[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 834 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 834

To establish the National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 2021

  Mr. Posey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
Financial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic, 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 ``Pandemics Require Evaluating, 
Planning, And Responding Effectively Act'' or the ``PREPARE Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    There is established in the legislative branch the National 
Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic (in this Act referred to as the 
``Commission'').

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of the Commission are to--
            (1) examine and report upon the facts and causes relating 
        to the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted from the global spread 
        of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, from Wuhan, China;
            (2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evidence 
        developed by all relevant governmental agencies regarding the 
        facts and circumstances surrounding the pandemic and the 
        emergence of SARS-CoV-2;
            (3) build upon the investigations of other entities, and 
        avoid unnecessary duplication by critically reviewing the 
        findings, conclusions, and recommendations of executive branch, 
        congressional, or independent commission investigations into 
        the COVID-19 pandemic while adopting only the findings, 
        conclusions, and recommendations of such investigations as the 
        Commission shall find accurate and unbiased;
            (4) make a full and complete accounting of the 
        circumstances surrounding the pandemic, and the extent of the 
        United States preparedness for, and immediate response to, the 
        pandemic; and
            (5) investigate and report to the President and Congress on 
        its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for corrective 
        measures that can be taken to prevent, better prepare for, and 
        respond to pandemics.

SEC. 4. CONSIDERATIONS.

    In carrying out its duties in furtherance of the purposes specified 
in section 2, the Commission shall consider the following:
            (1) Compiling a full and complete accounting of the 
        circumstances surrounding the emergence of the 2019 novel 
        coronavirus, the Nation's preparedness for the 2019 novel 
        coronavirus pandemic, and the actions taken by Federal, State, 
        local, Tribal, and territorial governments at critical 
        junctures before and after the World Health Organization 
        designated the 2019 novel coronavirus as a public health 
        emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020.
            (2) Evaluating the effectiveness of United States public 
        health reconnaissance and intelligence in recognizing the 
        COVID-19 pandemic at its source and effectively mobilizing the 
        nation to meet the challenge of the pandemic.
            (3) Identifying biological collaborations among government, 
        private, nonprofit, not-for-profit entities, and other 
        scientific communities, evaluating the manner in which such 
        collaborations can increase the risk of accidental releases of 
        harmful pathogens, and making recommendations that will 
        decrease such risks.
            (4) Identifying the lead person or agency of the Federal 
        Government responsible for conducting the reconnaissance and 
        intelligence in (1) and evaluating the performance of this 
        entity and the efficacy of the assignment of such lead to this 
        entity.
            (5) Articulating the policy objectives of the Federal 
        Government in preparing, responding to and recovering from a 
        pandemic and the performance metrics and standards to evaluate 
        contributions to the overall objectives as articulated.
            (6) Identifying the current agency of the Federal 
        Government with the lead for pandemic preparedness and 
        response.
            (7) Evaluating the integration of the pandemic planning 
        into the National Preparedness System and other preparedness 
        activities throughout the Federal Government.
            (8) Evaluating the performance of the Federal, State, and 
        local governments in preparing for and responding to the COVID-
        19 declared emergency within the context of the National 
        Preparedness System.
            (9) Assessment of the assignment of roles and 
        responsibilities among Federal, State, and local governments in 
        preparing for, responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 
        pandemic.
            (10) Evaluation of the performance of an all-hazard 
        preparedness and response system in meeting the challenges of 
        the COVID-19 emergency and whether actions should be taken to 
        adapt preparedness and response to unique circumstances related 
        to pandemics.
            (11) Evaluating whether the identification of lead person 
        or agency for pandemic preparedness is clear and effective and 
        whether the lead for pandemic preparedness and response 
        requires consolidation or should be reassigned to an 
        alternative agency.
            (12) Examining ways to improve integration and coordination 
        of preparedness and responses to pandemics at all levels of 
        government, Federal, State, and local.
            (13) Evaluating the resilience of production responses to 
        the COVID-19 crisis particularly those related medicines, 
        medical equipment, protective equipment and other medical 
        supplies and the role of the Federal and other governments in 
        responding to supply chain needs for pandemics.
            (14) Identifying and evaluating the degree of reliance of 
        the United States on vulnerable supply chains for medicines, 
        medical equipment, protective equipment and other medical 
        supplies necessary to prepare for and respond to a pandemic and 
        all reasonable alternatives for mitigating such vulnerabilities 
        in future pandemics.
            (15) Evaluating the contribution of the Defense Production 
        Act in the COVID-19 emergency and whether this law should be 
        amended to improve pandemic preparedness and response.
            (16) Evaluating the National Stockpile in preparing for and 
        responding to pandemics, the performance of the National 
        Stockpile in responding to the COVID-19 emergency, and all 
        reasonable alternatives improving the management and 
        contributions of the Stockpile in preparing for and responding 
        to future pandemics.
            (17) Evaluating the role of the Federal Government in 
        developing and approving surveillance, testing, treatments, 
        therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19 and all reasonable 
        alternatives to improve the development of therapeutics and 
        vaccines in future pandemics.
            (18) Evaluating the Federal, State, and local response to 
        the COVID-19 emergency related to ensuring adequate national 
        surge capacity infrastructure in hospitals and medical centers 
        and alternatives for improving such preparedness and response 
        to ensure adequate capacity in future pandemics.
            (19) Identifying and evaluating the array of public health 
        interventions at the Federal, State, and local levels, 
        including mask orders, social distancing practices, stay-at-
        home directives, school and business closures, and other 
        measures, implemented in response to the COVID-19 emergency and 
        evaluating all reasonable alternatives for improving such 
        public health responses in future pandemics with a due 
        consideration of the economic and other public health costs and 
        tradeoffs associated with such measures.
            (20) Evaluating the performance of financial markets and 
        regulators during the COVID-19 emergency.
            (21) Evaluating the overall efficacy of the Federal 
        economic response to the COVID-19 emergency and recommendations 
        for modifying those responses to improve preparedness and 
        response to future pandemics.
            (22) Any other feature of the COVID-19 emergency that would 
        improve the prevention, preparedness and response to future 
        pandemic emergencies.

SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Members.--The Commission shall be composed of 10 members, of 
whom--
            (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the President, who shall 
        serve as chairperson of the Commission;
            (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader of the Senate 
        whose political party is other than the political party of the 
        President (regardless of whether such individual is the 
        majority or minority leader), in consultation with the leader 
        of the House of Representatives whose political party is other 
        than the political party of the President (regardless of 
        whether such individual is the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives or the minority leader), who shall serve as 
        vice chairperson of the Commission;
            (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the majority leadership of the Senate;
            (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the majority leadership of the House of Representatives;
            (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the minority leadership of the Senate; and
            (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of 
        the minority leadership of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Qualifications; Initial Meeting.--
            (1) Political party affiliation.--Each major political 
        party shall be represented by not fewer than five members of 
        the Commission.
            (2) Nongovernmental appointees.--An individual appointed to 
        the Commission may not be an officer or employee of the Federal 
        Government or any State or local government.
            (3) Other qualifications.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        individuals appointed to the Commission should be prominent 
        United States citizens, with national recognition and 
        significant depth of experience in such professions as 
        governmental service, science, health, law, public 
        administration, intelligence gathering, commerce, logistics, 
        and foreign affairs.
            (4) No conflicts of interest.--An individual appointed to 
        the Commission may not have a conflict of interest with respect 
        to any potential issue or inquiry that may come within the 
        purview of the Commission consistent with Federal law relating 
        to conflicts-of-interest and congressional ethics rules.
            (5) Deadline for appointment.--All members of the 
        Commission shall be appointed not later than 90 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
            (6) Initial meeting.--The Commission shall meet and begin 
        the operations of the Commission as soon as practicable.
    (c) Quorum; Vacancies.--After its initial meeting, the Commission 
shall meet upon the call of the chairman or a majority of its members. 
Six 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. 6. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

    The functions of the Commission are to--
            (1) conduct an investigation that--
                    (A) investigates relevant facts and circumstances 
                relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, including any 
                relevant legislation, Executive order, regulation, 
                plan, policy, scientific research, practice, or 
                procedure; and
                    (B) include relevant facts and circumstances 
                relating to--
                            (i) scientific and public health research;
                            (ii) public and private scientific 
                        organizations;
                            (iii) charitable organizations;
                            (iv) academic organizations;
                            (v) economic, education, scientific and 
                        commercial institutions;
                            (vi) healthcare, public health policies, 
                        and pandemic preparedness;
                            (vii) the role of congressional oversight 
                        and resource allocation; and
                            (viii) other areas of the public and 
                        private sectors determined relevant by the 
                        Commission for its inquiry;
            (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons learned from 
        the COVID-19 pandemic from how the virus emerged and spread to 
        the ongoing response efforts, regarding the structure, 
        coordination, management policies, and procedures of the 
        Federal Government, and, where appropriate, State and local 
        governments, nongovernmental entities and international 
        organizations, relative to detecting, preventing, and 
        responding to such disease events; and
            (3) submit to the President and Congress such reports as 
        are required by this title containing such findings, 
        conclusions, and recommendations as the Commission shall 
        determine, including proposing organization, coordination, 
        planning, management arrangements, procedures, rules, and 
        regulations.

SEC. 7. 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 title--
                    (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 6 
                                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 
                        subsection (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 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).
    (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 title.
    (c) Information From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission is authorized to 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 title. 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 only 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 functions.
            (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) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or 
donations of services or property.
    (f) 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. 8. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.

