 ance of any transactions and the manner and 

7 extent to which, and the identity of the persons, 

8 firms, or corporations, or other entities by 

9 whom such utilization is being made, and fur10 ther, to study and investigate the manner in 

11 which and the extent to which persons engaged 

12 in organized criminal activity have infiltrated 

13 lawful business enterprise, and to study the 

14 adequacy of Federal laws to prevent the oper15 ations of organized crime in interstate or inter16 national commerce; and to determine whether 

17 any changes are required in the laws of the 

18 United States in order to protect the public 

19 against such practices or activities; 

20 (D) all other aspects of crime and lawless21 ness within the United States which have an 

22 impact upon or affect the national health, wel23 fare, and safety; including but not limited to in24 vestment fraud schemes, commodity and secu25 rity fraud, computer fraud, and the use of offVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:44 Feb 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR53.RS SR53

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1 shore banking and corporate facilities to carry 

2 out criminal objectives; 

3 (E) the efficiency and economy of oper4 ations of all branches and functions of the Gov5 ernment with particular reference to— 

6 (i) the effectiveness of present na7 tional security methods, staffing, and proc8 esses as tested against the requirements 

9 imposed by the rapidly mounting com10 plexity of national security problems; 

11 (ii) the capacity of present national 

12 security staffing, methods, and processes 

13 to make full use of the Nation’s resources 

14 of knowledge and talents; 

15 (iii) the adequacy of present intergov16 ernmental relations between the United 

17 States and international organizations 

18 principally concerned with national security 

19 of which the United States is a member; 

20 and 

21 (iv) legislative and other proposals to 

22 improve these methods, processes, and re23 lationships; 

24 (F) the efficiency, economy, and effective25 ness of all agencies and departments of the 


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1 Government involved in the control and man2 agement of energy shortages including, but not 

3 limited to, their performance with respect to— 

4 (i) the collection and dissemination of 

5 accurate statistics on fuel demand and 

6 supply; 

7 (ii) the implementation of effective en8 ergy conservation measures; 

9 (iii) the pricing of energy in all forms; 

10 (iv) coordination of energy programs 

11 with State and local government; 

12 (v) control of exports of scarce fuels; 

13 (vi) the management of tax, import, 

14 pricing, and other policies affecting energy 

15 supplies; 

16 (vii) maintenance of the independent 

17 sector of the petroleum industry as a 

18 strong competitive force; 

19 (viii) the allocation of fuels in short 

20 supply by public and private entities; 

21 (ix) the management of energy sup22 plies owned or controlled by the Govern23 ment; 

24 (x) relations with other oil producing 

25 and consuming countries; 


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1 (xi) the monitoring of compliance by 

2 governments, corporations, or individuals 

3 with the laws and regulations governing 

4 the allocation, conservation, or pricing of 

5 energy supplies; and 

6 (xii) research into the discovery and 

7 development of alternative energy supplies; 

8 and 

9 (G) the efficiency and economy of all 

10 branches and functions of Government with 

11 particular references to the operations and 

12 management of Federal regulatory policies and 

13 programs. 

14 (2) EXTENT OF INQUIRIES.—In carrying out 

15 the duties provided in paragraph (1), the inquiries 

16 of this committee or any subcommittee of the com17 mittee shall not be construed to be limited to the 

18 records, functions, and operations of any particular 

19 branch of the Government and may extend to the 

20 records and activities of any persons, corporation, or 

21 other entity. 

22 (3) SPECIAL COMMITTEE AUTHORITY.—For the 

23 purposes of this subsection, the committee, or any 

24 duly authorized subcommittee of the committee, or 

25 its chairman, or any other member of the committee 


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1 or subcommittee designated by the chairman, from 

2 March 1, 2011, through February 28, 2013, is au3 thorized, in its, his, her, or their discretion— 

4 (A) to require by subpoena or otherwise 

5 the attendance of witnesses and production of 

6 correspondence, books, papers, and documents; 

7 (B) to hold hearings; 

8 (C) to sit and act at any time or place dur9 ing the sessions, recess, and adjournment peri10 ods of the Senate; 

11 (D) to administer oaths; and 

12 (E) to take testimony, either orally or by 

13 sworn statement, or, in the case of staff mem14 bers of the Committee and the Permanent Sub15 committee on Investigations, by deposition in 

16 accordance with the Committee Rules of Proce17 dure. 

18 (4) AUTHORITY OF OTHER COMMITTEES.— 

19 Nothing contained in this subsection shall affect or 

20 impair the exercise of any other standing committee 

21 of the Senate of any power, or the discharge by such 

22 committee of any duty, conferred or imposed upon 

23 it by the Standing Rules of the Senate or by the 

24 Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. 


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1 (5) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—All subpoenas and 

2 related legal processes of the committee and its sub3 committees authorized under S. Res. 73, agreed to 

4 March 10, 2009 (111th Congress), are authorized to 

5 continue. 

Æ 


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