[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 131 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11122-S11123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPENDENTS ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1996

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. 2101, introduced earlier today by 
Senator Specter, for himself and others.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2101) to provide educational assistance to the 
     dependents of Federal law enforcement officials who are 
     killed or disabled in the performance of their duties.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to comment on 
legislation which the Senate is considering today, the Federal Law 
Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act of 1996. This bipartisan 
legislation is a revised version of S. 1243, which I introduced with 
four cosponsors on September 14, 1995.
  This legislation will provide educational assistance to spouses and 
children of Federal law enforcement officers who are killed or totally 
and permanently disabled in the line of duty. Similar educational 
benefits are provided to the spouses and children of Armed Forces 
personnel killed in the line of duty, but not to dependents of the 
brave men and women in Federal law enforcement. I am advised that many 
State and local governments provide educational and job training 
assistance to dependents of law enforcement personnel. It is time to 
level the playing field for Federal law enforcement.
  I first became aware of this discrepancy when I met with Mrs. Karen 
Degan, the widow of U.S. Marshal Bill Degan of Quincy, MA, who died 
during the tragic shooting incident at Ruby Ridge in August, 1992. Bill 
Degan left behind a loving wife and two sons, William and Brian, whom I 
have also had the pleasure of meeting. Bill Degan had been in the 
Marshals Service for 17 years at the time of his death. Karen Degan 
began in 1993 to work with Congress to develop a program for higher 
education assistance for dependents of slain Justice Department 
officers. At her suggestion, I introduced S. 1243 on September 14, 
1995, during the Ruby Ridge hearings, with bipartisan cosponsors from 
the Judiciary Committee.
  I would prefer that we did not have to worry about death and 
disabling injuries for Federal law enforcement officers, but it is a 
fact of life that we have lost a number of Federal law enforcement 
officers in the line of duty in recent years. In my own State of 
Pennsylvania, on March 22, 1996, FBI Special Agent Charles Reed was 
killed in Philadelphia in a shootout with a suspect drug dealer during 
an undercover drug investigation. Agent Reed lived in Lower Salford 
Township, PA and is survived by his wife, Susan and children, Joshua, 
age 21, Todd 18, and Kelley, 17. Similarly, two Washington, DC FBI 
agents, Martha Martinez and Michael Miller, were slain in November 
1995, in the Washington, DC police headquarters, leaving behind loved 
ones of their own.
  Since the introduction of S. 1243 last year, I have been working with 
my colleagues and the administration to fashion legislation acceptable 
to all parties. This revised bill makes the educational assistance 
available to all Federal law enforcement officers, not just those 
within the Justice Department. I would note that the program is subject 
to appropriations and does not constitute an entitlement. Financial 
assistance can last for up to 45 months of education or a proportional 
period of time for a part-time program. Financial assistance will be 
based on the amounts provided under the Veterans program, which is 
currently $404 a month for fulltime students. Significantly, the 
Attorney General may provide retroactive assistance to dependents 
eligible under this program where a law enforcement officer was killed 
in the line of duty on or after May 1, 1992.
  This legislation is supported by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers 
Association, and I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
a letter to me from Victor Oboyski, dated September 18, 1996, which 
reflects their views.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                           Federal Law Enforcement


                                         Officers Association,

                                               September 18, 1996.
     Hon. Arlen Specter,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Specter: On behalf of the over 12,000 members 
     of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), 
     the largest association representing Federal criminal 
     investigators in the nation, I am pleased to inform you that 
     we fully support S. 1243, the ``Federal Law Enforcement 
     Dependents Assistance Act of 1996.'' I also want to thank you 
     for proposing this fine piece of legislation.
       As you may already know, many state and local 
     municipalities currently have legislation which ensures that 
     the dependents of local officers killed or disabled in the 
     line of duty receive assistance towards education or job 
     training. Also, many local police agencies provide for the 
     continuing education of survivors under the same 
     circumstances. None of this exists at the Federal level. S. 
     1234 will correct this oversight regarding Federal law 
     enforcement officers.
       If you or your staff wish to contact me please call 212-
     637-6543, fax 212-637-6548.
           Very truly yours,
                                                   Victor Oboyski,
                                               National President.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise as a cosponsor of the Federal Law 
Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act and to call on all of my Senate 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Unfortunately, over the past 2 years, many in this Congress have 
taken the occasion--time and again--to second-guess and criticize law 
enforcement officers. We heard these criticisms throughout the debate 
on terrorism legislation--beginning last year, and it continues to this 
day. As I have pointed out on the floor of the Senate before, I call on 
us all to remember that it is the terrorists and the violent criminals 
who deserve our contempt and it is law enforcement officers who deserve 
our trust and respect.
  This bill offers modest recognition of the tremendous service to our 
Nation by Federal law enforcement officers--DEA agents, FBI agents, 
U.S. marshals, border patrol officers, Customs officers, ATF agents, 
Secret Service agents among many others. This bill does so by 
authorizing the Federal Government to pay education benefits to the 
children and spouses of Federal law enforcement officers who are killed 
or suffer a total and permanent disability in the line of duty.
  In doing so, this bill recognizes that by virtue of these officers 
supreme sacrifice to the Nation, the families of these fallen officers 
are no longer provided for. And, more importantly, this bill will offer 
a tangible sign of the Nation's respect for those who gave their lives 
in service to us all.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I also want to put my 
colleagues on notice that in the years ahead we must follow up by 
actually appropriating the dollars necessary to deliver on today's 
commitment.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
deemed read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and any statements relating to the bill appear at the 
appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2101) was deemed read the third time and passed, as 
follows:

                                S. 2101

       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 ``Federal Law Enforcement 
     Dependents Assistance Act of 1996''.

