I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 533 

To establish the Commission on Iraqi Transition. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2007 

Mr. LYNCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 

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 the Commission on Iraqi Transition. 

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 ‘‘Iraq Transition Act 

5 of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; DECLARATIONS OF POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
2 

•HR 533 IH

1 (1) The people of Iraq have made significant 

2 progress in establishing the framework for a demo3 cratic government. 

4 (2) In an October 2005 referendum, the Iraqi 

5 people voted to approve Iraq’s Constitution, setting 

6 up an Islamic federal democracy while strengthening 

7 the rights of women and minorities in that country. 

8 (3) On December 15, 2005, Iraqis voted in the 

9 first multi-party elections in that country in 50 

10 years. 

11 (4) The Iraqi parliament that emerged from the 

12 December 2005 elections includes representation 

13 across a broad cross section of the population and 

14 has established affirmative measures to include 

15 women and ethnic minorities in positions of author16 ity. 

17 (5) The Iraqi constitutional framework has al18 lowed the election of President Jalal Talabani and 

19 Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki to form 

20 Iraq’s first democratically-elected government in its 

21 history. 

22 (6) The Government of the United States has 

23 expended, through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruc24 tion Fund (IRRF), approximately 67 percent of the 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
3 

•HR 533 IH

1 $20,912,000,000 in various reconstruction efforts in 

2 Iraq. 

3 (7) In an effort to allow Iraqis to take over se4 curity operations, approximately 265,000 Iraqi Secu5 rity Forces (ISF) have been trained, nearing the 

6 total force goal of 325,000 by August 2007. 

7 (8) However, despite the emergence of a demo8 cratically-elected Iraqi Government, most civilian 

9 functions of that government remain the responsi10 bility of United States military and Coalition mili11 tary forces. 

12 (b) DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.—Congress makes the 

13 following declarations of policy: 

14 (1) While the military excellence with which Op15 eration Iraqi Freedom has been executed is to be 

16 congratulated, it is in the best interests of the 

17 United States and the nation of Iraq that the proper 

18 functions of government be transferred to Iraqi con19 trol as soon as is practicable. 

20 (2) In order to have an orderly, deliberate, and 

21 expeditious transition to Iraqi civilian control, the 

22 task of doing so must be vested in a national com23 mission which is specifically empowered and author24 ized to monitor and assess that transition and over25 see that such transition is carried out. 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
4 

•HR 533 IH

1 (3) Congress acknowledges that there is suc2 cessful precedent for such a commission in com3 parable circumstances. At the close of World War II, 

4 a national commission, composed of three United 

5 States Senators, three Members of the House of 

6 Representatives, and three Presidential appointees 

7 were appointed and directed to oversee the transition 

8 of the Philippines from United States military to 

9 local, civilian control. 

10 (4) It is again the desire of Congress, as set 

11 forth in this Act, to establish a national commission 

12 to undertake the responsibility of overseeing the de13 velopment of a plan and its implementation to tran14 sition Iraq from United States military control to 

15 Iraqi civilian control in an orderly, deliberate, and 

16 expeditious manner. 

17 (5) Congress anticipates and expects that the 

18 United States military will work in concert with and 

19 be an integral part of the national commission. 

20 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

21 It is the purpose of this Act to establish a national 

22 commission to develop plans for the orderly and expedi23 tious transfer of power for Iraqi Government operations 

24 from United States military forces to the newly-elected 

25 Government of Iraq. The national commission shall seek 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
5 

•HR 533 IH

1 the goals of empowering the newly-elected Government of 

2 Iraq and reducing reliance on United States military 

3 forces, while enabling the safe, prompt, and orderly return 

4 of such military forces to the United States, and further— 

5 (1) to facilitate a dialogue between members of 

6 the commission, Iraqi leaders, and coalition and 

7 international partners in furtherance of the purpose 

8 of this Act; 

9 (2) to report such findings, conclusions, and 

10 recommendations as are consistent with the purpose 

11 of this Act; and 

12 (3) to provide guidance and support for the ex13 peditious assumption of governmental responsibility 

14 by the newly-elected and appointed Iraqi government 

15 officials as is consistent with congressional oversight 

16 responsibilities regarding the proper use of United 

17 States reconstruction assistance for Iraq. 

18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT. 

19 There is established a commission to be known as the 

20 ‘‘Commission on Iraqi Transition’’ (in this Act referred 

21 to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

22 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP. 

