[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 4, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S765-S767]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 343--ESTABLISHING A SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE TO
MAKE A FULL AND THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF THE UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES
OF APPARENTLY CLASSIFIED INFORMATION CONCERNING THE NATIONAL SECURITY
AGENCY INTELLIGENCE-COLLECTION PROGRAMS, OPERATIONS, AND ACTIVITIES,
INCLUDING PROGRAMS AFFECTING AMERICANS, TO MAKE FINDINGS BASED UPON THE
INVESTIGATION, AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THE INVESTIGATION
AND FINDINGS
Mr. McCAIN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Rules and Administration:
Whereas since June 2013, publications have revealed details
about certain National Security Agency intelligence-
collection programs, operations, and activities, including
intelligence-collection programs affecting Americans;
Whereas such publications appear to be based in substantial
part on unauthorized disclosures of classified information
concerning intelligence collection;
Whereas the unauthorized disclosure of classified
information is a felony under Federal law;
Whereas the National Security Agency relies on Federal
agency contractors to carry out important aspects of its
national security mission;
Whereas the extent of reliance on contract positions may
unwisely increase the number of individuals with potential
access to classified information and may increase the risk of
unauthorized disclosures;
Whereas such unauthorized disclosures may cause damage to
United States national security interests, intelligence
sources and methods, and relationships with key allies;
Whereas senior officials in the intelligence community may
have misled Congress or otherwise obfuscated the nature,
extent, or use of certain intelligence-collection programs,
operations, and activities of the National Security Agency,
including intelligence-collection programs affecting
Americans;
Whereas the provision of incomplete or inaccurate
information by officials of the intelligence community has
inhibited effective congressional oversight of certain
intelligence-collection programs, operations, and activities
of the National Security Agency, including intelligence-
collection programs affecting Americans, and undermined
congressional and public support of these programs;
Whereas intelligence-collection programs, operations, and
activities of the National Security Agency have been valuable
to combating terrorism and ensuring the security of the
homeland;
Whereas some such programs, operations, and activities that
are the subject matter of the unauthorized disclosures may
not have been authorized, or may have exceeded that which was
authorized, by law, or may not have been permitted under the
Constitution of the United States; and
Whereas a Review Group on Intelligence and Communications
Technologies was established by the President and issued a
final report entitled ``Liberty and Security in a Changing
World'' on December 12, 2013: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON
INVESTIGATION.
There is established a select committee of the Senate to be
known as the Select Committee on the Investigation of leaks
concerning certain activities of the National Security Agency
(hereinafter in this Resolution referred to as the ``Select
Committee'').
SEC. 2. FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES.
(a) General Duties.--The Select Committee is authorized and
directed--
(1) to make a full and thorough investigation of the
unauthorized disclosures that have occurred since June 2013
of apparently classified information concerning the National
Security Agency intelligence-collection programs, operations,
and activities, including intelligence-collection programs
affecting Americans;
(2) to make findings based upon the investigation carried
out under paragraph (1);
(3) to submit to Congress and the President recommendations
based on the investigation
[[Page S766]]
carried out under paragraph (1) and the findings made under
paragraph (2); and
(4) to take any actions necessary and appropriate to carry
out paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
(b) Particular Duties.--Without abridging in any way the
authority conferred upon the Select Committee in subsection
(a), the Senate further expressly authorizes and directs the
Select Committee to make a complete investigation and make
findings and recommendations related to the following:
(1) The unauthorized disclosures of apparently classified
information concerning the National Security Agency
intelligence-collection programs, operations, and activities,
including intelligence-collection programs affecting
Americans that have occurred since June 2013, including--
(A) the circumstances under which unauthorized disclosure
occurred;
(B) the extent of the damage done to United States national
security interests, intelligence sources and methods, and
relationships with key allies; and
(C) how such damage may be mitigated.
