[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 393 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 393

    To transfer unspent funds for grants by the Office of Community 
  Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs, and the 
 Office on Violence Against Women to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
                       Assistance Grant Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 25, 2007

  Mr. Harkin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To transfer unspent funds for grants by the Office of Community 
  Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs, and the 
 Office on Violence Against Women to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
                       Assistance Grant Program.

    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 ``Emergency Local Law Enforcement 
Byrne Assistance Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A report by the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Justice documents that the Office of Justice Programs, the 
        Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and the Office 
        on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice have 
        failed to close out and deobligate over $160,000,000 in expired 
        grant funds and that these funds have not been redirected to 
        other programs or returned to the Treasury.
            (2) Between fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2006, funding 
        for the formula grant program of the Edward Byrne Memorial 
        Justice Assistance Grant Program under subpart 1 of part E of 
        the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
        U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) has been reduced by over 50 percent, from 
        $900,000,000 to $416,000,000.
            (3) According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
        Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in the United States 
        increased 2.5 percent in 2005, and an additional 3.7 percent in 
        the first half of 2006. In the Midwest, which continues to 
        struggle with a methamphetamine epidemic, violent crime 
        increased 5.7 percent between 2004 and 2005.

SEC. 3. UNSPENT GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--All amounts described in subsection (b) shall be 
transferred for use for grants under the formula grant program of the 
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program under subpart 1 
of part E of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), to remain available until expended.
    (b) Amounts Covered.--The amounts described in this subsection are 
any unexpended amounts for--
            (1) any covered grant administered by the Office of 
        Community Oriented Policing Services;
            (2) any covered grant administered by the Office of Justice 
        Programs; and
            (3) any covered grant administered by the Office on 
        Violence Against Women for which the grant expired not less 
        than 2 years before the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered grant'' means 
a grant--
            (1) that has expired but has not been closed out; or
            (2)(A) that has expired and been closed out; and
            (B) the remaining funds of which have not been deobligated.
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