Hamilton, Lee Templin, 1950-

In late 2002, Lee H. Hamilton was appointed Vice Chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation. It was chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, including American preparedness and the immediate responses to the terrorist strikes. The Commission was also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks. The collection assembled by Hamilton during the course of the 9/11 Commission's work documents the investigation process and creation of the final report.

In late 2002, Lee H. Hamilton was appointed Vice Chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. The Commission's congressional mandate expired on August 21, 2004 and the former 9/11 Commissioners decided to continue their work to ensure implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. The Public Discourse Project was established as a non-profit tax-exempt organization, with the ten members of the 9/11 Commission serving as its board of directors. Under the directorship of Christopher Kojm the commissioners provided extensive congressional testimony. Seven public sessions on The Unfinished Agenda in June and July 2005 were part of public education efforts that also included widely publicized "report card" sessions in December 2005 that graded the executive and legislative branches of government as well as individual government agencies on their implementation of the recommendations in the 9/11 Commission's report. The Public Discourse Project ceased operation on December 31, 2005.