[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 463 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 463

    To establish the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and 
   Military/Commercial Concerns With the People's Republic of China.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 1998

 Mr. Solomon submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                         the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    To establish the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and 
   Military/Commercial Concerns With the People's Republic of China.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT.

    There is hereby created the Select Committee on U.S. National 
Security and Military/Commercial Concerns With the People's Republic of 
China, (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Select Committee''). 
The Select Committee may 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 is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, as it shall 
deem appropriate for the completion of its work.

SEC. 2. JURISDICTION.

    (a) In General.--The Select Committee shall conduct a full and 
complete inquiry regarding the following matters and report such 
findings and recommendations, including those concerning the amendment 
of existing law or the enactment of new law, to the House as it 
considers appropriate:
            (1) The transfer of technology, information, advice, goods, 
        or services that may have contributed to the enhancement of the 
        accuracy, reliability, or capability of nuclear-armed 
        intercontinental ballistic missiles or other weapons of the 
        People's Republic of China, or that may have contributed to the 
        enhancement of the domestic or foreign intelligence 
        capabilities of the People's Republic of China.
            (2) The transfer of technology, information, advice, goods, 
        or services that may have contributed to the manufacture of 
        weapons of mass destruction, missiles, or other weapons or 
        armaments by the People's Republic of China.
            (3) The effect of any transfer or enhancement referred to 
        in paragraphs (1) or (2) on regional security and the national 
        security of the United States, its friends, and its allies.
            (4) The conduct of the executive branch of the United 
        States Government with respect to the transfers or enhancements 
        referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2), and the effect of that 
        conduct on the national security of the United States, its 
        friends, and its allies.
            (5) The conduct of defense contractors, weapons 
        manufacturers, satellite manufacturers, and other private or 
        government-owned commercial firms with respect to the transfers 
        or enhancements referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2).
            (6) The enforcement of United States law, including 
        statutes, regulations, or executive orders, with respect to the 
        transfers or enhancements referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2).
            (7) Any effort by the Government of the People's Republic 
        of China or any other person or entity to influence any of the 
        foregoing matters through political contributions, bribery, 
        influence-peddling, or otherwise.
            (8) Decision-making within the executive branch of the 
        United States Government with respect to any of the foregoing 
        matters.
            (9) Any effort to conceal or withhold information or 
        documents relevant to any of the foregoing matters or to 
        otherwise obstruct justice, or to obstruct the work of the 
        Select Committee or any other committee of the Congress in 
        connection with those matters.
            (10) All matters relating directly or indirectly to any of 
        the foregoing matters.
    (b) Permitting Reports To Be Made to House in Secret Session.--Any 
report to the House pursuant to this section may, in the Select 
Committee's discretion, be made under the provisions of rule XXIX of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 3. COMPOSITION; VACANCIES.

    (a) Composition.--The Select Committee shall be composed of 8 
Members of the House to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, one of whom he shall designate as Chairman. Service on 
the Select Committee shall not count against the limitations on 
committee service in clause 6(b)(2) of rule X.
    (b) Vacancies.--Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the 
Select Committee shall be filled in the same manner in which the 
original appointment was made.

SEC. 4. RULES APPLICABLE TO SELECT COMMITTEE.

    (a) Quorum.--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 and receive evidence.
    (b) Applicability of House Rules.--The Rules of the House of 
Representatives applicable to standing committees shall govern the 
Select Committee where not inconsistent with this resolution.
    (c) Rules of Select Committee.--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.

SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.

    No employee of the Select Committee or any person engaged by 
contract or otherwise to perform services for or at the request of such 
committee shall be given access to any classified information by such 
committee unless such employee or person has--
            (1) agreed in writing and under oath to be bound by the 
        rules of the House (including the jurisdiction of the Committee 
        on Standards of Official Conduct and of the Select Committee as 
        to the security of such information during and after the period 
        of his employment or contractual agreement with the Select 
        Committee); and
            (2) received an appropriate security clearance as 
        determined by the Select Committee in consultation with the 
        Director of Central Intelligence.
The type of security clearance to be required in the case of any such 
employee or person shall, within the determination of the Select 
Committee in consultation with the Director of Central Intelligence, be 
commensurate with the sensitivity of the classified information to 
which such employee or person will be given access by such committee.

SEC. 6. LIMITS ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.

    The Select Committee shall formulate and carry out such rules and 
procedures as it deems necessary to prevent the disclosure, without the 
consent of the person or persons concerned, of information in the 
possession of such committee which unduly infringes upon the privacy or 
which violates the constitutional rights of such person or persons. 
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent such committee from 
publicly disclosing any such information in any case in which such 
committee determines that national interest in the disclosure of such 
information clearly outweighs any infringement on the privacy of any 
person or persons.

SEC. 7. PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING INFORMATION.

