[House Report 109-527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-527
======================================================================
REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SUBMIT
TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ALL DOCUMENTS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE
PRESIDENT AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL RELATING TO REQUESTS MADE BY THE
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES TO TELEPHONE
SERVICE PROVIDERS REQUESTING ACCESS TO TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS RECORDS
OF PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES AND COMMUNICATIONS ORIGINATING AND
TERMINATING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT A WARRANT
_______
June 23, 2006.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Sensenbrenner, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 819]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 819) requesting the President and directing
the Attorney General to submit to the House of Representatives
all documents in the possession of the President and the
Attorney General relating to requests made by the National
Security Agency and other Federal agencies to telephone service
providers requesting access to telephone communications records
of persons in the United States and communications originating
and terminating within the United States without a warrant,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the resolution be agreed to.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
House Resolution 819, introduced by Representative Wexler
(D-FL) on May 17, 2006, requests the President and directs the
Attorney General to submit to the House of Representatives all
documents, including legal opinions, in the possession of the
President and the Attorney General relating to requests made by
the National Security Agency (NSA) and other Federal agencies
to telephone service providers requesting access to telephone
communications records of persons in the United States and
communications originating and terminating within the United
States without a warrant, subject to necessary redactions or
requirements for handling classified documents.
BACKGROUND
House Resolution 819 is a resolution of inquiry. Under the
rules and precedents of the House of Representatives, a
resolution of inquiry allows the House to request information
from the President of the United States or to direct the head
of one of the executive departments to provide such
information. More specifically, according to Deschler's
Precedents, it is a ``simple resolution making a direct request
or demand of the President or the head of an executive
department to furnish the House of Representatives with
specific factual information in the possession of the executive
branch. The practice is nearly as old as the Republic, and is
based on principles of comity between the executive and
legislative branches rather than on any specific provision of
the Constitution that a Federal court may be called upon to
enforce.''\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Deschler's Precedents of the House of Representatives, ch. 24,
Sec. 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A committee has a number of choices in considering a
resolution of inquiry. It may vote on the resolution without
amendment, or it may amend it. It may report the resolution
favorably, adversely, or with no recommendation. House
Resolution 819 requests documents similar to those requested in
House Resolutions that were reported adversely earlier this
year. Nevertheless, the Committee reports this resolution
favorably to emphasize to the Executive branch the importance
of more timely and comprehensive responses to Committee
requests. When Attorney General Gonzales testified before the
Committee on April 6, 2006, the Chairman, Ranking Member, and
other Members of the Committee expressed concern toward the
Justice Department's cooperation in providing the Committee
with sufficient information related to the Administration's
conduct of the war on terrorism.
More than three months after the Attorney General testified
before the Committee, the Justice Department has failed to
fully respond to questions asked during that hearing. This
Committee believes that reporting H. Res. 819 favorably will
underscore to the Administration and the Department of Justice
that it is imperative that this Committee be provided the
information it needs in order to conduct appropriate
Congressional oversight over this and other Administration
programs. Among the important information the Committee
believes it needs in order to conduct this oversight are
responsive answers to the requests of Mr. Wexler in H. Res.
819, including providing ``all legal opinions, relating to
requests made without a warrant by the National Security Agency
or other Federal departments and agencies to telephone service
providers . . . for access to telephone communications records
of persons in the United States.''
HEARINGS
No hearings were held in the Committee on the Judiciary on
H. Res. 819.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On June 21, 2006, the Committee met in open session and
favorably reported the resolution H. Res. 819 by a voice vote,
a quorum being present.
VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee notes that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee consideration of H.
Res. 819.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee estimates the
costs of implementing the resolution would be minimal. The
Congressional Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate for
the resolution.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
H. Res. 819 does not authorize funding. Therefore, clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the rule
does not apply because H. Res. 819 is not a bill or joint
resolution that may be enacted into law.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The House Resolution would resolve that the President is
requested and the Attorney General is directed to submit to the
House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date
of the adoption of this resolution, all documents in the
possession of the President and the Attorney General, including
all legal opinions, relating to requests made without a warrant
by the NSA or other Federal departments and agencies to
telephone service providers, including wireless telephone
service providers, for access to telephone communications
records of persons in the United States (other than as
authorized under title I of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or chapter
119 or 121 of title 18, United States Code), subject to
necessary redactions or requirements for handling classified
documents.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE RESOLUTION, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee notes that H. Res.
819 makes no changes to existing law.