•HRES 690 IH 
House, of whom 7 shall be appointed by the Speaker (one 
of whom he shall designate as chairman) and 7 shall be 
appointed by the minority leader (one of whom she shall 
designate as vice chairman). Any vacancy occurring in the 
membership of the Select Committee shall be filled in the 
same manner in which the original appointment was made. 
(b)(1) The Select Committee shall conduct a full and 
complete investigation of the abuses of detainees held in 
United States custody in connection with Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any operation 
within the Global War on Terrorism, in particular those 
abuses that have been documented by thousands of photo-
graphs and on video at Abu Ghraib prison, and make such 
findings and recommendations to the House as the select 
committee deems appropriate, including but not limited to 
the following: 
(A) Why the abuses occurred. 
(B) Whether any particular Department of De-
fense, Department of State, Department of Justice, 
Central Intelligence Agency, National Security 
Council, or White House policies, procedures, or de-
cisions facilitated the detainee abuses. 
(C) What policies, procedures, or mechanisms 
failed to prevent the abuses at Abu Ghraib.
•HRES 690 IH 
(D) The extent to which detainee abuses took 
place in detention facilities other than the Abu 
Ghraib prison inside and outside Iraq. 
(E) What legislative or executive actions should 
be taken to prevent such abuses from occurring in 
the future. 
(F) To what extent, if any, Guantanamo Deten-
tion Center policies influenced policies at the Abu 
Ghraib prison and other detention centers in and 
outside Iraq. 
(2) During the course of its investigation, the Select 
Committee shall assess, analyze, and evaluate relevant 
persons, policies, procedures, reports, and events including 
but not limited to the following: 
(A) The Military Chain of Command. 
(B) The National Security Council. 
(C) The Department of Justice. 
(D) The Department of State. 
(E) The Office of the White House Counsel. 
(F) The approval process for interrogation tech-
niques used at Abu Ghraib and other detention fa-
cilities in Iraq. 
(G) The Defense Intelligence Agency and the 
Central Intelligence Agency.
•HRES 690 IH 
(H) The integration of military police and mili-
tary intelligence operations to coordinate detainee 
interrogation. 
(I) The roles and actions of private civilian con-
tractors in the abuses at Abu Ghraib and whether 
they violated the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdic-
tion Act or any other United States statutes and 
international treaties. 
(J) The role of nongovernmental organizations’ 
warnings to United States officials about the Abu 
Ghraib abuses. 
(K) The role of Congress and whether it was 
fully informed throughout the process that uncov-
ered these abuses. 
(L) The extent to which the United States com-
plied with the applicable provisions of the Geneva 
Conventions of 1949, and the extent to which the 
United States may have violated international law by 
restricting the access of the International Committee 
of the Red Cross to detainees. 
(c) One-third of the members of the Select Committee 
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business 
other than the reporting of a matter, which shall require 
a majority of the Select Committee to be actually present, 
except that the Select Committee may designate a lesser
•HRES 690 IH 
number, but not less than two, as a quorum for the pur-
pose of holding hearings to take testimony. The rules of 
the House shall govern the Select Committee where not 
inconsistent with this resolution. The Select Committee 
shall adopt additional written rules, which shall be made 
public, to govern its procedures, which shall not be incon-
sistent with this resolution or the rules of the House. Such 
rules may govern the conduct of the depositions, inter-
views, and hearings of the Select Committee, including the 
persons present. 
(d)(1) For the purpose of carrying out this resolution, 
the Select Committee may sit and act at any time and 
place within the United States or elsewhere, whether the 
House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned and 
hold such hearings as it considers necessary and to re-
quire, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testi-
mony of such witnesses, the furnishing of information by 
interrogatory, and the production of such books, records, 
correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, cal-
endars, recordings, data compilations from which informa-
tion can be obtained, tangible objects, and other things 
and information of any kind as it deems necessary, includ-
ing classified, data, evidence, information, report, analysis, 
document, or paper in the custody or control of any de-
partment, agency, officer or employee of the executive
•HRES 690 IH 
branch of the Government, including any department, 
agency, officer, or employee of the Government having the 
power under the laws of the United States to investigate 
any alleged criminal activities or to prosecute persons 
charged with crimes against the United States and any 
department, agency, officer or employee of the Govern-
ment having the authority to conduct intelligence inside 
or outside the United States, without regard to any other 
House committee, which it deems necessary for its inves-
tigation. Unless otherwise determined by the Select Com-
mittee, the chairman or vice chairman of the select com-
mittee, upon consultation with each other, shall authorize 
and issue subpoenas. Subpoenas shall be issued under the 
seal of the House and attested by the Clerk, and may be 
served by any persons designated by the chairman or any 
member. Deposition and affidavit testimony shall be 
deemed to have been taken in Washington, DC, before the 
Select Committee once filed with the clerk of the Select 
Committee for its use. Unless otherwise determined by the 
Select Committee, all depositions, affidavits, and other 
materials received in the investigation shall be considered 
nonpublic until received by the Select Committee, except 
that all such material shall, unless otherwise determined 
by the Select Committee, be available for use by the Mem-
bers of the Select Committee in open session.
