I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5698 

To create an independent advisory panel to comprehensively assess the leadership structure, protocols, training, tools, and capabilities of the United 

States Secret Service and make recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2014 

Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To create an independent advisory panel to comprehensively 

assess the leadership structure, protocols, training, tools, 

and capabilities of the United States Secret Service and 

make recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Service, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘United States Secret 

5 Service Accountability and Improvement Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Several recent failures have drawn negative 

2 attention to the protective mission of the United 

3 States Secret Service. Such key failures include 

4 lapses in responding appropriately to potential 

5 threats to the White House complex, United States 

6 Secret Service personnel exhibiting conduct that is 

7 unbecoming to the Service in several instances, and 

8 reports of United States Secret Service personnel 

9 misusing the authorities and resources of the Serv10 ice. 

11 (2) For example, on September 19, 2014, an 

12 individual obtained unauthorized access to the White 

13 House. Such access was obtained after failures in 

14 five security layers by the United States Secret Serv15 ice. In another example, on November 11, 2011, an 

16 individual fired multiple shots from a semiautomatic 

17 rifle at the White House complex. It was revealed 

18 that a total of seven bullets struck the exterior of 

19 the building. The Service failed to fully investigate 

20 the incident in a timely manner or to disclose it. 

21 (3) On March 23, 2014, a Special Agent as22 signed to the Counter Assault Team was found in23 toxicated to the point of unconsciousness in a hotel 

24 in Amsterdam in advance of a Presidential visit. In 

25 another example, on April 11, 2012, conduct unbeVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:49 Nov 14, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5698.IH H5698

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1 coming to United States Secret Service personnel 

2 was exhibited before a Presidential visit to 

3 Cartagena, Columbia. Nine personnel were involved 

4 in serious misconduct. 

5 (4) Surveillance personnel from the Washington 

6 field office were diverted in 2011 from supporting 

7 the protective mission at the request of senior lead8 ership in order to provide protection to a United 

9 States Secret Service employee at her home fol10 lowing a neighborhood dispute. Such a diversion was 

11 outside the scope of the Service’s duties and violated 

12 the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of 

13 the Executive Branch. 

14 (b) FURTHER FINDINGS.—Congress further finds 

15 that the protection of the President, Vice President, First 

16 and Second Families, and former Presidents is a matter 

17 of national security. Any issues that distract from the pro18 tective mission of the United States Secret Service are a 

19 threat to the national security of the United States. 

20 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

21 There is established in the legislative branch an inde22 pendent advisory panel to— 

23 (1) examine the efficiency and effectiveness of 

24 the leadership structure, protocols, training, tools, 

25 and capabilities of the Department of Homeland SeVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:49 Nov 14, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5698.IH H5698

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1 curity’s mission to protect national leaders, visiting 

2 heads of state and government, designated sites, and 

3 special events of national significance (in accordance 

4 with paragraph (1) of section 3056(e) of title 18 

5 United States Code); and 

6 (2) make recommendations to improve the over7 all efficiency and effectiveness of the United States 

8 Secret Service. 

9 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The independent advisory panel 

11 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Panel’’) established pursu12 ant to section 3 shall be composed of eight members, as 

13 follows: 

14 (1) Two members shall be appointed by the 

15 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in coordi16 nation with the chairs of the Committee on the Judi17 ciary and the Committee on Homeland Security of 

18 the House of Representatives. Only one of such 

19 members may be from the same political party as 

20 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

21 (2) Two members shall be appointed by the ma22 jority leader of the Senate, in coordination with the 

23 chairs of the Committee on the Judiciary and the 

24 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

25 Affairs of the Senate. Only one of such members 


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1 may be from the same political party as the majority 

2 leader of the Senate. 

3 (3) One member shall be appointed by the mi4 nority leader of the House of Representatives, in co5 ordination with the ranking members of the Com6 mittee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 

7 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives. 

8 (4) One member shall be appointed by the mi9 nority leader of the Senate, in coordination with the 

10 ranking members of the Committee on the Judiciary 

11 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov12 ernmental Affairs of the Senate. 

13 (5) Two members shall be appointed by the 

14 President, in consultation with the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security. Only one of such members may 

16 be from the same political party as the President. 

17 (b) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 

18 (a), members of the Panel may not be current appointees 

19 of the President’s Administration or Members of Con20 gress, in order to ensure objectivity of the Panel’s assess21 ments. No member may be or have been an employee of 

22 the United States Secret Service at any point in their ca23 reer. 


