I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 276 

To establish a national commission to investigate the seditious attack on 

the United States Capitol and Congress on January 6, 2021, address 

the systemic failures in the United States Capitol security and intelligence apparatus to accurately assess outside threats, and study and 

propose recommendations to realign the mission of the United States 

Capitol Police, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 12, 2021 

Mr. BOWMAN (for himself, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BUSH, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. LEE of 

California, Ms. MENG, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, 

Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RUSH, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, and 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 national commission to investigate the seditious attack on the United States Capitol and Congress 

on January 6, 2021, address the systemic failures in 

the United States Capitol security and intelligence apparatus to accurately assess outside threats, and study 

and propose recommendations to realign the mission of 

the United States Capitol Police, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Congressional Over5 sight of Unjust Policing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) On January 6, 2021, organized individuals 

9 violently attacked the United States Capitol while 

10 both chambers of Congress were in session, putting 

11 the lives of Members, Congressional staff, and sup12 port staff at risk. 

13 (2) Various media reports suggest that certain 

14 members of rank and file law enforcement officers 

15 aided and abetted individuals who breached security 

16 at the Capitol on January 6. 

17 (3) Various media reports indicate that neither 

18 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) nor the 

19 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted 

20 a risk assessment of demonstration activities, nor 

21 issued a joint department bulletin as is customary 

22 for large and notable public events. 

23 (4) Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard 

24 Liebengood died after defending the Capitol ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276

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1 plex and protecting those serving and working there 

2 on January 6, 2021. 

3 (5) The United States Capitol Police provides 

4 limited information to the public about employee 

5 misconduct, and the Office of the Inspector General 

6 of the United States Capitol Police does not publicly 

7 disclose its reports, unlike the vast majority of other 

8 Inspectors General. 

9 (6) In recent decades, community organizers 

10 have formed social justice and criminal reform move11 ments to call for substantive changes in response to 

12 various incidents across the country in which law en13 forcement has used excessive force against civilians, 

14 often resulting in the death of those who present or 

15 identify as Black or Brown. 

16 (7) In the Nation’s Capital, and on the United 

17 States Capitol grounds, the disparate treatment of 

18 individuals is ever-present, as various Members of 

19 Congress and Congressional staff who come from 

20 communities of color have documented instances of 

21 refusal of entry and mistreatment by United States 

22 Capitol Police (USCP) officers. 

23 (8) Further, in 2013, agents from the United 

24 States Secret Service and United States Capitol Po25 lice shot Miriam Carey, an unarmed individual, more 


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1 than 20 times while she was in her car with her in2 fant, hitting Carey five times and killing her. 

3 (9) In 2018, United States Secret Service 

4 agents took Jessica Ford into custody without exces5 sive force, even though she intentionally rammed a 

6 White House checkpoint with a gun in her hand. 

7 (10) In 2017, during debates about Public Law 

8 115–97, United States Capitol Police officers forc9 ibly dragged peaceful demonstrators from the dis10 ability community out of wheelchairs and other sup11 portive medical devices. 

12 (11) In 2020, armed members of the District of 

13 Columbia National Guard were dispatched to stand 

14 guard on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial amidst 

15 peaceful protests. 

16 (12) In 2020, United States Park Police and 

17 National Guard troops forced people into unmarked 

18 vans and used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to 

19 disperse peaceful protestors for the President’s 

20 planned visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church. 

21 (13) In 2017, the FBI reported that white su22 premacists posed a ‘‘persistent threat of lethal vio23 lence’’ that has produced more fatalities than any 

24 other category of domestic terrorists since 2000. 


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1 (14) In 2015, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Pol2 icy Directive and Policy Guide warned that subjects 

3 of ‘‘domestic terrorism investigations focused on mi4 litia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and 

5 sovereign citizen extremists often have identified ac6 tive links to law enforcement officers’’. 