[[Page S11123]]

     SEC. 2. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF SLAIN FEDERAL 
                   LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

       Part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
     Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) is amended by--
       (1) inserting after the heading the following: ``Subpart 
     1--Death Benefits''; and
       (2) adding at the end the following:

 ``Subpart 2--Educational Assistance to Dependents of Civilian Federal 
    Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Disabled in the Line of Duty

     ``SEC. 1211. PURPOSES.

       ``The purposes of this subpart are--
       ``(1) to enhance the appeal of service in civilian Federal 
     law enforcement agencies;
       ``(2) to extend the benefits of higher education to 
     qualified and deserving persons who, by virtue of the death 
     of or a total disability of an eligible officer, may not be 
     able to afford it otherwise; and
       ``(3) to allow the family members of eligible officers to 
     attain the vocational and educational status which they would 
     have attained had a parent or spouse not been killed or 
     disabled in the line of duty.

     ``SEC. 1212. BASIC ELIGIBILITY.

       ``(a) Benefits.--(1) Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations, the Attorney General shall provide financial 
     assistance to a dependent who attends a program of education 
     and is--
       ``(A) the child of any eligible Federal law enforcement 
     officer under subpart 1; or
       ``(B) the spouse of an officer described in subparagraph 
     (A) at the time of the officer's death or on the date of a 
     totally and permanently disabling injury.
       ``(2) Financial assistance under this subpart shall consist 
     of direct payments to an eligible dependent and shall be 
     computed on the basis set forth in section 3532 of title 38, 
     United States Code.
       ``(b) Duration of Benefits.--No dependent shall receive 
     assistance under this subpart for a period in excess of 
     forty-five months of full-time education or training or a 
     proportional period of time for a part-time program.
       ``(c) Age Limitation for Dependent Children.--No dependent 
     child shall be eligible for assistance under this subpart 
     after the child's 27th birthday absent a finding by the 
     Attorney General of extraordinary circumstances precluding 
     the child from pursuing a program of education.

     ``SEC. 1213. APPLICATIONS; APPROVAL.

       ``(a) Application.--A person seeking assistance under this 
     subpart shall submit an application to the Attorney General 
     in such form and containing such information as the Attorney 
     General reasonably may require.
       ``(b) Approval.--The Attorney General shall approve an 
     application for assistance under this subpart unless the 
     Attorney General finds that--
       ``(1) the dependent is not eligible for, is no longer 
     eligible for, or is not entitled to the assistance for which 
     application is made;
       ``(2) the dependent's selected educational institution 
     fails to meet a requirement under this subpart for 
     eligibility;
       ``(3) the dependent's enrollment in or pursuit of the 
     educational program selected would fail to meet the criteria 
     established in this subpart for programs; or
       ``(4) the dependent already is qualified by previous 
     education or training for the educational, professional, or 
     vocational objective for which the educational program is 
     offered.
       ``(c) Notification.--The Attorney General shall notify a 
     dependent applying for assistance under this subpart of 
     approval or disapproval of the application in writing.

     ``SEC. 1214. REGULATIONS.

       The Attorney General may promulgate reasonable and 
     necessary regulations to implement this subpart.

     ``SEC. 1215. DISCONTINUATION FOR UNSATISFACTORY CONDUCT OR 
                   PROGRESS.

       ``The Attorney General may discontinue assistance under 
     this subpart when the Attorney General finds that, according 
     to the regularly prescribed standards and practices of the 
     educational institution, the recipient fails to maintain 
     satisfactory progress as described in section 484(c) of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)).

     ``SEC. 1216. SPECIAL RULE.

       ``(a) Retroactive Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, each dependent of a Federal law enforcement 
     officer killed in the line of duty on or after May 1, 1992, 
     shall be eligible for assistance under this subpart, subject 
     to the other limitations of this subpart.
       ``(b) Retroactive Assistance.--The Attorney General may 
     provide retroactive assistance to dependents eligible under 
     this section for each month in which the dependent pursued a 
     program of education at an eligible educational institution. 
     The Attorney General shall apply the limitations contained in 
     this subpart to retroactive assistance.
       ``(c) Prospective Assistance.--The Attorney General may 
     provide prospective assistance to dependents eligible under 
     this section on the same basis as assistance to dependents 
     otherwise eligible. In applying the limitations on assistance 
     under this subpart, the Attorney General shall include 
     assistance provided retroactively. A dependent eligible under 
     this section may waive retroactive assistance and apply only 
     for prospective assistance on the same basis as dependents 
     otherwise eligible.

     ``SEC. 1217. DEFINITIONS.

       ``For purposes of this subpart:
       ``(1) The term `Attorney General' means the Attorney 
     General of the United States.
       ``(2) The term `Federal law enforcement officer' has the 
     same meaning as under subpart 1.
       ``(3) The term `program of education' means any curriculum 
     or any combination of unit courses or subjects pursued at an 
     eligible educational institution, which generally is accepted 
     as necessary to fulfill requirements for the attainment of a 
     predetermined and identified educational, professional, or 
     vocational objective. It includes course work for the 
     attainment of more than one objective if in addition to the 
     previous requirements, all the objectives generally are 
     recognized as reasonably related to a single career field.
       ``(4) The term `eligible educational institution' means an 
     institution which--
       ``(A) is described in section 481 of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088), as in effect on the date of the 
     enactment of this section; and
       ``(B) is eligible to participate in programs under title IV 
     of such Act.

     ``SEC. 1218. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     subpart such sums as may be necessary.''.

     

                          ____________________