[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 908 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 908

  To establish within the United States Marshals Service a short term 
  State witness protection program to provide assistance to State and 
local district attorneys to protect their witnesses in cases involving 
 homicide, serious violent felonies, and serious drug offenses, and to 
              provide Federal grants for such protection.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2005

 Mr. Cummings introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish within the United States Marshals Service a short term 
  State witness protection program to provide assistance to State and 
local district attorneys to protect their witnesses in cases involving 
 homicide, serious violent felonies, and serious drug offenses, and to 
              provide Federal grants for such protection.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Witness Security and Protection Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. SHORT TERM STATE WITNESS PROTECTION SECTION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 37 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 570. Short Term State Witness Protection Section
    ``(a) In General.--There is established in the United States 
Marshals Service a Short Term State Witness Protection Section which 
shall provide protection for witnesses in State and local trials 
involving homicide, or involving a serious violent felony or serious 
drug offense (as those terms are defined in section 3559(c)(2) of title 
18), pursuant to cooperative agreements with State and local district 
attorneys and the United States attorney for the District of Columbia.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--The Section shall give priority in awarding 
grants and providing services to prosecutor's offices in States with an 
average of not less than 100 murders per year during the 5-year period 
immediately preceding an application for protection, as calculated 
using the latest available crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation.''.
    (b) Chapter Analysis.--The chapter analysis for chapter 37 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by striking the items for sections 
570 through 576 and inserting the following:

``570. Short Term State Witness Protection Section.''.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grants Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General is authorized to make 
        grants to State and local district attorneys and the United 
        States attorney for the District of Columbia for the purpose of 
        providing short term protection to witnesses in trials 
        involving homicide, or involving a serious violent felony or 
        serious drug offense (as those terms are defined in section 
        3559(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code).
            (2) Allocation.--Each district attorney receiving a grant 
        under this section may either--
                    (A) use the grant to provide witness protection; or
                    (B) pursuant to a cooperative agreement with the 
                Short Term State Witness Protection Section of the 
                United States Marshals Service, credit the grant to the 
                Short Term State Witness Protection Section to cover 
                the costs to the section of providing witness 
                protection on behalf of the district attorney.
            (3) Eligibility.--Grants under this section may only be 
        awarded in States with an average of not less than 100 murders 
        per year during the most recent 5-year period, as calculated 
        using the latest available crime statistics from the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) In general.--Each eligible district attorney desiring a 
        grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
        Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied 
        by such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 
        require.
            (2) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) describe the activities for which assistance 
                under this section is sought; and
                    (B) provide such additional assurances as the 
                Attorney General determines to be essential to ensure 
                compliance with the requirements of this section.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $90,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 2007.
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