I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3233 

To establish the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack 

on the United States Capitol Complex, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2021 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To establish the National Commission to Investigate the 

January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Commission 

5 to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States 

6 Capitol Complex Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

8 There is established in the legislative branch the Na9 tional Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on 


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1 the United States Capitol Complex (hereafter referred to 

2 as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

4 Consistent with the functions described in section 4, 

5 the purposes of the Commission are the following: 

6 (1) To investigate and report upon the facts 

7 and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domes8 tic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol 

9 Complex (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘domestic ter10 rorist attack on the Capitol’’) and relating to the in11 terference with the peaceful transfer of power, in12 cluding facts and causes relating to the preparedness 

13 and response of the United States Capitol Police and 

14 other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in 

15 the National Capitol Region and other instrumen16 tality of government, as well as the influencing fac17 tors that fomented such attack on American rep18 resentative democracy while engaged in a constitu19 tional process. 

20 (2) To examine and evaluate evidence developed 

21 by relevant Federal, State, and local governmental 

22 agencies, in a manner that is respectful of ongoing 

23 law enforcement activities and investigations regard24 ing the domestic terrorist attack upon the Capitol, 

25 regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding 


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1 such terrorist attack and targeted violence and do2 mestic terrorism relevant to such terrorist attack. 

3 (3) To build upon the investigations of other 

4 entities and avoid unnecessary duplication by review5 ing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

6 of other executive branch, congressional, or inde7 pendent bipartisan or non-partisan commission in8 vestigations into the domestic terrorist attack on the 

9 Capitol and targeted violence and domestic terrorism 

10 relevant to such terrorist attack, including investiga11 tions into influencing factors related to such ter12 rorist attack. 

13 (4) To investigate and report to the President 

14 and Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec15 ommendations for corrective measures that may in16 clude changes in law, policy, procedures, rules, or 

17 regulations that could be taken to prevent future 

18 acts of targeted violence and domestic terrorism, in19 cluding to prevent domestic terrorist attacks against 

20 American democratic institutions, improve the secu21 rity posture of the United States Capitol Complex 

22 while preserving accessibility of the Capitol Complex 

23 for all Americans, and strengthen the security and 

24 resilience of the Nation and American democratic in25 stitutions against domestic terrorism. 


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1 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 

2 The functions of the Commission are to— 

3 (1) conduct an investigation of the relevant 

4 facts and circumstances relating to the domestic ter5 rorist attack on the Capitol, including relevant facts 

6 and circumstances relating to— 

7 (A) activities of intelligence agencies, law 

8 enforcement agencies, and the Armed Forces, 

9 including with respect to intelligence collection, 

10 analysis, and dissemination and information 

11 sharing among relevant instrumentality of gov12 ernment; 

13 (B) influencing factors that contributed to 

14 the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and 

15 how technology, including online platforms, fi16 nancing, and malign foreign influence oper17 ations and campaigns may have factored into 

18 the motivation, organization, and execution of 

19 the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and 

20 targeted violence and domestic terrorism rel21 evant to such attack; and 

22 (C) other entities of the public and private 

23 sector as determined relevant by the Commis24 sion for such investigation; 

25 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the causes of 

26 and the lessons learned from the domestic terrorist 


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1 attack on the Capitol and targeted violence and do2 mestic terrorism relevant to such attack regarding— 

3 (A) the command, control, and commu4 nications of the United States Capitol Police, 

5 the National Guard, the Metropolitan Police 

6 Department of the District of Columbia, and 

7 other Federal, State, and local law enforcement 

8 in the National Capitol Region on or before 

9 January 6, 2021; 

10 (B) the structure, coordination, operational 

11 plans, policies, and procedures of the Federal 

12 Government, including as such relate to State 

13 and local governments and nongovernmental en14 tities, and particularly with respect to detecting, 

15 preventing, preparing for, and responding to 

16 targeted violence and domestic terrorism; 

17 (C) the structure, authorities, training, 

18 manpower utilization, operational planning, and 

19 use of force policies of the United States Cap20 itol Police; 

21 (D) the policies, protocols, processes, pro22 cedures, and systems for sharing of intelligence 

23 and other information by Federal, State, and 

24 local agencies with the United States Capitol 

25 Police, the Sergeants at Arms of the House of 


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1 Representatives and the Senate, the Govern2 ment of the District of Columbia, including the 

3 Metropolitan Police Department of the District 

4 of Columbia, the National Guard, and other 

5 Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the 

6 National Capitol Region on or before January 

7 6, 2021, and the related the policies, protocols, 

8 processes, procedures, and systems for moni9 toring, assessing, disseminating, and acting on 

