II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 412 

To establish the Commission on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United 

States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish the Commission on the Coronavirus Pandemic 

in the United States. 

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 ‘‘National Coronavirus 

5 Commission Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 

9 means the 2019 novel coronavirus disease. 


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1 (2) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

2 The term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’— 

3 (A) means all committees for which infor4 mation in the report or plan being provided 

5 might be relevant; and 

6 (B) includes, at a minimum— 

7 (i) the Committee on Health, Edu8 cation, Labor, and Pensions, the Com9 mittee on Finance, the Committee on For10 eign Relations, the Committee on Banking, 

11 Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Com12 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern13 ment Affairs, the Committee on Appropria14 tions, and the Select Committee on Intel15 ligence of the Senate; and 

16 (ii) the Committee on Energy and 

17 Commerce, the Committee on Ways and 

18 Means, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

19 the Committee on Oversight and Reform, 

20 the Committee on Homeland Security, the 

21 Committee on Appropriations, and the 

22 Permanent Select Committee on Intel23 ligence of the House of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 There is established in the legislative branch the 

3 Commission on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United 

4 States (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 

6 The purposes of the Commission are to— 

7 (1) examine and report on the facts and the 

8 causes relating to the COVID–19 pandemic in the 

9 United States, which may include investigating and 

10 reporting on— 

11 (A) the origins of COVID–19; and 

12 (B) the spread of COVID–19 internation13 ally and within the United States; 

14 (2) make a full and nonpartisan accounting of 

15 the United States preparedness for, and response to, 

16 the COVID–19 pandemic, to include investigating 

17 and reporting on— 

18 (A) medical intelligence; 

19 (B) international public health surveil20 lance; 

21 (C) domestic public health surveillance; 

22 (D) communication and coordination be23 tween the Federal Government and foreign gov24 ernments, the private sector, nongovernmental 

25 organizations, and international public health 

26 organizations related to public health threats 


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1 and early warning, detection, and prevention 

2 and response measures; 

3 (E) communication and coordination re4 lated to public health threats and early warn5 ing, detection, and prevention and response 

6 measures among the Federal national security 

7 agencies, Federal public health agencies, other 

8 relevant Federal agencies, and State, Tribal, 

9 local, and territorial governments; 

10 (F) Federal funding and support for, en11 gagement with, and management of, inter12 national prevention, preparedness, and response 

13 efforts; 

14 (G) Federal guidance, assistance, and re15 quirements for State, Tribal, local, and terri16 torial governments; 

17 (H) Federal acquisition and financing ef18 forts and supply chain management, including 

19 use of the authorities provided under the De20 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 

21 et seq.), related to personal protective equip22 ment, testing supplies, ventilators and other 

23 medical equipment or supplies, diagnostics, 

24 therapeutics, vaccines, or other relevant items 

25 for domestic and international use; 


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1 (I) management, allocation, and distribu2 tion of relevant resources (including resources 

3 and assets for domestic use held by United 

4 States agencies that provide foreign aid) be5 tween the Federal Government and State, Trib6 al, local, and territorial governments, hospitals 

7 and health care organizations, and private sec8 tor entities, including personal protective equip9 ment, testing supplies, ventilators and other 

10 medical equipment or supplies, diagnostics, 

11 therapeutics, vaccines, or other relevant items; 

12 (J) management, allocation, and distribu13 tion of personal protective equipment, testing 

14 supplies, ventilators and other medical equip15 ment or supplies, diagnostics, therapeutics, vac16 cines, or other relevant items as aid to foreign 

17 countries; 

18 (K) domestic and global supply chain 

19 vulnerabilities with respect to personal protec20 tive equipment, testing supplies, ventilators and 

21 other medical equipment or supplies, diagnos22 tics, therapeutics, vaccines, or other relevant 

23 items; 

24 (L) the operation of government-main25 tained stockpiles; 


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1 (M) scams and profiteering; 

2 (N) misinformation and disinformation; 

3 (O) the readiness of Federal, State, Tribal, 

4 local, and territorial public health departments 

5 and agencies and relevant regional entities; 

6 (P) testing and contact tracing operations; 

7 (Q) emergency management; 

8 (R) military engagement, including the Na9 tional Guard Bureau; 

10 (S) Federal, State, Tribal, local, and terri11 torial orders and guidance to reduce disease 

