,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cgcb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ab1 #bjai,ms4 ,dean introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,revised ,statutes of the ,united ,states and title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 to enhance compliance with requests for information pursuant to legislative power under ,article ,i of the ,constitution1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,congressional ,subpoena ,compliance and ,enforcement ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,enforcement of congressional subpoenas 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #he of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after section #acfe the following3 #acfe;a4 ,congressional actions against subpoena recipients 7a7 ,special rules ,in any civil action brought by the ,united ,states ,house of ,representatives1 the ,united ,states ,senate1 or a committee or subcommittee thereof1 against the recipient of a subpoena to secure declaratory1 injunctive1 or other relief as may be appropriate concerning the failure to comply with a subpoena issued by a congressional committee or subcommittee1 the following rules shall apply3 7#a7 ,the action shall be filed in a ,united ,states district court of competent jurisdiction4 7#b7 ,it shall be the duty of the ,united ,states district courts1 the ,united ,states courts of appeal1 and the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states to advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any such action and appeal4 7#c7 ,if a three-judge court is expressly requested by the plaintiff in the initial pleading1 the action shall be heard by a three-judge court convened pursuant to section #bbhd of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 and shall be reviewable only by appeal directly to the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states4 ,such appeal shall be taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within #aj days1 and the filing of a jurisdictional statement within #cj days1 of the entry of the final decision4 7b7 ,monetary penalties in cases involving government agencies 7#a7 ,the court may impose monetary penalties directly against the head of a ,government agency or a component thereof held to have willfully failed to comply with any part of a congressional subpoena4 7#b7 ,no appropriated funds1 funds provided from any accounts in the ,treasury1 funds derived from the collection of fees1 or other ,government funds shall be used to pay any monetary penalty imposed by the court pursuant to this section4 7c7 ,waiver of privilege ,any assertion of a privilege or other ground for noncompliance 7whether statutory1 common law1 or otherwise7 asserted by the recipient of a congressional subpoena may be determined to have been waived as to any particular record withheld from production if the court finds that the recipient failed in a timely manner to comply with the requirement of section #aje of the ,revised ,statutes of the ,united ,states that it produce a privilege log with respect to such record4 7d7 ,definition ,for purposes of this section1 the term ,government agency means an executive department listed in section #aja of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 an independent establishment1 commission1 board1 bureau1 division1 or office in the executive branch1 or other agency of the ,federal ,government1 including wholly or partly owned ,government corporations4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #he of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #acfe the following3 #acfe;a4 ,congressional actions against subpoena recipients4 4 #c4 ,compliance with congressional subpoenas 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #g of title ,,ii of the ,revised ,statutes of the ,united ,states 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #aia et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #aje4 ,response to congressional subpoenas 7a7 ,subpoena by congressional committee ,any recipient of any subpoena from a congressional committee or subcommittee shall appear and testify or produce records in a manner consistent with the subpoena and this section4 7b7 ,congressional subpoenas for records 7#a7 ,identification of records withheld ,in the case of a record that is withheld1 in whole or in part1 by the subpoena recipient1 the subpoena recipient shall provide a log containing the following information concerning such record3 7,a7 ,an express assertion and description of the legal basis asserted for withholding the record4 7,b7 ,the type of record4 7,c7 ,the general subject matter4 7,d7 ,the date1 author1 and addressee4 7,e7 ,the relationship of the author and addressee to each other4 7,f7 ,the custodian of the record4 7,g7 ,any other descriptive information that may be produced or disclosed regarding the record that will enable the congressional committee or subcommittee issuing the subpoena to assess the legal basis asserted for withholding the record4 7#b7 ,missing records ,in the case of any record responsive to the subpoena submitted under paragraph 7#a7 that was1 but no longer is1 in the possession1 custody1 or control of the subpoena recipient1 the subpoena recipient shall identify the record 7including the date1 author1 subject1 and each recipient of the record7 and explain the circumstances under which the record ceased to be in the possession1 custody1 or control of the subpoena recipient4 7#c7 ,electronic records ,electronic records shall be produced pursuant to this subsection in their native or original file format4 ,electronic records shall be delivered on a storage device 7such as compact disk1 memory stick1 or thumb drive7 and1 to the extent feasible1 shall be organized1 identified1 and indexed electronically and shall include an index describing the contents of the production4 7c7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section the term record includes any books1 papers1 documents1 data1 or other objects requested in a subpoena issued by a congressional committee or subcommittee4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents for chapter #g of title ,,ii of the ,revised ,statutes of the ,united ,states is amended by adding at the end the following3 #aje4 ,response to congressional subpoenas4 4 #d4 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this ,act shall be interpreted to diminish ,congress' inherent authority or previously established methods and practices for enforcing compliance with congressional subpoenas1 nor shall anything in this ,act be interpreted to establish ,congress' acceptance of any asserted privilege or other legal basis for noncompliance with a congressional subpoena4