10 intelligence and other information, including 

11 elevating the security posture of the United 

12 States Capitol Complex, derived from instru13 mentality of government, open sources, and on14 line platforms; and 

15 (E) the policies, protocols, processes, pro16 cedures, and systems for interoperability be17 tween the United States Capitol Police and the 

18 National Guard, the Metropolitan Police De19 partment of the District of Columbia, and other 

20 Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the 

21 National Capitol Region on or before January 

22 6, 2021; and 

23 (3) submit to the President and Congress re24 ports required pursuant to section 10 containing 

25 such findings, conclusions, and recommendations, 


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1 which may include changes in law, policy, proce2 dures, rules, or regulations, to improve the detection, 

3 prevention, preparedness for, and response to tar4 geted violence and domestic terrorism and improve 

5 the security posture of the United States Capitol 

6 Complex and ensure the security of Members of 

7 Congress and staff. 

8 SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

9 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 

10 of ten members, of whom— 

11 (1) one member shall be appointed jointly by 

12 the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

13 majority leader of the Senate to serve as Chair14 person of the Commission; 

15 (2) one member shall be appointed jointly by 

16 the minority leader of the House of Representatives 

17 and the minority leader of the Senate to serve as 

18 Vice Chairperson of the Commission; 

19 (3) two members shall be appointed by the 

20 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

21 (4) two members shall be appointed by the mi22 nority leader of the House of Representatives; 

23 (5) two members shall be appointed by the ma24 jority leader of the Senate; and 


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1 (6) two members shall be appointed by the mi2 nority leader of the Senate. 

3 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

4 (1) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in5 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an 

6 officer or employee of an instrumentality of govern7 ment. 

8 (2) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 

9 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis10 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

11 with national recognition and significant depth of ex12 perience in at least two of the following areas: 

13 (A) Governmental service. 

14 (B) Law enforcement. 

15 (C) Civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy. 

16 (D) The Armed Forces. 

17 (E) Intelligence. 

18 (F) Counterterrorism. 

19 (G) Cybersecurity. 

20 (H) Technology. 

21 (I) Law. 

22 (3) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

23 meet and begin the initial operation of the Commis24 sion as soon as practicable, but not earlier than 15 

25 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) TIMING FOR APPOINTMENT.—All members of the 

2 Commission shall be appointed not later than 10 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (d) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting, 

5 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chair6 person or a majority of its members. A majority of mem7 bers of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any 

8 vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but 

9 shall be promptly filled in the same manner in which the 

10 original appointment was made. 

11 (e) 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 III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 

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 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com19 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 

20 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provi21 sion under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. 

23 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis2 sion or, as delegated by the Chairperson and the 

3 Vice-Chairperson, any subcommittee or member 

4 thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this 

5 Act— 

6 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 

7 such times and places, take such testimony, re8 ceive such evidence, and administer such oaths 

9 as the Commission or such designated sub10 committee or designated member may deter11 mine advisable; and 

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

13 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 

14 testimony of such witnesses and the production 

15 of such books, records, correspondence, memo16 randa, papers, or documents, or any other 

17 paper or electronic material, as the Commission 

18 or such designated subcommittee or designated 

19 member may determine advisable. 

20 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

22 issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and 

23 testimony of witnesses and the production of 

24 any evidence relating to any matter which the 

25 Commission is empowered to investigate under 


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1 this Act. Such subpoenas shall be issued by 

2 agreement between the Chairperson and Vice 

3 Chairperson of the Commission, or by the vote 

4 of a majority of the members of the Commis5 sion. The attendance of witnesses and the pro6 duction of evidence may be required from any 

7 place within the United States at any des8 ignated place of hearing within the United 

9 States. 

10 (B) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a 

11 person does not obey a subpoena issued under 

12 subparagraph (A), the Commission is author13 ized to apply to a United States district court 

14 for an order requiring that person to appear be15 fore the Commission to give testimony, produce 

16 evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 

17 investigation. The application may be made 

18 within the judicial district where the hearing is 

19 conducted or where that person is found, re20 sides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey 

21 the order of the court may be punished by the 

22 court as a civil contempt. 

23 (C) SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION.— 

24 The United States district court in which an ac25 tion is brought under subparagraph (B) shall 


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1 have original jurisdiction over any civil action 

2 brought by the Commission to enforce, secure a 

3 declaratory judgment concerning the validity of, 

4 or prevent a threatened refusal or failure to 

5 comply with, any subpoena issued by the Com6 mission. 

7 (D) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub8 poenas of the Commission shall be served in the 

9 manner provided for subpoenas issued by a 

10 United States district court under the Federal 

11 Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States 

12 district courts. 

13 (E) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of 

14 any court to which application is made under 

15 subparagraph (A) may be served in the judicial 

16 district in which the person required to be 

17 served resides or may be found. 

