H. Rept. 113-442 - PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE 2012 TERRORIST ATTACK IN BENGHAZI113th Congress (2013-2014)
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113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-442
======================================================================
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE EVENTS
SURROUNDING THE 2012 TERRORIST ATTACK IN BENGHAZI
_______
May 7, 2014.-- Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Sessions, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 567]
The Committee on Rules, to whom was referred the resolution
(H. Res. 567) providing for the establishment of the Select
Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack
in Benghazi, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon without amendment and recommend that the resolution be
adopted.
table of contents
Page
Purpose and Summary........................................... 2
Background and Need for Legislation........................... 2
Hearings...................................................... 3
Committee Consideration....................................... 3
Committee Votes............................................... 3
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations.............. 6
Performance Goals and Objectives.............................. 6
Advisory Committee Statement.................................. 6
Exchange of Committee Correspondence.......................... 7
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................ 9
Changes in Existing House Rules Made by the Resolution, as
Reported.................................................... 10
Appendix...................................................... 10
Dissenting Views.............................................. 12
purpose and summary
H. Res. 567 provides for the establishment of the Select
Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack
in Benghazi. The resolution provides that the Select Committee
will have a clear mandate for a comprehensive investigation
that is not limited by jurisdictional lines. The resolution
also authorizes the chair of the Select Committee to issue
subpoenas and order depositions, ensures the Select Committee
and its staff will have appropriate access to classified
material, and requires the Select Committee to report to the
full House on its findings and recommendations.
background and need for legislation
After the terrorist attack on United States facilities in
Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, the Committee on Rules
believed the most prudent course of action was to utilize the
full weight of Congressional oversight by using existing
committees. The standing committees in the House of
Representatives have resources and expertise that can be
quickly tapped, which has led to important and significant work
on the Benghazi investigation. In particular, the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on Armed
Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence have dedicated themselves to
finding answers for the families of the four Americans killed
during the attack.
One issue that the Rules Committee highlighted early in the
process of this investigation was the need for enhanced
coordination between committees. The Rules Committee has worked
directly with committees to ensure an unsurpassed level of
coordination. In August of 2013, the chair of the Committee on
Rules received status reports from the relevant committees to
ensure that they had every tool at their disposal as they
continued to work through their investigation. After receiving
updates from the committees of jurisdiction, the Committee
continued to believe that the existing committee structure was
best prepared to conduct the investigation.
While a select committee can be very useful in bringing
enhanced public scrutiny to a situation, there are some
drawbacks. Most notably, select committees take time to get up
and running--Members have to be appointed, staff needs to be
hired, and suitable space to handle classified information must
be acquired. However, the Committee on Rules has always been
open to the establishment of a select committee if it became
apparent that a select committee was necessary. That time has
come.
House committees have worked diligently to find out what
happened on the ground in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, and
equally important, what didn't happen. Unfortunately,
committees have had to pursue this investigation with an
unwilling partner in the Obama Administration.
While many documents have been provided to committees, it
has taken far too long. On August 1, 2013, Chairman Darrell
Issa issued a subpoena for records previously made available
for in camera review in response to repeated committee requests
for documents. Nearly one year later, the State Department
continues to produce documents related to that subpoena. In
short, there are still documents covered by the August 1, 2013
subpoena that have not been turned over. For example, the
Department has applied additional, unilateral redactions to
both classified and unclassified documents that were previously
made available for in camera review.
On April 17, 2014, an additional 276 documents, consisting
of 779 pages were delivered to the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform--many of which were heavily redacted. This is
the same day that the State Department complied with a Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by Judicial Watch.
The Committee believes that the timing of the two productions
was deliberately coordinated and questions if Congress would
have received these documents absent the FOIA request from
Judicial Watch. Furthermore, the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform has informed the Committee on Rules that the
versions of these documents provided to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform are in some cases more redacted
than those provided to Judicial Watch. The so-called ``Ben
Rhodes'' email was turned over as part of this document
production. However, it took the State Department more than a
year and a half after the attacks in Benghazi to turn over a
document that they themselves describe as ``in connection with
the Committee's investigation in to the attacks on the U.S.
Special Mission in Benghazi.''
