Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021”.
Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021
A BILL
To establish a commission to study the war in Afghanistan.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Applicable period— The term applicable period means the period beginning June 1, 2001, and ending August 30, 2021.
Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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)).
Sec. 3 Establishment of Commission
Establishment— There is established in the legislative branch an independent commission to be known as the Afghanistan War Commission (in this Act referred to as the “Commission”).
Membership—
Composition— The Commission shall be composed of 16 members of whom—
1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives;
1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives;
1 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
1 shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
Qualifications— It is the sense of Congress that each member of the Commission appointed under paragraph (1) should have significant professional experience in national security, such as a position in—
the Department of Defense;
the Department of State;
the intelligence community;
the United States Agency for International Development; or
an academic or scholarly institution.
Prohibitions— A member of the Commission appointed under paragraph (1) may not—
be a current member of Congress;
be a former member of Congress who served in Congress after January 3, 2001;
be a current or former registrant under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.);
have previously investigated Afghanistan policy or the war in Afghanistan through employment in the office of a relevant inspector general;
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
have served, with direct involvement in actions by the United States Government in Afghanistan during the time the relevant official served, as—
a cabinet secretary or national security adviser to the President; or
a four-star flag officer, Under Secretary, or more senior official in the Department of Defense or the Department of State.
Date—
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.
Failure to make appointment— If an appointment under paragraph (1) is not made by the appointment date specified in subparagraph (A)—
the authority to make such appointment shall expire; and
the number of members of the Commission shall be reduced by the number equal to the number of appointments not made.
Period of appointment; vacancies—
In general— A member of the Commission shall be appointed for the life of the Commission.
Vacancies— A vacancy in the Commission—
shall not affect the powers of the Commission; and
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
Meetings—
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.
Frequency— The Commission shall meet at the call of the Co-Chairpersons.
Quorum— A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.
Co-Chairpersons— The Commission shall select, by a simple majority vote—
1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the Commission appointed by chairpersons of the appropriate congressional committees; and
1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the Commission appointed by the ranking members of the appropriate congressional committees.
Sec. 4 Purpose of Commission
The purpose of the Commission is—
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
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.
Sec. 5 Duties of Commission
Study—
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.
Matters Studied— The matters studied by the Commission shall include—
for the time period specified under paragraph (1)—
the policy objectives of the United States Government, including—
military objectives;
diplomatic objectives;
development objectives; and
intelligence objectives;
significant decisions made by the United States, including the development of options presented to policymakers;
the efficacy of efforts by the United States Government in meeting the objectives described in subsection (A), including an analysis of—
military efforts;
diplomatic efforts;
development efforts; and
intelligence efforts; and
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—
to mount external attacks against the United States mainland or its allies and partners; or
to threaten regional stability in Afghanistan and neighboring countries;
the efficacy of metrics, measures of effectiveness, and milestones used to assess progress of diplomatic, military, and intelligence efforts;
the efficacy of interagency planning and execution process by the United States Government;
factors that led to the collapse of the Afghan National Defense Security Forces in 2021, including—
training;
assessment methodologies;
building indigenous forces on western models;
reliance on technology and logistics support; and
reliance on warfighting enablers provided by the United States;
the efficacy of counter-corruption efforts to include linkages to diplomatic lines of effort, linkages to foreign and security assistance, and assessment methodologies;
the efficacy of counter-narcotic efforts to include alternative livelihoods, eradication, interdiction, and education efforts;
the role of countries neighboring Afghanistan in contributing to the instability of Afghanistan; and
varying diplomatic approaches between Presidential administrations.
Report required—
In general—
Annual report—
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.
Addenda— Any member of the Commission may submit an addendum to a report required under clause (i) setting forth the separate views of such member with respect to any matter considered by the Commission.
Briefing— On the date of the submission of the first annual report, the Commission shall brief Congress.
Final report—
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.
Addenda— Any member of the Commission may submit an addendum to the report required under clause (i) setting forth the separate views of such member with respect to any matter considered by the Commission.
Extension— The Commission may submit the report required under clause (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.
Form— The report required by subsection (a)(2) shall be submitted and publicly released on a Government website in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
Subsequent reports on declassification—
In general— Not later than 4 years after the date that the report required by paragraph (1)(B) 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.
Contents— Each report required by subparagraph (A) shall include—
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;
a broad description of items in the annex that the agency is declining to declassify at the time of the report; and
any justification for withholding declassification of certain items in the annex and an estimate of the timeline for declassification of such items.
Sec. 6 Powers of Commission
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 Act.
Assistance from Federal agencies—
Information—
In general— The Commission may secure directly from a Federal department or agency such information as the Commission considers necessary to carry out this Act.
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.
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.
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.
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 section 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 Act, 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.
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).
Sec. 7 Commission personnel matters
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.
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.
Staff—
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sec. 8 Termination of Commission
The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits the report required under section 5(b)(1)(B).
Sec. 9 Authorization of appropriations
In general— Of the funds appropriated to the legislative branch, $3,000,000 from the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund may be made available to carry out the activities of the Commission.
Availability— Any sums appropriated under the authorization contained in this Act shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation, until the date of the termination of the Commission under section 8.