    (a) The Select Committee may, subject to the provisions of this 
section, disclose publicly any information in the possession of such 
committee after a determination by such committee that the public 
interest would be served by such disclosure. Whenever committee action 
is required to disclose any information under this section, the 
committee shall meet to vote on the matter within five days after any 
member of the committee requests such a vote. No member of the Select 
Committee shall disclose any information, the disclosure of which 
requires a committee vote, prior to a vote by the committee on the 
question of the disclosure of such information or after such vote 
except in accordance with this section. In any case in which the Select 
Committee votes to disclose publicly any information, which has been 
classified under established security procedures, which has been 
submitted to it by the executive branch, and which the executive branch 
requests be kept secret, the Select Committee shall submit such 
classified information to the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence.
    (b)(1) As set forth in clause 7(b) of rule XLVIII, in any case in 
which the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence votes to disclose 
publicly any information submitted pursuant to subsection (a), which 
has been classified under established security procedures, which has 
been submitted to the Select Committee by the executive branch, and 
which the executive branch has requested be kept secret, the Permanent 
Select Committee on Intelligence shall notify the President of such 
vote.
    (2) The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence may disclose 
publicly such information after the expiration of a five-day period 
following the day on which notice of such vote is transmitted to the 
President, unless, prior to the expiration of such five-day period, the 
President, personally in writing, notifies the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence that he objects to the disclosure of such 
information, provides his reasons therefor, and certifies that the 
threat to the national interest of the United States posed by such 
disclosure is of such gravity that it outweighs any public interest in 
the disclosure.
    (3) If the President, personally, in writing, notifies the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of his objections to the 
disclosure of such information as provided in paragraph (2), the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence may, by majority vote, refer 
the question of this disclosure of such information with a 
recommendation thereon to the House for consideration. The 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence shall not publicly disclose 
such information without leave of the House.
    (4) Whenever the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence votes 
to refer the question of disclosure of any information to the House 
under paragraph (3), the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence shall, not later than the first day on which the House is 
in session following the day on which the vote occurs, report the 
matter to the House for its consideration.
    (5) If within four calendar days on which the House is in session, 
after such recommendation is reported, no motion has been made by the 
chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to consider, 
in closed session, the matter reported under paragraph (4), then such a 
motion will be deemed privileged and may be made by any Member. The 
motion under this paragraph shall not be subject to debate or 
amendment. When made, it shall be decided without intervening motion, 
except one motion to adjourn.
    (6) If the House adopts a motion to resolve into closed session, 
the Speaker shall then be authorized to declare a recess subject to the 
call of the Chair. At the expiration of such recess, the pending 
question, in closed session, shall be, ``Shall the House approve the 
recommendation of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence?''
    (7) After not more than two hours of debate on the motion, such 
debate to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, or 
their designees, the previous question shall be considered as ordered 
and the House, without intervening motion except one motion to adjourn, 
shall immediately vote on the question, in open session but without 
divulging the information with respect to which the vote is being 
taken. If the recommendation of the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence is not agreed to, the question shall be deemed recommitted 
to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for further 
recommendation.
    (c)(1) No information in the possession of the Select Committee 
relating to the lawful intelligence or intelligence-related activities 
of any department or agency of the United States which has been 
classified under established security procedures and which the Select 
Committee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, or the House 
pursuant to this section, has determined should not be disclosed shall 
be made available to any person by a Member, officer, or employee of 
the House except as provided in paragraph (2).
    (2) The Select Committee shall, under such regulations as the 
committee shall prescribe, make any information described in paragraph 
(1) available to any other committee or any other Member of the House 
and permit any other Member of the House to attend any hearing of the 
committee which is closed to the public. Whenever the Select Committee 
makes such information available (other than to the Speaker), the 
committee shall keep a written record showing, in the case of any 
particular information, which committee or which Members of the House 
received such information. No Member of the House who, and no committee 
which, receives any information under this paragraph, shall disclose 
such information except in a closed session of the House.
    (d) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 
investigate any unauthorized disclosure of intelligence or 
intelligence-related information by a Member, officer, or employee of 
the House in violation of subsection (c) and report to the House 
concerning any allegation which it finds to be substantiated.
    (e) Upon the request of any person who is subject to any such 
investigation, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 
release to such individual at the conclusion of its investigation a 
summary of its investigation, together with its findings. If, at the 
conclusion of its investigation, the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct determines that there has been a significant breach of 
confidentiality or unauthorized disclosure by a Member, officer, or 
employee of the House, it shall report its findings to the House and 
recommend appropriate action such as censure, removal from committee 
membership, or expulsion from the House, in the case of a Member, or 
removal from office or employment or punishment for contempt, in the 
case of an officer or employee.

SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF INFORMATION TO SELECT COMMITTEE.

    Any committee of the House of Representatives having custody of 
records, data, charts, and files concerning subjects within the 
jurisdiction of the Select Committee shall furnish the originals or 
copies of such materials to the Select Committee. In the case of the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, such materials shall be 
made available pursuant to clause 7(c)(2) of rule XLVIII.