7 (15) A 2006 intelligence assessment, based on 

8 FBI investigations and open sources warned of 

9 ‘‘white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement . 

10 . . by organized groups and by self-initiated infiltra11 tion by law enforcement personnel sympathetic to 

12 white supremacist causes’’. 

13 (16) Since 2000, hundreds of Federal, State, 

14 and local law enforcement officials have been caught 

15 expressing racist, nativist, and sexist views on social 

16 media. 

17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF U.S. COMMISSION ON UNJUST 

18 POLICING. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com20 mission to be known as the ‘‘U.S. Commission on Unjust 

21 Policing’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

24 composed of 19 members appointed as follows: 


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1 (A) 8 members shall be appointed by the 

2 leadership of Congress, of whom— 

3 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the major4 ity leader of the Senate; 

5 (ii) 2 by the minority leader of the 

6 Senate; 

7 (iii) 2 by the Speaker of the House of 

8 Representatives; and 

9 (iv) 2 by the minority leader of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (B) 8 members shall be appointed by the 

12 Chairs of the following caucuses— 

13 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the Con14 gressional Black Caucus; 

15 (ii) 2 by the Congressional Hispanic 

16 Caucus; 

17 (iii) 2 by the Congressional Asian Pa18 cific American Caucus; and 

19 (iv) 2 by the Congressional Progres20 sive Caucus. 

21 (C) 3 members shall be appointed by the 

22 President, each of whom shall be individuals 

23 who are not officers or employees of the Fed24 eral Government and who are experts in at 

25 least one of the following categories: 


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1 (i) Racial equity in law enforcement. 

2 (ii) Preventing white nationalist ex3 tremist violence. 

4 (iii) Large-scale reform of law en5 forcement agencies. 

6 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

7 (A) AREAS OF EXPERTISE.—Each member 

8 of the Commission shall have knowledge or ex9 pertise, whether by education, experience, train10 ing, or activism, in at least one of the following 

11 areas: 

12 (i) Justice and civil rights. 

13 (ii) Law enforcement and intelligence 

14 oversight and reform. 

15 (iii) Diverse and inclusive personnel 

16 management. 

17 (iv) Social and emotional development. 

18 (v) Effective education and training 

19 methods to combat implicit and uncon20 scious bias. 

21 (vi) Behavioral economics. 

22 (vii) Combating white supremacist, 

23 and other extremist groups, movements, 

24 and organizing efforts. 


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1 (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEMBERS AP2 POINTED BY CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP.— 

3 Each of the persons appointing members of the 

4 Commission under paragraph (1) shall ensure 

5 that one of the members so appointed is an in6 dividual who is not an officer or employee of the 

7 Federal Government. 

8 (C) CIVILIAN REPRESENTATION.—Not 

9 fewer than 4 members of the Commission shall 

10 be individuals who are not officers of law en11 forcement agencies. 

12 (D) DIVERSITY.—It is the intent of Con13 gress that persons appointed to the Commission 

14 under paragraph (1) be persons who represent 

15 diverse economic, professional, and social back16 grounds. 

17 (3) CONSULTATION AND APPOINTMENT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President, Speaker 

19 of the House of Representatives, minority lead20 er of the House of Representatives, majority 

21 leader of the Senate, and minority leader of the 

22 Senate shall consult among themselves before 

23 appointing the members of the Commission in 

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1 tise to ensure maximum impact by the Commis2 sion. 

3 (B) COMPLETION OF APPOINTMENTS.— 

4 The President, Speaker of the House of Rep5 resentatives, minority leader of the House of 

6 Representatives, majority leader of the Senate, 

7 and minority leader of the Senate shall conduct 

8 the consultation under subparagraph (A) and 

9 make their respective appointments not later 

10 than 60 days after the date of enactment of 

11 this Act. 

12 (C) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the mem13 bership of the Commission shall not affect the 

14 powers of the Commission and shall be filled in 

15 the same manner as the original appointment 

16 not later than 30 days after the vacancy occurs. 

