I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6929 
To amend title 28 of the United States Code to require reporting on certain 
authoritative legal interpretations issued by the Department of Justice, 
including the Office of Legal Counsel, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2008 
Mr. MILLER of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 28 of the United States Code to require 
reporting on certain authoritative legal interpretations 
issued by the Department of Justice, including the Office 
of Legal Counsel, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Legal Counsel 
Reporting Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) To fulfill the constitutional duty of the exec-
utive branch to act lawfully, the President must have 
access to a reliable source of legal advice. 
(2) To fulfill its legislative and oversight duties 
under the Constitution, Congress must have access 
to information about how and whether the executive 
branch is implementing the laws of the United 
States. 
(3) The Attorney General has delegated to the 
Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Jus-
tice the function of providing legal advice to guide 
the actions of the President and the executive 
branch. 
(4) By virtue of regulation and tradition, the 
legal interpretations made by the Office are consid-
ered binding and must be followed within the execu-
tive branch. 
SEC. 3. REPORTING ON AUTHORITATIVE LEGAL INTERPRE-
TATIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 
(a) INCLUSION OF AUTHORITATIVE LEGAL INTER-
PRETATIONS
IN EXISTING REPORT REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 530D(a)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 
(B)(ii); 
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(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C)(ii)(VI) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) except as provided in paragraph (3), 
issues an authoritative legal interpretation (in-
cluding an interpretation under section 511, 
512, or 513 by the Attorney General or by an 
officer, employee, or agency of the Department 
of Justice pursuant to a delegation of authority 
under section 510) of any provision of any Fed-
eral statute that— 
‘‘(i) concludes that such provision is 
unconstitutional or would be unconstitu-
tional in a particular application; 
‘‘(ii) that relies for its conclusion, in 
whole or in the alternative, on a deter-
mination that an interpretation of the pro-
vision other than the authoritative legal in-
terpretation of the provision would raise 
constitutional concerns under Article II of 
the Constitution of the United States or 
separation of powers principles; 
‘‘(iii) that relies for its conclusion, in 
whole or in the alternative, on a legal pre-
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sumption against applying the provision, 
whether during wartime or otherwise, to— 
‘‘(I) any department or agency 
established in the executive branch of 
the Federal Government, including 
but not limited to the Executive Office 
of the President and the military de-
partments (as defined in section 
101(8) of title 10, U.S. Code); or 
‘‘(II) any officer, employee, or 
member of any department or agency 
established in the executive branch of 
the Federal Government (including 
but not limited to the President) and 
any member of the Armed Forces; or 
‘‘(iv) that concludes the provision has 
been superseded or deprived of effect, in 
whole or in part, by a subsequently enacted 
statute where there is no express statutory 
language stating an intent to supersede the 
prior provision or deprive it of effect.’’;’’. 
(b) SUBMISSION OF AUTHORITATIVE LEGAL INTER-
PRETATIONS
AND CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—Section 
530D(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
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‘‘(3) 
DIRECTION
REGARDING
INTERPRETA-
TION.—The submission of a report to Congress 
based on the issuance of an authoritative legal inter-
pretation described in paragraph (1)(D) shall be dis-
cretionary on the part of the Attorney General or an 
officer described in subsection (e) if— 
‘‘(A) the President or other responsible of-
ficer of a department or agency established in 
the executive branch of the Federal Government 
or a responsible member of the Armed Forces 
issues a directive stating that no action shall be 
taken or withheld or no policy shall be imple-
mented or stayed on the basis of the authori-
tative legal interpretation; and 
‘‘(B) the directive described in subpara-
graph (A) is in effect. 
