S.Amdt. 4311

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).
______