IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 463

To establish the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/

Commercial Concerns With the People’s Republic of China.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 9, 1998

Mr. SOLOMON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Rules

RESOLUTION

To establish the Select Committee on U.S. National Security

and Military/Commercial Concerns With the People’s Republic of China.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT.

3 There is hereby created the Select Committee on U.S.

4 National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns

5 With the People’s Republic of China, (hereafter in this Act

6 referred to as the ‘‘Select Committee’’). The Select Com7 mittee may sit and act during the present Congress at

8 such times and places within the United States, including

9 any Commonwealth or possession thereof, or in any other

10 country, whether the House is in session, has recessed,
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1 or has adjourned, as it shall deem appropriate for the com2 pletion of its work.

3 SEC. 2. JURISDICTION.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Select Committee shall con5 duct a full and complete inquiry regarding the following

6 matters and report such findings and recommendations,

7 including those concerning the amendment of existing law

8 or the enactment of new law, to the House as it considers

9 appropriate:

10 (1) The transfer of technology, information, ad11 vice, goods, or services that may have contributed to

12 the enhancement of the accuracy, reliability, or capa13 bility of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mis14 siles or other weapons of the People’s Republic of

15 China, or that may have contributed to the enhance16 ment of the domestic or foreign intelligence capabili17 ties of the People’s Republic of China.

18 (2) The transfer of technology, information, ad19 vice, goods, or services that may have contributed to

20 the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction,

21 missiles, or other weapons or armaments by the Peo22 ple’s Republic of China.

23 (3) The effect of any transfer or enhancement

24 referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2) on regional se-
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1 curity and the national security of the United

2 States, its friends, and its allies.

3 (4) The conduct of the executive branch of the

4 United States Government with respect to the trans5 fers or enhancements referred to in paragraphs (1)

6 or (2), and the effect of that conduct on the national

7 security of the United States, its friends, and its al8 lies.

9 (5) The conduct of defense contractors, weap10 ons manufacturers, satellite manufacturers, and

11 other private or government-owned commercial firms

12 with respect to the transfers or enhancements re13 ferred to in paragraphs (1) or (2).

14 (6) The enforcement of United States law, in15 cluding statutes, regulations, or executive orders,

16 with respect to the transfers or enhancements re17 ferred to in paragraphs (1) or (2).

18 (7) Any effort by the Government of the Peo19 ple’s Republic of China or any other person or entity

20 to influence any of the foregoing matters through

21 political contributions, bribery, influence-peddling, or

22 otherwise.

23 (8) Decision-making within the executive

24 branch of the United States Government with re25 spect to any of the foregoing matters.
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1 (9) Any effort to conceal or withhold informa2 tion or documents relevant to any of the foregoing

3 matters or to otherwise obstruct justice, or to ob4 struct the work of the Select Committee or any

5 other committee of the Congress in connection with

6 those matters.

7 (10) All matters relating directly or indirectly

8 to any of the foregoing matters.

9 (b) PERMITTING REPORTS TO BE MADE TO HOUSE

10 IN SECRET SESSION.—Any report to the House pursuant

11 to this section may, in the Select Committee’s discretion,

12 be made under the provisions of rule XXIX of the Rules

13 of the House of Representatives.

14 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION; VACANCIES.

15 (a) COMPOSITION.—The Select Committee shall be

16 composed of 8 Members of the House to be appointed by

17 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom

18 he shall designate as Chairman. Service on the Select

19 Committee shall not count against the limitations on com20 mittee service in clause 6(b)(2) of rule X.

21 (b) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy occurring in the mem22 bership of the Select Committee shall be filled in the same

23 manner in which the original appointment was made.
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1 SEC. 4. RULES APPLICABLE TO SELECT COMMITTEE.

2 (a) QUORUM.—One-third of the members of the Se3 lect Committee shall constitute a quorum for the trans4 action of business other than the reporting of a matter,

5 which shall require a majority of the committee to be actu6 ally present, except that the Select Committee may des7 ignate a lesser number, but not less than two, as a quorum

8 for the purpose of holding hearings to take testimony and

9 receive evidence.

10 (b) APPLICABILITY OF HOUSE RULES.—The Rules

11 of the House of Representatives applicable to standing

12 committees shall govern the Select Committee where not

13 inconsistent with this resolution.