23 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

25 composed of 21 members, as follows: 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
6 

•HR 533 IH

1 (A) Seven members appointed by the 

2 President, of whom one shall be the Secretary 

3 of State (or the Secretary’s designee), one shall 

4 be the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary’s 

5 designee), and one shall be the Secretary of 

6 Commerce. 

7 (B) Seven members appointed by the 

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives and 

9 the minority leader of the House of Representa10 tives, of whom four shall be Members of the 

11 House of Representatives from the majority 

12 party and three shall be Members of the House 

13 of Representatives from the minority party. 

14 (C) Seven members appointed by the ma15 jority leader of the Senate and the minority 

16 leader of the Senate, of whom four shall be 

17 Members of the Senate from the majority party 

18 and three shall be Members of the Senate from 

19 the minority party. 

20 (2) DEADLINE.—Members of the Commission 

21 shall be appointed not later than 60 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of Congress 

24 that individuals appointed to the Commission shall be 

25 United States citizens, with significant depth of experience 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
7 

•HR 533 IH

1 relevant to the goals of the Commission, including in the 

2 fields of public administration, finance, and management. 

3 (c) MEETINGS; QUORUM; MAJORITY; VACANCIES.— 

4 (1) MEETINGS.—Not later than 30 days after 

5 the date on which all members of the Commission 

6 have been appointed pursuant to subsection (a), the 

7 Commission shall hold its first meeting. After its ini8 tial meeting, the Commission shall meet upon the 

9 call of the Chairperson or a majority of its members. 

10 (2) QUORUM.—At least 11 members shall con11 stitute a quorum for the transaction of business pro12 vided a bipartisan representation is present. 

13 (3) MAJORITY.—At least 11 Members shall con14 stitute a majority of the Commission. 

15 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis16 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

17 the same manner in which the original appointment 

18 was made. 

19 (d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Com20 mission shall be elected by the members of the Commis21 sion 

22 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

23 (a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Commission shall 

24 study and report upon all issues relating to the orderly 

25 and expeditious transfer of power for Iraqi Government 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
8 

•HR 533 IH

1 operations from United States military forces to the 

2 newly-elected Government of Iraq, particularly to the 

3 Prime Minister of Iraq, the President of Iraq, and the 

4 Iraqi Council of Representatives, including day-to-day op5 erations of Iraqi ministries and departments, as have been 

6 established by the Iraqi Constitution and laws, including 

7 the Ministries of Agriculture, Capital Markets Institu8 tions, Communications, Commission on Public Integrity, 

9 Culture, Defense, Displacement and Migration, Edu10 cation, Electricity, Environment, Finance, Foreign Af11 fairs, Health, Higher Educations, Housing and Construc12 tion, Humane Rights, Industry and Minerals, Interior, 

13 Property Claims Commission, Justice, Labor and Social 

14 Affairs, Municipalities and Public Works, Oil, Planning 

15 and Development, Private Sector Development, Science 

16 and Technology, Trade, Transportation, Water Resources, 

17 and Youth and Sports. 

18 (b) PROMOTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND OTHER

19 GOALS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Commission 

20 shall seek to promote the government-wide management 

21 goals of accountability, effective management, efficiency 

22 and economy of operations, ethical conduct, and the merit23 based recruitment and compensation of a professional civil 

24 service for the Iraqi Government. 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
9 

•HR 533 IH

1 SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) HEARINGS; SUBPOENA POWER.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission or, on the 

4 authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or 

5 member thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying 

6 out this Act— 

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

8 such times and places, take such testimony, re9 ceive such evidence, and administer such oaths 

10 as the Commission considers appropriate; and 

11 (B) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the 

12 attendance and testimony of such witnesses and 

13 the production of such books, records, cor14 respondence, memoranda, papers, and other 

15 documents, as the Commission, or such des16 ignated subcommittee or designated member 

17 thereof, is empowered to investigate under this 

18 Act. 

19 (2) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena 

20 issued pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) may be issued 

21 under the signature of the Chairperson of the Com22 mission, the chairperson of any designated sub23 committee thereof, or any designated member there24 of, and may be served by any person designated by 

25 such Chairperson, subcommittee chairperson, or 

26 member. The provisions of sections 102 through 104 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
10 

•HR 533 IH

1 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 

2 U.S.C. 192–194) shall apply in the case of any fail3 ure of any witness to comply with any subpoena or 

4 to testify when summoned under authority of this 

5 section. 

