[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3732 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3732
To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States and title 28, United
States Code, to enhance compliance with requests for information
pursuant to legislative power under Article I of the Constitution, and
for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 12, 2019
Ms. Dean introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
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A BILL
To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States and title 28, United
States Code, to enhance compliance with requests for information
pursuant to legislative power under Article I of the Constitution, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Congressional Subpoena Compliance
and Enforcement Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 1365 the following:
``Sec. 1365a. Congressional actions against subpoena recipients
``(a) Special Rules.--In any civil action brought by the United
States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, or a
committee or subcommittee thereof, against the recipient of a subpoena
to secure declaratory, injunctive, or other relief as may be
appropriate concerning the failure to comply with a subpoena issued by
a congressional committee or subcommittee, the following rules shall
apply:
``(1) The action shall be filed in a United States district
court of competent jurisdiction.
``(2) It shall be the duty of the United States district
courts, the United States courts of appeal, and the Supreme
Court of the United States to advance on the docket and to
expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any
such action and appeal.
``(3) If a three-judge court is expressly requested by the
plaintiff in the initial pleading, the action shall be heard by
a three-judge court convened pursuant to section 2284 of title
28, United States Code, and shall be reviewable only by appeal
directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. Such appeal
shall be taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10
days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement within 30
days, of the entry of the final decision.
``(b) Monetary Penalties in Cases Involving Government Agencies.--
``(1) The court may impose monetary penalties directly
against the head of a Government agency or a component thereof
held to have willfully failed to comply with any part of a
congressional subpoena.
``(2) No appropriated funds, funds provided from any
accounts in the Treasury, funds derived from the collection of
fees, or other Government funds shall be used to pay any
monetary penalty imposed by the court pursuant to this section.
``(c) Waiver of Privilege.--Any assertion of a privilege or other
ground for noncompliance (whether statutory, common law, or otherwise)
asserted by the recipient of a congressional subpoena may be determined
to have been waived as to any particular record withheld from
production if the court finds that the recipient failed in a timely
manner to comply with the requirement of section 105 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States that it produce a privilege log with
respect to such record.
``(d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
`Government agency' means an executive department listed in section 101
of title 5, United States Code, an independent establishment,
commission, board, bureau, division, or office in the executive branch,
or other agency of the Federal Government, including wholly or partly
owned Government corporations.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 85 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 1365 the following:
``1365a. Congressional actions against subpoena recipients.''.
SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title II of the Revised Statutes of
the United States (2 U.S.C. 191 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``SEC. 105. RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS.
``(a) Subpoena by Congressional Committee.--Any recipient of any
subpoena from a congressional committee or subcommittee shall appear
and testify or produce records in a manner consistent with the subpoena
and this section.
``(b) Congressional Subpoenas for Records.--
``(1) Identification of records withheld.--In the case of a
record that is withheld, in whole or in part, by the subpoena
recipient, the subpoena recipient shall provide a log
containing the following information concerning such record:
``(A) An express assertion and description of the
legal basis asserted for withholding the record.
``(B) The type of record.
``(C) The general subject matter.
``(D) The date, author, and addressee.
``(E) The relationship of the author and addressee
to each other.
``(F) The custodian of the record.
``(G) Any other descriptive information that may be
produced or disclosed regarding the record that will
enable the congressional committee or subcommittee
issuing the subpoena to assess the legal basis asserted
for withholding the record.
``(2) Missing records.--In the case of any record
responsive to the subpoena submitted under paragraph (1) that
was, but no longer is, in the possession, custody, or control
of the subpoena recipient, the subpoena recipient shall
identify the record (including the date, author, subject, and
each recipient of the record) and explain the circumstances
under which the record ceased to be in the possession, custody,
or control of the subpoena recipient.
``(3) Electronic records.--Electronic records shall be
produced pursuant to this subsection in their native or
original file format. Electronic records shall be delivered on
a storage device (such as compact disk, memory stick, or thumb
drive) and, to the extent feasible, shall be organized,
identified, and indexed electronically and shall include an
index describing the contents of the production.
``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section the term `record'
includes any books, papers, documents, data, or other objects requested
in a subpoena issued by a congressional committee or subcommittee.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 7 of
title II of the Revised Statutes of the United States is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``105. Response to congressional subpoenas.''.
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to diminish Congress'
inherent authority or previously established methods and practices for
enforcing compliance with congressional subpoenas, nor shall anything
in this Act be interpreted to establish Congress' acceptance of any
asserted privilege or other legal basis for noncompliance with a
congressional subpoena.
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