SEC. 9. INFORMATION GATHERING.

    (a) In General.--The Select Committee is authorized to require, by 
subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such witnesses, 
the furnishing of such information by interrogatory, and the production 
of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, 
calendars, recordings, electronic communications, 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.
    (b) Subpoenas, Depositions and Interrogatories.--Unless otherwise 
determined by the Select Committee, the Chairman, upon consultation 
with the ranking minority member, or the Select Committee may--
            (1) authorize and issue subpoenas;
            (2) order the taking of depositions, interrogatories, or 
        affidavits under oath or otherwise; and
            (3) designate a member or staff of the Select Committee to 
        conduct any deposition.
    (c) International Authorities.--Unless otherwise determined by the 
Select Committee, the Chairman of the Select Committee, upon 
consultation with the ranking minority member of the Select Committee, 
or the Select Committee may--
            (1) order the taking of depositions and other testimony, 
        under oath or otherwise, anywhere outside the United States; 
        and
            (2) make application for issuance of letters rogatory, and 
        request through appropriate channels, other means of 
        international assistance, as appropriate.
    (d) Handling of Information.--Information obtained under the 
authority of this section shall be--
            (1) considered as taken by the Select Committee in the 
        District of Columbia, as well as the location actually taken; 
        and
            (2) considered to be taken in executive session.

SEC. 10. TAX RETURNS.

    Pursuant to sections 6103(f)(3) and 6104(a)(2) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, for the purpose of investigating the subjects set 
forth in this resolution and since information necessary for this 
investigation cannot reasonably be obtained from any other source, the 
Select Committee shall be specially authorized to inspect and receive 
for the tax years 1991 through 1998 any tax return, return information, 
or other tax-related material, held by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
related to individuals and entities named by the Select Committee as 
possible participants, beneficiaries, or intermediaries in the 
transactions under investigation. As specified by section 6103(f)(3) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, such materials and information shall 
be furnished in closed executive session.

SEC. 11. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE.

    The Select Committee shall provide other committees and Members of 
the House with access to information and proceedings, consistent with 
clause 7(c)(2) of rule XLVIII, except that 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, or employee of the House 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 and recommend appropriate 
sanctions for the Member, officer, employee, or other covered person 
consistent with clause 7(e) of rule XLVIII and any committee 
restriction, including nondisclosure agreements. The Select Committee 
shall, as appropriate, provide access to information and proceedings to 
the Speaker and the minority leader and their appropriately cleared and 
designated staff.

SEC. 12. COOPERATION OF OTHER ENTITIES.

    (a) Cooperation of Other Committees.--The Select Committee may 
submit to any standing committee specific matters within its 
jurisdiction and may request that such committees pursue such matters 
further.
    (b) Cooperation of Other Federal Entities.--The Chairman of the 
Select Committee, upon consultation with the ranking minority member, 
or the Select Committee may request investigations, reports, and other 
assistance from any agency of the executive, legislative, and judicial 
branches of the Federal Government.

SEC. 13. ACCESS AND RESPONSE TO JUDICIAL PROCESS.

    In addition to any applications to court in response to judicial 
process that may be made in behalf of the House by its counsel, 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.

SEC. 14. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

    (a) Personnel.--The Chairman, upon consultation with the ranking 
minority member, may employ and fix the compensation of such clerks, 
experts, consultants, technicians, attorneys, investigators, clerical 
and stenographic assistants, and other appropriate staff as the 
Chairman considers necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
resolution. Detailees from the executive branch or staff of the House 
or a joint committee, upon the request of the Chairman of the Select 
Committee, upon consultation with the ranking minority member, shall be 
deemed staff of the Select Committee to the extent necessary to carry 
out the purposes of this resolution.
    (b) Payment of Expenses.--(1) 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.
    (2) Not more than $2,500,000 are authorized for expenses of the 
Select Committee for investigations and studies, including for the 
procurement of the services of individual consultants or organizations 
thereof, and for training of staff, to be paid out of the applicable 
accounts of the House of Representatives upon vouchers signed by the 
Chairman and approved in the manner directed by the Committee on House 
Oversight.

SEC. 15. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS TO SELECT COMMITTEE.

    The Select Committee shall be deemed a committee of the House for 
all purposes of the rules of the House of Representatives and shall be 
deemed a committee for all purposes of law, including, but not limited 
to, section 202(f) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 
U.S.C. 72a(f)), sections 102 and 104 of the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C. 
192 and 194), sections 1001, 1505, 1621, 6002, and 6005 of title 18, 
United States Code, section 502(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the Mutual Security Act 
of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)(1)(B)(ii)), and section 734 of title 31, 
United States Code.

SEC. 16. DISPOSITION OF RECORDS.

    At the conclusion of the existence of the Select Committee, all 
records of the Select Committee shall be transferred to other 
committees, or stored by the Clerk of the House, as directed by the 
Select Committee, consistent with applicable rules and law concerning 
classified information.
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