[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4169 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4169

 To establish a National Commission on United States Counterterrorism 
                    Policy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 2, 2020

  Mr. Peters introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a National Commission on United States Counterterrorism 
                    Policy, 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 ``National Commission on United States 
Counterterrorism Policy Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON UNITED STATES COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an independent commission 
within the legislative branch to be known as the ``National Commission 
on United States Counterterrorism Policy'' (in this section referred to 
as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Purpose.--The Commission shall--
            (1) review United States counterterrorism objectives, 
        priorities, capabilities, policies, programs, and activities; 
        and
            (2) assess how to adapt and prioritize such policies, 
        programs, and activities to ensure such policies, programs, and 
        activities--
                    (A) employ an appropriate mix of available 
                instruments of national power;
                    (B) comply with the rule of law and respect for 
                civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights;
                    (C) appropriately focus on existing and emerging 
                terrorism risks; and
                    (D) are appropriately balanced relative to the 
                pursuit of other United States interests in an era when 
                the United States faces a diverse range of threats from 
                domestic and international terrorism, a dynamic number 
                of political, economic, and military competitions 
                around the world, and challenges within the United 
                States.
    (c) Study Areas.--In carrying out subsection (b), the Commission 
shall study the following:
            (1) The evolution of threats to the United States since 
        September 11, 2001, from international and domestic terrorism, 
        including an assessment of potential connections between such 
        threats, and the risks such threats pose relative to other 
        threats to the United States and United States national 
        interests.
            (2) Major lessons learned from United States 
        counterterrorism objectives, priorities, capabilities, 
        policies, programs and activities since September 11, 2001, and 
        the relevance of such lessons for ongoing and future 
        counterterrorism objectives, priorities, policies, programs, 
        and activities.
            (3) Ongoing United States counterterrorism objectives, 
        priorities, capabilities, policies, programs, and activities, 
        including an assessment of the following:
                    (A) Any tradeoffs that exist between such 
                objectives, priorities, capabilities, policies, 
                programs, and activities.
                    (B) The integration, programmatically and 
                organizationally, of such objectives, priorities, 
                capabilities, policies, programs, and activities into 
                wider United States foreign and domestic policy.
                    (C) The instruments used to advance 
                counterterrorism objectives and the identification of 
                new or modified instruments, if appropriate.
                    (D) Any impacts on civil rights and civil liberties 
                in the United States and internationally recognized 
                human rights abroad.
                    (E) Any impacts on the counterterrorism policies of 
                partner countries.
                    (F) Congressional oversight of such objectives, 
                priorities, capabilities, policies, programs, and 
                activities.
                    (G) Whether counterterrorism resources are 
                appropriately balanced across the range of terrorist 
                threats facing the United States and across the range 
                of counterterrorism programs and activities conducted 
                by the United States Government.
            (4) The legal and policy frameworks for counterterrorism 
        programs and activities in the United States and abroad, 
        including adherence to such frameworks.
            (5) The tradeoffs the United States may face as it seeks to 
        balance counterterrorism objectives and priorities with a 
        growing number of political, economic, and military 
        competitions around the world and challenges at home, and how 
        to mitigate any risks such tradeoffs might pose.
            (6) Potential new or emerging challenges of conducting 
        counterterrorism operations in contested environments, where 
        strategic state competitors such as Russia, China, or Iran 
        operate.
            (7) The state of United States counterterrorism 
        partnerships, including the willingness, capacity, and 
        capability of United States counterterrorism partners to combat 
        shared threats.
            (8) The policies and operations of private entities, 
        including the defense industry and technology and media 
        entities, that have implications for domestic terrorism and 
        international terrorism, including implications of involvement 
        of private entities in United States counterterrorism policies, 
        programs, and activities.
            (9) The effects of United States counterterrorism 
        objectives, priorities, capabilities, policies, programs, and 
        activities on threats from domestic terrorism and international 
        terrorism.
            (10) Ongoing efforts by the executive branch to measure the 
        effectiveness of counterterrorism policies, programs, and 
        activities through net assessments and evaluations of lessons 
        learned, including an assessment of efforts to address factors 
        that contribute to terrorist recruitment and radicalization.
