117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3233 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States 

4 Capitol Complex Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

6 There is established in the legislative branch the Na7 tional Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on 

8 the United States Capitol Complex (hereafter referred to 

9 as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

10 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

11 Consistent with the functions described in section 4, 

12 the purposes of the Commission are the following: 

13 (1) To investigate and report upon the facts 

14 and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domes15 tic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol 

16 Complex (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘domestic ter17 rorist attack on the Capitol’’) and relating to the in18 terference with the peaceful transfer of power, in19 cluding facts and causes relating to the preparedness 

20 and response of the United States Capitol Police and 

21 other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in 

22 the National Capitol Region and other instrumen23 tality of government, as well as the influencing fac24 tors that fomented such attack on American rep25 resentative democracy while engaged in a constitu26 tional process. 
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1 (2) To examine and evaluate evidence developed 

2 by relevant Federal, State, and local governmental 

3 agencies, in a manner that is respectful of ongoing 

4 law enforcement activities and investigations regard5 ing the domestic terrorist attack upon the Capitol, 

6 regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding 

7 such terrorist attack and targeted violence and do8 mestic terrorism relevant to such terrorist attack. 

9 (3) To build upon the investigations of other 

10 entities and avoid unnecessary duplication by review11 ing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

12 of other executive branch, congressional, or inde13 pendent bipartisan or non-partisan commission in14 vestigations into the domestic terrorist attack on the 

15 Capitol and targeted violence and domestic terrorism 

16 relevant to such terrorist attack, including investiga17 tions into influencing factors related to such ter18 rorist attack. 

19 (4) To investigate and report to the President 

20 and Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec21 ommendations for corrective measures that may in22 clude changes in law, policy, procedures, rules, or 

23 regulations that could be taken to prevent future 

24 acts of targeted violence and domestic terrorism, in25 cluding to prevent domestic terrorist attacks against 
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1 American democratic institutions, improve the secu2 rity posture of the United States Capitol Complex 

3 while preserving accessibility of the Capitol Complex 

4 for all Americans, and strengthen the security and 

5 resilience of the Nation and American democratic in6 stitutions against domestic terrorism. 

7 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 

8 The functions of the Commission are to— 

9 (1) conduct an investigation of the relevant 

10 facts and circumstances relating to the domestic ter11 rorist attack on the Capitol, including relevant facts 

12 and circumstances relating to— 

13 (A) activities of intelligence agencies, law 

14 enforcement agencies, and the Armed Forces, 

15 including with respect to intelligence collection, 

16 analysis, and dissemination and information 

17 sharing among relevant instrumentality of gov18 ernment; 

19 (B) influencing factors that contributed to 

20 the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and 

21 how technology, including online platforms, fi22 nancing, and malign foreign influence oper23 ations and campaigns may have factored into 

24 the motivation, organization, and execution of 

25 the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and 
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1 targeted violence and domestic terrorism rel2 evant to such attack; and 

3 (C) other entities of the public and private 

4 sector as determined relevant by the Commis5 sion for such investigation; 

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

7 and the lessons learned from the domestic terrorist 

8 attack on the Capitol and targeted violence and do9 mestic terrorism relevant to such attack regarding— 

10 (A) the command, control, and commu11 nications of the United States Capitol Police, 

12 the National Guard, the Metropolitan Police 

13 Department of the District of Columbia, and 

14 other Federal, State, and local law enforcement 

15 in the National Capitol Region on or before 

16 January 6, 2021; 

17 (B) the structure, coordination, operational 

18 plans, policies, and procedures of the Federal 

19 Government, including as such relate to State 

20 and local governments and nongovernmental en21 tities, and particularly with respect to detecting, 

22 preventing, preparing for, and responding to 

23 targeted violence and domestic terrorism; 

24 (C) the structure, authorities, training, 

25 manpower utilization, operational planning, and 
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1 use of force policies of the United States Cap2 itol Police; 

3 (D) the policies, protocols, processes, pro4 cedures, and systems for sharing of intelligence 

5 and other information by Federal, State, and 

6 local agencies with the United States Capitol 

7 Police, the Sergeants at Arms of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Senate, the Govern9 ment of the District of Columbia, including the 

10 Metropolitan Police Department of the District 

11 of Columbia, the National Guard, and other 

12 Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the 

13 National Capitol Region on or before January 

14 6, 2021, and the related the policies, protocols, 

15 processes, procedures, and systems for moni16 toring, assessing, disseminating, and acting on 

17 intelligence and other information, including 

18 elevating the security posture of the United 

19 States Capitol Complex, derived from instru20 mentality of government, open sources, and on21 line platforms; and 

22 (E) the policies, protocols, processes, pro23 cedures, and systems for interoperability be24 tween the United States Capitol Police and the 