(2) Contracting by the National Security Agency, in
particular--
(A) the extent of reliance by the Agency on contract
employees to carry out important aspects of the national
security mission of the Agency;
(B) the extent to which contractors with access to
classified information were properly vetted;
(C) the sufficiency of internal controls to ensure only
properly cleared contractors with a need to know had access
to classified information;
(D) whether adequate remedial measures have been put in
place to address identified deficiencies in the foregoing
areas; and
(E) whether any oversight or legislation is needed to
reform any issues identified by the use of Federal
contractors in the intelligence agencies.
(3) The nature and scope of National Security Agency
intelligence-collection programs, operations, and activities,
including intelligence-collection programs affecting
Americans, that were the subject matter of the unauthorized
disclosure, including--
(A) the extent of domestic surveillance authorized by law;
(B) the legal authority that served as the basis for the
National Security Agency intelligence-collection programs,
operations, and activities that are the subject matter of
those disclosures;
(C) the extent to which such programs, operations, and
activities that were the subject matter of such unauthorized
disclosures may have gone beyond what was authorized by law
or permitted under the Constitution of the United States;
(D) the extent and sufficiency of oversight of such
programs, operations, and activities by Congress and the
Executive Branch; and
(E) the need for greater transparency and more effective
congressional oversight of intelligence community activities.
(4) Whether existing laws of the United States are
adequate, either in their provisions or manner of
enforcement, to safeguard the rights and privacies of
citizens of the United States.
(5) The terrorist activities that were disrupted, in whole
or in part, with the aid of information obtained through the
National Security Agency intelligence-collection programs,
operations, and activities that were the subject matter of
those disclosures and whether this information could have
been promptly obtained by other means.
(6) The findings and recommendations of the Review Group on
Intelligence and Communications Technologies established by
the President, including--
(A) the feasibility, costs, and benefits of such findings
and recommendations; and
(B) the legislative action that would be required to
implement those findings and recommendations.
(7) The need for specific legislative authority to govern
the operations of the intelligence collection activities and
practices of the National Security Agency, including
recommendations and proposals for legislation.
SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Select
Committee shall be composed of 14 members as follows:
(1) The chairman and vice chairman of the Select Committee
on Intelligence of the Senate.
(2) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Armed Services of the Senate.
(3) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(4) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(5) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate.
(6) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
(7) One Senator selected by the majority leader of the
Senate.
(8) One Senator selected by the minority leader of the
Senate.
(b) Alternative Membership.--If the chairman, vice
chairman, or ranking member of a committee referred to in
paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a) declines to
serve on the Select Committee, then the majority leader of
the Senate in the case of a chairman, or the minority leader
of the Senate in the case of a vice chairman or ranking
member, shall designate a member from that committee to serve
on the Select Committee.
(c) Date.--The appointments of the members of the Select
Committee shall be made not later than 30 days after the date
of adoption of this Resolution.
(d) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Select Committee shall
not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner
as the original appointment.
(e) Chairman and Vice Chairman.--
(1) Chairman.--The members of the Select Committee who are
members of the majority party of the Senate shall elect a
chairman for the Select Committee by majority vote.
(2) Vice chairman.--The members of the Select Committee who
are members of the minority party of the Senate shall elect a
vice chairman by majority vote.
(f) Service.--Service of a Senator as a member, chairman,
or vice chairman of the Select Committee shall not be taken
into account for the purposes of paragraph (4) of rule XXV of
the Standing Rules of the Senate.
SEC. 4. RULES.
(a) Governance Under Standing Rules of Senate.--Except as
otherwise specifically provided in this Resolution, the
investigation and hearings conducted by the Select Committee
shall be governed by the Standing Rules of the Senate.
(b) Additional Rules and Procedures.--The Select Committee
may adopt additional rules or procedures if the chairman and
the vice chairman of the Select Committee agree, or if the
Select Committee by majority vote so decides, that such
additional rules or procedures are necessary or advisable to
enable the Select Committee to conduct the investigation and
hearings authorized by this Resolution. Any such additional
rules and procedures--
(1) shall not be inconsistent with this Resolution or the
Standing Rules of the Senate; and
(2) shall become effective upon publication in the
Congressional Record.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES.
(a) In General.--The Select Committee may exercise all of
the powers and responsibilities of a committee under rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
(b) Powers.--The Select Committee may, for the purpose of
carrying out this Resolution--
(1) hold hearings;
(2) administer oaths;
(3) sit and act at any time or place during the sessions,
recess, and adjournment periods of the Senate;
(4) authorize and require, by issuance of subpoena or
otherwise, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
preservation and production of books, records,
correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and any
other materials in whatever form the Select Committee
considers advisable;
(5) take testimony, orally, by sworn statement, by sworn
written interrogatory, or by deposition, and authorize staff
members to do the same; and
(6) issue letters rogatory and requests, through
appropriate channels, for any other means of international
assistance.
(c) Authorization, Issuance, and Enforcement of
Subpoenas.--
(1) Authorization.--Subpoenas authorized and issued under
this section--
(A) may be done with the joint concurrence of the chairman
and the vice chairman of the Select Committee;
(B) shall bear the signature of the chairman or the vice
chairman of the Select Committee or the designee of such
chairman or vice chairman; and
(C) shall be served by any person or class of persons
designated by the chairman or the vice chairman of the Select
Committee for that purpose anywhere within or without the
borders of the United States to the full extent provided by
law.
(d) Enforcement.--The Select Committee may make to the
Senate by report or Resolution any recommendation, including
a recommendation for criminal or civil enforcement, that the
Select Committee considers appropriate with respect to--
(1) the failure or refusal of any person to appear at a
hearing or deposition or to produce or preserve documents or
materials described in subsection (b)(4) in obedience to a
subpoena or order of the Select Committee;
(2) the failure or refusal of any person to answer
questions truthfully and completely during the person's
appearance as a witness at a hearing or deposition of the
Select Committee; or
(3) the failure or refusal of any person to comply with any
subpoena or order issued under the authority of subsection
(c).
(e) Access to Information.--The Select Committee shall
have, to the fullest extent permitted by law, access to any
such information or materials obtained by any other
department or agency of the United States or by anybody
investigating the matters described in section 3.
(f) Authority of Other Committees.--Nothing contained in
this section shall affect or impair the exercise of any other
standing committee of the Senate of any power, or the
discharge by such committee of any duty, conferred or imposed
upon it by the Standing Rules of the Senate or by the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 812, chapter
753).
(g) Quorum.--
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(1) Reports and recommendations.--A majority of the members
of the Select Committee shall constitute a quorum for the
purpose of reporting a matter or recommendation to the
Senate.
(2) Testimony.--One member of the Select Committee shall
constitute a quorum for the purpose of taking testimony.
(3) Other business.--A majority of the members of the
Select Committee shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of
conducting any other business of the Select Committee.
(h) Security Clearances.--Each member of the Select
Committee shall have an appropriate security clearance.
(i) Violations of Law.--
(1) Reports of violation of law.--If the chairman and vice
chairman of the Select Committee, or a majority of the Select
Committee determine that there is reasonable cause to believe
that a violation of law may have occurred, the chairman and
vice chairman by letter, or the Select Committee by
resolution, are authorized to report such violation to the
proper Federal, State, or local authorities. Any such letter
or report may recite the basis for the determination of
reasonable cause.
(2) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection may be
construed to authorize the release of documents or testimony.
(j) Recommendations.--The Select Committee shall have
authority to make recommendations for appropriate new
legislation or the amendment of any existing statute which
the Select Committee considers necessary or desirable to
carry out this Resolution.
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
(a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than 180 days after
the appointment of members to the Select Committee, the
Select Committee shall submit to the Senate and the President
a final report on the results of the investigations and
studies conducted pursuant to this Resolution, together with
any recommendations for Congress and the President based on
the investigation and findings of the Select Committee.
(b) Interim Reports.--The Select Committee may submit to
the Senate such interim reports as the Select Committee
considers appropriate.