12 transmission, including travel restrictions, stay13 at-home orders, in-person school and institution 

14 of higher education closures or modifications, 

15 workplace protections or closures, or business 

16 closures or modifications; 

17 (T) Federal, State, Tribal, local, and terri18 torial guidance, public health education, and re19 source provision related to masking, social 

20 distancing, hygiene, therapeutics, testing, quar21 antining, vaccination, or other relevant topics; 

22 (U) scientific and technological prepared23 ness and response, which may include— 

24 (i) the Federal role in executing, sup25 porting, and coordinating domestic and 


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1 global research on diagnostics, thera2 peutics, and vaccines; 

3 (ii) the efficacy and scientific integrity 

4 of the Federal authorization and approval 

5 processes for vaccines, therapeutics, and 

6 diagnostics; and 

7 (iii) the use of technology to detect 

8 and prevent contagion, including privacy 

9 concerns; 

10 (V) the preparedness and response of spe11 cific types of institutions that experienced high 

12 rates of COVID–19 infection or that are critical 

13 to national security, which may include— 

14 (i) hospitals; 

15 (ii) skilled nursing facilities and nurs16 ing facilities; 

17 (iii) assisted living facilities; 

18 (iv) prisons, jails, and immigration de19 tention centers; 

20 (v) elementary and secondary schools 

21 and institutions of higher education; 

22 (vi) food production, processing, and 

23 distribution facilities; 

24 (vii) other congregate settings and 

25 confined or high-density workplaces; and 


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1 (viii) other critical infrastructure fa2 cilities; 

3 (W) Federal economic relief programs, in4 cluding— 

5 (i) loan, grant, and other financial as6 sistance; 

7 (ii) unemployment insurance; 

8 (iii) tax and loan deferment; 

9 (iv) direct payments; 

10 (v) rental and mortgage assistance, 

11 eviction moratoria, and foreclosure relief; 

12 and 

13 (vi) fiscal relief to States, Tribes, lo14 calities, and territories; 

15 (X) health and economic impacts on under16 served communities, rural populations, racial 

17 and ethnic minority populations, older adults, 

18 and all other populations with relevant health 

19 or economic disparities, which may include— 

20 (i) immigrant populations; 

21 (ii) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen22 der, and queer individuals; 

23 (iii) people with disabilities; 

24 (iv) people who live on or near Indian 

25 reservations or in Alaska Native villages; 


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1 (v) residents of territories of the 

2 United States; and 

3 (vi) veterans; 

4 (Y) the division of authority and respon5 sibilities between the Federal Government and 

6 State, Tribal, local, and territorial governments; 

7 (Z) any other aspect of Federal, State, 

8 Tribal, local, and territorial government pre9 paredness and response; and 

10 (AA) other areas as determined relevant 

11 and appropriate by the Commission (by agree12 ment of the chair and vice chair of the Commis13 sion); and 

14 (3) investigate and report to the President and 

15 Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec16 ommendations to improve the ability of the Federal 

17 Government, State, Tribal, local, and territorial gov18 ernments, and the private sector to— 

19 (A) prevent, detect, respond to, and pre20 pare for future epidemics and pandemics, 

21 whether naturally occurring or caused by State 

22 or non-State actors, and other public health 

23 emergencies; 

24 (B) protect the health security of the 

25 United States; and 


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1 (C) reestablish the role of the United 

2 States as a global leader in epidemic and pan3 demic preparedness and response. 

4 SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION. 

5 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be comprised 

6 of 10 members, of whom— 

7 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi8 dent, who shall serve as the chair of the Commis9 sion; 

10 (2) 1 member shall— 

11 (A) be appointed by the leader of the Sen12 ate who represents the major political party 

13 that the President does not represent, in con14 sultation with the leader of the House of Rep15 resentatives from the same political party; and 

16 (B) serve as the vice chair of the Commis17 sion; 

18 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

19 member of the Senate leadership of the Democratic 

20 Party; 

21 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

22 member of the Senate leadership of the Republican 

23 Party; 


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1 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

2 member of the leadership of the House of Represent3 atives of the Republican Party; and 

4 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

5 member of the leadership of the House of Represent6 atives of the Democratic Party. 

7 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

8 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

9 than 5 members of the Commission shall be from 

10 the same political party. 

