COMPOSITION AND QUALIFICATIONS.

SEC. 902. [50 U.S.C. 3001 nt] COMPOSITION AND QUALIFICATIONS. (a) Membership.—(1) The Commission shall be composed of 17 members, as follows: (A) Nine members shall be appointed by the President from private life, no more than four of whom shall have previously held senior leadership positions in the intelligence community and no more than five of whom shall be members of the same political party. (B) Two members shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, of whom one shall be a Member of the Senate and one shall be from private life. (C) Two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, of whom one shall be a Member of the Senate and one shall be from private life. (D) Two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, of whom one shall be a Member of the House and one shall be from private life. (E) Two members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, of whom one shall be a Member of the House and one shall be from private life. (2) The members of the Commission appointed from private life under paragraph (1) shall be persons of demonstrated ability and accomplishment in government, business, law, academe, journalism, or other profession, who have a substantial background in national security matters. (b) Chairman and Vice Chairman.—The President shall designate two of the members appointed from private life to serve as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, of the Commission. (c) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.—Members shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers but shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. (d) Deadline for Appointments.—The appointments required by subsection (a) shall be made within 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act. (e) Meetings.—(1) The Commission shall meet at the call of the Chairman. (2) The Commission shall hold its first meeting not later than four months after the date of enactment of this Act. (f) Quorum.—Nine members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings, take testimony, or receive evidence. (g) Security Clearances.—Appropriate security clearances shall be required for members of the Commission who are private United States citizens. Such clearances shall be processed and completed on an expedited basis by appropriate elements of the executive branch of Government and shall, in any case, be completed within 90 days of the date such members are appointed. (h) Application of Certain Provisions of Law.—In light of the extraordinary and sensitive nature of its deliberations, the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), and the regulations prescribed by the Administrator of General Services pursuant to that Act, shall not apply to the Commission. Further, the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Freedom of Information Act”), shall not apply to the Commission; however, records of the Commission shall be subject to the Federal Records Act and, when transferred to the National Archives and Records Agency, shall no longer be exempt from the provisions of such section 552.