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

19 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria20 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

21 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

22 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

24 directly from any Federal department or agency in25 formation, including any underlying information that 


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1 may be in the possession of the intelligence commu2 nity, that is necessary to enable it to carry out its 

3 purposes and functions under this Act. Upon request 

4 of the Chairperson, the chairperson of any sub5 committee created by a majority of the Commission, 

6 or any member designated by a majority of the 

7 Commission, the head of such department or agency 

8 shall furnish such information to the Commission. 

9 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS10 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

11 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

12 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap13 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

14 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

15 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis17 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com18 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 

19 support services and office space necessary for the 

20 Commission to carry out its purposes and functions 

21 under this Act. 

22 (2) OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

23 AGENCIES.—In addition to the assistance prescribed 

24 in paragraph (1), Federal departments and agencies 

25 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 


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1 facilities, staff, and other support services as deter2 mined advisable and authorized by law. 

3 (e) CONVEYANCES AND OTHER DEVISES.—The Com4 mission may accept, use, and dispose of devises of services 

5 or property, both real and personal, for the purpose of 

6 aiding or facilitating the work of the Commission. 

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

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

9 same conditions as Federal departments and agencies. 

10 SEC. 7. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

11 (a) APPOINTMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), the Chairperson, in consultation with the 

14 Vice-Chairperson, in accordance with rules agreed 

15 upon by the Commission, may appoint and fix the 

16 compensation of a Staff Director and such other 

17 personnel as may be necessary to enable the Com18 mission to carry out its purposes and functions, 

19 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

20 States Code, governing appointments in the competi21 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

22 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

23 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

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

25 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 


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1 for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 

2 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the 

5 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (18 

6 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.)— 

7 (i) the Commission shall be considered 

8 an employing office; and 

9 (ii) the personnel of the Commission 

10 shall be considered covered employees. 

11 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara12 graph (A) shall not apply to apply to members 

13 of the Commission. 

14 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 

15 is authorized to procure temporary and intermittent serv16 ices under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, 

17 but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equiva18 lent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under level 

19 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 

20 5, United States Code. 

21 (c) DETAILEES.—The head of any Federal depart22 ment or agency may detail, on a non-reimbursable basis, 

23 any of the personnel of that department or agency to the 

24 Commission to assist the Commission in carrying out its 

25 purposes and functions. 


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1 SEC. 8. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF. 

2 The appropriate Federal departments or agencies 

3 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro4 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

5 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex6 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person 

7 may be provided with access to classified information 

8 under this Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

9 SEC. 9. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM10 MITTEE ACT. 

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

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

13 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

14 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

15 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex16 tent appropriate; and 

17 (2) release public versions of the reports sub18 mitted pursuant to section 10. 

19 (c) CONDUCT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public 

20 hearings of the Commission shall be conducted in a man21 ner consistent with the protection of information provided 

22 to or developed for or by the Commission as required by 

23 any applicable statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

24 SEC. 10. REPORTS; TERMINATION. 

25 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub26 mit to the President and Congress interim reports conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3233.IH H3233

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1 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

2 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major3 ity of Commission members. 

4 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 

5 2021, the Commission shall submit to the President and 

6 Congress a final report containing such findings, conclu7 sions, and recommendations for corrective measures as 

8 have been agreed to by a majority of Commission mem9 bers. 

10 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

12 authorities of this Act, shall terminate upon the ex13 piration of the 60-day period which begins on the 

14 date on which the Commission submits the final re15 port under subsection (b). 

16 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER17 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

18 period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose 

19 of concluding its activities, including providing testi20 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re21 ports and disseminating the final report. 

22 SEC. 11. ARCHIVING. 

23 The records of the Commission shall be transferred 

24 to the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Ar25 chives and Records Administration upon termination of 


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1 the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 

2 10(c). 

3 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

6 Act. 

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro8 priated pursuant to the authorization under this section 

9 shall remain available until expended. 

10 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) DOMESTIC TERRORISM.—The term ‘‘domes13 tic terrorism’’ has the meaning given such term in 

14 section 2331 of title 18, United States Code. 

15 (2) INSTRUMENTALITY OF GOVERNMENT.—The 

16 term ‘‘instrumentality of government’’ means Fed17 eral, State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies. 

18 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

19 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 3(4) of the National Security 

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

22 (4) MALIGN FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS

23 AND CAMPAIGNS.—The term ‘‘malign foreign influ24 ence operations and campaigns’’ has the meaning 


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1 given such term in section 101(h) of the National 

2 Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021(h)). 

3 (5) TARGETED VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘targeted 

4 violence’’ means an incident of violence in which an 

5 attacker selected a particular target in order to in6 flict mass injury or death with no discernable polit7 ical or ideological motivation beyond mass injury or 

8 death. 

Æ 


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