‘‘(4) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) SUBMISSION OF REPORT CONTAINING 
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REGARDING INTEL-
LIGENCE
ACTIVITIES.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), if the Attorney General sub-
mits a report relating to an instance described 
in paragraph (1) that includes a classified 
annex containing information relating to intel-
ligence activities, the report shall be considered 
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to be submitted to Congress for the purposes of 
paragraph (1) if— 
‘‘(i) the unclassified portion of the re-
port is submitted to each officer specified 
in paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(ii) the classified annex is submitted 
to the Select Committee on Intelligence 
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
Senate and the Permanent Select Com-
mittee on Intelligence and the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
‘‘(B) SUBMISSION OF REPORT CONTAINING 
CERTAIN
CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION
ABOUT 
COVERT ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In a circumstance 
described in clause (ii), a report described 
in that clause shall be considered to be 
submitted to Congress for the purposes of 
paragraph (1) if— 
‘‘(I) the unclassified portion of 
the report is submitted to each officer 
specified in paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(II) the classified annex is sub-
mitted to— 
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‘‘(aa) 
the 
chairman 
and 
ranking minority member of the 
Select Committee on Intelligence 
of the Senate; 
‘‘(bb) the chairman and 
ranking minority member of the 
Committee on the Judiciary of 
the Senate; 
‘‘(cc) 
the 
chairman 
and 
ranking minority member of the 
Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence of the House of Rep-
resentatives; 
‘‘(dd) the chairman and 
ranking minority member of the 
Committee on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(ee) the Speaker and the 
minority leader of the House of 
Representatives; and 
‘‘(ff) the majority leader and 
minority leader of the Senate. 
‘‘(ii) 
CIRCUMSTANCES.—A 
cir-
cumstance described in this clause is a cir-
cumstance in which— 
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‘‘(I) the Attorney General sub-
mits a report relating to an instance 
described in paragraph (1) that in-
cludes a classified annex containing 
information relating to a Presidential 
finding described in section 503(a) of 
the National Security Act of 1947 (50 
U.S.C. 413b(a)); and 
‘‘(II) the President determines 
that it is essential to limit access to 
the information described in subclause 
(I) 
to 
meet 
extraordinary 
cir-
cumstances affecting vital interests of 
the United States.’’. 
(c) DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSION OF REPORT CON-
CERNING CERTAIN AUTHORITATIVE LEGAL INTERPRETA-
TIONS.—Section 530D(b) of such title is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) under subsection (a)(1)(D)— 
‘‘(A) not later than 30 days after the date 
on which the Attorney General, the Office of 
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Legal Counsel, or any other officer of the De-
partment of Justice issues the authoritative 
legal interpretation of the Federal statutory 
provision; or 
‘‘(B) if the President or other responsible 
officer of a department or agency established in 
the executive branch of the Federal Government 
or a responsible member of the Armed Forces 
issues a directive described in subsection (a)(3) 
and the directive is subsequently rescinded, not 
later than 30 days after the date on which the 
President, officer, or member rescinds that di-
rective.’’. 
(d) CONTENTS.—Section 530D(c) of such title is 
amended— 
(1) In paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) In paragraph (2)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(3) in paragraph (2)(B) by inserting at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(iii) in the case of an authoritative 
legal interpretation described in subsection 
(a)(1)(D), if a copy of a legal opinion 
issued by the Office of Legal Counsel or 
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another legal opinion setting forth the au-
thoritative legal interpretation is provided; 
and’’; 
(4) by adding at the end of such paragraph the 
following: 
‘‘(C) any classified information shall be 
provided in a classified annex, which shall be 
handled in accordance with the security proce-
dures established under section 501(d) of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
413(d));’’; 
(5) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) with respect to a report required under 
subparagraph (A), (B), or (D) of subsection (a)(1), 
specify the specific provision of the Federal statute, 
rule, regulation, program, policy, or other law at 
issue, and the subparagraph of subsection (a)(1) and 
the clause of such subparagraph that describes the 
action of the Attorney General or other officer of the 
Department of Justice.’’. 
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 530D of 
such title is further amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)(2) by striking ‘‘For the 
purposes’’ and all that follows through ‘‘if the re-
port’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in para-
graph (4), a report shall be considered to be sub-
mitted to Congress for the purposes of paragraph 
(1) if the report’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘or of 
each 
approval 
described 
in 
subsection 
(a)(1)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘of each approval de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1)(C), or of the 
issuance of the authoritative legal interpretation 
described in subsection (a)(1)(D)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘reasons for the policy 
or determination’’ and inserting ‘‘reasons 
for the policy, determination, or authori-
tative legal interpretation’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘or approving such 
settlement or compromise’’ and inserting 
‘‘approving such settlement or compromise, 
or issuing such authoritative legal interpre-
tation’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘except that’’ and in-
serting ‘‘provided that’’; and 
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(C) in paragraph (2)(A)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘except for informa-
tion described in paragraphs (1) or (4),’’ 
before ‘‘such details may be omitted’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘national-security- or 
classified information, of any’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘or other law’’ and in-
serting ‘‘or other statute’’; and 
(3) in subsection (e)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(but only with respect to 
the promulgation of any unclassified Executive 
order or similar memorandum or order),’’ and 
inserting ‘‘;’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, issues an interpretation 
described in subsection (a)(1)(D),’’ after ‘‘policy 
described in subsection (a)(1)(A)’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘,’’ after ‘‘litigation’’ and 
inserting ‘‘;’’. 
