[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 690 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 690

Creating a select committee to investigate 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 photographs and on video at Abu Ghraib prison.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2004

   Mr. Waxman (for himself, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
 Clyburn, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Obey, Mr. Rangel, 
Mr. Hinchey, and Mr. Spratt) submitted the following resolution; which 
                 was referred to the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Creating a select committee to investigate 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 photographs and on video at Abu Ghraib prison.

    Resolved, That (a) until otherwise provided by law there is hereby 
created the Select Committee to Investigate Detainee Abuses 
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Select Committee''), to be composed 
of 14 Members of the 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 photographs 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 Defense, 
        Department of State, Department of Justice, Central 
        Intelligence Agency, National Security Council, or White House 
        policies, procedures, or decisions facilitated the detainee 
        abuses.
            (C) What policies, procedures, or mechanisms failed to 
        prevent the abuses at Abu Ghraib.
            (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 Detention 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 techniques used 
        at Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities in Iraq.
            (G) The Defense Intelligence Agency and the Central 
        Intelligence Agency.
            (H) The integration of military police and military 
        intelligence operations to coordinate detainee interrogation.
            (I) The roles and actions of private civilian contractors 
        in the abuses at Abu Ghraib and whether they violated the 
        Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction 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 uncovered these abuses.
            (L) The extent to which the United States complied 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 number, but not less than two, as a quorum for the 
purpose 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 inconsistent with this resolution or the rules of the House. Such 
rules may govern the conduct of the depositions, interviews, 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 
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 classified, 
data, evidence, information, report, analysis, document, or paper in 
the custody or control of any department, agency, officer or employee 
of the executive 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 
Government 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 investigation. Unless otherwise 
determined by the Select Committee, the chairman or vice chairman of 
the select committee, 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 Members 
of the Select Committee in open session.
    (2) Such subpoenas may be used to obtain any materials (including 
but not limited to any books, checks, canceled checks, correspondence, 
communications, documents, papers, physical evidence, records, 
recordings, photographs, video tapes or computer discs) the Select 
Committee deems relevant to its investigation from any department, 
agency, officer or employee of the executive branch of the Government, 
or any private person, firm, or corporation.
    (3) 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 grant immunity to witnesses in 
exchange for testimony or depositions it deems necessary for its 
investigation in accordance with the rules of the House.
    (e) 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 Select 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.
    (f) The chairman (upon consultation with the vice chairman) may (1) 
appoint and fix the compensation of any staff that the chairman 
considers necessary and fix the compensation of such staff at per annum 
gross rates that do not exceed the highest rate of basic pay, as in 
effect from time to time, of level IV of the Executive Schedule in 
section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, and (2) terminate the 
employment of any such staff as the chairman considers appropriate. The 
Select Committee may reimburse the members of its staff for travel, 
subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the 
performance of their functions for the Select Committee, other than 
expenses in connection with any meeting of the Select Committee held in 
the District of Columbia. Staff of the House, 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.
    (g) The Select Committee may procure the temporary or intermittent 
services of experts and consultants in accordance with sections 3109(b) 
of title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily 
equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay for GS-15 of the 
General Schedule.
    (h) Unless otherwise determined by the Select Committee, the 
chairman (upon consultation with the Vice Chairman) or the Select 
Committee may authorize the taking of affidavits and of 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 Select Committee for 
its use. Unless otherwise directed 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 
directed by the Select 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, 
consistent with rule VIII of the Rules of the House.
    (j) The Select Committee shall provide other committees and Members 
of the House with access to information and proceedings, consistent 
with clause 11(g)(3) of rule X of the Rules of the House, 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 vice chairman, 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 11(g)(5) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House and any committee restriction, including 
nondisclosure agreements.
    (k) There shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of the House 
such sums as may be necessary for the expenses of the Select Committee. 
Such payments shall be made on vouchers signed by the chairman of the 
Select Committee and approved in the manner directed by the Committee 
on House Administration. Amounts made available under this subsection 
shall be expended in accordance 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 report, the Select Committee may 
submit such interim reports 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 jurisdiction 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 facilities of the intelligence community pursuant to 
agreement retaining control of access by the House.
    (5) If any equipment is purchased by the Select Committee, then 
upon its dissolution, the Chief Administrative Officer shall make such 
equipment available to Members, Committees, or other entities of the 
House, under the direction of the Committee on House Administration.
    (m) It is the sense of the House that, if the committee 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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