11 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in12 dividual appointed to the Commission shall not— 

13 (A) be an officer or employee of the Fed14 eral Government or any State, Tribal, local, or 

15 territorial government, except in the case of a 

16 State employee who works at a public institu17 tion of higher education or State-funded re18 search institution; or 

19 (B) have held a position in any agency, of20 fice, or other establishment in the executive, 

21 legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal 

22 Government, the functions and duties of which 

23 included planning, coordinating, or imple24 menting any aspect of the Federal Government 

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1 clared by the Secretary of Health and Human 

2 Services under section 319 of the Public Health 

3 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 

4 2020, with respect to COVID–19, including a 

5 position that required the individual holding the 

6 position to attend meetings relating to that re7 sponse. 

8 (3) ETHICS AND CONFLICTS REPORT.—The 

9 Commission shall hire an ethics counsel, and not 

10 later than 30 days after the initial meeting of the 

11 Commission, the ethics counsel shall submit a de12 tailed plan for identifying and resolving potential 

13 and actual conflicts of interest by any member of the 

14 Commission, including of an ethical, financial, or 

15 personal nature, or that could lead a reasonable per16 son to conclude a conflict may exist, to the relevant 

17 committees of Congress 

18 (4) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.— 

19 (A) GOVERNORS, PUBLIC HEALTH EX20 PERTS, AND ECONOMIC POLICY EXPERTS.—In 

21 appointing members to the Commission, the ap22 pointing individuals described in subsection (a) 

23 of the same political party shall coordinate to 

24 ensure that the members appointed by each po25 litical party include— 


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1 (i) at least 1 former governor of a 

2 State; 

3 (ii) at least 1 public health expert; 

4 and 

5 (iii) at least 1 economic policy expert. 

6 (B) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

7 of Congress that individuals appointed to the 

8 Commission should be prominent United States 

9 citizens, with national recognition and signifi10 cant depth of experience in such professions as 

11 governmental service, public health, global 

12 health, infectious diseases, pandemic prepared13 ness and response, humanitarian response and 

14 relief, scientific research, public administration, 

15 intelligence gathering, commerce, national secu16 rity, and foreign affairs. 

17 (5) TIMELINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem18 bers of the Commission shall be appointed not later 

19 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 (6) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis22 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

23 the same manner in which the original appointment 

24 was made. 

25 (c) MEETINGS.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

2 meet and begin the operations of the Commission 

3 within 45 days after the appointment of all Commis4 sion members. 

5 (2) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—After the initial 

6 meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall 

7 meet upon the call of the chair or a majority of the 

8 members of the Commission. 

9 (3) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission 

10 shall constitute a quorum. If required for public 

11 health reasons, Commission members may attend 

12 meetings virtually and virtual attendance shall count 

13 towards constituting a quorum. 

14 SEC. 6. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 

15 The functions of the Commission are to— 

16 (1) conduct an investigation that— 

17 (A) addresses the purposes described in 

18 section 4; 

19 (B) investigates relevant facts and cir20 cumstances relating to the COVID–19 pan21 demic in the United States, including prepared22 ness for, and the response to, the COVID–19 

23 pandemic by the Federal Government and, as 

24 appropriate, State, Tribal, territorial, and local 

25 governments, including any relevant legislation, 


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1 Executive order, regulation, plan, policy, prac2 tice, or procedure; 

3 (C) includes relevant facts and cir4 cumstances relating to— 

5 (i) domestic and international public 

6 health agencies; 

7 (ii) health care agencies; 

8 (iii) financial, labor and housing agen9 cies; 

10 (iv) education agencies; 

11 (v) intelligence agencies; 

12 (vi) defense and national security 

13 agencies; 

14 (vii) diplomacy and development agen15 cies; 

16 (viii) White House offices and coun17 cils; 

18 (ix) health care organizations; 

19 (x) private sector entities; 

20 (xi) scientific research agencies; 

21 (xii) immigration and border control 

22 agencies; 

23 (xiii) international trade organiza24 tions; 

25 (xiv) Congress; 


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1 (xv) State, Tribal, local, and terri2 torial government agencies; 

3 (xvi) the role of congressional and 

4 State government oversight and resource 

5 allocation; and 

6 (xvii) other areas of the public and 

7 private sectors determined relevant by the 

8 Commission for its inquiry; 

9 (D) coordinates with and reviews the find10 ings, conclusions, and recommendations of 

