[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7860-S7862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4311. Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. Young, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. 
Bennet, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Rosen, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Peters, Mr. King, 
Mr. Kelly, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, and 
Mrs. Shaheen) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to 
the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle B of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1216. AFGHANISTAN WAR COMMISSION ACT OF 2021.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021''
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Applicable period.--The term ``applicable period'' 
     means the period beginning June 1, 2001 and ending August 30, 
     2021.
       (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
       (D) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (E) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (F) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (3) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence 
     community'' has the meaning given that term in section 3(4) 
     of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
       (c) Establishment of Commission.--
       (1) Establishment.--There is established the Afghanistan 
     War Commission (in this section referred to as the 
     ``Commission'').
       (2) Membership.--
       (A) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 12 
     members of whom--
       (i) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee 
     on Armed Services of the Senate;
       (ii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
       (iii) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee 
     on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
       (iv) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
       (v) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (vi) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (vii) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee 
     on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
       (viii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
       (ix) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Select 
     Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
       (x) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
       (xi) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Permanent 
     Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (xii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (B) Qualifications.--It is the sense of Congress that each 
     member of the Commission appointed under subparagraph (A) 
     should have significant professional experience from a 
     position in--
       (i) the Department of Defense;
       (ii) the Department of State;
       (iii) the intelligence community;
       (iv) the United States Agency for International 
     Development; or
       (v) a relevant academic or scholarly institution.
       (C) Prohibitions.--A member of the Commission appointed 
     under subparagraph (A) may not--
       (i) be a current member of Congress or a former member of 
     Congress who served in Congress after January 3, 2001;
       (ii) have served in military or civilian positions having 
     significant operational or strategic decision-making 
     responsibilities for conducting United States Government 
     actions in Afghanistan during the applicable period; or
       (iii) have been a party to any United States or coalition 
     defense contract during the applicable period.
       (D) Date.--The appointments of the members of the 
     Commission shall be made not later than 60 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.

[[Page S7861]]

       (3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--
       (A) In general.--A member of the Commission shall be 
     appointed for the life of the Commission.
       (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission--
       (i) shall not affect the powers of the Commission; and
       (ii) shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
     appointment.
       (4) Meetings.--
       (A) Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
     on which all members of the Commission have been appointed, 
     the Commission shall hold the first meeting of the 
     Commission.
       (B) Frequency.--The Commission shall meet at the call of 
     the Chairperson.
       (C) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
     shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
     hold hearings.
       (5) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Commission shall 
     select, by a simple majority vote, a Chairperson and a Vice 
     Chairperson from among the members of the Commission who 
     volunteer to perform such roles.
       (d) Purpose of Commission.-- The purpose of the Commission 
     is to examine the war in Afghanistan, create strategic and 
     grand strategic lessons learned, and develop recommendations 
     for the Government of the United States and future 
     policymakers and senior military decision makers in the 
     United States.
       (e) Duties of Commission.--
       (1) Study.--
       (A) In general.--The Commission shall conduct a thorough 
     study of all matters relating to combat operations, 
     reconstruction and security force assistance activities, 
     intelligence operations, and diplomatic activities of the 
     United States pertaining to the war in Afghanistan.
       (B) Matters studied.--The matters studied by the Commission 
     shall include--
       (i) the activities and actions of the United States in and 
     related to Afghanistan immediately prior to the attacks on 
     September 11, 2001, and during the initial invasion of 
     Afghanistan by the United States;
       (ii) the resurgence of the Taliban and other combatants 
     during the applicable period;
       (iii) the efficacy of the various military missions 
     conducted by United States and coalition forces, including 
     train, advise, and assist operations, security and stability 
     operations, and counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism 
     operations, and the extent to which such missions conflicted;
       (iv) peace negotiations involving the United States, the 
     Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Taliban; and
       (v) the withdrawal of the United States military from 
     Afghanistan.
       (C) Contents.--The study required under subparagraph (A) 
     shall include the following elements:
       (i) An analysis of the political and strategic decisions 
     that influenced--

       (I) interactions of the Government of the United States 
     with the Government of Afghanistan;
       (II) the strategic objectives of the war, including how 
     such objectives changed, during the applicable period and the 
     extent to which such objectives furthered strategies by the 
     United States to terminate the war;
       (III) the number of members of the Armed Services in 
     Afghanistan during the applicable period;
       (IV) the command and control relationships of the Armed 
     Forces;
       (V) the integration of military forces with other 
     instruments of United States national power; and
       (VI) the metrics used for measuring and reporting progress 
     towards strategic objectives and the extent to which such 
     metrics were analytically effective or accurate.