The actions by the executive branch in the wake of the
Benghazi terrorist attack on United States facilities have now
expanded the scope of the congressional investigation that must
occur. In addition to getting answers about what happened in
Benghazi on September 11, 2012 and the Administration's
response to the attack, Congress must review how the
Administration has responded to congressional inquiries,
subpoenas, and requests for information. Congress must also
look at the checks and balances between the legislative and
executive branches that our Founding Fathers envisioned. The
House of Representatives is the People's House, and as such,
should never be circumvented by any Administration. While FOIA
is a powerful tool for transparency, an Administration should
feel equally responsible to comply with a congressional
investigation. A select committee will take time before it can
open its doors, but it is now clear that we need to raise the
level of public attention on the terrorist attack in Benghazi,
Libya, on September 11, 2012 and the Administration's response
to Congress.
hearings
The Committee on Rules did not hold hearings on this
measure.
committee consideration
The Committee on Rules met on May 7, 2014 in open session
and ordered H. Res. 567 favorably reported to the House by a
record vote of 7 yeas and 4 nays, a quorum being present.
committee votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. A
motion by Ms. Foxx to report the bill to the House with a
favorable recommendation was agreed to by a record vote of 7
yeas and 4 nays, a quorum being present. The names of Members
voting for and against follow:
roll call no. 132
h. res. 567 (original jurisdiction)
Date: May 07, 2014.
Motion by Ms. Foxx to report the resolution to the House
with a favorable recommendation.
Adopted: 7 yeas and 4 nays.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx, Vice Chairman....................... X Ms. Slaughter, Ranking Member... X
Mr. Bishop of Utah............................ Mr. McGovern.................... X
Mr. Cole...................................... X Mr. Hastings of Florida......... X
Mr. Woodall................................... X Mr. Polis....................... X
Mr. Nugent....................................
Mr. Webster of Florida........................ X
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.............................. X
Mr. Burgess................................... X
Mr. Sessions, Chairman........................ X
---------------
Vote Total: 7 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The committee also considered the following amendments on
which record votes were requested. The names of Members voting
for and against follow:
roll call no. 130
h. res. 567 (original jurisdiction)
Date: May 07, 2014.
Amendment offered by Ms. Slaughter makes membership on the
Committee equally divided between Republicans and Democrats;
guarantees minority sign-off on subpoenas and depositions;
guarantees equal distribution of money, staffing, and other
resources of the Committee; requires the Committee to establish
written rules, specifically including rules concerning how
documents and other information may be obtained, used, or
released; guarantees equal access to evidence and materials of
the Committee; provides for transparency of the Committee's
expenditures and budgeting; ensures that a quorum for taking
testimony or receiving evidence includes at least one minority
Member; and, finally, ensures that the minority has a say in
decisions about extended questioning and staff questioning of
witnesses.
Not Agreed to: 4 yeas and 7 nays.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx, Vice Chairman....................... X Ms. Slaughter, Ranking Member... X
Mr. Bishop of Utah............................ Mr. McGovern.................... X
Mr. Cole...................................... X Mr. Hastings of Florida......... X
Mr. Woodall................................... X Mr. Polis....................... X
Mr. Nugent....................................
Mr. Webster of Florida........................ X
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.............................. X
Mr. Burgess................................... X
Mr. Sessions, Chairman........................ X
---------------
Vote Total: 4 7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
roll call no. 131
h. res. 567 (original jurisdiction)
Date: May 07, 2014.
Amendment offered by Mr. Polis amends the resolution to
provide for separate consideration of H.R. 15.
Not Agreed to: 5 yeas and 6 nays.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx, Vice Chairman....................... X Ms. Slaughter, Ranking Member... X
Mr. Bishop of Utah............................ Mr. McGovern.................... X
Mr. Cole...................................... X Mr. Hastings of Florida......... X
Mr. Woodall................................... X Mr. Polis....................... X
Mr. Nugent....................................
Mr. Webster of Florida........................ X
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.............................. X
Mr. Burgess................................... X
Mr. Sessions, Chairman........................ X
---------------
Vote Total: 5 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
committee oversight findings and recommendations
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee made findings and
recommendations that are reflected in this report.
performance goals and objectives
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee establishes the
following performance related goals and objectives for this
legislation:
The resolution will ensure that Congress is most
appropriately structured to conduct effective oversight of the
events surrounding the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, on
September 11, 2012 and ensure that the executive branch
complies with requests for information related to this
investigation and future oversight requests from Congress.
advisory committee statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
section-by-section analysis of the legislation
Section 1. Establishment.
This section provides for the establishment of the Select
Committee.
Section 2. Composition.
This section provides that the Speaker will appoint 12
Members to the Select Committee, five of whom will be appointed
after consultation with the minority leader, that the Speaker
will appoint the chair of the Select Committee, and that any
vacancies are to be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
Section 3. Investigation and Report on the Events Surrounding the 2012
Terrorist Attack in Benghazi.
This section establishes the scope of the Select
Committee's investigation and provides that the Select
Committee must report its findings to the House. This section
also provides that the Select Committee may issue interim
reports and that any report issued by the Select Committee may
contain a classified annex.
