dm b4 gorton amendment fdr- draft correspondence re gorton amendment 322

8/14/2019 DM B4 Gorton Amendment Fdr- Draft Correspondence Re Gorton Amendment 322

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ON

April 10,2003

H. KeanC H A I RHamiltonC H A I R

ClelandFieldingGorelick

GortonLehman

J. RoemcrR. Thompson

D. Zclikow' E D I R E C T O R

The Honorable Jed'StevensUnited Sta)^SenateWashjagton>pC 20510-0001rfti. Dill Y u m r gheHonorableU.S. House of ReWashington, DC

;sentatives15-0001

A s you know, the 9-11Commission was tasked-by Congress to investigate and report onall relevant facts and afiticyis leading up to the September 11, 2001, attack on the UnitedStatesme natieH aresponse to the attackin-thci mouths after 9-14-, and to makerecommendations to the Congress and the A -dm inistratron with respect to additionalnecessary and appropriate actions as-a pail uf thai icsyutisc.Th e Commission is made up of ten prominent citizens who are not officers or employeesof the federal government. A s such, the members are special governm ent employees(SGEs) governed by the statute an d rules on such persons.

an SGE as an employee who works no more than 1 30 days a year, bu thas'ueen interpreted to cou nt a part of a day as a full day. This bring s into qu estionwhether or not a Commission member can actually work on Commission business onmore than 130 days a year without becoming a full-time government employee subject toall of the conflict rules accompanying that status, even thoug h the member does no t claimcompensation for more than 1 30 days.Because of the nature of our charge ahuge task all of the m embers w ill have to work onCommission business on all or part of more than 130 days in order to discharge effectivelytheir duties. N o member will seek compensation for m ore than 130 days, and m any w ill claimfar fewer.

~ ~ ^ >I

We therefore request a provision in the Supplemental A ppropriations bill clarifying ourability to spend the time we deem necessary on C omm ission business withou t becomingfull time governm ent employees, provided that no member claims compensation fo r morethan 1 30 days. _ A form of the requested amendment language is enclosed.

^i n c e r e l y , >1-jr

, -/( 'UE n c l o s u r

na (202) 3 3 1 - 4K \ (202) 296-5

w\v\ 9 - 1 1 c o m m i s s i o n


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H. Kean

C H A I R

Ben-Veniste

S. GorelickGorton

J.RoemerR. Thompson

D. ZelikowD I R E C T O R

Apia-re, 2 0 0 3The Honorable"!United States SenateWashington, DC 20510-0001The HbaorablepW. Bill YoungU.S. Hous^xJfi^presentativesWashington, DC 205i5-0001DearAs you know, the 9-11 Commission was tasked by Congress to" investigate and report onall relevant facts and actions leading up to the September 11/2001, attack on the United.,^-r:MY1^ I^v2r_ * ._ ^ 1 **~i. :_ *u ......fl-.fi ng tA i -O , VI on H tr maV) .., _ - -**~ /?

/t d appropriate ,The Commission is made up of ten prominent citizens who are not officers or employeesof the federal government. A s such, the members are special government employees(SGEs) governed by the statute and rules on su ch persons.

'

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c+-The^tatute defines an SGE as an employee who works no more than 130 days a year, buthasten interpreted to count a rjart of a day as a full day. This brings into questionwhether or not a Commission member can actually work on Commission business onmore than 130 days a year witho utbecoming a full-time government employee subject toall of the conf lict rules accom pany ing that status, even though the memb er does not claimcompensation for more than 130 days.Because of the nature of our charge a huge task all of the members will have to work onCommission business on all or part of more than 130 days in order to discharge effectivelytheir duties. No mem ber will seek comp ensation for more than 130 days, and many w ill claimfar fewer.

a

W e therefore request a provision in the SupplementalAppropriations bill clarifying ourability to spend the time we deem necessary o n Commission business w ithout becomingfull time government employees, provided that no member claims compensation for morethan 130 dayOJA form of the requested amendment language is enclosed.^

CJ34 ^AVlade GortonCommiss ionerE n c l o s u r e

T E L (202) 331-41H A X (202) 296-5www.9- 11 commission..


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H. Kean

e H. H a m i l to nC H A I RBen-Veniste

ax ClelandF. Fielding

S. Gorelick

F. LehmanJ. Roemer

R. Thompson

D I R E C T O R

May 15, 2003

T he H onorable T ed StevensU nited States SenateWashington, DC 20510-0001The H onorable C .W. Bill YoungU .S. House of R epresentativesWashington, DC 20515-0001Dear T ed and Bill:A s you may recall, I w rote and spoke to you last m onth, in my capacity as amem ber of the 9-11 C omm ission, requesting inclusion of a provision in theIraq Supplemental A pprop riations bill that wo uld clarify that ourC omm issioners can maintain their status as special government employeesregardless of how many days or parts of days they work, so long as they arenot compensated for more than 130 days in any year.O ur request came qu ite late in the consideration o f the Iraq Supp lemental,obviously too late to be included. But you indicated at the time that youwould consider adding the provision to the next available legislative vehicle.O n behalf of the C ommission, I urge you to do so to ensure that our mem berswill be able to devote the time they need to their important task. At the sametime, I want to thank you for the even more important amendment toappropriate sufficient money to carry out the C omm ission's mandate.For your convenience, I enclose again a copy of the amendment language werequest.Sincerely,

Slade GortonCommissioner

30 1 7 'h Street SW, Room 5125Washington , DC 20407T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545www.9-1 lcommiss ion.gov


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Notwithstanding Section 202 (a) of Title 18, membersof the Nadonal Commission onTerrorist Attacks Upon the United States (establishedby Title VI of Public Law 107-306)shall be deemed to be special government employees without regard to the number ofdays (or parts of days) in which they perform their dudes as members of the Commission,so long as they receive per diem compensation under Section 608(a) of Public Law107-306 for no more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.

dm b4 gorton amendment fdr- draft correspondence re gorton amendment 322

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