11 other relevant international, executive branch, 

12 congressional, State, or independent commission 

13 investigations into the COVID–19 pandemic, to 

14 the extent determined appropriate by Commis15 sion members; and 

16 (E) may include a comparative analysis of 

17 relevant domestic or international best prac18 tices; 

19 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 

20 learned from the COVID–19 pandemic regarding the 

21 structure, coordination, management policies, and 

22 procedures of the Federal Government, State, Trib23 al, local, and territorial governments, and non24 governmental entities relative to detecting, pre25 venting, and responding to— 


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1 (A) epidemics and pandemics, whether nat2 urally occurring or caused by State or non3 State actors; and 

4 (B) other public health emergencies; and 

5 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 

6 reports as are required by this Act containing such 

7 findings, conclusions, and legislative, regulatory, and 

8 policy recommendations as the Commission shall de9 termine, including proposing organization, coordina10 tion, planning, management arrangements, proce11 dures, rules, and regulations. 

12 SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis15 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 

16 subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the pur17 pose of carrying out this Act— 

18 (A) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 

19 times and places, take such testimony, receive 

20 such evidence, and administer such oaths as the 

21 Commission or such designated subcommittee 

22 or designated member may determine advisable; 

23 and 

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

25 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 


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1 testimony of such witnesses and the production 

2 of such written, recorded, and electronic mate3 rials as the Commission or such designated sub4 committee or designated member may deter5 mine advisable, including correspondence, 

6 memoranda, diplomatic cables, papers, docu7 ments, reports, books, notes, records, text mes8 sages, emails, voicemails, and communications, 

9 including communications sent from or received 

10 on both official and personal accounts and de11 vices. 

12 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

13 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

15 issued under this subsection only— 

16 (I) by the agreement of the chair 

17 and the vice chair; or 

18 (II) by the affirmative vote of a 

19 majority of the members of the Com20 mission. 

21 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 

22 (i), subpoenas issued under this subsection 

23 may be issued under the signature of the 

24 chair or any member designated by a ma25 jority of the Commission, and may be 


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1 served by any person designated by the 

2 chair or by a member designated by a ma3 jority 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 this subsection, 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 any failure of any witness to 

20 comply with any subpoena or to testify 

21 when summoned under authority of this 

22 section, the Commission may, by majority 

23 vote, certify a statement of fact consti24 tuting such failure to the appropriate 

25 United States attorney, who may bring the 


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1 matter before the grand jury for its action, 

2 under the same statutory authority and 

3 procedures as if the United States attorney 

4 had received a certification under sections 

5 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

6 of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 

7 through 194). 

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

9 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria10 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

11 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

12 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is author14 ized to secure directly from any executive depart15 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

16 independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

17 Government, information, suggestions, estimates, 

18 and statistics for the purposes of this Act. Notwith19 standing any other law or any assertion of privilege, 

20 each department, bureau, agency, board, commis21 sion, office, independent establishment, or instru22 mentality shall furnish, without redaction, such 

23 records, information, suggestions, estimates, and 

24 statistics directly to the Commission, upon request 

25 made by the chair, the chair of any subcommittee 


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1 created by a majority of the Commission, or any 

2 member designated by a majority of the Commis3 sion. 

4 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS5 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

6 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

7 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap8 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

9 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

10 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

11 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

12 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis13 trative support and other services for the perform14 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

15 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

16 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

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

18 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

19 facilities, staff, and other support services as the de20 partments and agencies may determine advisable 

21 and as may be authorized by law. 

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

23 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

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

25 the United States mails in the same manner and under 


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1 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

2 United States. 

3 SEC. 8. NONAPPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY 

4 COMMISSION ACT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

6 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

7 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

8 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

9 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex10 tent appropriate; and 

11 (2) release public versions of the reports re12 quired under subsections (a) and (b) of section 13. 

13 (c) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

14 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

15 with the protection of information provided to or developed 

16 for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 

17 statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

18 SEC. 9. RECORD RETENTION. 

19 (a) COMMISSION RECORDS.—The Commission 

20 shall— 

21 (1) preserve the records and documents of the 

22 Commission; and 

23 (2) make such records and documents available 

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1 lowing the submission of the Commission’s final re2 port. 

