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The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
The Commission periodically held public hearings to offer a public dialogue about the Commission's goals and priorities. The Commission also sought to learn about work already completed and the state of current knowledge, in order to identify the most important issues and questions requiring further investigation.
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The Commission's mandate is to provide a “full and complete accounting” of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and recommendations as to how to prevent such attacks in the future.
Specifically, Section 604 of Public Law 107-306 requires the Commission to investigate "facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001," including those relating to intelligence agencies; law enforcement agencies; diplomacy; immigration, nonimmigrant visas, and border control; the flow of assets to terrorist organizations; commercial aviation; the role of congressional oversight and resource allocation; and other areas determined relevant by the Commission for its inquiry.
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The Commission had nearly 80 full-time employees, contractors, and detailees on staff. All the Commissioners and staff had received the security clearances they needed to carry on the investigation.
The Commission has been highly successful in attracting the talents of an experienced, outstanding group of professionals, including a former Deputy Director of Intelligence, a former State Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, a professor of international history and foreign intelligence from Harvard, experts on cross-border money transfers, several former federal prosecutors, and several staff from the Congressional Joint Inquiry.
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Public Law 107-306 provided for the reprogramming of $3 million for the Commission. Congress subsequently appropriated, and the President signed into law, an additional $11 million appropriation for the Commission. Legislation authorized an additional $1 million, bringing the Commission’s total budget to $15 million.
The Commission was confident that it could fulfill its mandate with this amount. It appreciated very much the support of Congress and the President for this level of funding.
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