6 (b) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 

7 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria8 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

9 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

10 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

11 Commission is authorized to secure directly from any exec12 utive department, bureau, agency, board, commission, of13 fice, independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

14 Government information, suggestions, estimates, and sta15 tistics for the purposes of this Act. Each such department, 

16 bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent es17 tablishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent author18 ized by law, furnish such information, suggestions, esti19 mates, and statistics directly to the Commission, upon re20 quest made by the Chairperson of the Commission. 

21 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

22 (1) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Secretary of 

23 State is authorized on a reimbursable or non24 reimbursable basis to provide the Commission with 

25 administrative services, funds, facilities, staff, and 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
11 

•HR 533 IH

1 other support services for the performance of the 

2 Commission’s duties under this Act. 

3 (2) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

4 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

5 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis such ad6 ministrative support services as the Commission may 

7 request. 

8 (3) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

9 addition to the assistance set forth in paragraphs 

10 (1) and (2), departments and agencies of the United 

11 States are authorized to provide to the Commission 

12 such services, funds, facilities, staff, and other sup13 port services as such departments and agencies may 

14 deem advisable and as may be authorized by law. 

15 (e) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

16 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

17 (f) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

18 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

19 the same conditions as department and agencies of the 

20 United States. 

21 SEC. 8. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the Commis23 sion, in accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis24 sion, may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff di25 rector and such other personnel as may be necessary to 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
12 

•HR 533 IH

1 enable the Commission to carry out its duties under this 

2 Act, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

3 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

4 service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 

5 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating 

6 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 

7 that no rate of pay fixed under this subsection may exceed 

8 the equivalent of that payable for a position at level V 

9 of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (b) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

12 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

13 for the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

14 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ15 ment without interruption. 

16 (c) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au17 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

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

19 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per20 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

21 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

22 Code. 

23 SEC. 9. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

24 (a) COMPENSATION.— 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
13 

•HR 533 IH

1 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Each member of the Com2 mission may be compensated at not to exceed the 

3 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in 

4 effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 

5 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, for each day during which that member 

7 is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 

8 of the Commission. 

9 (2) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION OF FED10 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Commission 

11 who are officers or employees of the United States 

12 or Members of Congress may not receive additional 

13 pay on account of their service on the Commission. 

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

15 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

16 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis17 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

18 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em19 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al20 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

21 States Code. 

22 SEC. 10. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM23 BERS AND STAFF. 

24 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments 

25 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously proVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:52 Jan 18, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H533.IH H533

jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
14 

•HR 533 IH

1 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

2 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex3 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person 

4 shall be provided with access to classified information 

5 under this Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

6 SEC. 11. REPORTS OF COMMISSION; CONGRESSIONAL RE7 SPONSE; TERMINATION. 

8 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date of its initial meeting, the Commission shall sub10 mit to the President and Congress a report that con11 tains— 

12 (1) an assessment of any and all progress in 

13 the transfer of governmental authority to the newly 

14 elected Iraqi Government; and 

15 (2) such findings, conclusions, and rec16 ommendations, approved by a majority of its mem17 bers, as the Commission shall determine to be con18 sistent with the purpose of this Act. 

19 (b) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub20 mit to the President and Congress interim reports con21 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

22 as have been agreed to by a majority of Commission mem23 bers. 

24 (c) FINAL REPORT.—By vote of a majority of its 

25 members, the Commission shall submit to the President 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
15 

•HR 533 IH

1 and Congress a determination in its final report that all 

2 or substantially all of the governing authority has been 

3 transferred to the Iraqi Government. 

4 (d) CONGRESSIONAL RESPONSE.— 

5 (1) HEARINGS.—At any time following the re6 ceipt of the initial report, interim reports, or final 

7 report of the Commission under this section, the 

8 Committee on International Relations of the House 

9 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

10 Relations of the Senate may initiate hearings to con11 sider the findings and recommendations of the re12 port. 

13 (2) LEGISLATION.—At any time following the 

14 receipt of the initial report, interim reports, or final 

15 report of the Commission under this section, Con16 gress may give such findings, conclusions, or rec17 ommendations legislative effect as it deems appro18 priate. 

19 (e) TERMINATION.— 

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

21 authorities of this Act, shall terminate no later than 

22 90 days after the date on which the final report is 

23 submitted under subsection (c). 

24 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER25 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 90-day 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
16 

•HR 533 IH

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

2 of concluding its activities, including providing testi3 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re4 ports and disseminating the final report. 

5 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

8 Act. 

9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

10 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) 

11 are authorized to remain available, without fiscal year lim12 itation, until expended. 

Æ 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS