[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 62 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 62
To provide for the establishment of an independent, Presidentially-
appointed Commission to assess the circumstances related to the damage
caused by Hurricane Katrina on or between Friday, August 26, 2005, and
Tuesday, August 30, 2005.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009
Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of an independent, Presidentially-
appointed Commission to assess the circumstances related to the damage
caused by Hurricane Katrina on or between Friday, August 26, 2005, and
Tuesday, August 30, 2005.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Hurricane Katrina Disaster Inquiry
Commission Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ``Commission'' means the
Commission established under this Act.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall establish an independent,
nonpartisan Commission within the executive branch to discover and
assess the circumstances related to the damage caused by Hurricane
Katrina on or between Friday, August 26, 2005, and Tuesday, August 30,
2005.
(b) Deadline for Establishment.--The President shall issue an
executive order establishing a Commission within 30 days after the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.
(a) Number of Commissioners.--The Commission shall consist of 15
members.
(b) Selection.--The members of the Commission shall be chosen in
the following manner:
(1) The President of the United States Conference of Mayors
shall be a member of the Commission.
(2) The President shall appoint the remaining 14 members,
and shall designate the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the
Commission from among its members.
(3) Five of the 14 members appointed by the President shall
be selected by the President in the following manner:
(A) The majority leader of the Senate, the minority
leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, and the President of the collective-
bargaining organization including the largest number of
emergency medical responders, shall each provide to the
President a list of candidates for membership on the
Commission.
(B) The President shall select one of the
candidates from each of the 5 lists for membership on
the Commission.
(4)(A) No officer or employee of the Federal Government
shall serve as a member of the Commission.
(B) No member of the Commission shall have, or have
pending, a contractual relationship with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
(C) The President may waive the prohibitions in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) with respect to the selection of not
more than 2 members of the Commission.
(5) The President shall not appoint any individual as a
member of the Commission who has a current or former
relationship with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that
the President determines would constitute a conflict of
interest.
(6) To the extent practicable, the President shall ensure
that the members of the Commission include some individuals
with experience relative to local government administration, as
well as some individuals with investigative experience and some
individuals with legal experience.
(7) To the extent practicable, the President shall seek
diversity in the membership of the Commission.
(c) Deadline for Appointment.--All members of the Commission shall
be appointed no later than 60 days after issuance of the executive
order establishing the Commission.
(d) Initial Meeting.--The Commission shall meet and begin
operations as soon as practicable.
(e) Quorum; Vacancies.--After its initial meeting, the Commission
shall meet upon the call of the Chairman or a majority of its members.
Eight members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy
in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in
the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
SEC. 5. TASKS OF THE COMMISSION.
The Commission shall, to the extent possible, undertake the
following tasks:
(1) Chronicle the trajectory of Hurricane Katrina,
including the timetable and locations of its path, and the
responses made by the Federal, State, and local governments.
(2) Issue a statement of an estimate as to the loss of
life, physical and structural damage, and displacement of
residents as a result of the disaster.
(3) Make recommendations for corrective actions.
(4) Provide any additional findings or recommendations
considered by the Commission to be important, whether or not
they are related to emergency disaster management.
(5) Prepare a report to Congress, the President, and the
public.
SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.
(a) In General.--
(1) Hearings and evidence.--The Commission or, on the
authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or member
thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act--
(A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such
times and places, take such testimony, receive such
evidence, administer such oaths; and
(B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, by
subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of
such witnesses and the production of such books,
records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and
documents,
as the Commission or such designated subcommittee or designated
member may determine advisable.
(2) Subpoenas.--
(A) Issuance.--
(i) In general.--A subpoena may be issued
under this subsection only--
(I) by the agreement of the
Chairman and the Vice Chairman; or
(II) by the affirmative vote of 8
members of the Commission.
(ii) Signature.--Subject to clause (i),
subpoenas issued under this subsection may be
issued under the signature of the Chairman or
any member designated by a majority of the
Commission, and may be served by any person
designated by the Chairman or by a member
designated by a majority of the Commission.
(B) Enforcement.--
(i) In general.--In the case of contumacy
or failure to obey a subpoena issued under
subparagraph (A), the United States district
court for the judicial district in which the
subpoenaed person resides, is served, or may be
found, or where the subpoena is returnable, may
issue an order requiring such person to appear
at any designated place to testify or to
produce documentary or other evidence. Any
failure to obey the order of the court may be
punished by the court as a contempt of that
court.