The scope of the Select Committee's investigation includes,
but is not limited to: security decisions and military posture
prior to the attack, the terrorist attack that occurred in
Benghazi on September 11, 2012, the Executive Branch's response
to the attack, the Executive Branch's efforts to identify and
bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack on U.S.
facilities in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, the
Executive Branch's response to congressional inquiries and
subpoenas, recommendations for improving executive branch
cooperation and compliance with congressional oversight, and
lessons learned from the attacks and efforts to protect United
States facilities and personnel abroad.
Section 4. Procedure.
Subsection (a) authorizes the Select Committee to study
sources and methods of entities related to the scope of the
investigation provided for in section 3. The covered entities
are limited to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of
National Intelligence, and the National Intelligence Program as
defined in section 3(6) of the National Security Act of 1947.
Subsection (b) provides the Select Committee with access to
classified information and provides that the Select Committee,
including all staff and contractors, must properly handle
classified information to prevent unauthorized disclosures.
Subsection (c) establishes how certain provisions of House
rule XI (relating to the procedure of committees) will apply to
the Select Committee. Specifically, the Rules Committee intends
that section 4 of the resolution, in conjunction with the
standing rules of the House, shall comprise the Select
Committee's rules and the adoption of separate written rules is
not necessary. However, nothing in the resolution prohibits the
Select Committee, should it deem it necessary, from adopting
additional rules not inconsistent with the provisions of H.
Res. 567. This subsection provides the chair of the Select
Committee with subpoena and deposition authority consistent
with the authorities provided to the chair of the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform. This subsection also provides
that the Select Committee must use the same procedures to close
a hearing as is required of the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence. Finally, this subsection establishes quorums for
certain orders of business and provides that the chair may
recognize Members to question witnesses for longer than five
minutes and recognize committee staff to question a witness.
Section 5. Records; Staff; Funding.
This section provides that any committee of the House of
Representatives having custody of records in any form relating
to the matters described in section 3 must transfer such
records to the Select Committee within 14 days of the adoption
of this resolution. Such records shall become the records of
the Select Committee. This section also authorizes committee
funding and staff for the Select Committee.
Section 6. Dissolution and Disposition of Records.
This section provides that the Select Committee will cease
to exist 30 days after filing its final report and that the
Speaker will designate which committee(s) will take possession
of Select Committee's records.
changes in existing house rules made by the resolution, as reported
In compliance with clause 3(g) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H. Res.
567 does not propose to repeal or amend a standing rule of the
House.
appendix: deposition procedures
The deposition procedures described in section 4(c)(5)(B)
of the resolution are reprinted below for the convenience of
the reader. The procedures will also be printed in the
Congressional Record as required by the resolution.
(a) Notice for the taking of depositions shall specify the date,
time, and place of examination (if other than within the committee
offices). Depositions shall be taken under oath administered by a
member or a person otherwise authorized to administer oaths.
(b) Consultation with the ranking minority member shall include three
business days' notice before any deposition is taken. All members of
the Select Committee shall also receive three business days notice that
a deposition has been scheduled.
(c) Witnesses may be accompanied at a deposition by counsel to advise
them of their rights. No one may be present at depositions except
members, committee staff designated by the chair or ranking minority
member, an official reporter, the witness, and the witness's counsel.
Observers or counsel for other persons, or for agencies under
investigation, may not attend.
(d) At least one member of the committee shall be present at each
deposition taken by the committee, unless the witness to be deposed
agrees in writing to waive this requirement.
(e) A deposition shall be conducted by any member or staff attorney
designated by the chair or ranking minority member. When depositions
are conducted by committee staff attorneys, there shall be no more than
two committee staff attorneys permitted to question a witness per
round. One of the committee staff attorneys shall be designated by the
chair and the other by the ranking minority member. Other committee
staff members designated by the chair or ranking minority member may
attend, but may not pose questions to the witness.
(f) Questions in the deposition shall be propounded in rounds,
alternating between the majority and minority. A single round shall not
exceed 60 minutes per side, unless the members or staff attorneys
conducting the deposition agree to a different length of questioning.
In each round, a member or committee staff attorney designated by the
chair shall ask questions first, and the member or committee staff
attorney designated by the ranking minority member shall ask questions
second.
(g) Any objection made during a deposition must be stated concisely
and in a non-argumentative and non-suggestive manner. The witness may
refuse to answer a question only to preserve a privilege. When the
witness has objected and refused to answer a question to preserve a
privilege, the chair of the Select Committee may rule on any such
objection after the deposition has adjourned. If the chair overrules
any such objection and thereby orders a witness to answer any question
to which a privilege objection was lodged, such ruling shall be filed
with the clerk of the committee and shall be provided to the members
and the witness no less than three days before the reconvened
deposition. If a member of the committee appeals in writing the ruling
of the chair, the appeal shall be preserved for committee
consideration. A deponent who refuses to answer a question after being
directed to answer by the chair in writing may be subject to sanction,
except that no sanctions may be imposed if the ruling of the chair is
reversed on appeal.
