S.Amdt. 4148

SA 4148. Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Marshall, and Mrs.
Gillibrand) 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 appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

(a) Short Title; Sense of Congress.--
(1) Short title.--This section may be cited as the
``National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic Act''.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused immense
suffering in the United States, having resulted in more than
736,000 American deaths as of October 2021, and infecting at
least 45,000,000;
(B) following other destructive and traumatic events in our
history, including the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,
Congress has established a bipartisan commission of experts
to study the event and produce a report and recommendations,
and such an exercise can assist in national healing;
(C) the extent of the loss of life and the economic cost of
the pandemic demonstrate the high risks that pandemic
diseases can pose to public health and to national security,
and demands a thorough, authoritative, and independent review
of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 as well as United States actions
and policies before and during the pandemic, and
recommendations to Congress and policymakers as to how we can
be better prepared for future pandemic diseases, including
those that could be caused by intentional biological attacks;
(D) individuals appointed to the Commission established in
subsection (b) should be prominent citizens of the United
States with national recognition and significant experience
and expertise in--
(i) public health and biosafety;
(ii) epidemiology;
(iii) medicine;
(iv) emergency management or response;
(v) public administration;
(vi) logistics;
(vii) organizational management; or
(viii) medical intelligence and forensic investigations;
and
(E) it is crucial to better understand and manage the
increasing likelihood of pandemic threats (such as the recent
threats of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Ebola,
the 2009-H1N1 influenza, and COVID-19) and related health
issues that the United States could face during the next
several decades.
(b) Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic.--
(1) Establishment of commission.--There is established in
the legislative branch the National Commission on the COVID-
19 Pandemic (in this section referred to as the
``Commission'').
(2) Duties.--The Commission shall--
(A) in accordance with paragraph (4), conduct an
investigation of all relevant facts and circumstances
regarding the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (in this section
referred to as ``COVID-19'') in order to make a full and
complete accounting of--
(i) the preparedness of the United States for pandemic
disease before the outbreak of COVID-19;
(ii) the circumstances surrounding the initial outbreak and
spread of COVID-19; and
(iii) the actions taken by the Federal Government, State,
local, and Tribal governments, including with respect to the
private sector, civil society, and relevant international
organizations (including the World Health Organization) in
response to COVID-19;
(B) identify and examine lessons learned regarding pandemic
preparedness, response,

[[Page S7614]]