3 (b) FUTURE ACCESS.—Following the termination of 

4 the Commission, the Secretary of the Senate shall be re5 sponsible for facilitating access to the publicly available 

6 records and documents of the Commission, as if they were 

7 Senate records, for researchers, interested parties, and the 

8 general public. 

9 (c) OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC ACCOUNTS FOR COMMIS10 SION BUSINESS.—When conducting any Commission busi11 ness on electronic accounts, members and staff of the 

12 Commission shall use official Commission electronic ac13 counts. 

14 SEC. 10. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

17 chair, in consultation with the vice chair and in ac18 cordance with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 

19 may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff di20 rector and such other personnel as may be necessary 

21 to enable the Commission to carry out its functions, 

22 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

23 States Code, governing appointments in the competi24 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

25 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 


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1 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

2 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this 

3 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

4 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule 

5 under section 5316 of such title. 

6 (2) NONPARTISAN STAFF.—The staff director 

7 shall be responsible for the day-to-day authority over 

8 the activities of the personnel of the Commission, 

9 and the staff director and any other personnel of the 

10 Commission shall be hired without regard to political 

11 affiliation. 

12 (3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The staff director and 

14 any personnel of the Commission who are em15 ployees shall be employees under section 2105 

16 of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of 

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

18 that title. 

19 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara20 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

21 members of the Commission. 

22 (b) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

23 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

24 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 (c) 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. 11. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

11 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis12 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva13 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 

14 at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

15 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which 

16 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 

17 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 of title 5, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 SEC. 12. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM2 BERS AND STAFF. 

3 The appropriate Federal agencies or departments 

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

6 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex7 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person 

8 shall be provided with access to classified information 

9 under this Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

10 SEC. 13. REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION; TERMINATION. 

11 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub12 mit to the President and Congress interim reports con13 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

14 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major15 ity of Commission members. 

16 (b) FINAL REPORT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

18 after the date of appointment of all members of the 

19 Commission, the Commission shall submit to the 

20 President and the relevant committees of Congress 

21 a final report containing such findings, conclusions, 

22 and recommendations for corrective measures and 

23 reforms as have been agreed to by a majority of the 

24 members of the Commission. 

25 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

26 Congress that the members of the Commission 


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1 should make the utmost effort to produce a com2 prehensive, fact-based, evidentiary, nonpartisan, and 

3 actionable final report. 

4 (c) ACCESSIBILITY.—The final report shall— 

5 (1) simultaneously be made publicly available 

6 on an internet website; 

7 (2) be written in plain language, to the extent 

8 deemed practicable by the Commission; and 

9 (3) be made available in accessible formats and 

10 multiple languages, to the extent determined prac11 ticable by the Commission. 

12 (d) ALTERNATIVE MEDIUMS.—The Commission may 

13 use alternative mediums to communicate key findings 

14 from the final report to as many people of the United 

15 States as possible. 

16 (e) EXTENSIONS.—The submission and publication of 

17 the final report, as described in subsection (b), may be 

18 delayed by 90 days upon the agreement of a majority of 

19 the members of the Commission. The Commission may 

20 make not more than three 90-day extensions. The Com21 mission shall notify the President, Congress, and the pub22 lic of each such extension. 

23 (f) TERMINATION.— 

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

25 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 120 days 


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1 after 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 120-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 final report. 

9 (g) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE10 PORT.— 

11 (1) MONITORING.—The Comptroller General of 

12 the United States shall monitor the implementation 

13 of any Commission recommendations included in the 

14 final report. 

15 (2) REPORTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—One year after the final 

17 Commission report is submitted under sub18 section (b), and each year thereafter for the fol19 lowing 3 years, the Comptroller General shall 

20 submit to Congress a report regarding the sta21 tus of the Commission recommendations that— 

22 (i) identifies each recommendation as 

23 open or closed; and 

24 (ii) provides a description of actions 

25 taken in response to each recommendation. 


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1 (B) SCOPE OF REPORTS.—Each report re2 quired under subparagraph (A) shall not pro3 vide a critical assessment of the merit or value 

4 of any Commission recommendation included in 

5 the final Commission report. 

6 SEC. 14. FUNDING. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

9 $50,000,000. 

10 (b) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made 

11 available to the Commission under subsection (a) shall re12 main available until the termination of the Commission. 

Æ 


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