17 (4) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission 

18 shall serve for a term of one year, and may be re19 appointed to additional terms. 

20 (5) REMOVAL.—Subject to the approval of a 

21 majority of the members of the Commission, a mem22 ber of the Commission may be removed for cause at 

23 any time by the person who appointed the member 

24 if the member fails to meet responsibilities of the 

25 commission. 


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1 (c) MEETINGS.— 

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

3 after the date on which all members of the Commis4 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

5 its first meeting. 

6 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

8 meet at the call of the Chair. 

9 (B) FREQUENCY.—The Chair shall call a 

10 meeting of the members of the Commission not 

11 less frequently than once every 3 months. 

12 (3) QUORUM.—Ten members of the Commis13 sion shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number 

14 may hold hearings. 

15 (4) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Commission 

16 shall select a Chair and Vice Chair from among its 

17 members. The Chair and Vice Chair shall serve in 

18 that position for a term of 1 year and may be re19 appointed for additional terms. 

20 (5) TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC INPUT.—Each 

21 meeting of the Commission for which a quorum is 

22 present shall be open to the public, either in person 

23 or remotely through digital technology, and the 

24 Commission shall establish procedures for members 

25 of the public to submit testimony at Commission 


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1 meetings regarding the topics presented during such 

2 meetings. 

3 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The duties of the Commission are 

5 as follows: 

6 (1) To carry out a comprehensive investigation 

7 into decisions of leadership at the United States 

8 Capitol Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

9 the United States Secret Service, and the Depart10 ment of Homeland Security, leading up to and dur11 ing the siege of the United States Capitol on Janu12 ary 6, 2021, including an assessment on whether 

13 conscious and unconscious bias was a factor in the 

14 gross miscalculation of the risk posed by protestors 

15 to Members of Congress and staff on that date. 

16 (2) To carry out a comprehensive investigation 

17 in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Inves18 tigation and other Federal entities as appropriate 

19 into whether current members of the United States 

20 Capitol Police have ties to white supremacist and 

21 other extremist groups, movements, and organizing 

22 efforts; and whether any members of the United 

23 States Capitol Police neglected their duty and 

24 colluded with protestors or other law enforcement 

25 entities. 


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1 (3) To recommend specific measures and re2 forms to Congress and other stakeholders on how 

3 the United States Capitol Police must realign prior4 ities and practice to address disparate use of force 

5 and surveillance targets in and around the Capitol 

6 Complex, including changes to existing law, changes 

7 to Federal programs, and suggestions for actions the 

8 private sector can take. 

9 (4) To recommend specific measures and re10 forms to Congress and other stakeholders to realign 

11 recruitment, hiring, and retention policies and prac12 tices of the United States Capitol Police to address 

13 both conscious and unconscious biases, including 

14 changes to existing law, changes to Federal pro15 grams, and suggestions for actions the private sector 

16 can take. 

17 (b) CONSULTATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS

18 AND AGENCIES.—In carrying out its duties, the Commis19 sion shall consult with officials of appropriate departments 

20 and agencies of the Federal Government, including each 

21 of the following: 

22 (1) The Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

23 (2) The United States Secret Service. 

24 (3) The Department of Homeland Security. 

25 (4) The Department of Justice. 


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1 (c) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) ONGOING REPORTS.—Because it is the in3 tent of Congress that the Commission expeditiously 

4 and carefully identify and rectify inequities in how 

5 law enforcement at the Capitol Complex surveils and 

6 protects members of the Congressional community, 

7 not later than 9 months after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to 

9 Congress and the President an initial report on the 

10 issues described in subsection (a) and related issues. 

11 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—In the year following its 

12 first meeting and annually thereafter, the commis13 sion shall provide to Congress and the public a re14 port on the status of its work. 

15 (3) INTERNET AVAILABILITY.—All reports of 

16 the Commission shall be available to the public via 

17 a publicly accessible Federal website that is promi18 nently marketed and shared by the Commission. 

