To establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil liberties.
Latest action · Jan 24, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 5, 2011
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Establishes the National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties to investigate, and report to the President and Congress on, the broad range of executive branch national security policies undertaken since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, including: (1) detention by the Armed Forces and the intelligence community; (2) the use by such entities of enhanced interrogation techniques or techniques not authorized by the Uniform Code of Military Justice; (3) "ghosting" or other policies intended to conceal an individual's capture or detention; (4) extraordinary rendition; (5) domestic warrantless electronic surveillance; (6) targeted killings away from conventional battlefields; and (7) the use of state secrets or other litigation tactics or privileges to avoid judicial review of national security actions.
Cosponsors 4
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jan 5, 2011.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Jan 5, 2011 |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Original | Jan 5, 2011 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Jan 5, 2011 |
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Original | Jan 5, 2011 |
Committees 4
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Armed Services Committee | Referred Jan 5, 2011 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 5, 2011 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Jan 24, 2011 | |
| House | Foreign Affairs Committee | Referred Jan 5, 2011 |
| House | Intelligence (Permanent Select) Committee | Referred Jan 5, 2011 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
- Jan 5, 2011Introduced in House
- Jan 5, 2011Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2)
- Jan 5, 2011Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2 | John Conyers, Jr. D-MI | Jan 5, 2011 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H255.
Titles 1
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil liberties.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Advisory bodies
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Detention of persons
- Due process and equal protection
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Human rights
- Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
- Military law
- Military operations and strategy
- Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
- Right of privacy
- Terrorism
- War and emergency powers
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 5, 2011Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