25 National Guard, the Metropolitan Police De-
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1 partment of the District of Columbia, and other 

2 Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the 

3 National Capitol Region on or before January 

4 6, 2021; and 

5 (3) submit to the President and Congress re6 ports required pursuant to section 10 containing 

7 such findings, conclusions, and recommendations, 

8 which may include changes in law, policy, proce9 dures, rules, or regulations, to improve the detection, 

10 prevention, preparedness for, and response to tar11 geted violence and domestic terrorism and improve 

12 the security posture of the United States Capitol 

13 Complex and ensure the security of Members of 

14 Congress and staff. 

15 SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

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

17 of ten members, of whom— 

18 (1) one member shall be appointed jointly by 

19 the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

20 majority leader of the Senate to serve as Chair21 person of the Commission; 

22 (2) one member shall be appointed jointly by 

23 the minority leader of the House of Representatives 

24 and the minority leader of the Senate to serve as 

25 Vice Chairperson of the Commission; 
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1 (3) two members shall be appointed by the 

2 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

3 (4) two members shall be appointed by the mi4 nority leader of the House of Representatives; 

5 (5) two members shall be appointed by the ma6 jority leader of the Senate; and 

7 (6) two members shall be appointed by the mi8 nority leader of the Senate. 

9 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

10 (1) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in11 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an 

12 officer or employee of an instrumentality of govern13 ment. 

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

15 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis16 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

17 with national recognition and significant depth of ex18 perience in at least two of the following areas: 

19 (A) Governmental service. 

20 (B) Law enforcement. 

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

22 (D) The Armed Forces. 

23 (E) Intelligence. 

24 (F) Counterterrorism. 

25 (G) Cybersecurity. 
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1 (H) Technology. 

2 (I) Law. 

3 (3) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

4 meet and begin the initial operation of the Commis5 sion as soon as practicable, but not earlier than 15 

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

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

8 Commission shall be appointed not later than 10 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

11 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chair12 person or a majority of its members. A majority of mem13 bers of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any 

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

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

16 original appointment was made. 

17 (e) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis18 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva19 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 

20 at level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 

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

22 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 

23 duties of the Commission. 

24 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com25 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 
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1 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provi2 sion under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

3 States Code. 

4 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis7 sion or, as delegated by the Chairperson and the 

8 Vice-Chairperson, any subcommittee or member 

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

10 Act— 

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

12 such times and places, take such testimony, re13 ceive such evidence, and administer such oaths 

14 as the Commission or such designated sub15 committee or designated member may deter16 mine advisable; and 

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

18 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 

19 testimony of such witnesses and the production 

20 of such books, records, correspondence, memo21 randa, papers, or documents, or any other 

22 paper or electronic material, as the Commission 

23 or such designated subcommittee or designated 

24 member may determine advisable. 

25 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

2 issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and 

3 testimony of witnesses and the production of 

4 any evidence relating to any matter which the 

5 Commission is empowered to investigate under 

6 this Act. Such subpoenas shall be issued by 

7 agreement between the Chairperson and Vice 

8 Chairperson of the Commission, or by the vote 

9 of a majority of the members of the Commis10 sion. The attendance of witnesses and the pro11 duction of evidence may be required from any 

12 place within the United States at any des13 ignated place of hearing within the United 

14 States. 

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

16 person does not obey a subpoena issued under 

17 subparagraph (A), the Commission is author18 ized to apply to a United States district court 

19 for an order requiring that person to appear be20 fore the Commission to give testimony, produce 

21 evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 

22 investigation. The application may be made 

23 within the judicial district where the hearing is 

24 conducted or where that person is found, re25 sides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey 
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1 the order of the court may be punished by the 

2 court as a civil contempt. 

3 (C) SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION.— 

4 The United States district court in which an ac5 tion is brought under subparagraph (B) shall 

6 have original jurisdiction over any civil action 

7 brought by the Commission to enforce, secure a 

8 declaratory judgment concerning the validity of, 

9 or prevent a threatened refusal or failure to 

10 comply with, any subpoena issued by the Com11 mission. 

12 (D) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub13 poenas of the Commission shall be served in the 

14 manner provided for subpoenas issued by a 

15 United States district court under the Federal 

16 Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States 

17 district courts. 

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

19 any court to which application is made under 

20 subparagraph (A) may be served in the judicial 

21 district in which the person required to be 

22 served resides or may be found. 

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

24 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria-
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1 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

2 to discharge its duties under this Act. 