14 (c) RULES OF SELECT COMMITTEE.—The Select

15 Committee shall adopt additional written rules, which

16 shall be public, to govern its procedures, which shall not

17 be inconsistent with this resolution or the Rules of the

18 House of Representatives.

19 SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.

20 No employee of the Select Committee or any person

21 engaged by contract or otherwise to perform services for

22 or at the request of such committee shall be given access

23 to any classified information by such committee unless

24 such employee or person has—

25 (1) agreed in writing and under oath to be

26 bound by the rules of the House (including the juris-
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1 diction of the Committee on Standards of Official

2 Conduct and of the Select Committee as to the secu3 rity of such information during and after the period

4 of his employment or contractual agreement with the

5 Select Committee); and

6 (2) received an appropriate security clearance

7 as determined by the Select Committee in consulta8 tion with the Director of Central Intelligence.

9 The type of security clearance to be required in the case

10 of any such employee or person shall, within the deter11 mination of the Select Committee in consultation with the

12 Director of Central Intelligence, be commensurate with

13 the sensitivity of the classified information to which such

14 employee or person will be given access by such committee.

15 SEC. 6. LIMITS ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.

16 The Select Committee shall formulate and carry out

17 such rules and procedures as it deems necessary to prevent

18 the disclosure, without the consent of the person or per19 sons concerned, of information in the possession of such

20 committee which unduly infringes upon the privacy or

21 which violates the constitutional rights of such person or

22 persons. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent such

23 committee from publicly disclosing any such information

24 in any case in which such committee determines that na25 tional interest in the disclosure of such information clearly
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1 outweighs any infringement on the privacy of any person

2 or persons.

3 SEC. 7. PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING INFORMATION.

4 (a) The Select Committee may, subject to the provi5 sions of this section, disclose publicly any information in

6 the possession of such committee after a determination by

7 such committee that the public interest would be served

8 by such disclosure. Whenever committee action is required

9 to disclose any information under this section, the commit10 tee shall meet to vote on the matter within five days after

11 any member of the committee requests such a vote. No

12 member of the Select Committee shall disclose any infor13 mation, the disclosure of which requires a committee vote,

14 prior to a vote by the committee on the question of the

15 disclosure of such information or after such vote except

16 in accordance with this section. In any case in which the

17 Select Committee votes to disclose publicly any informa18 tion, which has been classified under established security

19 procedures, which has been submitted to it by the execu20 tive branch, and which the executive branch requests be

21 kept secret, the Select Committee shall submit such classi22 fied information to the Permanent Select Committee on

23 Intelligence.

24 (b)(1) As set forth in clause 7(b) of rule XLVIII, in

25 any case in which the Permanent Select Committee on In-
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1 telligence votes to disclose publicly any information sub2 mitted pursuant to subsection (a), which has been classi3 fied under established security procedures, which has been

4 submitted to the Select Committee by the executive

5 branch, and which the executive branch has requested be

6 kept secret, the Permanent Select Committee on Intel7 ligence shall notify the President of such vote.

8 (2) The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

9 may disclose publicly such information after the expiration

10 of a five-day period following the day on which notice of

11 such vote is transmitted to the President, unless, prior to

12 the expiration of such five-day period, the President, per13 sonally in writing, notifies the Permanent Select Commit14 tee on Intelligence that he objects to the disclosure of such

15 information, provides his reasons therefor, and certifies

16 that the threat to the national interest of the United

17 States posed by such disclosure is of such gravity that it

18 outweighs any public interest in the disclosure.

19 (3) If the President, personally, in writing, notifies

20 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of his ob21 jections to the disclosure of such information as provided

22 in paragraph (2), the Permanent Select Committee on In23 telligence may, by majority vote, refer the question of this

24 disclosure of such information with a recommendation

25 thereon to the House for consideration. The Permanent
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1 Select Committee on Intelligence shall not publicly disclose

2 such information without leave of the House.

3 (4) Whenever the Permanent Select Committee on

4 Intelligence votes to refer the question of disclosure of any

5 information to the House under paragraph (3), the chair6 man of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

7 shall, not later than the first day on which the House is

8 in session following the day on which the vote occurs, re9 port the matter to the House for its consideration.

10 (5) If within four calendar days on which the House

11 is in session, after such recommendation is reported, no

12 motion has been made by the chairman of the Permanent

13 Select Committee on Intelligence to consider, in closed ses14 sion, the matter reported under paragraph (4), then such

15 a motion will be deemed privileged and may be made by

16 any Member. The motion under this paragraph shall not

17 be subject to debate or amendment. When made, it shall

18 be decided without intervening motion, except one motion

19 to adjourn.

20 (6) If the House adopts a motion to resolve into

21 closed session, the Speaker shall then be authorized to de22 clare a recess subject to the call of the Chair. At the expi23 ration of such recess, the pending question, in closed ses24 sion, shall be, ‘‘Shall the House approve the recommenda25 tion of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence?’’
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1 (7) After not more than two hours of debate on the

2 motion, such debate to be equally divided and controlled

3 by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Per4 manent Select Committee on Intelligence, or their des5 ignees, the previous question shall be considered as or6 dered and the House, without intervening motion except

7 one motion to adjourn, shall immediately vote on the ques8 tion, in open session but without divulging the information

9 with respect to which the vote is being taken. If the rec10 ommendation of the Permanent Select Committee on In11 telligence is not agreed to, the question shall be deemed

12 recommitted to the Permanent Select Committee on Intel13 ligence for further recommendation.