(h) Committee staff shall ensure that the testimony is either
transcribed or electronically recorded or both. If a witness's
testimony is transcribed, the witness or the witness's counsel shall be
afforded an opportunity to review a copy. No later than five days
thereafter, the witness may submit suggested changes to the chair.
Committee staff may make any typographical and technical changes.
Substantive changes, modifications, clarifications, or amendments to
the deposition transcript submitted by the witness must be accompanied
by a letter signed by the witness requesting the changes and a
statement of the witness's reasons for each proposed change. Any
substantive changes, modifications, clarifications, or amendments shall
be included as an appendix to the transcript conditioned upon the
witness signing the transcript.
(i) The individual administering the oath, if other than a member,
shall certify on the transcript that the witness was duly sworn. The
transcriber shall certify that the transcript is a true record of the
testimony, and the transcript shall be filed, together with any
electronic recording, with the clerk of the Select Committee in
Washington, DC. Depositions shall be considered to have been taken in
Washington, DC, as well as the location actually taken once filed there
with the clerk of the Select Committee for the Select Committee's use.
The chair and the ranking minority member shall be provided with a copy
of the transcripts of the deposition at the same time.
(j) The chair and ranking minority member shall consult regarding the
release of depositions. If either objects in writing to a proposed
release of a deposition or a portion thereof, the matter shall be
promptly referred to the Select Committee for resolution.
(k) A witness shall not be required to testify unless the witness has
been provided with a copy of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and these procedures.
DISSENTING VIEWS
The 2012 attack in Benghazi was a tragedy that took the
lives of brave American public servants representing and
serving our country. We join their families in continuing to
mourn their loss. Congress has an obligation--both to the
families of the victims and to the country--to take every
possible step to prevent anything like this from ever happening
again.
The United States Senate has produced two bi-partisan
reports on the issue and the State Department's Accountability
Review Board has also produced a constructive, unbiased report.
Unfortunately, the House Majority has chosen a different path,
with an entirely partisan approach.
Over nearly two years and across four separate standing
committees of the House, the majority has repeatedly
demonstrated that rather than engaging in serious, objective
examination of the circumstances of the Benghazi attacks,
rather than producing constructive recommendations to keep our
citizens and facilities abroad safe, they intend to use this
tragedy as an excuse for generating partisan talking points.
Between the eight separate reports on Benghazi to date,
millions of dollars of taxpayer money have been spent, dozens
of interviews have been conducted and 13 hearings have been
held. More than 25,000 pages of documents have been produced.
There is a vast body of evidence already collected, none of it
demonstrating that the Obama Administration engaged in any sort
of cover-up as the majority continues to allege.
The reports issued by House committees have been highly
partisan, as were the investigations on which they were based.
Democratic Members were excluded from fact-finding delegations.
The minority was denied access to hearing witnesses. Documents
obtained by a committee were withheld from minority Members.
These are only some of the abuses committed in the course of
these investigations. Press reports even indicate that the
National Republican Congressional Committee--the House
Republicans' campaign arm--is explicitly raising campaign money
off of the tragedy in Benghazi.
Now, after nearly two years of the majority engaging in
thoroughly partisan exercises on this subject, they are
proposing to create an extraordinary select committee, with the
same partisan makeup and rules--to conduct yet another
investigation.
Given the majority's history of unprecedented partisanship
with regard to this matter, there is no reason to believe that
the new select committee will produce a different result.
The only way this select committee could be effective is if
it were completely bipartisan by the terms of the resolution
creating it. We offered an amendment to make a number of
changes to the structure and rules of the committee. Most
importantly, our amendment would have made membership on the
committee equally divided between Republicans and Democrats,
like the Ethics Committee and like some past select committees.
Our amendment would have guaranteed minority concurrence for
authorization of subpoenas and equal distribution of money,
staffing, and other committee resources.
Unfortunately, our amendment was rejected on a party-line
vote. Accordingly, we must oppose this resolution and the
creation of this select committee. There is potential for a
House select committee to investigate the tragedy in Benghazi
in such a way as to finally produce a thoughtful, useful report
on the subject, in stark contrast to the investigations and
reports issued by four House committees thus far. But this
select committee is doomed by the terms of this resolution to
instead be more of the same.
Louise M. Slaughter.
James P. McGovern.
Alcee L. Hastings.
Jared Polis.