I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6014 

To establish a commission to study the war in Afghanistan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 

Mr. KIM of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. MEIJER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and 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 commission to study the war in Afghanistan. 

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 ‘‘Afghanistan War Com5 mission Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘‘applica9 ble period’’ means the period beginning June 1, 

10 2001, and ending August 30, 2021. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Armed Services of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the Senate; 

12 (E) the Committee on Armed Services of 

13 the House of Representatives; 

14 (F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

15 the House of Representatives; 

16 (G) the Permanent Select Committee on 

17 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

18 and 

19 (H) the Committee on Appropriations of 

20 the House of Representatives. 

21 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

22 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 

23 that term in section 3(4) of the National Security 

24 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 legislative branch an independent commission to be known 

4 as the Afghanistan War Commission (in this Act referred 

5 to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

8 composed of 16 members of whom— 

9 (A) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman 

10 of the Committee on Armed Services of the 

11 Senate; 

12 (B) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 

13 member of the Committee on Armed Services of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (C) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman 

16 of the Committee on Armed Services of the 

17 House of Representatives; 

18 (D) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 

19 member of the Committee on Armed Services of 

20 the House of Representatives; 

21 (E) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman 

22 of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

23 Senate; 

24 (F) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 

25 member of the Committee on Foreign Relations 

26 of the Senate; 


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1 (G) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman 

2 of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

3 House of Representatives; 

4 (H) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 

5 member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

6 the House of Representatives; 

7 (I) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman 

8 of the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

9 Senate; 

10 (J) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 

11 member of the Select Committee on Intelligence 

12 of the Senate; 

13 (K) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman 

14 of the Permanent Select Committee on Intel15 ligence of the House of Representatives; 

16 (L) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking 

17 member of the Permanent Select Committee on 

18 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

19 (M) 1 shall be appointed by the majority 

20 leader of the Senate; 

21 (N) 1 shall be appointed by the minority 

22 leader of the Senate; 

23 (O) 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

24 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (P) 1 shall be appointed by the Minority 

2 Leader of the House of Representatives. 

3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that each member of the Commission ap5 pointed under paragraph (1) should have significant 

6 professional experience in national security, such as 

7 a position in— 

8 (A) the Department of Defense; 

9 (B) the Department of State; 

10 (C) the intelligence community; 

11 (D) the United States Agency for Inter12 national Development; or 

13 (E) an academic or scholarly institution. 

14 (3) PROHIBITIONS.—A member of the Commis15 sion appointed under paragraph (1) may not— 

16 (A) be a current member of Congress; 

17 (B) be a former member of Congress who 

18 served in Congress after January 3, 2001; 

19 (C) be a current or former registrant 

20 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 

21 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.); 

22 (D) have previously investigated Afghani23 stan policy or the war in Afghanistan through 

24 employment in the office of a relevant inspector 

25 general; 


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1 (E) have been the sole owner or had a ma2 jority stake in a company that held any United 

3 States or coalition defense contract providing 

4 goods or services to activities by the United 

5 States Government or coalition in Afghanistan 

6 during the applicable period; or 

7 (F) have served, with direct involvement in 

8 actions by the United States Government in Af9 ghanistan during the time the relevant official 

10 served, as— 

11 (i) a cabinet secretary or national se12 curity adviser to the President; or 

13 (ii) a four-star flag officer, Under 

14 Secretary, or more senior official in the 

15 Department of Defense or the Department 

16 of State. 

17 (4) DATE.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The appointments of 

19 the members of the Commission shall be made 

20 not later than 60 days after the date of enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (B) FAILURE TO MAKE APPOINTMENT.—If 

23 an appointment under paragraph (1) is not 

24 made by the appointment date specified in sub25 paragraph (A)— 


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1 (i) the authority to make such ap2 pointment shall expire; and 

3 (ii) the number of members of the 

4 Commission shall be reduced by the num5 ber equal to the number of appointments 

6 not made. 

7 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Commis9 sion shall be appointed for the life of the Commis10 sion. 

11 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis12 sion— 

13 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com14 mission; and 

15 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

16 the original appointment. 

17 (d) MEETINGS.— 

18 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

19 after the date on which all members of the Commis20 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

21 the first meeting of the Commission. 

22 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Commission shall meet 

23 at the call of the Co-Chairpersons. 


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1 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

2 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 

3 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

4 (e) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Commission shall se5 lect, by a simple majority vote— 

6 (1) 1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the 

7 Commission appointed by chairpersons of the appro8 priate congressional committees; and 

9 (2) 1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the 

10 Commission appointed by the ranking members of 

11 the appropriate congressional committees. 