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1 (c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—All appoint2 ments to the Panel shall be made not later than 90 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (d) CO-CHAIRS.—The Panel shall have two co-chairs, 

5 as follows: 

6 (1) A co-chair who shall be a member of the 

7 Panel designated by the Speaker of the House of 

8 Representatives. 

9 (2) A co-chair who shall be a member of the 

10 Panel designated by the majority leader of the Sen11 ate. 

12 (e) VACANCY.—In the event of a vacancy on the 

13 Panel, the individual appointed to fill the vacant seat shall 

14 be— 

15 (1) subject to paragraph (2), appointed by the 

16 same officer (or the officer’s successor) who made 

17 the appointment to the seat when the Panel was 

18 first established; or 

19 (2) if the officer’s successor is of a party other 

20 than the party of the officer who made the initial 

21 appointment when the Panel was first established, 

22 chosen in consultation with the senior officers of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Senate of the 

24 party which is the party of the officer who made 

25 such initial appointment. 


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1 (f) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Members of the 

2 Panel who are officers or employees of the Federal Gov3 ernment shall serve without additional pay (or benefits in 

4 the nature of compensation) for service as a member of 

5 the Panel. 

6 (g) INITIAL MEETING.—The Panel shall meet and 

7 begin the operations of the Panel not later than 60 days 

8 after the appointment of all Panel members under sub9 section (a). 

10 SEC. 5. DUTIES. 

11 The Panel shall assess the current leadership struc12 ture, protocols, training, tools, and capabilities of the 

13 United States Secret Service, including assessing— 

14 (1) the unity of effort between the divisions of 

15 the United States Secret Service, law enforcement 

16 agencies, and other components of the Department 

17 of Homeland Security related to the protective and 

18 investigative missions, including whether mission du19 plication with other Federal entities exists; 

20 (2) the impact of United States Secret Service 

21 personnel culture on the effectiveness and efficiency 

22 of the Service, including Special Agent and Uni23 formed Division retention; 


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1 (3) the impact any leadership or security defi2 ciencies have on the threat from acts of terrorism or 

3 other security incidents; 

4 (4) identification of all security breaches at lo5 cations under United States Secret Service protec6 tion in the past five years; 

7 (5) the extent to which current resources pro8 vide for accomplishing the mission of the United 

9 States Secret Service; 

10 (6) the effectiveness of communications and dis11 semination of homeland security information within 

12 the United States Secret Service and with other law 

13 enforcement entities in routine as well as emergency 

14 situations; and 

15 (7) any necessary recommendations for congres16 sional consideration. 

17 SEC. 6. POWERS AND AUTHORITIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Panel or, on the authority of 

19 the Panel, any portion thereof, may, for the purpose of 

20 carrying out this section— 

21 (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

22 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

23 evidence, administer such oaths (provided that the 

24 quorum for a hearing shall be two members of the 

25 Panel); and 


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1 (2) subject to subsection (b), require by sub2 poena or otherwise provide for the attendance and 

3 testimony of such witnesses and the production of 

4 such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 

5 papers, and documents, as the Panel, or such por6 tion thereof, may determine advisable. 

7 (b) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Hearings and other ac8 tivities conducted under subsection (a) shall be open to 

9 the public unless the Panel, or, on the authority of the 

10 Panel, any portion thereof, determines that such is not 

11 appropriate, including for reasons relating to the disclo12 sure of information or material regarding the national se13 curity interests of the United States or the disclosure of 

14 sensitive law enforcement data. 

15 (c) SUBPOENAS.— 

16 (1) ISSUANCE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

18 issued under this subsection only— 

19 (i) by the two co-chairs; or 

20 (ii) by the affirmative recorded vote of 

21 six members of the Panel. 

22 (B) SIGNATURE.—Subpoenas issued under 

23 this subsection may be— 


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1 (i) issued under the signature of the 

2 two co-chairs or any member designated by 

3 a majority of the Panel; and 

4 (ii) served by any person designated 

5 by the two co-chairs or by any member 

6 designated by a majority of the Panel. 

7 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of contu9 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

10 under this subsection, 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 

15 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 

16 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

17 punished by the court as contempt of that 

18 court. 

19 (B) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In the 

20 case of any failure of any witness to comply 

21 with any subpoena, the Panel may, by majority 

22 vote, certify a statement of fact constituting 

23 such failure to the appropriate United States 

24 attorney, who may bring the matter before a 

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1 tory authority and procedures as if the United 

2 States attorney had received a certification 

3 under sections 102 through 104 of the Revised 

4 Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 

5 through 194). 

