IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 34
To establish a Select Committee to Investigate CIA Involvement in Crack
Cocaine Sales to Fund Contras.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 21, 1997
Ms. WATERS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Rules
RESOLUTION
To establish a Select Committee to Investigate CIA
Involvement in Crack Cocaine Sales to Fund Contras.
Resolved,
(a) There is established in the House of Representa-
tives a select committee to be known as the Select Com-
mittee to Investigate CIA Involvement in Crack Cocaine
Sales to Fund Contras (hereinafter referred to in this res-
olution as the ‘‘select committee’’).
(b) The select committee shall be composed of 15
Members of the House of Representatives to be appointed
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by the Speaker, one of whom he shall designate as chair-
man, and one of whom he shall designate as vice chair-
man. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the se-
lect committee shall be filled in the same manner in which
the original appointment was made.
(c) The select committee is authorized and directed
to conduct a full and complete investigation and study,
and to make such findings and recommendations to the
House of Representatives as the select committee deems
appropriate, regarding the following matters:
(1) Existence of Central Intelligence Agency
files on cocaine purchases and arms transfers to
inner-city south central Los Angeles residents.
(2) Central Intelligence Agency employment of
Danilo Blandon and Edwin Menenses as informants.
(3) Diversion or intended diversion of funds ap-
propriated by Congress for assistance to Nicaraguan
contras or the sale of crack cocaine for such pur-
poses.
(4) Any other matters deemed appropriate or
germane to either Central Intelligence Agency in-
volvement in unauthorized or illegal drug sales or
the use of informants to provide information on
sales of crack cocaine to south central Los Angeles
residents.
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(d) 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 committee to be actually present, except
that the select committee may designate a lesser number,
but not less than two, as a quorum for the purpose of
holding hearings to take testimony. When a quorum for
any particular purpose is present, general proxies may be
counted for that purpose. The select committee may sit
while the House of Representatives is reading a measure
for amendment under the five-minute rule. The rules of
the House of Representatives shall govern the select com-
mittee where not inconsistent with this resolution. The se-
lect committee shall adopt additional written rules, which
shall be public, to govern its procedures, which shall not
be inconsistent with this resolution or the rules of the
House of Representatives. Such rules may govern the con-
duct of the depositions, interviews, and hearings of the
select committee, including the persons present.
(e) The select committee is authorized to sit and act
during the present Congress at such times and places
within the United States, including any Commonwealth or
possession thereof, or in any other country, whether the
House of Representatives is in session, has recessed, or
has adjourned; to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the
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attendance and testimony of such witnesses, the furnish-
ing of information by interrogatory, and the production
of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, pa-
pers, documents, calendars, recordings, data compilations
from which information can be obtained, tangible objects,
and other things and information of any kind as it deems
necessary, including all intelligence materials however
classified, White House materials, and materials pertain-
ing to unvouchered expenditures or concerning commu-
nications interceptions or surveillance; and to obtain evi-
dence in other appropriate countries with the cooperation
of their governments. Unless otherwise determined by the
select committee the chairman, upon consultation with the
ranking minority member, or the select committee, shall
authorize and issue subpoenas. Subpoenas shall be issued
under the seal of the House of Representatives and at-
tested by the Clerk, and may be served by any persons
designated by the chairman or any member. Provisions
may be included in the rules and process of the select com-
mittee to prevent the disclosure of committee demands for
information. The select committee may request investiga-
tions, reports, and other assistance from any agency of
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Fed-
eral Government.
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(f) 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
committee shall be conducted in open session, unless a ma-
jority 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. Pursuant to rule XI(3)(f)(2) of the
rules of the House of Representatives, coverage of testi-
mony of subpoenaed witnesses will be limited at their re-
quest, unless a majority of members of the select commit-
tee voting, there being in attendance the requisite number
required for the conduct of business, vote otherwise.
(g) The chairman, upon consultation with the rank-
ing minority member, may employ and fix the compensa-
tion of such clerks, experts, consultants, technicians, at-
torneys, investigators, and clerical and stenographic as-
sistants as it considers necessary to carry out the purposes
of this resolution. No more than three such staff may re-
ceive compensation corresponding to Executive Level IV.