and recovery efforts by the Federal Government and State,
local, and Tribal governments, and international partners;
and
(C) submit to the President and Congress, and make publicly
available, such reports as are required by this section
containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the
Commission determines appropriate to improve the ability of
the United States to prepare for, detect, prevent, and, if
necessary, respond to and recover from epidemics and
pandemics such as COVID-19 (whether naturally occurring or
caused by state or non-state actors) in a way that minimizes
negative effects on public health, the economy, and society.
(3) Composition of commission.--
(A) Members.--The Commission shall be composed of 10
members, of whom--
(i) 1 member shall be appointed by the President, who shall
serve as chair of the Commission;
(ii) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader of the House
of Representatives (the Speaker or minority leader, as the
case may be) of the political party that is not the same
political party as the President, in consultation with the
leader of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the
case may be) of the same political party as such leader of
the House of Representatives, who shall serve as vice chair
of the Commission;
(iii) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of
the Senate leadership of the Democratic Party;
(iv) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of
the leadership of the House of Representatives of the
Republican Party;
(v) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of
the Senate leadership of the Republican Party; and
(vi) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior member of
the leadership of the House of Representatives of the
Democratic Party.
(B) Affiliations; initial meeting.--
(i) Political party affiliation.--Not more than 5 members
of the Commission shall be from the same political party.
(ii) 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.
(iii) Conflicts of interest.--An individual appointed to
the Commission may not have conflicts of interest, or
otherwise have demonstrated a strong bias toward a particular
conclusion that may prejudice the individual's judgement as
it pertains to the matters before the Commission. A senior
member of the leadership of either party in the Senate or the
House of Representatives may raise objections to appointees
who raise such concerns.
(iv) Deadline for appointment.--All members of the
Commission shall be appointed not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.
(v) Initial meeting.--The Commission shall meet and begin
the operations of the Commission as soon as practicable, but
not later than 15 days after appointment of all members of
the Commission.
(C) Quorum; vacancies.--After its initial meeting, the
Commission shall meet upon the call of the chair 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.
(D) In-person meetings.--The members of the Commission
shall conduct its meetings in person unless such in-person
meetings would pose a health risk or significant practical
challenges.
(4) Investigation.--The investigation under paragraph
(2)(A) shall address the following:
(A) The structure, coordination, management, policies,
procedures, and actions of the Federal Government, State,
local, and Tribal governments, and nongovernmental entities
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(B) The effectiveness of communications to the public
concerning the pandemic and the public health response,
including physical distancing practices, the use of masks,
and other non-pharmaceutical interventions intended to reduce
the spread of COVID-19.
(C) The role of international cooperation in responding to
the pandemic, including the role of international
organizations such as the World Health Organization and
China's government's cooperation in the global investigation
of COVID-19.
(D) The availability of personal protective equipment for
health workers and first responders, and the availability of
other relevant medical equipment and supplies, including the
role of the Strategic National Stockpile.
(E) The role of the Federal Government in the development,
testing, production, and distribution of treatments and
vaccines for COVID-19.
(F) The preparedness and capacity of the health care system
of the United States, including hospitals, physicians,
community health centers, and laboratories.
(G) The link between variations in the language that
individuals use to describe a novel virus or disease and how
such language may contribute to or conversely help to prevent
an increase in incidents of stigma, discrimination, and
harassment against an identifiable group of people and the
communities in which they live.
(H) The origins of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-
19. Such an investigation shall include engaging with willing
partner governments and experts from around the world,
seeking access to all relevant records on the virus cultures,
isolates, genomic sequences, databases, and patient
specimens, and personnel of interest. The investigation shall
fully and without prejudice explore the likely origins of
COVID-19, as addressed in the August, 27, 2020, Office of the
Director of National Intelligence unclassified summary of the
Intelligence Community assessment on COVID-19 origins,
including natural exposure to an infected animal and a
laboratory-associated incident involving experimentation,
animal handling, or sampling by the Wuhan Institute of
Virology, or another lab conducting similar research.
(I) Any other subject the Commission determines relevant to
understanding the origins of COVID-19, the United States
response to COVID-19, and developing recommendations to
prepare for future pandemics.
(5) Powers of commission.--
(A) In general.--
(i) Hearings and evidence.--The Commission or, as delegated
by the chair and vice chair, any subcommittee or member
thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this section--

(I) hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and
places, take such testimony, receive such evidence,
administer such oaths, as the Commission or such designated
subcommittee or designated member may determine advisable;
and
(II) subject to clause (ii)(I), 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.

(ii) Issuance of subpoenas.--

(I) In general.--A subpoena may be issued under this
subparagraph only--

(aa) by the agreement of the chair and the vice chair; or
(bb) by the affirmative vote of 6 members of the
Commission.

(II) Signature.--Subject to subclause (I), subpoenas issued
under this subparagraph may be issued under the signature of
the chair or any member designated by a majority of the
Commission, and may be served by any person designated by the
chair or by a member designated by a majority of the
Commission.

(iii) Enforcement of subpoenas.--

(I) In general.--In the case of contumacy or failure to
obey a subpoena issued under this subparagraph, 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 subsection, the Commission
may, by majority vote, certify a statement of fact
constituting such failure to the appropriate United States
attorney, who shall 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 section.
(C) Information from federal, state, local, and tribal
agencies.--
(i) In general.--The Commission is authorized to secure
directly from any executive department, bureau, agency,
board, commission, office, independent establishment, or
instrumentality of the Federal Government or a State, local,
or Tribal government information, suggestions, estimates, and
statistics for the purposes of this section. Each department,
bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent
establishment, or instrumentality shall, to the fullest
extent permitted by law, furnish such information,
suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the
Commission, upon request made by the chair, the chair of any
subcommittee created by a majority of the Commission, or any
member designated by a majority of the Commission.
(ii) 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.
(iii) Non-interference with public health duties.--The
Commission and its staff shall seek information and testimony
in a manner that ensures Federal, State, local, and Tribal
individuals and entities and private sector individuals and
entities are able to prioritize activities related to the
pandemic response.
(D) Assistance from federal agencies.--
(i) 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.
(ii) Intelligence and investigative support.--The Director
of National Intelligence,