12 SEC. 4. PURPOSE OF COMMISSION. 

13 The purpose of the Commission is— 

14 (1) to examine the key strategic, diplomatic, 

15 and operational decisions that pertain to the war in 

16 Afghanistan during the relevant period, including 

17 decisions, assessments, and events that preceded the 

18 war in Afghanistan; and 

19 (2) to develop a series of lessons learned and 

20 recommendations for the way forward that will in21 form future decisions by Congress and policymakers 

22 throughout the United States Government. 

23 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

24 (a) STUDY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con2 duct a thorough study of all matters relating to com3 bat operations, reconstruction and security force as4 sistance activities, intelligence operations, and diplo5 matic activities of the United States pertaining to 

6 the Afghanistan during the period beginning Sep7 tember 1, 1996, and ending August 30, 2021. 

8 (2) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters studied 

9 by the Commission shall include— 

10 (A) for the time period specified under 

11 paragraph (1)— 

12 (i) the policy objectives of the United 

13 States Government, including— 

14 (I) military objectives; 

15 (II) diplomatic objectives; 

16 (III) development objectives; and 

17 (IV) intelligence objectives; 

18 (ii) significant decisions made by the 

19 United States, including the development 

20 of options presented to policymakers; 

21 (iii) the efficacy of efforts by the 

22 United States Government in meeting the 

23 objectives described in subsection (A), in24 cluding an analysis of— 

25 (I) military efforts; 


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1 (II) diplomatic efforts; 

2 (III) development efforts; and 

3 (IV) intelligence efforts; and 

4 (iv) the efficacy of counterterrorism 

5 efforts against al Qaeda, the Islamic State 

6 Khorasan Province, and other foreign ter7 rorist organizations in degrading the will 

8 and capabilities of such organizations— 

9 (I) to mount external attacks 

10 against the United States mainland or 

11 its allies and partners; or 

12 (II) to threaten regional stability 

13 in Afghanistan and neighboring coun14 tries; 

15 (B) the efficacy of metrics, measures of ef16 fectiveness, and milestones used to assess 

17 progress of diplomatic, military, and intelligence 

18 efforts; 

19 (C) the efficacy of interagency planning 

20 and execution process by the United States 

21 Government; 

22 (D) factors that led to the collapse of the 

23 Afghan National Defense Security Forces in 

24 2021, including— 

25 (i) training; 


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1 (ii) assessment methodologies; 

2 (iii) building indigenous forces on 

3 western models; 

4 (iv) reliance on technology and logis5 tics support; and 

6 (v) reliance on warfighting enablers 

7 provided by the United States; 

8 (E) the efficacy of counter-corruption ef9 forts to include linkages to diplomatic lines of 

10 effort, linkages to foreign and security assist11 ance, and assessment methodologies; 

12 (F) the efficacy of counter-narcotic efforts 

13 to include alternative livelihoods, eradication, 

14 interdiction, and education efforts; 

15 (G) the role of countries neighboring Af16 ghanistan in contributing to the instability of 

17 Afghanistan; and 

18 (H) varying diplomatic approaches between 

19 Presidential administrations. 

20 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (A) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

24 year after the date of the initial meeting of 

25 the Commission, and annually thereafter, 


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1 the Commission shall submit to the appro2 priate congressional committees a report 

3 describing the progress of the activities of 

4 the Commission as of the date of such re5 port, including any findings, recommenda6 tions, or lessons learned endorsed by the 

7 Commission. 

8 (ii) ADDENDA.—Any member of the 

9 Commission may submit an addendum to a 

10 report required under clause (i) setting 

11 forth the separate views of such member 

12 with respect to any matter considered by 

13 the Commission. 

14 (iii) BRIEFING.—On the date of the 

15 submission of the first annual report, the 

16 Commission shall brief Congress. 

17 (B) FINAL REPORT.— 

18 (i) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 

19 years after the date of the initial meeting 

20 of the Commission, the Commission shall 

21 submit to Congress a report that contains 

22 a detailed statement of the findings, rec23 ommendations, and lessons learned en24 dorsed by the Commission. 


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1 (ii) ADDENDA.—Any member of the 

2 Commission may submit an addendum to 

3 the report required under clause (i) setting 

4 forth the separate views of such member 

5 with respect to any matter considered by 

6 the Commission. 

7 (iii) EXTENSION.—The Commission 

8 may submit the report required under 

9 clause (i) at a date that is not more than 

10 1 year later than the date specified in such 

11 clause if agreed to by the chairperson and 

12 ranking member of each of the appropriate 

13 congressional committees. 