The select committee shall be deemed a committee of the
House of Representatives for all purposes of law, including
rule XI(2)(n) of the rules of the House of Representatives,
sections 6005, 1505, and 1621 of title 18, United States
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Code, section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the United
States (2 U.S.C. 192), section 502(b) of the Mutual Secu-
rity Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)), and section 734(a)
of title 31, United States Code. The select committee may
reimburse the members of its staff for travel, subsistence,
and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the per-
formance of the duties vested in the select committee,
other than expenses in connection with meetings of the
select committee held in the District of Columbia. Staff
of the House of Representatives or joint committees, at
the direction of their Members, committee chairmen, or
the Speaker, as appropriate, and upon request of the se-
lect committee, may serve as associate staff to the select
committee for designated purposes. Associate staff shall
be deemed staff of the select committee to the extent nec-
essary for those designated purposes.
(h) Unless otherwise determined by the select com-
mittee, the chairman, upon consultation with the ranking
minority member, or the select committee, may authorize
the taking of affidavits and depositions pursuant to notice
or subpoena, by a Member or by designated staff, under
oath administered by a Member or a person otherwise au-
thorized by law to administer oaths. Deposition and affi-
davit testimony shall be deemed to have been taken in
Washington, DC, before the select committee once filed
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there with the clerk of the committee for the committee’s
use. Unless otherwise directed by the committee, all depo-
sitions, affidavits, and other materials received in the in-
vestigation shall be considered nonpublic until received by
the select committee, except that all such material shall,
unless otherwise directed by the committee, be available
for use by the members of the select committee in open
session.
(i) The select committee shall be authorized to re-
spond to any judicial or other process or to make any ap-
plications to court, upon consultation with the Speaker
consistent with rule L of the rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives.
(j) The select committee may submit to standing
committees, including the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence, specific matters within their jurisdiction and
may request that such committees pursue such matters
further. Committees pursuing such requested inquiries
may, in turn, receive the continuing assistance, consistent
with the select committee’s own jurisdiction, of the select
committee’s legal process, personnel, and records. Com-
mittees which pursue or have pursued inquiries, during
the previous or current Congress, within the subjects of
the select committee investigation, shall furnish the select
committee with copies of all testimony and documents.
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(k) The select committee shall provide other commit-
tees and Members of the House of Representatives with
access to information and proceedings, consistent with
clause 7(c)(2) of rule XLVIII of the rules of the House
of Representatives. However, the select committee may di-
rect 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 restriction. The select
committee may require its staff to enter nondisclosure
agreements, and its chairman, in consultation with the
ranking minority member, may require others, such as
counsel for witnesses, to do so. The Committee on Stand-
ards of Official Conduct may investigate any unauthorized
disclosure of such classified information by a Member, of-
ficer, employee of the House of Representatives, or other
covered 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 of Representatives and rec-
ommend appropriate sanctions for the Member, officer,
employee, or other covered person consistent with clause
7(e) of rule XLVIII of the rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives and any committee restriction, including non-
disclosure agreements.
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(l) There shall be paid out of applicable accounts of
the House of Representatives such sums as may be nec-
essary for the expenses of the select committee. Such pay-
ments shall be made on vouchers signed by the chairman
and approved in the manner directed by the Committee
on House Oversight. Amounts made available under this
subsection shall be expended in accordance with regula-
tions prescribed by the Committee on House Oversight of
the House of Representatives.
(m) The select committee shall report to the House
of Representatives the final results of its investigation and
study as soon as practicable during the present Congress.
Following the filing of its final report, it shall have one
month before the authority herein shall expire in order to
close its affairs, including provision of assistance to com-
mittees pursuing remaining inquiries, transmittal of
records to other committees, and storage of its remaining
records by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who
may, as directed by the select committee, store records in
secure facilities of the intelligence community pursuant to
agreement retaining control of access by the House of
Representatives.
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