3 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.— 

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

5 directly from any Federal department or agency in6 formation, including any underlying information that 

7 may be in the possession of the intelligence commu8 nity, that is necessary to enable it to carry out its 

9 purposes and functions under this Act. Upon request 

10 of the Chairperson, the chairperson of any sub11 committee created by a majority of the Commission, 

12 or any member designated by a majority of the 

13 Commission, the head of such department or agency 

14 shall furnish such information to the Commission. 

15 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS16 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

17 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

18 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap19 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

20 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis23 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com24 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 

25 support services and office space necessary for the 
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1 Commission to carry out its purposes and functions 

2 under this Act. 

3 (2) OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

4 AGENCIES.—In addition to the assistance prescribed 

5 in paragraph (1), Federal departments and agencies 

6 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

7 facilities, staff, and other support services as deter8 mined advisable and authorized by law. 

9 (e) CONVEYANCES AND OTHER DEVISES.—The Com10 mission may accept, use, and dispose of devises of services 

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

12 aiding or facilitating the work of the Commission. 

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

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

15 same conditions as Federal departments and agencies. 

16 SEC. 7. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

17 (a) APPOINTMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the Chairperson, in consultation with the 

20 Vice-Chairperson, in accordance with rules agreed 

21 upon by the Commission, may appoint and fix the 

22 compensation of a Staff Director and such other 

23 personnel as may be necessary to enable the Com24 mission to carry out its purposes and functions, 

25 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 
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1 States Code, governing appointments in the competi2 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

3 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

4 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

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

6 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

7 for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule 

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

9 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

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

11 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (18 

12 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.)— 

13 (i) the Commission shall be considered 

14 an employing office; and 

15 (ii) the personnel of the Commission 

16 shall be considered covered employees. 

17 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara18 graph (A) shall not apply to apply to members 

19 of the Commission. 

20 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 

21 is authorized to procure temporary and intermittent serv22 ices under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, 

23 but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equiva24 lent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under level 
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1 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 

2 5, United States Code. 

3 (c) DETAILEES.—The head of any Federal depart4 ment or agency may detail, on a non-reimbursable basis, 

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

6 Commission to assist the Commission in carrying out its 

7 purposes and functions. 

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

9 The appropriate Federal departments or agencies 

10 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously pro11 viding to the Commission members and staff appropriate 

12 security clearances to the extent possible pursuant to ex13 isting procedures and requirements, except that no person 

14 may be provided with access to classified information 

15 under this Act without the appropriate security clearances. 

16 SEC. 9. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM17 MITTEE ACT. 

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

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

20 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

21 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

22 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex23 tent appropriate; and 

24 (2) release public versions of the reports sub25 mitted pursuant to section 10. 
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1 (c) CONDUCT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public 

2 hearings of the Commission shall be conducted in a man3 ner consistent with the protection of information provided 

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

5 any applicable statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

6 SEC. 10. REPORTS; TERMINATION. 

7 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub8 mit to the President and Congress interim reports con9 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

10 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major11 ity of Commission members. 

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

13 2021, the Commission shall submit to the President and 

14 Congress a final report containing such findings, conclu15 sions, and recommendations for corrective measures as 

16 have been agreed to by a majority of Commission mem17 bers. 

18 (c) TERMINATION.— 

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

20 authorities of this Act, shall terminate upon the ex21 piration of the 60-day period which begins on the 

22 date on which the Commission submits the final re23 port under subsection (b). 

24 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER25 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 
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1 period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose 

2 of concluding its activities, including providing testi3 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re4 ports and disseminating the final report. 

5 SEC. 11. ARCHIVING. 

6 The records of the Commission shall be transferred 

7 to the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Ar8 chives and Records Administration upon termination of 

9 the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 

10 10(c). 

11 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

14 Act. 

15 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro16 priated pursuant to the authorization under this section 

17 shall remain available until expended. 

18 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) DOMESTIC TERRORISM.—The term ‘‘domes21 tic terrorism’’ has the meaning given such term in 

22 section 2331 of title 18, United States Code. 

23 (2) INSTRUMENTALITY OF GOVERNMENT.—The 

24 term ‘‘instrumentality of government’’ means Fed25 eral, State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies. 
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1 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 

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

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

5 (4) MALIGN FOREIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS

6 AND CAMPAIGNS.—The term ‘‘malign foreign influ7 ence operations and campaigns’’ has the meaning 

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

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

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

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

12 attacker selected a particular target in order to in13 flict mass injury or death with no discernable polit14 ical or ideological motivation beyond mass injury or 

15 death. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2021. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3233 

AN ACT 

To establish the National Commission to InvesCapitol Complex, and for other purposes. tigate the January 6 Attack on the United States