14 (c)(1) No information in the possession of the Select

15 Committee relating to the lawful intelligence or intel16 ligence-related activities of any department or agency of

17 the United States which has been classified under estab18 lished security procedures and which the Select Commit19 tee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, or

20 the House pursuant to this section, has determined should

21 not be disclosed shall be made available to any person by

22 a Member, officer, or employee of the House except as

23 provided in paragraph (2).

24 (2) The Select Committee shall, under such regula25 tions as the committee shall prescribe, make any informa-
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1 tion described in paragraph (1) available to any other com2 mittee or any other Member of the House and permit any

3 other Member of the House to attend any hearing of the

4 committee which is closed to the public. Whenever the Se5 lect Committee makes such information available (other

6 than to the Speaker), the committee shall keep a written

7 record showing, in the case of any particular information,

8 which committee or which Members of the House received

9 such information. No Member of the House who, and no

10 committee which, receives any information under this

11 paragraph, shall disclose such information except in a

12 closed session of the House.

13 (d) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

14 shall investigate any unauthorized disclosure of intel15 ligence or intelligence-related information by a Member,

16 officer, or employee of the House in violation of subsection

17 (c) and report to the House concerning any allegation

18 which it finds to be substantiated.

19 (e) Upon the request of any person who is subject

20 to any such investigation, the Committee on Standards of

21 Official Conduct shall release to such individual at the

22 conclusion of its investigation a summary of its investiga23 tion, together with its findings. If, at the conclusion of

24 its investigation, the Committee on Standards of Official

25 Conduct determines that there has been a significant
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1 breach of confidentiality or unauthorized disclosure by a

2 Member, officer, or employee of the House, it shall report

3 its findings to the House and recommend appropriate ac4 tion such as censure, removal from committee member5 ship, or expulsion from the House, in the case of a Mem6 ber, or removal from office or employment or punishment

7 for contempt, in the case of an officer or employee.

8 SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF INFORMATION TO SELECT COM9 MITTEE.

10 Any committee of the House of Representatives hav11 ing custody of records, data, charts, and files concerning

12 subjects within the jurisdiction of the Select Committee

13 shall furnish the originals or copies of such materials to

14 the Select Committee. In the case of the Permanent Select

15 Committee on Intelligence, such materials shall be made

16 available pursuant to clause 7(c)(2) of rule XLVIII.

17 SEC. 9. INFORMATION GATHERING.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Select Committee is author19 ized to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance

20 and testimony of such witnesses, the furnishing of such

21 information by interrogatory, and the production of such

22 books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, docu23 ments, calendars, recordings, electronic communications,

24 data compilations from which information can be obtained,

25 tangible objects, and other things and information of any
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1 kind as it deems necessary, including all intelligence mate2 rials however classified, White House materials, and mate3 rials pertaining to unvouchered expenditures or concerning

4 communications interceptions or surveillance.

5 (b) SUBPOENAS, DEPOSITIONS AND INTERROG6 ATORIES.—Unless otherwise determined by the Select

7 Committee, the Chairman, upon consultation with the

8 ranking minority member, or the Select Committee may—

9 (1) authorize and issue subpoenas;

10 (2) order the taking of depositions, interrog11 atories, or affidavits under oath or otherwise; and

12 (3) designate a member or staff of the Select

13 Committee to conduct any deposition.

14 (c) INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Unless other15 wise determined by the Select Committee, the Chairman

16 of the Select Committee, upon consultation with the rank17 ing minority member of the Select Committee, or the Se18 lect Committee may—

19 (1) order the taking of depositions and other

20 testimony, under oath or otherwise, anywhere out21 side the United States; and

22 (2) make application for issuance of letters rog23 atory, and request through appropriate channels,

24 other means of international assistance, as appro25 priate.
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1 (d) HANDLING OF INFORMATION.—Information ob2 tained under the authority of this section shall be—

3 (1) considered as taken by the Select Commit4 tee in the District of Columbia, as well as the loca5 tion actually taken; and

6 (2) considered to be taken in executive session.