19 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

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

21 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

22 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

23 considers appropriate to carry out its duties under this 

24 Act. 


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1 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—If author2 ized by the Commission, any member or agent of the Com3 mission may take any action which the Commission is au4 thorized to take under this Act. 

5 (c) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall secure 

7 directly from any Federal department or agency 

8 such information as the Commission considers nec9 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Upon 

10 the request of the Chair of the Commission, the 

11 head of such department or agency shall furnish 

12 such information to the Commission as expeditiously 

13 as practicable. 

14 (2) TREATMENT OF CLASSIFIED INFORMA15 TION.—In the case of information sought by the 

16 Commission under paragraph (1) that is classified, 

17 the Federal department or agency involved shall pro18 vide the Commission with an unclassified summary 

19 of the information, except that any Member of the 

20 Commission who has received an appropriate secu21 rity clearance that is commensurate with the sensi22 tivity of the classified information involved may re23 ceive such classified information. 

24 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

25 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of the 


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1 General Services Administration shall provide to the Com2 mission, on a reimbursable basis, administrative support 

3 services necessary for the Commission to carry out its re4 sponsibilities under this Act. 

5 (e) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the Commission is authorized— 

8 (A) to procure supplies, services, and prop9 erty; and 

10 (B) to make or enter into contracts, leases, 

11 or other legal agreements. 

12 (2) LIMITATION.—The Commission may not 

13 enter into any contract, lease, or other legal agree14 ment that extends beyond the date of the termi15 nation of the Commission under section 7(a). 

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

17 the United States mail in the same manner and under the 

18 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

19 Federal Government. 

20 (g) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis21 sion is authorized to solicit, accept, use, and dispose of 

22 gifts, bequests, or devises of money, services, or property, 

23 both real and personal, for the purpose of covering the 

24 costs incurred by the Commission to carry out its duties 

25 under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

2 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Members of the 

3 Commission shall serve without compensation for their 

4 service, but may receive travel expenses, including per 

5 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 

6 provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

7 United States Code. 

8 (b) STAFF.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair of the Commis10 sion shall, in consultation with the members Com11 mission, appoint an executive director and such 

12 other additional personnel as may be necessary to 

13 enable the Commission to perform its duties. 

14 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chair of the Com15 mission may appoint the executive director and other 

16 personnel without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

17 United States Code, governing appointments in the 

18 competitive service, and may fix their pay without 

19 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub20 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to 

21 classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 

22 that an individual so appointed may not receive pay 

23 in excess of the annual rate of pay for level IV of 

24 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 

25 5, United States Code. 


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1 (3) APPLICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL AC2 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—For purposes of the 

3 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

4 1301 et seq.)— 

5 (A) the Commission shall be considered an 

6 employing office; and 

7 (B) the employees of the Commission shall 

8 be considered covered employees. 

9 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

10 request of the Commission, the head of any Federal de11 partment or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, 

12 any employee of that department or agency to the Com13 mission to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

14 Act. 

15 (d) ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—Not16 withstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, 

17 the Commission may accept and use voluntary and uncom18 pensated services as the Commission deems necessary. 

19 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall terminate 

21 on the earlier of— 

22 (1) the date that is 2 calendar years after the 

23 initial meeting of the Commission; or 

24 (2) upon completion and presentation of all re25 ports to Congress from the Commission. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para4 graph (2), the provisions of the Federal Advisory 

5 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the 

6 activities of the Commission under this Act. 

7 (2) EXCEPTION.—Section 14(a)(2) of such Act 

8 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

9 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro11 priated to carry out this Act such sums as may be nec12 essary for each of the first 2 fiscal years which begin after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) AMOUNTS AVAILABLE.—Amounts appropriated 

15 in accordance with this section for any fiscal year shall 

16 remain available until the termination of the Commission. 

Æ 


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