The panel would be given sweeping authority to conduct a comprehensive 18-month investigation to "make a full and complete accounting of the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus, the Nation’s preparedness for the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic, and the actions taken by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments at critical junctures before and after the World Health Organization designated the 2019 novel coronavirus as a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020."

The notion of a commission akin to the 9/11 panel that issued a comprehensive report on the origins of the attack, and the systemic failures that prevented its discovery, has begun to gain currency among congressional Democrats in recent days. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called for a commission in a Washington Post interview published Tuesday.

But Thompson is the first lawmaker to propose specific legislation modeling a coronavirus commission after the post-9/11 effort.

The members of the new panel would be required to have a variety of expertise, including in public health, emergency preparedness, transportation, education, economics, health care, foreign policy and election security. The proposal would also require that no more than 13 commission members hail from the same political party. The chair and vice chair of the panel — selected by fellow panelists — would also be required to hail from different political parties.

The panel would be imbued with subpoena power, an important cudgel to wrest free information from a wide range of sources, and the ability to refer anyone who doesn't comply to a U.S. attorney for potential prosecution.

