[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 534

      To bring the FBI to full strength to carry out its mission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 8, 2007

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To bring the FBI to full strength to carry out its mission.

    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 ``Full-Strength Bureau Initiative Act 
of 2007'' or the ``FBI Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Throughout its history, the FBI has been an integral 
        part of anticrime investigatory efforts in the United States.
            (2) Since September 11, 2001, the FBI has lost substantial 
        capacity and willingness to fight violent crime.
            (3) The FBI has reduced the goal of combating crime to 
        number 8 of its top 10 priorities.
            (4) To meet its primary goal of combating terrorism, the 
        FBI has reprogrammed nearly 1,000 agents from crime to 
        counterterrorism cases since September 11, 2001.
            (5) While this reprogramming of agents to counterterrorism 
        is necessary and proper, it has had the unintended consequence 
        of precluding the FBI from adequately and satisfactorily 
        discharging its traditional anticrime efforts.
            (6) The FBI's shift to counterterrorism has reduced the 
        Bureau's involvement in traditional crime investigations, 
        including--
                    (A) fewer agents to the successful High Intensity 
                Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task forces;
                    (B) fewer violent crime cases, as the Bureau has 
                reduced the number of agents committed to Federal-
                State-local task forces like ``Safe Streets'' and 
                Violent Crime Task Forces; and
                    (C) fewer agents handling bank robbery and white 
                collar crimes, which involve technical areas of 
                investigative expertise that State and locals often 
                lack.
            (7) In testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary of 
        the Senate, FBI Director Bob Mueller stated that the shortfall 
        of agents has ``required difficult choices in determining how 
        to most effectively use the available agents''.
            (8) This reprogramming has occurred at the same time that 
        Federal assistance for State and local law enforcement has been 
        decimated, including the elimination of the Office of Community 
        Oriented Policing Services hiring program and substantial cuts 
        to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program 
        under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
        Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.).
            (9) Local police officials have decried this approach, and 
        the results are becoming apparent, with the largest crime 
        increase in 15 years according the 2005 Uniform Crime Reports.
            (10) The preliminary Uniform Crime Reports for 2006, 
        reported in December, have shown further increases in violent 
        crime across the Nation.
            (11) The FBI's traditional anticrime investigations 
        complement and assist investigations by State and local law 
        enforcement around the country.
            (12) Through task forces and other more informal 
        assistance, the FBI over the years has brought an invaluable 
        expertise and resources to help state and local law enforcement 
        in combating traditional criminal enterprises.
            (13) Even when factoring in assistance local law 
        enforcement has received from the Department of Homeland 
        Security, the International Association of Chiefs of Police has 
        stated, ``combined, the proposed FY 2006 funding level for DoJ/
        DHS law enforcement assistance programs is $2.158 B. This is a 
        reduction of $1.467 B or 40 percent from the combined FY 2005 
        level of $3.625 B. It represents a decrease in $2.55 B or 54 
        percent from FY 2004.''.
            (14) The FBI has the ability and the mandate to focus both 
        on countering terrorist plots and fighting traditional crime.
            (15) There does not need to be a trade-off between crime 
        and terrorism, but this can only happen if the FBI is given the 
        manpower to be able to do both.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR MORE AGENTS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $160,000,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to fund 1,000 Federal Bureau of 
Investigation field agents in addition to the number of Federal Bureau 
of Investigation field agents serving on the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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