[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8491-S8493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4803. Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Hirono, Ms. 
Rosen, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Moran, Mr. Young, Mrs. Feinstein, 
Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. King, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Peters, and Mr. Blumenthal) 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 Appropriations of the Senate;
       (E) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (G) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
     House of Representatives; and
       (H) the Committee on Appropriations 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 in the legislative 
     branch an independent commission to be known as the 
     Afghanistan War Commission (in this section referred to as 
     the ``Commission'').
       (2) Membership.--
       (A) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 16 
     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;

[[Page S8492]]

       (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;
       (xii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the 
     Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (xiii) 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the 
     Senate;
       (xiv) 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 
     Senate;
       (xv) 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (xvi) 1 shall be appointed by the Minority Leader 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 in national 
     security, such as 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) an academic or scholarly institution.
       (C) Prohibitions.--A member of the Commission appointed 
     under subparagraph (A) may not--
       (i) be a current member of Congress;
       (ii) be a former member of Congress who served in Congress 
     after January 3, 2001;
       (iii) be a current or former registrant under the Foreign 
     Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.);
       (iv) have previously investigated Afghanistan policy or the 
     war in Afghanistan through employment in the office of a 
     relevant inspector general;
       (v) have been the sole owner or had a majority stake in a 
     company that held any United States or coalition defense 
     contract providing goods or services to activities by the 
     United States Government or coalition in Afghanistan during 
     the applicable period; or
       (vi) have served, with direct involvement in actions by the 
     United States Government in Afghanistan during the time the 
     relevant official served, as--

       (I) a cabinet secretary or national security adviser to the 
     President; or
       (II) a four-star flag officer, Under Secretary, or more 
     senior official in the Department of Defense or the 
     Department of State.

       (D) Date.--
       (i) In general.--The appointments of the members of the 
     Commission shall be made not later than 60 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (ii) Failure to make appointment.--If an appointment under 
     subparagraph (A) is not made by the appointment date 
     specified in clause (i)--

       (I) the authority to make such appointment shall expire; 
     and
       (II) the number of members of the Commission shall be 
     reduced by the number equal to the number of appointments not 
     made.

       (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 Co-Chairpersons.
       (C) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
     shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
     hold hearings.
       (5) Co-chairpersons.--The Commission shall select, by a 
     simple majority vote--
       (A) 1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the Commission 
     appointed by chairpersons of the appropriate congressional 
     committees; and
       (B) 1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the Commission 
     appointed by the ranking members of the appropriate 
     congressional committees.
       (d) Purpose of Commission.-- The purpose of the Commission 
     is--
       (1) to examine the key strategic, diplomatic, and 
     operational decisions that pertain to the war in Afghanistan 
     during the relevant period, including decisions, assessments, 
     and events that preceded the war in Afghanistan; and
       (2) to develop a series of lessons learned and 
     recommendations for the way forward that will inform future 
     decisions by Congress and policymakers throughout the United 
     States Government.
       (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 Afghanistan during the period 
     beginning September 1, 1996, and ending August 30, 2021.
       (B) Matters studied.--The matters studied by the Commission 
     shall include--
       (i) for the time period specified under subparagraph (A)--

       (I) the policy objectives of the United States Government, 
     including--

       (aa) military objectives;
       (bb) diplomatic objectives;
       (cc) development objectives; and
       (dd) intelligence objectives;

       (II) significant decisions made by the United States, 
     including the development of options presented to 
     policymakers;
       (III) the efficacy of efforts by the United States 
     Government in meeting the objectives described in clause (i), 
     including an analysis of --

       (aa) military efforts;
       (bb) diplomatic efforts;
       (cc) development efforts; and
       (dd) intelligence efforts; and

       (IV) the efficacy of counterterrorism efforts against al 
     Qaeda, the Islamic State Khorasan Province, and other foreign 
     terrorist organizations in degrading the will and 
     capabilities of such organizations--

       (aa) to mount external attacks against the United States 
     mainland or its allies and partners; or
       (bb) to threaten regional stability in Afghanistan and 
     neighboring countries.
       (ii) the efficacy of metrics, measures of effectiveness, 
     and milestones used to assess progress of diplomatic, 
     military, and intelligence efforts;
       (iii) the efficacy of interagency planning and execution 
     process by the United States Government;
       (iv) factors that led to the collapse of the Afghan 
     National Defense Security Forces in 2021, including--

       (I) training;
       (II) assessment methodologies;
       (III) building indigenous forces on western models;
       (IV) reliance on technology and logistics support; and
       (V) reliance on warfighting enablers provided by the United 
     States;

       (v) the efficacy of counter-corruption efforts to include 
     linkages to diplomatic lines of effort, linkages to foreign 
     and security assistance, and assessment methodologies;
       (vi) the efficacy of counter-narcotic efforts to include 
     alternative livelihoods, eradication, interdiction, and 
     education efforts;
       (vii) the role of countries neighboring Afghanistan in 
     contributing to the instability of Afghanistan;
       (viii) varying diplomatic approaches between Presidential 
     administrations;
       (ix) the extent to which the intelligence community did or 
     did not fail to provide sufficient warning about the probable 
     outcomes of a withdrawal of coalition military support from 
     Afghanistan, including as it relates to--