       (ii) A statement addressing the military, diplomatic, and 
     intelligence interactions of the United States with Pakistan 
     during the applicable period, including any interactions 
     between Government of Pakistan and the Government of 
     Afghanistan or the Taliban.
       (iii) An examination of the participation in the war in 
     Afghanistan by member states of the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization.
       (iv) An examination of the long-term impact of the war in 
     Afghanistan on government institutions in the United States.
       (v) An examination of the authorities used to conduct the 
     war and an assessment of the effectiveness of legislative 
     actions taken to conduct oversight of the war.
       (vi) A description of any other matters that the Commission 
     determines significantly affected the conduct and the outcome 
     of the war in Afghanistan.
       (vii) Recommendations for legislation and administrative 
     actions to address any shortcomings in the conduct of the war 
     in Afghanistan identified by the Commission.
       (2) Reports required.--
       (A) In general.--
       (i) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the initial meeting of the Commission, and annually 
     thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report describing the progress of 
     the Commission.
       (ii) Final report.--Not later than 4 years after the date 
     of the initial meeting of the Commission, the Commission 
     shall submit to the President and Congress a report that 
     contains a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions 
     of the Commission, together with the recommendations of the 
     Commission.
       (B) Form.--The report required by subparagraph (A)(ii) 
     shall be submitted and publicly released on a Government 
     website in unclassified form but may contain a classified 
     annex, which the Commission shall make every effort to ensure 
     is classified at the lowest classification level.
       (C) Subsequent reports on declassification.--
       (i) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date that 
     the report required by subparagraph (A)(ii) is submitted and 
     every 2 years thereafter until the entirety of the classified 
     annex of such report is declassified and publicly available, 
     each relevant agency of jurisdiction shall submit to the 
     committee of jurisdiction a report on the efforts of such 
     agency to declassify such annex.
       (ii) Contents.--Each report required by clause (i) shall 
     include--

       (I) a list of the items in the classified annex that the 
     agency is working to declassify at the time of the report and 
     an estimate of the timeline for declassification of such 
     items;
       (II) a broad description of items in the annex that the 
     agency is declining to declassify at the time of the report; 
     and
       (III) any justification for withholding declassification of 
     certain items in the annex and an estimate of the timeline 
     for declassification of such items.

       (f) Powers of Commission.--
       (1) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit 
     and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
     receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable 
     to carry out this section.
       (2) Assistance from federal agencies.--
       (A) Information.--
       (i) In general.--The Commission may secure directly from a 
     Federal department or agency such information as the 
     Commission considers necessary to carry out this section.
       (ii) Furnishing information.--On request of the Chairperson 
     of the Commission, the head of the department or agency shall 
     expeditiously furnish the information to the Commission.
       (B) General services.--Upon the request of the Commission, 
     the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
     Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 
     support services and office space necessary for the 
     Commission to carry out its purposes and functions under this 
     section.
       (3) Postal services.--The Commission may use the United 
     States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 
     as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
       (4) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of 
     gifts or donations of services or property.
       (g) Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.--
       (1) In general.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
     U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission.
       (2) Public meetings and release of public versions of 
     reports.--The Commission shall--
       (A) hold public hearings and meetings to the extent 
     appropriate; and
       (B) release public versions of the reports required under 
     subsection (e)(2).
       (3) 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.
       (h) Commission Personnel Matters.--
       (1) Compensation of members.--A member of the Commission 
     who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government 
     shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent 
     of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of 
     the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
     States Code, for each day (including travel time) during 
     which the member is engaged in the performance of the duties 
     of the Commission.
       (2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Commission shall be 
     allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
     subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
     under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
     Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
     business in the performance of services for the Commission.
       (3) Staff.--
       (A) In general.--The Chairperson, in consultation with the 
     Vice Chairperson of the Commission, may, without regard to 
     the civil service laws (including regulations), appoint and 
     terminate an executive director and such other additional 
     personnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission to 
     perform its duties, except that the employment of an 
     executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the 
     Commission.
       (B) Qualifications for personnel.--The Chairperson and the 
     Vice Chairperson of the Commission shall give preference in 
     such appointments under subparagraph (A) to individuals from 
     academic backgrounds, and former military personnel should 
     include representation from the reserve components
       (C) Compensation.--The Chairperson, in consultation with 
     the Vice Chairperson of the Commission, may fix the 
     compensation of the executive director and other personnel 
     without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 
     of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification of 
     positions and General Schedule pay rates, except that the 
     rate of pay for the executive director and

[[Page S7862]]

     other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level V 
     of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that title.
       (4) Detail of government employees.--A Federal Government 
     employee may be detailed to the Commission without 
     reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption 
     or loss of civil service status or privilege.
       (5) Procurement of temporary and intermittent services.--
     The Chairperson, in consultation with the Vice Chairperson of 
     the Commission, may procure temporary and intermittent 
     services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 
     Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 
     equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 
     level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that 
     title.
       (6) Security clearances.--The appropriate departments or 
     agencies of the United States shall cooperate with the 
     Commission in expeditiously providing to the members and 
     staff of the Commission appropriate security clearances to 
     the extent possible pursuant to existing procedures and 
     requirements.
       (i) Termination of Commission.--The Commission shall 
     terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission 
     submits the report required under subsection (e)(2)(A)(ii).
       (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Commission such amounts as necessary to carry out 
     activities under this section.
       (2) Availability.--Any sums appropriated under the 
     authorization contained in this section shall remain 
     available, without fiscal year limitation, until the date of 
     the termination of the Commission under subsection (i).
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