SEC. 4. WRITTEN AND SIGNED OPINIONS REQUIRED. 
(a) WRITTEN OPINIONS REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), any qualified legal opinion (as defined in 
section 5) issued to the President, any person or en-
tity in the executive branch, or any member of the 
Armed Forces shall be issued in writing. 
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(2) EXCEPTION WHEN IMMEDIATE ACTION IS 
REQUIRED.—A qualified legal opinion is not required 
to be issued in writing, if— 
(A) at the time that the opinion is 
issued— 
(i) the Attorney General determines 
that the immediate action of the United 
States is required and that a qualified 
legal opinion cannot be prepared in writing 
as a result of such requirement; and 
(ii) the Attorney General records, in 
writing, the fact that a qualified legal opin-
ion was issued to the President, person or 
entity in the executive branch, or member 
of the Armed Forces, as applicable; and 
(B) at the earliest possible date (but in no 
case later than the end of the seven-day period 
beginning on the date that the opinion is 
issued), the Attorney General reissues the quali-
fied legal opinion in writing. 
(b) SIGNATURES REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If a qualified legal opinion 
contains a statement of policy that authorizes or in-
structs any officer or employee of the executive 
branch or a member of the Armed Forces to dis-
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regard or not enforce a statute or an executive 
order, an employee or officer of the executive branch 
or a member of the Armed Forces may not require 
any other employee or officer of the executive branch 
or a member of the Armed Forces to follow the pol-
icy contained in such legal opinion, unless such opin-
ion is signed— 
(A) by the President or the Attorney Gen-
eral; and 
(B) by an officer or employee of the Office 
of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice. 
(2) DELEGATION PROHIBITED.—In no case is a 
signature by an individual other than the President 
or the Attorney General sufficient to meet the re-
quirements of paragraph (1)(A), even if— 
(A) such signature is made on behalf of 
the President or Attorney General; or 
(B) such signature results from a delega-
tion of responsibility by the President or the 
Attorney General to another individual. 
SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 
containing an evaluation of performance of the Office of 
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Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice during the 
25-year period ending on the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 
shall contain, at a minimum, the following: 
(1) The total number of legal opinions (as de-
fined in section 5) issued by the Office of Legal 
Counsel. 
(2) The total number of legal opinions issued by 
the Office that are disclosed, in written form, to the 
public, and the amount of time between the date a 
opinion is first issued by the office and the date the 
opinion is disclosed to the public. 
(3) The number of opinions issued by the Office 
that are classified, in part or in full, and the basis 
for classifying each opinion. 
(4) The number of opinions issued by the Office 
that are not disclosed to the public because of delib-
erative-process privilege, executive privilege, attor-
ney-work-product privilege, attorney-client-privilege, 
or another type of privilege, and the nature of each 
such privilege. 
(5) An analysis of the role of the Office within 
the Federal Government, including an assessment of 
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how, if at all, the role of the Office has changed over 
the course of the period described in subsection (a). 
(6) An analysis of the interaction between the 
Office of Legal Counsel, the Office of White House 
Counsel, and the Office of the Counsel to the Vice 
President. 
(7) A description of any information which the 
Comptroller General could not obtain which was nec-
essary to complete this report. 
(c) FORM OF REPORT.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit the report under subsection 
(a) in an unclassified form and may include a classified 
annex. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
apply: 
(1) LEGAL OPINION.—The term ‘‘legal opinion’’ 
means an opinion issued by the Office of Legal 
Counsel in the Department of Justice— 
(A) under sections 511 through 513 of 
title 28, United States Code; 
(B) through a delegation of authority 
under section 510 of such title; 
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(C) under section 0.25 of title 28, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or any successor regula-
tions); or 
(D) under or through any combination of 
provisions listed in subparagraphs (A) through 
(C). 
(2) QUALIFIED
LEGAL
OPINION.—The term 
‘‘qualified legal opinion’’ means a legal opinion that 
contains a policy described in subparagraph (A) of 
section 530D(a)(1) of title 28, United States Code, 
or an authoritative legal interpretation described in 
subparagraph (D) of such section, or both. 
Æ 
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