(ii) Additional enforcement.--In the case
of a failure of a witness to comply with a
subpoena or to testify when summoned under
authority of this section, the Commission may,
by majority vote, certify a statement of fact
constituting such failure to the appropriate
United States attorney, who may bring the
matter before a grand jury for its action,
under the same statutory authority and
procedures as if the United States attorney had
received a certification under sections 102
through 104 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 194).
(b) Contracting.--The Commission may, to such extent and in such
amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to
enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this Act.
(c) Information From Federal Agencies.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may secure directly from
any executive department, bureau, agency, board, commission,
office, independent establishment, or instrumentality of the
Government, information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics
for the purposes of this Act. Each department, bureau, agency,
board, commission, office, independent establishment, or
instrumentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, furnish
such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics
directly to the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman,
the chairman of any subcommittee created by a majority of the
Commission, or any member designated by a majority of the
Commission.
(2) Receipt, handling, storage, and dissemination.--
Information shall be received, handled, stored, and
disseminated by members of the Commission and its staff
consistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, and
Executive orders.
(d) Assistance From Federal Agencies.--
(1) General services administration.--The Administrator of
General Services shall provide to the Commission on a
reimbursable basis administrative support and other services
for the performance of the Commission's tasks.
(2) Other departments and agencies.--In addition to the
assistance prescribed in paragraph (1), departments and
agencies of the United States may provide to the Commission
such services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support
services as they may determine advisable and as may be
authorized by law.
(e) Postal Services.--The Commission may use the United States
mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as departments
and agencies of the United States.
SEC. 7. PUBLIC MEETINGS, INFORMATION, AND HEARINGS.
(a) Public Meetings and Release of Public Versions of Reports.--The
Commission shall--
(1) hold public hearings and meetings to the extent
appropriate; and
(2) release public versions of the reports required under
this Act.
(b) Public Hearings.--Any public hearings of the Commission shall
be conducted in a manner consistent with the protection of information
provided to or developed for or by the Commission as required by any
applicable statute, regulation, or Executive order.
SEC. 8. STAFF OF COMMISSION.
(a) In General.--
(1) Appointment and compensation.--The Chairman, in
consultation with Vice Chairman, in accordance with rules
agreed upon by the Commission, may appoint and fix the
compensation of a staff director and such other personnel as
may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its
functions, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,
and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to
classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no
rate of pay fixed under this paragraph may exceed the
equivalent of that payable for a position at level V of the
Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States
Code. Employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
shall not be appointed to the staff of the Commission.
(2) Personnel as federal employees.--
(A) In general.--The executive director and any
personnel of the Commission shall be considered
employees under section 2105 of title 5, United States
Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87,
89, and 90 of that title.
(B) Members of commission.--Subparagraph (A) does
not apply to members of the Commission.
(b) Detailees.--Any Federal Government employee, except for an
employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, may be detailed to
the Commission without reimbursement from the Commission, and such
detailee shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of his or her
regular employment without interruption.
(c) Consultant Services.--The Commission may procure the services
of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5,
United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a
person occupying a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under
section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 9. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.
(a) Compensation.--Each member of the Commission may be compensated
at not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay
in effect for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under
section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which
that member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of the
Commission.
(b) Travel Expenses.--While away from their homes or regular places
of business in the performance of services for the Commission, members
of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem
in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed
intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses under
section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 10. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF.
The appropriate Federal agencies or departments shall cooperate
with the Commission in expeditiously providing to the Commission
members and staff appropriate security clearances to the extent
possible pursuant to existing procedures and requirements. No person
shall be provided with access to classified information under this Act
without the appropriate security clearances.
SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND TERMINATION.
(a) Interim Reports.--The Commission may submit to the President
and Congress interim reports containing such findings, conclusions, and
recommendations for corrective actions as have been agreed to by a
majority of Commission members.
(b) Final Report.--The Commission shall submit to the President and
Congress, and make concurrently available to the public, a final report
containing such findings, conclusions, and recommendations for
corrective actions as have been agreed to by a majority of Commission
members. Such report shall include any minority views or opinions not
reflected in the majority report.
(c) Termination.--
(1) In general.--The Commission, and all the authorities of
this Act with respect to the Commission, shall terminate 60
days after the date on which the final report is submitted
under subsection (b).
(2) Administrative activities before termination.--The
Commission may use the 60-day period referred to in paragraph
(1) for the purpose of concluding its activities, including
providing testimony to committees of Congress concerning its
reports and disseminating the final report.
SEC. 12. FUNDING.
Such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act are authorized to
be appropriated. Sums authorized by this Act shall remain available
until the termination of the Commission.
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