6 (d) PERSONNEL.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Panel shall have the au8 thorities provided in section 3161 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, and shall be subject to the conditions 

10 specified in such section, except to the extent that 

11 such conditions would be inconsistent with the re12 quirements of this section. 

13 (2) COMPENSATION.—The co-chairs, in accord14 ance with rules agreed upon by the Panel, may ap15 point and fix the compensation of a staff director 

16 and such other personnel as may be necessary to en17 able the Panel to carry out its functions, without re18 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

19 governing appointments in the competitive service, 

20 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

21 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat22 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

23 except that no rate of pay fixed under this para24 graph may exceed the equivalent of that payable for 


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1 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

2 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (3) DETAILEES.—Any employee of the Federal 

4 Government may be detailed to the Panel without 

5 reimbursement from the Panel, and such employee 

6 shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of such 

7 employee’s regular employment without interruption. 

8 (4) EXPERT AND CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The 

9 Panel is authorized to procure the services of experts 

10 and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of 

11 title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to ex12 ceed the daily rate paid a person occupying a posi13 tion at level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec14 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (5) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 

16 section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the 

17 Panel may accept and use voluntary and uncompen18 sated services as the Panel determines necessary. 

19 (e) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The appropriate de20 partments or agencies of the Federal Government shall co21 operate with the Panel in expeditiously providing to the 

22 Panel members and staff appropriate security clearances 

23 to the extent possible pursuant to existing procedures and 

24 requirements, except that no person shall be provided with 


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1 access to classified information under this section without 

2 the appropriate security clearances. 

3 (f) CONTRACTING.—The Panel may, to such extent 

4 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation 

5 Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Panel to carry out 

6 its duties under this Act. 

7 (g) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Panel may use the 

8 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

9 same conditions as departments and agencies of the Fed10 eral Government. 

11 (h) SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon request of the Panel, 

12 the Administrator of General Services shall provide the 

13 Panel, on a reimbursable basis, with the administrative 

14 support services necessary for the Panel to carry out its 

15 duties under this Act. Such administrative services may 

16 include human resource management, budget, leasing, ac17 counting, and payroll services. 

18 (i) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Panel may estab19 lish rules for the conduct of the Panel’s business, if such 

20 rules are not inconsistent with this Act or other applicable 

21 law. 

22 (j) NONAPPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

23 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Panel. 


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1 (k) TERMINATION.—The Panel shall terminate on 

2 the date that is 60 days after the date of the submission 

3 of its final report. 

4 SEC. 7. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

5 (a) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than nine months 

6 after the date of the appointment of all the members of 

7 the Panel, the Panel shall submit to the Committee on 

8 the Judiciary and the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 the Judiciary and the Committee on Homeland Security 

11 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate an interim report, 

12 including the results and findings of the assessments car13 ried out in accordance with section 5. 

14 (b) OTHER REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.—The Panel 

15 may from time to time submit to the committees specified 

16 in subsection (a) such other reports and briefings relating 

17 to the assessments carried out in accordance with section 

18 5 as the Panel considers appropriate. Such committees 

19 may request information on the Panel’s progress as it con20 ducts its work. 

21 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than eighteen months 

22 after the date of the appointment of all the members of 

23 the Panel, the Panel shall submit to the committees speci24 fied in subsection (a) a final report on the assessments 


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1 carried out in accordance with section 5. Such final report 

2 shall— 

3 (1) include the findings of the Panel; 

4 (2) identify lessons learned related to United 

5 States Secret Service leadership issues; and 

6 (3) include specific recommendations, including 

7 those for congressional consideration, relating to— 

8 (A) improving the efficiency and effective9 ness of the leadership structure, protocols, 

10 training, tools, and capabilities of the Depart11 ment of Homeland Security’s mission to protect 

12 national leaders, visiting heads of state and 

13 government, designated sites, and special events 

14 of national significance (in accordance with 

15 paragraph (1) of section 3056(e) of title 18 

16 United States Code); 

17 (B) improving unity of effort between the 

18 divisions of the United States Secret Service 

19 and other law enforcement agencies and other 

20 components of the Department of Homeland 

21 Security relating to the protective and, as appli22 cable, investigative missions, including whether 

23 duplication with other Federal entities exists; 


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1 (C) eliminating barriers to effective com2 munications in routine as well as emergency sit3 uations; 

4 (D) identifying and mitigating cultural 

5 issues within the United States Secret Service 

6 that detract from the mission of the Service; 

7 and 

8 (E) improvements needed to mitigate risks 

9 based on past security breaches. 

Æ 


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