(c) Form of Reports.--Each report submitted under this
section shall be submitted in unclassified form to the
greatest extent possible, and may include a classified annex
if necessary.
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Staff.--
(1) In general.--The Select Committee may employ in
accordance with paragraph (2) a staff composed of such
clerical, investigatory, legal, technical, and other
personnel as the Select Committee, or the chairman and the
vice chairman of the Select Committee, considers necessary or
appropriate.
(2) Appointment of staff.--The staff of the Select
Committee shall consist of such personnel as the chairman and
the vice chairman shall jointly appoint. Such staff may be
removed jointly by the chairman and the vice chairman, and
shall work under the joint general supervision and direction
of the chairman and the vice chairman.
(b) Compensation.--The chairman and the vice chairman of
the Select Committee shall jointly fix the compensation of
all personnel of the staff of the Select Committee.
(c) Reimbursement of Expenses.--The Select Committee may
reimburse the members of its staff for travel, subsistence,
and other necessary expenses incurred by such staff members
in the performance of their functions for the Select
Committee.
(d) Services of Senate Staff.--The Select Committee may
use, with the prior consent of the chair of any other
committee of the Senate or the chair of any subcommittee of
any committee of the Senate, the facilities of any other
committee of the Senate, or the services of any members of
the staff of such committee or subcommittee, whenever the
Select Committee or the chairman or the vice chairman of the
Select Committee considers that such action is necessary or
appropriate to enable the Select Committee to carry out its
responsibilities, duties, or functions under this Resolution.
(e) Detail of Employees.--The Select Committee may use on a
reimbursable basis, with the prior consent of the head of the
department or agency of Government concerned and the approval
of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate,
the services of personnel of such department or agency.
(f) Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The Select
Committee may procure the temporary or intermittent services
of individual consultants, or organizations thereof.
(g) Payment of Expenses.--There shall be paid out of the
applicable accounts of the Senate such sums as may be
necessary for the expenses of the Select Committee. Such
payments shall be made by vouchers signed by the Chair of the
Select Committee and approved in the manner directed by the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate. Amounts
made available under this subsection shall be expended in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on
Rules and Administration of the Senate.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Resolution:
(1) Classified information.--The term ``classified
information'' has the meaning given that term in section 804
of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3164)).
(2) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence
community'' has the meaning given that term in section 3 of
the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE; TERMINATION.
(a) Effective Date.--This Resolution shall take effect on
the date of the adoption of this Resolution.
(b) Termination.--The Select Committee shall terminate 60
days after the submittal of the report required by section
6(a).
(c) Disposition of Records.--Upon termination of the Select
Committee, the records of the Select Committee shall become
the records of any committee designated by the majority
leader of the Senate with the concurrence of the minority
leader of the Senate.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, since June of 2013, there have been steady
and persistent unauthorized disclosures of apparently classified
information regarding the activities and practices of the National
Security Agency, NSA. These disclosures have caused grave damage to the
United States. They have harmed our relations with friends and allies
and harmed our ability to combat threats to the United States. They
have also undermined public support for U.S. intelligence programs by
casting doubt on the candor of key officials, the permissibility of the
NSA's activities, the efficacy of the government's oversight, and
whether legitimate privacy interests are properly taken into account in
connection with important surveillance activities.
Last month, the President proposed some changes to how our Nation
conducts certain intelligence collection activities. But the
President's proposals left many crucial questions unanswered. Now is
the time for Congress to improve how it executes its constitutional
oversight duties--to examine certain intelligence collection activities
and practices and ensure that we are fulfilling our obligation to
protect both the security of our Nation and the freedom of our
citizens.
The vital issues at stake here are complex, broad, and cut across
many areas of jurisdiction of established congressional committees,
including national security, intelligence, technology, commerce,
foreign affairs, and privacy. For these reasons, today I am introducing
legislation calling for the establishment of a Senate Select Committee
to investigate how these leaks occurred and to make findings and
recommendations for legislation to address these issues which are vital
to American national security.
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