•HRES 690 IH 
(2) Such subpoenas may be used to obtain any mate-
rials (including but not limited to any books, checks, can-
celed checks, correspondence, communications, documents, 
papers, physical evidence, records, recordings, photo-
graphs, video tapes or computer discs) the Select Com-
mittee deems relevant to its investigation from any depart-
ment, agency, officer or employee of the executive branch 
of the Government, or any private person, firm, or cor-
poration. 
(3) Provisions may be included in the rules and proc-
ess of the Select Committee to prevent the disclosure of 
committee demands for information. The Select Com-
mittee may grant immunity to witnesses in exchange for 
testimony or depositions it deems necessary for its inves-
tigation in accordance with the rules of the House. 
(e) The chairman, or in his absence the vice chair-
man, or in their absence a member designated by the 
chairman, shall preside at all meetings and hearings of 
the Select Committee. All meetings and hearings of the 
Select Committee shall be conducted in open session, un-
less a majority of members of the Select Committee voting, 
there being in attendance the requisite number required 
for the purpose of hearings to take testimony, vote to close 
a meeting or hearing.
•HRES 690 IH 
and proceedings, consistent with clause 11(g)(3) of rule 
X of the Rules of the House, except that the Select Com-
mittee may direct that particular matters or classes of 
matter shall not be made available to any person by its 
members, staff, or others, or may impose any other re-
striction. The Select Committee may require its staff to 
enter nondisclosure agreements, and its chairman, in con-
sultation with the vice chairman, may require others, such 
as counsel for witnesses, to do so. The Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct may investigate any unau-
thorized disclosure of such classified information by a 
Member, officer, or employee of the House or other cov-
ered person upon request of the Select Committee. If, at 
the conclusion of its investigation, the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct determines that there has 
been a significant unauthorized disclosure, it shall report 
its findings to the House and recommend appropriate 
sanctions for the Member, officer, employee, or other cov-
ered person consistent with clause 11(g)(5) of rule X of 
the Rules of the House and any committee restriction, in-
cluding nondisclosure agreements. 
(k) There shall be paid out of the applicable accounts 
of the House such sums as may be necessary for the ex-
penses of the Select Committee. Such payments shall be 
made on vouchers signed by the chairman of the Select
•HRES 690 IH 
Committee and approved in the manner directed by the 
Committee on House Administration. Amounts made 
available under this subsection shall be expended in ac-
cordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on 
House Administration. 
(l)(1) As soon as practicable, but not later than 6 
months after the date of adoption of this resolution (or 
not later than such later date as may be established jointly 
by the chairman and vice chairman), the Select Committee 
shall submit to the House a report setting forth the final 
results of its investigation and study, together with such 
recommendations for legislation or other matters as it 
deems advisable. Prior to the submission of its final re-
port, the Select Committee may submit such interim re-
ports as it considers appropriate. 
(2) The Select Committee shall cease to exist one 
month after the filing of its final report. 
(3) Any report made by the Select Committee shall 
be referred to the committee or committees that have ju-
risdiction over the subject matter of the report. 
(4) Upon dissolution of the Select Committee, the 
records, files, and materials of the Select Committee shall 
be transferred to the Clerk of the House, who may, as 
directed by the Select Committee, store records in secure
•HRES 690 IH 
facilities of the intelligence community pursuant to agree-
ment retaining control of access by the House. 
(5) If any equipment is purchased by the Select Com-
mittee, then upon its dissolution, the Chief Administrative 
Officer shall make such equipment available to Members, 
Committees, or other entities of the House, under the di-
rection of the Committee on House Administration. 
(m) It is the sense of the House that, if the com-
mittee to which this resolution is referred does not act 
upon this resolution within 30 legislative days, then such 
committee should be discharged from its consideration.
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