[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 24 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 24

  Establishing a Joint Committee on Russian Interference in the 2016 
               Election and the Presidential Transition.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2017

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Establishing a Joint Committee on Russian Interference in the 2016 
               Election and the Presidential Transition.

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT.

    There is hereby established in Congress a Joint Committee on 
Russian Interference in the 2016 Election and the Presidential 
Transition (hereafter in this resolution referred to as the ``Joint 
Committee'').

SEC. 2. COMPOSITION.

    (a) In General.--The Joint Committee shall consist of 16 Members 
appointed as follows:
            (1) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 
        appoint 8 Members of the House to serve on the Joint Committee, 
        of whom--
                    (A) 4 shall be Members of the majority party of the 
                House; and
                    (B) 4 shall be Members of the minority party of the 
                House appointed after consultation with the Minority 
                Leader of the House.
            (2) The Majority Leader of the Senate shall appoint 8 
        Senators to serve on the Joint Committee, of whom--
                    (A) 4 shall be Senators of the majority party of 
                the Senate; and
                    (B) 4 shall be Senators of the minority party of 
                the Senate appointed after consultation with the 
                Minority Leader of the Senate.
    (b) Leadership.--
            (1) Co-chairs.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
        shall designate one Member of the Joint Committee who is a 
        Member of the House to serve as one of the co-chairs of the 
        Joint Committee, and the Majority Leader of the Senate shall 
        designate one Member of the Joint Committee who is a Senator to 
        serve as the other co-chair of the Joint Committee.
            (2) Co-vice chairs.--The Minority Leader of the House of 
        Representatives shall designate one Member of the Joint 
        Committee who is a Member of the House to serve as one of the 
        co-vice chairs of the Joint Committee, and the Minority Leader 
        of the Senate shall designate one Member of the Joint Committee 
        who is a Senator to serve as the other co-vice chair of the 
        Joint Committee.
    (c) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Joint Committee shall not affect 
the power of the remaining Members to execute the functions of the 
Joint Committee, and shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
selection.

SEC. 3. DUTIES.

    (a) Study and Review.--The Joint Committee shall conduct a full 
study and review of the following issues:
            (1) Attempts to influence elections for Federal office held 
        in 2016 elections including, but not limited to, the general 
        and primary elections for the office of President and the 
        general and primary elections for the office of Representative 
        in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, as 
        described in the October 7, 2016, Joint Statement from the 
        Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of 
        National Intelligence on Election Security.
            (2) Related attempts to undermine trust in United States 
        electoral processes.
            (3) The attribution of such attempts.
            (4) All policies, decisions, and activities taken by the 
        executive branch to respond to such attempts.
            (5) Cybersecurity breaches tied to attempts to influence 
        election outcomes or faith in the electoral system.
            (6) Additional cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities 
        that may contribute to future information warfare operations 
        against the United States.
            (7) Recommendations for improving resilience against future 
        information warfare operations.
            (8) Recommendations for improving the cybersecurity of 
        electoral functions.
            (9) Contacts between foreign nationals and candidates 
        running in the 2016 elections (or their campaign staff) which 
        occurred during the campaign for those elections.
            (10) Contacts between foreign nationals and officials who 
        were elected to office in the 2016 elections (or their staff) 
        which occurred after the election but before such officials 
        took office.
            (11) Any other relevant issues relating to the election 
        influence operations, response to such operations, or the 
        investigation by Congress into such operations.
    (b) Report of Findings and Recommendations.--
            (1) Final report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the adoption of this resolution, the Joint Committee shall 
        submit to Congress a final report on the investigation and 
        study conducted under subsection (a) and its findings and 
        recommendations relating to the issues described in such 
        subsection.
            (2) Standard for findings and recommendations.--The Joint 
        Committee may not make any finding or recommendation for 
        purposes of paragraph (1) except upon the majority vote of the 
        Members from each House, respectively.
            (3) Interim reports.--In addition to the final report 
        submitted under paragraph (1), the Joint Committee may submit 
        to Congress interim reports on the investigation and study 
        conducted under subsection (a) prior to the submission of such 
        final report.
            (4) Classified annex.--Any report submitted under this 
        subsection shall be issued in unclassified form but may include 
        a classified annex.

SEC. 4. RULES AND PROCEDURES.

    In carrying out its duties under this resolution, the Joint 
Committee is authorized to--
            (1) hold such hearings, to sit and act at such places and 
        times within the United States during the sessions, recesses, 
        and adjourned periods of Congress;
            (2) require the attendance of such witnesses and the 
        production of such books, papers, and documents, administer 
        such oaths, take such testimony, procure such printing and 
        binding as it deems necessary; and
            (3) make such rules respecting its organization and 
        procedures as it deems necessary.

SEC. 5. STAFF; FUNDING.

    (a) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The co-chairs of the Joint Committee, upon 
        consultation with the co-vice chairs of the Joint Committee, 
        may employ and fix the compensation of such staff as the co-
        chairs consider necessary to carry out this resolution.
            (2) Detail of house and senate employees.--Upon the request 
        of the Joint Committee, the head of any office of the House of 
        Representatives or Senate is authorized to detail, without 
        reimbursement, any of the personnel of such office to the Joint 
        Committee to assist the Joint Committee in carrying out its 
        duties.
    (b) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
may be necessary to carry out this resolution, of which--
            (1) 50 percent shall be paid out of the applicable accounts 
        of the House of Representatives, to be paid on vouchers signed 
        by the co-chair or co-vice chair of the Joint Committee who is 
        a Member of the House of Representatives, and approved in the 
        manner directed by the Committee on House Administration of the 
        House of Representatives; and
            (2) 50 percent shall be paid out of the contingent fund of 
        the Senate, to be paid on vouchers signed by the co-chair or 
        co-vice chair of the Joint Committee who is a Senator, and 
        approved in the manner directed by the Committee on Rules and 
        Administration of the Senate.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

    The Joint Committee shall terminate upon the expiration of the 30-
day period which begins on the date the Joint Committee submits its 
final report under section 3(b)(1).
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