[[Page S7615]]

the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney
General shall, to the extent authorized by law, support the
duties of the Commission by providing information,
intelligence, analysis, recommendations, estimates, and
statistics directly to the Commission, upon request made by
the chair of the Commission, the chair of any subcommittee
created by a majority of the Commission, or any member
designated by a majority of the Commission.
(iii) Other departments and agencies.--In addition to the
assistance prescribed in clause (i), 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) Declassification of intelligence related to covid-19.--
(i) Commencement of review.--Not later than 30 days after
the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, the
Director of National Intelligence shall, in coordination with
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the heads of
such other elements of the intelligence community as the
Director of National Intelligence considers appropriate,
commence a declassification review of any and all information
the Commission determines necessary relating to the origin of
COVID-19.
(ii) Completion of review.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, the
Director of National Intelligence shall complete the review
described in clause (i) and determine what additional
information relating to the origin of COVID-19 can be
appropriately declassified and shared with the public.
(iii) Submission of report.--The Director of National
Intelligence shall submit to Congress an unclassified report
that contains the additional information described in clause
(ii) with only such redactions as the Director determines
necessary to protect sources and methods without altering or
obscuring such information.
(F) Gifts.--The Commission may not accept, use, and dispose
of gifts or donations of services or property.
(G) 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.
(6) 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) Presumption for public meetings.--
(i) Open to the public.--The Commission shall make its
hearings and meetings open to the public unless the chair and
vice chair determine by consensus, on a case-by-case basis,
that the hearing or meeting should be closed to the public.
(ii) Protection of information.--Any public meeting or
hearing 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.
(7) Staff of commission.--
(A) In general.--
(i) Appointment and compensation.--The chair, in
consultation with the vice chair, 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. The chair shall ensure that any internships with
the Commission are paid positions.
(ii) Personnel as federal employees.--

(I) In general.--The staff 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.
(II) Members of commission.--Subclause (I) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) 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
section without the appropriate security clearances.
(10) Reports of commission.--
(A) Interim report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the
President and Congress, and make publicly available, an
interim report 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 the date described in
subparagraph (C)(i), the Commission shall submit to the
President and Congress, and make publicly available, a final
report containing such findings, conclusions, and
recommendations for corrective measures as have been agreed
to by a majority of Commission members.
(C) Deadline.--
(i) Date described.--The date described in this clause is
20 months after the date of the initial meeting of the
Commission, unless not fewer than 8 members of the Commission
vote for an extension of not more than 120 days.
(ii) Number of extensions.--The Commission may make not
more than 1 extension under clause (i).
(iii) Notification.--The Commission shall notify the
President, Congress, and the public of each extension under
clause (i).
(11) Termination.--
(A) In general.--The Commission, and all the authorities of
this section, shall terminate 90 days after the date on which
the final report is submitted under paragraph (10)(B).
(B) Administrative activities before termination.--The
Commission may use the 90-day period referred to in
subparagraph (A) for the purpose of concluding its
activities, including providing testimony to committees of
Congress concerning its reports, disseminating the final
report, and explaining to the public such reports and the
conclusions of the Commission.
(12) Funding.--
(A) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as may be
necessary for any fiscal year.
(B) Duration of availability.--Amounts made available to
the Commission under subparagraph (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 subparagraph (A) are insufficient for the
Commission to carry out its duties, including during an
extended period described in paragraph (10)(C).
(13) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) The terms ``chair'' and ``vice chair'' refer to the
chair and vice chair of the Commission appointed under
paragraph (3)(A).
(B) The term ``State'' means each of the several States,
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam,
the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
______