    (a) In General.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 
shall not apply to the Commission.
    (b) Public Meetings.--
            (1) Each Commission meeting shall be open to the public.
            (2) Except when the Commission determines otherwise for 
        reasons of national security, timely notice of each such 
        meeting shall be published in the Federal Register, and the 
        Commission shall; publish procedures to provide for other types 
        of public notice to ensure that all interested persons are 
        notified of such meeting prior thereto.
            (3) Interested persons shall be permitted to attend, appear 
        before, or file statements with the Commission, subject to such 
        reasonable procedures as the Commission may prescribe and 
        publish.
    (c) Records.--
            (1) Maintenance of records.--The Commission shall maintain 
        and dispose of all records related to Commission, its meeting 
        and general business in accordance with statutes governing the 
        maintenance and disposition of records that apply to any agency 
        of the Federal Government.
            (2) Public access.--In accordance with procedures to be 
        adopted and published by the Commission, the records, reports, 
        transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working papers, drafts, 
        studies, agenda, or other documents which were made available 
        to or prepared for or by the Commission shall be available for 
        public inspection and copying at a single location in the 
        offices of the Commission until the Commission ceases to exist 
        and after the termination of the Commission, such records shall 
        be transferred to the National Archives and Records 
        Administration.
            (3) Exemptions.--The requirement for public access under 
        paragraph (2) shall not apply to records that are--
                    (A) specifically authorized under criteria 
                established by an Executive order to be kept secret in 
                the interest of national defense or foreign policy and 
                are in fact properly classified pursuant to such 
                Executive order;
                    (B) related solely to the internal personnel rules 
                and practices of any Federal agency;
                    (C) specifically exempted from disclosure by 
                statute, if that statute--
                            (i) requires that the matters be withheld 
                        from the public in such a manner as to leave no 
                        discretion on the issue; or
                            (ii) establishes particular criteria for 
                        withholding or refers to particular types of 
                        matters to be withheld;
                    (D) trade secrets and commercial or financial 
                information obtained from a person and privileged or 
                confidential;
                    (E) that are inter-agency or intra-agency 
                memorandums or letters that would not be available by 
                law to a party other than an agency including the 
                Commission in litigation with the agency, provided that 
                the deliberative process privilege shall not apply to 
                records created 25 years or more before the date on 
                which the records were requested;
                    (F) personnel and medical files and similar files 
                the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly 
                unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
                    (G) records or information compiled for law 
                enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the 
                production of such law enforcement records or 
                information--
                            (i) could reasonably be expected to 
                        interfere with enforcement proceedings;
                            (ii) would deprive a person of a right to a 
                        fair trial or an impartial adjudication;
                            (iii) could reasonably be expected to 
                        constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal 
                        privacy;
                            (iv) could reasonably be expected to 
                        disclose the identity of a confidential source, 
                        including a State, local, or foreign agency or 
                        authority or any private institution which 
                        furnished information on a confidential basis, 
                        and, in the case of a record or information 
                        compiled by criminal law enforcement authority 
                        in the course of a criminal investigation or by 
                        an agency conducting a lawful national security 
                        intelligence investigation, information 
                        furnished by a confidential source;
                            (v) would disclose techniques and 
                        procedures for law enforcement investigations 
                        or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines 
                        for law enforcement investigations or 
                        prosecutions if such disclosure could 
                        reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of 
                        the law; or
                            (vi) could reasonably be expected to 
                        endanger the life or physical safety of any 
                        individual;
                    (H) contained in or related to examination, 
                operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf 
                of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the 
                regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or
                    (I) geological and geophysical information and 
                data, including maps, concerning wells.
        Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided 
        to any person requesting such record after deletion of the 
        portions which are exempt under this subsection. The amount of 
        information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion 
        is made, shall be indicated on the released portion of the 
        record, unless including that indication would harm an interest 
        protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the 
        deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the 
        information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion 
        is made, shall be indicated at the place in the record where 
        such deletion is made.
            (4) Construction.--Nothing in paragraph (3) shall be 
        construed as imposing any limitation whatsoever on the scope or 
        subject matter of the Commission's inquiry. The Commission 
        shall arrange for secure access to all Commission records and a 
        comprehensive Commission report without redaction by any Member 
        of Congress or authorized individual with a required security 
        clearance in appropriately secure facilities.
    (d) 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. 9. 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 subsection 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.
            (2) Personnel as federal employees.--
                    (A) In general.--The executive director and any 
                personnel of the Commission who are employees shall be 
                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) shall 
                not be construed to apply to members of the Commission.
    (b) Detailees.--Any Federal Government employee 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 is authorized to 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.
    (d) Conflicts of Interest.--All individuals whose services are 
rendered to the Commission will be free from any financial, academic, 
personal, or professional conflicts of interest which may interfere 
with the work of the Commission.

SEC. 10. 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. 11. 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, except that 
no person shall be provided with access to classified information under 
this title without the appropriate security clearances.

SEC. 12. REPORTS OF COMMISSION; TERMINATION.

    (a) Interim Reports.--The Commission may submit to the President 
and Congress interim reports containing such findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a 
majority of Commission members.
    (b) Final Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the President and 
Congress a final report containing such findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a 
majority of Commission members.
    (c) Termination.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission, and all the authorities of 
        this title, 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. 13. FUNDING.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary for any 
fiscal year, half of which shall be derived from the applicable account 
of the House of Representatives, and half of which shall be derived 
from the contingent fund of the Senate.
    (b) Duration of Availability.--Amounts made available to the 
Commission under paragraph (a) shall remain available until the 
termination of the Commission.
    (c) Notice.--The chair shall promptly notify Congress if the chair 
determines that the amounts made available to the Commission under 
subsection (a) are insufficient for the Commission to carry out its 
duties.
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