14 (2) FORM.—The report required by subsection 

15 (a)(2) shall be submitted and publicly released on a 

16 Government website in unclassified form but may 

17 contain a classified annex. 

18 (3) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS ON DECLASSIFICA19 TION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

21 after the date that the report required by para22 graph (1)(B) is submitted, each relevant agency 

23 of jurisdiction shall submit to the committee of 

24 jurisdiction a report on the efforts of such 

25 agency to declassify such annex. 


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1 (B) CONTENTS.—Each report required by 

2 subparagraph (A) shall include— 

3 (i) a list of the items in the classified 

4 annex that the agency is working to declas5 sify at the time of the report and an esti6 mate of the timeline for declassification of 

7 such items; 

8 (ii) a broad description of items in the 

9 annex that the agency is declining to de10 classify at the time of the report; and 

11 (iii) any justification for withholding 

12 declassification of certain items in the 

13 annex and an estimate of the timeline for 

14 declassification of such items. 

15 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

16 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

17 hearings, take such testimony, and receive such evidence 

18 as the Commission considers necessary to carry out its 

19 purpose and functions under this Act. 

20 (b) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (1) INFORMATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

23 secure directly from a Federal department or 

24 agency such information as the Commission 

25 considers necessary to carry out this Act. 


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1 (B) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—Upon 

2 receipt of a written request by the Co-Chair3 persons of the Commission, the head of the de4 partment or agency shall expeditiously furnish 

5 the information to the Commission. 

6 (2) SPACE FOR COMMISSION.—Not later than 

7 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 the Administrator of General Services, in consulta9 tion with the Commission, shall identify and make 

10 available suitable excess space within the Federal 

11 space inventory to house the operations of the Com12 mission. If the Administrator of General Services is 

13 not able to make such suitable excess space available 

14 within such 30-day period, the Commission may 

15 lease space to the extent that funds are available for 

16 such purpose. 

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

18 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

19 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 

20 the Federal Government. 

21 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

22 dispose of gifts or donations of services, goods, and prop23 erty from non-Federal entities for the purposes of aiding 

24 and facilitating the work of the Commission. The author25 ity in this section does not extend to gifts of money. Gifts 


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1 accepted under this authority shall be documented, and 

2 conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of inter3 est shall be avoided. Subject to the authority in this Act, 

4 commissioners shall otherwise comply with rules set forth 

5 by the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate and the 

6 Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives gov7 erning employees of the Senate and the House of Rep8 resentatives. 

9 (e) LEGISLATIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Com10 mission shall operate as a legislative advisory committee 

11 and shall not be subject to the provisions of the Federal 

12 Advisory Committee Act (Public Law 92–463; 5 U.S.C. 

13 App) or section 552b, United States Code (commonly 

14 known as the Government in the Sunshine Act). 

15 SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

16 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member of the 

17 Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Fed18 eral Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to 

19 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre20 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec21 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in22 cluding travel time) during which the member is engaged 

23 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. 

24 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis25 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 


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1 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees 

2 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, while away from their homes or reg4 ular places of business in the performance of services for 

5 the Commission. 

6 (c) STAFF.— 

7 (1) STATUS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Not8 withstanding the requirements of section 2105 of 

9 title 5, United States Code, including the required 

10 supervision under subsection (a)(3) of such section, 

11 the members of the commission shall be deemed to 

12 be Federal employees. 

13 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

14 shall appoint and fix the rate of basic pay for an Ex15 ecutive Director in accordance with section 3161(d) 

16 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (3) PAY.—The Executive Director, with the ap18 proval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the 

19 rate of basic pay for additional personnel as staff of 

20 the Commission in accordance with section 3161(d) 

21 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A Fed23 eral Government employee may be detailed to the Commis24 sion without reimbursement, and such detail shall be with25 out interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege. 


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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Co-Chairpersons of the Commis3 sion may procure temporary and intermittent services 

4 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at 

5 rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equiva6 lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level 

7 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that 

8 title. 

9 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

10 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 

11 date on which the Commission submits the report required 

12 under section 5(b)(1)(B). 

13 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds appropriated to the 

15 legislative branch, $3,000,000 from the Afghanistan Secu16 rity Forces Fund may be made available to carry out the 

17 activities of the Commission. 

18 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under 

19 the authorization contained in this Act shall remain avail20 able, without fiscal year limitation, until the date of the 

21 termination of the Commission under section 8. 

Æ 


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