Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1913.
|J. R. No. 3||Interior Department and Forest Service.|
|J. R. No. 3||Joint Congressional Committee created to investigate disposal of public lands, etc.
36 Stat., 872.
|J. R. No. 3||Powers.|
|J. R. No. 3||Oaths.|
|J. R. No. 3||Attendance of witnesses.|
|J. R. No. 3||Criminating testimony.|
|J. R. No. 3||Punishment for refusing to testify, etc.|
|J. R. No. 3||Counsel allowed officials.|
|J. R. No. 3||Hearings, etc.|
|J. R. No. 3||Appropriation.|
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a joint committee of both Houses of Congress is hereby created, to be composed of six Members of the Senate, to be appointed by the President thereof, and six Members of the House of Representatives, to be elected by that body. Any vacancy occurring on the committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The said committee is hereby empowered and directed to make a thorough and complete investigation of the administration, action, and conduct of the Department of the Interior and its several bureaus, officers, and employees, and of the Bureau of Forestry, in the Department of Agriculture, and its officers and employees, touching, relating to, or bearing upon the reclamation, conservation, management, and disposal of the lands of the United States, or any lands held in trust by the United States for any purpose, including all the resources and appurtenances of such lands, and said committee is authorized and empowered to make any further investigation touching said Interior Department, its bureaus, officers, and employees, and of said Bureau of Forestry, its officers, and employees as it may deem desirable. Said committee or any subcommittee thereof is hereby empowered to sit and act during the session or recess of Congress, or of either House thereof; to require by subpoena, or otherwise, the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, documents, and papers; to take the testimony of witnesses under oath; to obtain documents, papers, and other information from the several departments of the Government, or any bureau thereof; to employ stenographers to take and make a record of all evidence taken and received by the committee, and to keep a record of
its proceedings; to have such evidence, record, and other matter required by the committee printed and suitably bound; and to employ such assistance as may be deemed necessary. The chairman of the committee, or any member thereof, may administer oaths to witnesses. Subpoenas for witnesses shall be issued under the signature of the chairman of the committee or the chairman of any subcommittee thereof. And in case of disobedience to a subpoena this committee may invoke the aid of any court of the United States or of any of the Territories thereof or of the District of Columbia or the district of Alaska, within the jurisdiction of which any inquiry may be carried on by said committee in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and documents under the provisions of this resolution. And any such court within the jurisdiction of which the inquiry under this resolution is being carried on may, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any person under authority of this resolution issue an order requiring such person to appear before said committee and produce books and papers if so ordered and give evidence touching the matter in question, and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof. The claim that any such testimony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such evidence shall not excuse such witness from testifying, but such evidence or testimony shall not be used against such person on the trial of any criminal proceeding except in prosecution for perjury committed in giving such testimony. In addition to being subject to punishment for contempt, as hereinbefore provided, every person who, having been summoned as a witness by authority of said committee, or any subcommittee thereof, willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any questions pertinent to the investigation herein authorized, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars nor less than one hundred dollars, and imprisonment in a common jail for not more than one year nor less than one month.
Any official, or ex-official, of the Department of the Interior, or of the Bureau of Forestry, in the Department of Agriculture, whose official conduct is in question, may appear and be heard before the said joint committee, or any subcommittee thereo, in person or by counsel.
All hearings by and before said joint committee or any subcommittee thereof shall be open to the public. The said joint committee shall conclude its investigation and report to this Congress all the evidence taken and received and their findings and conclusions thereon. The sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of said joint committee, the said sum to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate upon vouchers to be approved by the chairman of the committee.
Approved, January 19, 1910.