[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 34 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 Representatives a select 
committee to be known as the Select Committee to Investigate CIA 
Involvement in Crack Cocaine Sales to Fund Contras (hereinafter 
referred to in this resolution as the ``select committee'').
    (b) The select committee shall be composed of 15 Members of the 
House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker, one of whom he 
shall designate as chairman, and one of whom he 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.
    (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 appropriated 
        by Congress for assistance to Nicaraguan contras or the sale of 
        crack cocaine for such purposes.
            (4) Any other matters deemed appropriate or germane to 
        either Central Intelligence Agency involvement 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.
    (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 committee where 
not inconsistent with this resolution. The select 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 
conduct 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 
attendance and testimony of such witnesses, the furnishing of 
information by interrogatory, and the production of such books, 
records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, 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 pertaining to 
unvouchered expenditures or concerning communications interceptions or 
surveillance; and to obtain evidence 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 attested 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 committee to prevent 
the disclosure of committee demands for information. The select 
committee may request investigations, reports, and other assistance 
from any agency of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of 
the Federal Government.
    (f) The chairman, or in his absence the vice chairman, 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 
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. Pursuant to rule 
XI(3)(f)(2) of the rules of the House of Representatives, coverage of 
testimony of subpoenaed witnesses will be limited at their request, 
unless a majority of members of the select committee voting, there 
being in attendance the requisite number required for the conduct of 
business, vote otherwise.
    (g) The chairman, upon consultation with the ranking minority 
member, may employ and fix the compensation of such clerks, experts, 
consultants, technicians, attorneys, investigators, and clerical and 
stenographic assistants as it considers necessary to carry out the 
purposes of this resolution. No more than three such staff may receive 
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 Code, section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 
(2 U.S.C. 192), section 502(b) of the Mutual Security 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 
performance 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 
select 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 necessary for those designated purposes.
    (h) Unless otherwise determined by the select committee, 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 authorized by law to administer oaths. Deposition and 
affidavit testimony shall be deemed to have been taken in Washington, 
DC, before the select committee once filed there with the clerk of the 
committee for the committee's use. Unless otherwise directed by the 
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 
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 respond to any 
judicial or other process or to make any applications to court, upon 
consultation with the Speaker consistent with rule L of the rules of 
the House of Representatives.
    (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. Committees 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.
    (k) The select committee shall provide other committees 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 
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 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 Standards of Official Conduct may 
investigate any unauthorized disclosure of such classified information 
by a Member, officer, 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 recommend 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 Representatives and any 
committee restriction, including nondisclosure agreements.
    (l) There shall be paid out of applicable accounts of the House of 
Representatives such sums as may be necessary for the expenses of the 
select committee. Such payments 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 regulations 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 committees 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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