       (I) the capability and sustainability of the Afghanistan 
     National Defense Security Forces;
       (II) the sustainability of the Afghan central government, 
     absent coalition support;
       (III) the extent of Taliban control over Afghanistan over 
     time with respect to geographic territory, governance, and 
     influence; and
       (IV) the likelihood of the Taliban regaining control of 
     Afghanistan at various levels of United States and coalition 
     support, including the withdrawal of most or all United 
     States or coalition support;

       (x) the extent to which intelligence products related to 
     the state of the conflict in Afghanistan and the 
     effectiveness of the Afghanistan National Defense Security 
     Forces complied with intelligence community-wide analytic 
     tradecraft standards and fully reflected the divergence of 
     analytic views across the intelligence community;
       (xi) an evaluation of whether any element of the United 
     States Government inappropriately restricted access to data 
     from elements of the intelligence community, Congress, or the 
     Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction 
     (SIGAR) or any other oversight body such as other inspectors 
     general or the Gpvernment Accountability Office, including 
     through the use of overclassification; and
       (xii) the extent to which public representations of the 
     situation in Afghanistan before Congress by United States 
     Government officials were not consistent with the most recent 
     formal assessment of the intelligence community at the time 
     those representations were made.
       (2) Report required.--
       (A) In general.--
       (i) Annual report.--

       (I) In general.--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 activities of the Commission as of the date of such 
     report, including any findings, recommendations, or lessons 
     learned endorsed by the Commission.
       (II) Addenda.--Any member of the Commission may submit an 
     addendum to a report required under subclause (I) setting

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     forth the separate views of such member with respect to any 
     matter considered by the Commission.
       (III) Briefing.--On the date of the submission of the first 
     annual report, the Commission shall brief Congress.

       (ii) Final report.--

       (I) Submission.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
     the initial meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall 
     submit to Congress a report that contains a detailed 
     statement of the findings, recommendations, and lessons 
     learned endorsed by the Commission.
       (II) Addenda.--Any member of the Commission may submit an 
     addendum to the report required under subclause (I) setting 
     forth the separate views of such member with respect to any 
     matter considered by the Commission.
       (III) Extension.--The Commission may submit the report 
     required under subclause (I) at a date that is not more than 
     1 year later than the date specified in such clause if agreed 
     to by the chairperson and ranking member of each of the 
     appropriate congressional committees.

       (B) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1)(B) shall be 
     submitted and publicly released on a Government website in 
     unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
       (C) Subsequent reports on declassification.--
       (i) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the date that 
     the report required by subparagraph (A)(ii) is submitted, 
     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, take 
     such testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 
     considers necessary to carry out its purpose and functions 
     under 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.--Upon receipt of a written 
     request by the Co-Chairpersons of the Commission, the head of 
     the department or agency shall expeditiously furnish the 
     information to the Commission.
       (B) Space for commission.--Not later than 30 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
     General Services, in consultation with the Commission, shall 
     identify and make available suitable excess space within the 
     Federal space inventory to house the operations of the 
     Commission. If the Administrator of General Services is not 
     able to make such suitable excess space available within such 
     30-day period, the Commission may lease space to the extent 
     that funds are available for such purpose.
       (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, goods, and property from non-
     Federal entities for the purposes of aiding and facilitating 
     the work of the Commission. The authority in this subsection 
     does not extend to gifts of money. Gifts accepted under this 
     authority shall be documented, and conflicts of interest or 
     the appearance of conflicts of interest shall be avoided. 
     Subject to the authority in this section, commissioners shall 
     otherwise comply with rules set forth by the Select Committee 
     on Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of the 
     House of Representatives governing employees of the Senate 
     and the House of Representatives.
       (5) Legislative advisory committee.--The Commission shall 
     operate as a legislative advisory committee and shall not be 
     subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee 
     Act (Public Law 92-463; 5 U.S.C. App) or section 552b, United 
     States Code (commonly known as the Government in the Sunshine 
     Act).
       (g) 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) Status as federal employees.--Notwithstanding the 
     requirements of section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, 
     including the required supervision under subsection (a)(3) of 
     such section, the members of the commission shall be deemed 
     to be Federal employees.
       (B) Executive director.--The Commission shall appoint and 
     fix the rate of basic pay for an Executive Director in 
     accordance with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States 
     Code.
       (C) Pay.--The Executive Director, with the approval of the 
     Commission, may appoint and fix the rate of basic pay for 
     additional personnel as staff of the Commission in accordance 
     with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States Code.
       (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 Co-Chairpersons 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.
       (h) 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).
       (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) Increase.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by 
     section 4301 for Operation and Maintenance, Defense-wide, for 
     the Office of the Secretary of Defense, is hereby increased 
     by $3,000,000.
       (2) Offset.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by 
     section 4301 for Operation and Maintenance, Afghanistan 
     Security Forces Fund, for Afghanistan Air Force, Line 090, is 
     hereby reduced by $3,000,000.
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