7 SEC. 10. TAX RETURNS.

8 Pursuant to sections 6103(f)(3) and 6104(a)(2) of

9 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, for the purpose of

10 investigating the subjects set forth in this resolution and

11 since information necessary for this investigation cannot

12 reasonably be obtained from any other source, the Select

13 Committee shall be specially authorized to inspect and re14 ceive for the tax years 1991 through 1998 any tax return,

15 return information, or other tax-related material, held by

16 the Secretary of the Treasury, related to individuals and

17 entities named by the Select Committee as possible partici18 pants, beneficiaries, or intermediaries in the transactions

19 under investigation. As specified by section 6103(f)(3) of

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, such materials and

21 information shall be furnished in closed executive session.

22 SEC. 11. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF THE SELECT COM23 MITTEE.

24 The Select Committee shall provide other committees

25 and Members of the House with access to information and
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1 proceedings, consistent with clause 7(c)(2) of rule XLVIII,

2 except that the Select Committee may direct that particu3 lar matters or classes of matter shall not be made available

4 to any person by its members, staff, or others, or may

5 impose any other restriction. The Select Committee may

6 require its staff to enter nondisclosure agreements, and

7 its chairman, in consultation with the ranking minority

8 member, may require others, such as counsel for wit9 nesses, to do so. The Committee on Standards of Official

10 Conduct may investigate any unauthorized disclosure of

11 such classified information by a Member, officer, or em12 ployee of the House or other covered person upon request

13 of the Select Committee. If, at the conclusion of its inves14 tigation, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

15 determines that there has been a significant unauthorized

16 disclosure, it shall report its findings to the House and

17 recommend appropriate sanctions for the Member, officer,

18 employee, or other covered person consistent with clause

19 7(e) of rule XLVIII and any committee restriction, includ20 ing nondisclosure agreements. The Select Committee shall,

21 as appropriate, provide access to information and proceed22 ings to the Speaker and the minority leader and their ap23 propriately cleared and designated staff.
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1 SEC. 12. COOPERATION OF OTHER ENTITIES.

2 (a) COOPERATION OF OTHER COMMITTEES.—The

3 Select Committee may submit to any standing committee

4 specific matters within its jurisdiction and may request

5 that such committees pursue such matters further.

6 (b) COOPERATION OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.—

7 The Chairman of the Select Committee, upon consultation

8 with the ranking minority member, or the Select Commit9 tee may request investigations, reports, and other assist10 ance from any agency of the executive, legislative, and ju11 dicial branches of the Federal Government.

12 SEC. 13. ACCESS AND RESPONSE TO JUDICIAL PROCESS.

13 In addition to any applications to court in response

14 to judicial process that may be made in behalf of the

15 House by its counsel, the Select Committee shall be au16 thorized to respond to any judicial or other process, or

17 to make any applications to court, upon consultation with

18 the Speaker consistent with rule L.

19 SEC. 14. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

20 (a) PERSONNEL.—The Chairman, upon consultation

21 with the ranking minority member, may employ and fix

22 the compensation of such clerks, experts, consultants,

23 technicians, attorneys, investigators, clerical and steno24 graphic assistants, and other appropriate staff as the

25 Chairman considers necessary to carry out the purposes

26 of this resolution. Detailees from the executive branch or
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1 staff of the House or a joint committee, upon the request

2 of the Chairman of the Select Committee, upon consulta3 tion with the ranking minority member, shall be deemed

4 staff of the Select Committee to the extent necessary to

5 carry out the purposes of this resolution.

6 (b) PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.—(1) The Select Com7 mittee may reimburse the members of its staff for travel,

8 subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by

9 them in the performance of the duties vested in the Select

10 Committee.

11 (2) Not more than $2,500,000 are authorized for ex12 penses of the Select Committee for investigations and

13 studies, including for the procurement of the services of

14 individual consultants or organizations thereof, and for

15 training of staff, to be paid out of the applicable accounts

16 of the House of Representatives upon vouchers signed by

17 the Chairman and approved in the manner directed by the

18 Committee on House Oversight.

19 SEC. 15. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS TO SELECT COM20 MITTEE.

21 The Select Committee shall be deemed a committee

22 of the House for all purposes of the rules of the House

23 of Representatives and shall be deemed a committee for

24 all purposes of law, including, but not limited to, section

25 202(f) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2
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1 U.S.C. 72a(f)), sections 102 and 104 of the Revised Stat2 utes (2 U.S.C. 192 and 194), sections 1001, 1505, 1621,

3 6002, and 6005 of title 18, United States Code, section

4 502(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22

5 U.S.C. 1754(b)(1)(B)(ii)), and section 734 of title 31,

6 United States Code.

7 SEC. 16. DISPOSITION OF RECORDS.

8 At the conclusion of the existence of the Select Com9 mittee, all records of the Select Committee shall be trans10 ferred to other committees, or stored by the Clerk of the

11 House, as directed by the Select Committee, consistent

12 with applicable rules and law concerning classified infor13 mation.

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