            (11) Recommendations on how best to adapt United States 
        counterterrorism objectives, priorities, capabilities, 
        policies, programs, and activities to address existing and 
        emerging terrorism risks on the basis of the areas of study 
        specified in this subsection and any other findings the 
        Commission determines relevant.
    (d) Composition.--
            (1) Members.--The Commission shall be composed of 14 
        commissioners, to be appointed as follows:
                    (A) One commissioner appointed by the Chairman, 
                with the concurrence of the ranking member, of each of 
                the appropriate congressional committees.
                    (B) A Chairperson, appointed by the Speaker of the 
                House of Representatives, with the concurrence of the 
                minority leader of the House of Representatives.
                    (C) A Vice-Chairperson, appointed by the majority 
                leader of the Senate, with the concurrence of the 
                minority leader of the Senate.
            (2) Qualifications.--Individuals appointed to the 
        Commission shall be United States persons with relevant 
        counterterrorism expertise and experience in diplomacy, law 
        enforcement, the Armed Forces, law, public administration, the 
        legislative branch, intelligence, academia, human rights, civil 
        rights, or civil liberties. The leadership of the Senate and 
        the House of Representatives shall coordinate with the 
        appropriate congressional committees to ensure that Commission 
        membership represents a variety of expertise in such fields. At 
        least 1 of the commissioners shall, in addition to relevant 
        counterterrorism expertise, possess a civil rights or civil 
        liberties background and 1 of the commissioners shall, in 
        addition to relevant counterterrorism expertise, possess an 
        international human rights background.
            (3) Prohibitions.--An individual appointed to the 
        Commission may not be--
                    (A) a Member of Congress, including a Delegate or 
                Resident Commissioner;
                    (B) an officer or employee of any branch of the 
                Federal Government;
                    (C) an employee or official of any State, 
                territory, county, or municipality in the United 
                States; or
                    (D) a registered lobbyist.
            (4) Conflicts of interest.--An individual appointed to the 
        Commission shall disclose any financial gains from private 
        sector employment conducted in support of United States 
        counterterrorism policies, programs, or activities at any time 
        since September 11, 2001.
            (5) Deadline for appointment of commissioners.--Individuals 
        appointed to the Commission shall be appointed not later than 
        30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (6) Period of appointment.--Each commissioner and the 
        Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be appointed for the 
        life of the Commission.
            (7) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Commission shall not 
        affect its powers and duties and shall be filled in the same 
        manner as the original appointment within 30 days of such 
        vacancy occurring.
            (8) Compensation.--Commissioners and the Chairperson and 
        Vice-Chairperson shall serve without pay.
            (9) Travel expenses.--Commissioners and the Chairperson and 
        Vice-Chairperson shall receive travel expenses, including per 
        diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 
        and 5703 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their 
        homes or regular places of business in performance of services 
        for the Commission.
    (e) Meetings.--
            (1) Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        appointment of two-thirds of the members of the Commission, 
        including the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson, the Commission 
        shall hold an initial meeting to develop and implement a 
        schedule for completion of the review and assessment under 
        subsection (b) of the areas of study specified in subsection 
        (c) and the report required under subsection (m)(2).
            (2) Subsequent meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the 
        call of the Chairperson or a majority of commissioners.
            (3) Quorum.--Eight members shall constitute a quorum and 
        members shall have the option to vote by proxy.
    (f) Consultation.--In conducting the review, assessment, and study 
required under this section, the Commission shall consult with relevant 
experts in the Federal Government (including relevant Members of 
Congress and congressional staff), academia, law, civil society, and 
the private sector.
    (g) Powers of the Commission.--
            (1) Hearings and evidence.--For the purposes of carrying 
        out this section, the Commission may--
                    (A) hold classified or unclassified hearings, take 
                testimony, receive evidence, and administer oaths; and
                    (B) subject to paragraph (3), require, by subpoena 
                authorized by majority vote of the Commission and 
                issued under the signature of the Chairperson or any 
                member designated by a majority of the Commission, the 
                attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the 
                production of such books, records, correspondence, 
                memoranda, papers, and documents, as the Commission may 
                determine advisable.
