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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6578 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6578
To establish the Commission to Study Acts of Antisemitism in the United
States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 4, 2023
Mrs. Miller-Meeks (for herself, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Salazar, Mr.
Gottheimer, Mr. Miller of Ohio, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Gooden of Texas, Mr.
D'Esposito, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Balderson, Mr. Wilson
of South Carolina, Mr. Feenstra, Mr. Amodei, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Mann,
Mr. Schneider, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Rose, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Kean of New
Jersey, Mr. Guest, Mr. Yakym, Mr. Valadao, and Mr. Lawler) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Commission to Study Acts of Antisemitism in the United
States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Commission to Study Acts of
Antisemitism in the United States Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Since Hamas deadly invasion of the nation of Israel on
October 7, 2023, there has been a disturbing rise of
antisemitism in the United States.
(2) On October 31, 2023, a student at Cornell University
was arrested and charged for threatening to kill and injure
members of the Jewish community.
(3) In October 2023, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Director Christopher Wray stated that antisemitism in the
United States had reached ``historic levels''.
(4) The Anti-Defamation League reported a nearly 300
percent spike in antisemitic activity in the United States
since Hamas attack on Israel.
(5) In November 2023, a 69-year-old Jewish man was killed
in Los Angeles after being struck in the head by a protester at
an anti-Israel protest.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is established in the legislative branch a commission to be
known as the ``Commission to Study Acts of Antisemitism in the United
States'' (in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.
Without making any predetermined or political findings, the
Commission shall--
(1) investigate the facts, different sources, and
manifestations of antisemitism in the present day;
(2) examine and evaluate evidence developed by relevant
Federal, State, and local governments, as well as leading non-
governmental organizations with significant experience
gathering data and trends on antisemitic incidents in the
United States, regarding the facts and circumstances of
antisemitic attacks within the United States, except that such
examination and evaluation shall not interfere with ongoing law
enforcement activities and investigations;
(3) evaluate the different types of actions taken by
Federal, State, and local governments and governmental agencies
in recent years to combat antisemitism; and
(4) report to the President and Congress regarding its
findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislation or
administrative actions as the Commission considers appropriate.
SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) Members.--
(1) Number and appointment.--The Commission shall be
composed of 9 members appointed as follows:
(A) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives.
(B) 2 members appointed by the minority leader of
the House of Representatives.
(C) 2 members appointed by the majority leader of
the Senate.
(D) 2 members appointed by the minority leader of
the Senate.
(E) 1 member appointed by the President of the
United States.
(2) Chairperson; vice chairperson.--The Chairperson and
Vice Chairperson of the Commission shall be designated jointly
by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the minority
leader of the House of Representatives at the time of the
appointment.
(3) Political affiliation.--Not more than 4 members
appointed under paragraph (1) may be of the same political
party.
(4) Timing for appointment.--All members of the Commission
shall be appointed not later than 10 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(5) Qualifications.--Members of the Commission shall have
demonstrated expertise and experience cataloguing, addressing,
and combating antisemitism.
(b) Terms.--
(1) In general.--Each member shall be appointed for the
life of the Commission.
(2) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled
in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
(c) Basic Pay.--
(1) Compensation.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
members shall each be paid at a rate not to exceed the daily
equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for level III of the
Executive Schedule for each day (including travel time) during
which they are engaged in the actual performance of duties
vested in the Commission.
(2) Prohibition of compensation of federal employees.--
Members of the Commission who are full-time officers or
employees of the United States or Members of Congress may not
receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of
their service on the Commission.
(3) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in
accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
(d) Quorum.--6 members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum
but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(e) Meetings.--As soon as practicable after all members are
appointed, but not earlier than 15 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Commission shall meet and begin the initial operation of
the Commission. The Commission shall meet monthly thereafter.
SEC. 6. EXPERTS; STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) Experts.--The Commission may procure temporary and intermittent
services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at
rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual
rate of basic pay for GS-15 of the General Schedule. The services of an
expert or consultant may be procured without compensation if the expert
or consultant agrees to such an arrangement, in writing, in advance.
(b) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the Commission, the
head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable
basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the
Commission to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.
SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of
carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places,
take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers
appropriate. The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to
witnesses appearing before it.
(b) Powers of Members and Agents.--Any member or agent of the
Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which
the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
(c) Obtaining Official Data.--The Commission may secure directly
from any department or agency of the United States information
necessary to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon joint request of the
Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Commission, the head of that
department or agency shall furnish that information to the Commission.
(d) Subpoena Power.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may issue subpoenas
requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
production of any evidence relating to any matter which the
Commission is empowered to investigate under this Act. Such
subpoenas shall be issued by agreement between the Chairperson
and Vice Chairperson of the Commission, or by the vote of a
majority of the members of the Commission. The attendance of
witnesses and the production of evidence may be required from
any place within the United States at any designated place of
hearing within the United States.
(2) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person refuses to
obey a subpoena issued under paragraph (1), the Commission may
apply to a United States district court for an order requiring
that person to appear before the Commission to give testimony,
produce evidence, or both, relating to the matter under
investigation. The application may be made within the judicial
district where the hearing is conducted or where that person is
found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the
order of the court may be punished by the court as civil
contempt.
(3) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the Commission
shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by
a United States district court under the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure for the United States district courts.
(4) Service of process.--All process of any court to which
application is made under paragraph (2) may be served in the
judicial district in which the person required to be served
resides or may be found.
(e) Immunity.--Except as provided in this subsection, a person may
not be excused from testifying or from producing evidence pursuant to a
subpoena on the ground that the testimony or evidence required by the
subpoena may tend to incriminate or subject that person to criminal
prosecution. A person, after having claimed the privilege against self-
incrimination, may not be criminally prosecuted by reason of any
transaction, matter, or thing which that person is compelled to testify
about or produce evidence relating to, except that the person may be
prosecuted for perjury committed during the testimony or made in the
evidence.
(f) Contract Authority.--To the extent or in the amounts provided
in advance in appropriation Acts, the Commission may enter into
contracts to enable the Commission to discharge its duties under this
Act.
SEC. 8. REPORT; TERMINATION.
(a) Report.--The Commission shall transmit a report to the
President and Congress not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act. The report shall contain a detailed statement of
the findings and conclusions of the Commission, together with its
recommendations for legislation or administrative actions as the
Commission considers appropriate.
(b) Termination.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall terminate upon the
expiration of the 120-day period which begins on the date on
which the Commission submits the report under subsection (a).
(2) Administrative activities before termination.--The
Commission may use the 120-day period referred to in paragraph
(1) for the purpose of concluding the activities of the
Commission, including disseminating the report submitted under
subsection (a) and providing testimony to committees of
Congress concerning such report.
SEC. 9. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``antisemitism'' is a certain perception of
Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and
physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or
non-Jewish individuals and their property, toward Jewish community
institutions and religious facilities:
(1) Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or
harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an
extremist view of religion.
(2) Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or
stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of
Jews as collective, such as, especially but not exclusively,
the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling
the media, economy, and government or other societal
institutions.
(3) Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real
or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or
group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
(4) Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers)
or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the
hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and
accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
(5) Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of
inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
(6) Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel,
or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the
interests of their own nations.
(7) Denying the Jewish people their right to self-
determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State
of Israel is a racist endeavor.
(8) Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior
not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
(9) Using the symbols and images associated with classic
antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood
libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
(10) Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to
that of the Nazis.
(11) Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of
the state of Israel.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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