            (2) Notification of committees.--If the Commission is 
        unable to obtain testimony or documents needed to conduct its 
        work, the Commission shall notify the appropriate congressional 
        committees and appropriate investigative authorities.
            (3) Subpoena enforcement.--
                    (A) In general.--In the case of contumacy or 
                failure to obey a subpoena issued under paragraph 
                (1)(B), 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.
                    (B) Additional enforcement.--In the case of any 
                failure of any witness to comply with any 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 the 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).
            (4) Limitations on subpoena authority.--With respect to the 
        subpoena authority under paragraph (1)(B), the Commission--
                    (A) may only issue a subpoena to a member of 
                Federal, State, local, Tribal, or territorial 
                government;
                    (B) may reference unclassified documents and 
                information obtained through a subpoena when conducting 
                interviews to further the Commission's objectives and 
                may include such documents and information in the final 
                report, but may not otherwise share, disclose, publish, 
                or transmit in any way any information obtained through 
                a subpoena to another Federal department or agency, any 
                agency of a State, local, Tribal, or territorial 
                government, or any international body; and
                    (C) shall comply with requirements for the issuance 
                of a subpoena issued by a United States district court 
                under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
            (5) Meetings.--The Commission shall--
                    (A) hold public hearings and meetings;
                    (B) hold classified hearings or meetings, if 
                necessary to discuss classified material or 
                information; and
                    (C) provide an opportunity for public comment, 
                including sharing of research and policy analysis, 
                through publication in the Federal Register of a 
                solicitation for public comments during a period to 
                last not fewer than 45 days.
    (h) Resources.--
            (1) Authority to use the united states mails.--The 
        Commission may use the United States mails in the same manner 
        and under the same conditions as other Federal agencies.
            (2) Documents, statistical data, and other such 
        information.--Upon written request by the Chairperson, Vice-
        Chairperson, or any commissioner designated by a majority of 
        the Commission, an executive department, bureau, agency, board, 
        commission, office, independent establishment, or 
        instrumentality of the Federal Government--
                    (A) shall provide reasonable access to documents, 
                statistical data, and other such information the 
                Commission determines necessary to carry out its 
                duties; and
                    (B) shall, to the extent authorized by law, furnish 
                any information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 
                the Commission determines necessary to carry out its 
                duties.
            (3) Authority to accept gifts.--The Commission may accept, 
        use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services, goods, and 
        property from non-Federal entities for the purposes of aiding 
        and facilitating the work of the Commission. The authority 
        provided in this paragraph does not extend to gifts of money in 
        any form, or any gifts from private sector entities with a 
        financial interest in counterterrorism products or services, as 
        determined by the Commission. The Commission shall publish as 
        an addendum to the report under subsection (m)(2) a list of all 
        gifts received and the individual or entity from which the gift 
        was received.
            (4) Authority to contract.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission is authorized to 
                enter into contracts, leases, or other legal agreements 
                with Federal and State agencies, Indian Tribes, Tribal 
                entities, private entities, and individuals for the 
                conduct of activities necessary to the discharge of its 
                duties.
                    (B) Termination.--A contract, lease, or other legal 
                agreement entered into by the Commission under this 
                paragraph may not extend beyond the date of termination 
                of the Commission.
            (5) Inapplicability of faca.--The Federal Advisory 
        Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the activities 
        of the Commission under this section.
            (6) Office space and administrative support.--The Architect 
        of the Capitol shall make office space available for day-to-day 
        activities of the Commission and for scheduled meetings of the 
        Commission. Upon request, the Architect of the Capitol shall 
        provide, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative support 
        as the Commission requests to carry out its duties.
            (7) Assistance from federal agencies.--
                    (A) General services administration.--The 
                Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
                Commission on a reimbursable basis administrative 
                support and other services as the Commission requests 
                to carry out its duties.
                    (B) Federal agencies.--Federal agencies may provide 
                to the Commission such services, funds, facilities, and 
                other support services as may be determined advisable.
    (i) Staff.--
            (1) Staff director.--The Chairperson, in consultation with 
        the Vice-Chairperson, and in accordance with rules agreed upon 
        by the Commission, may appoint a staff director.
            (2) Staff.--With the approval of the Commission, the staff 
        director may appoint such employees as the staff director 
        determines necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 
        duties.
            (3) Staff qualifications.--The staff director shall ensure 
        employees of the Commission have relevant counterterrorism 
        expertise and experience, including in areas such as in 
        diplomacy, law enforcement, the Armed Forces, law, public 
        administration, the legislative branch, intelligence, academia, 
        human rights, civil rights, or civil liberties.
            (4) Appointments and compensation.--The Commission may 
        appoint and fix the compensation of the staff director and 
        other employees 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 the 
        rate of pay for the staff director may exceed the equivalent of 
        that payable to a person occupying a position at level IV of 
        the Executive Schedule and the rate of pay for any other 
        employee of the Commission may exceed the equivalent of that 
        payable to a person occupying a position at level V of the 
        Executive Schedule.
            (5) Experts and consultants.--With the approval of the 
        Chairperson, the staff director may procure temporary and 
        intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (6) Detail of government employees.--Upon the request of 
        the Commission, the head of any Federal agency may detail, 
        without reimbursement, any of the personnel of such agency to 
        the Commission to assist in carrying out its duties. Any such 
        detail shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil 
        service status or privileges of such personnel.
            (7) Volunteer services.--Notwithstanding section 1342 of 
        title 31, United States Code, the Commission may accept and use 
        voluntary and uncompensated services as the Commission 
        determines necessary.
    (j) Security Clearances for Commission Members and Staff.--The 
appropriate Federal agencies or departments shall cooperate with the 
Commission in expeditiously providing to the commissioners, including 
the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, and the staff director and 
employees appropriate security clearances to the extent possible 
pursuant to existing procedures and requirements, except that no person 
shall be provided with access to classified information without the 
appropriate security clearances.
    (k) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 to 
the Commission, to remain available until the date of termination, to 
carry out this Act.
    (l) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on the date that 
is 180 days after the date on which the Commission submits the report 
required by subsection (m)(2).
    (m) Briefings and Report.--
            (1) Briefings.--The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and 
        staff director of the Commission shall provide quarterly 
        briefings to the appropriate congressional committees, of which 
        not less than 2 briefings shall be for Members of Congress.
            (2) Report.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 540 days after the 
                initial meeting of the Commission under subsection (e), 
                the Commission shall submit to the appropriate 
                congressional committees an unclassified report that 
                includes the following:
                            (i) The findings, conclusions, and 
                        recommendations of the Commission pursuant to 
                        the review and assessment under subsection (b) 
                        and areas of study specified in subsection (c).
                            (ii) Summaries of the input and 
                        recommendations of each individual with whom 
                        the Commission consulted in accordance with 
                        subsection (f), attributed in accordance with 
                        the preference expressed by such individual.
                    (B) Classified annex.--The report required under 
                this paragraph may include a classified annex.
                    (C) Public release.--Not later than 7 days after 
                the date on which the Commission submits the report 
                required under this subsection to the appropriate 
                congressional committees, the Commission shall make 
                publicly available the report required under this 
                paragraph, with the exception of any classified annex 
                under subparagraph (B).
    (n) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Select 
                Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Armed 
                Services, the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, 
                and the Committee on Finance of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent 
                Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on 
                Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security, the 
                Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on 
                Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Domestic terrorism.--The term ``domestic terrorism'' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 2331 of title 18, 
        United States Code.
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``Indian tribe'' in section 4 of the 
        Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 
        (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (4) International terrorism.--The term ``international 
        terrorism'' has the meaning given such term in section 2331 of 
        title 18, United States Code.
            (5) Registered lobbyist.--The term ``registered lobbyist'' 
        means a lobbyist described in section 3 of the Lobbying 
        Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603).
            (6) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' has the meaning given that term in section 101 of the 
        Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801).
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