[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 96 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8087-S8088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. DeWINE, and Mr. ROBB):
  S. 1314. A bill to establish a grant program to assist State and 
local law enforcement in deterring, investigating, and prosecuting 
computer crimes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


                     computer crime enforcement act

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Computer 
Crime Enforcement Act. This legislation establishes a Department of 
Justice grant program to support state and local law enforcement 
officers and prosecutors to prevent, investigate and prosecute computer 
crime. I am pleased that Senator DeWine, with whom I worked closely and 
successfully last year on the Crime Identification Technology Act, and 
Senator Robb, who has long been a leader on law enforcement issues, 
support this bill as original cosponsors.
  Computer crime is quickly emerging as one of today's top challenges 
for state and local law enforcement officials. A recent survey by the 
FBI and the Computer Security Institute found that 62% of information 
security professionals reported computer security breaches in the past 
year. These breaches in computer security resulted in financial losses 
of more than $120 million from fraud, theft of proprietary information, 
sabotage, computer viruses and stolen laptops. Computer crime has 
become a multi-billion dollar problem.
  I am proud to report that the States, including my home state of 
Vermont, are reacting to the increase in computer crime by enacted 
tough computer crime control laws. For example, Vermont's new law makes 
certain acts against computers illegal, such as: accessing any computer 
system or data without permission; accessing a computer to commit 
fraud, remove, destroy or copy data or deny access to the data; 
damaging or interfering with the operation of the computer system or 
data; and stealing or destroying any computer data or system. These 
state laws establish a firm groundwork for electronic commerce, an 
increasingly important sector of the Vermont economy and of the 
nation's economy. Now all fifty states have enacted some type of 
computer crime statute.
  Unfortunately, too many state and local law enforcement agencies are 
struggling to afford the high cost of enforcing their state computer 
crime statute. The Computer Crime Enforcement Act would provide a 
helping hand by authorizing a $25 million grant program to help the 
states receive Federal funding for improved education, training, 
enforcement and prosecution of computer crime. Our bill will help 
states take a byte out of computer crime.
  Congress has recognized the importance of providing state and local 
law enforcement officers with the means necessary to prevent and combat 
cyber attacks and other computer crime through the FBI's Computer 
Analysis and Response Team (CART) Program and the National 
Infrastructure Protection Center. Our legislation would enhance that 
Federal role by providing each state with much-needed resources to join 
Federal law enforcement officials in collaborative efforts to fight 
computer crime.
  In Vermont, for instance, only half a dozen law enforcement officers 
among the more than 900 officers in the state have been trained in 
investigating computer crimes and analyzing cyber evidence. As 
Detective Michael Schirling of the Chittenden Unit for Special 
Investigations recently observed in my home state: ``The bad guys are 
using computers at a rate that's exponentially greater than our ability 
to respond to the problem.'' Without the necessary educational 
training, technical support, and coordinated information, our law 
enforcement officials will be hamstrung in their efforts to crack down 
on computer crime.
  Computers have ushered in a new age filled with unlimited potential 
for good. But the computer age has also ushered in new challenges for 
our state and local law enforcement officers. Let's provide our state 
and local partners in crime fighting with the resources that they need 
in the battle against computer crime.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Computer Crime Enforcement Act 
and its quick passage into law.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Computer 
Crime Enforcement Act be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1314

       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 ``Computer Crime Enforcement 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. STATE GRANT PROGRAM FOR TRAINING AND PROSECUTION OF 
                   COMPUTER CRIMES.

       (a) In General.--Subject to the availability of amounts 
     provided in advance in appropriations Acts, the Office of 
     Justice Programs shall make a grant to each State, which 
     shall be used by the State, in conjunction with units of 
     local government, State and local courts, other States, or 
     combinations thereof, to--
       (1) assist State and local law enforcement in enforcing 
     State and local criminal laws relating to computer crime;
       (2) assist State and local law enforcement in educating the 
     public to prevent and identify computer crime;
       (3) assist in educating and training State and local law 
     enforcement officers and prosecutors to conduct 
     investigations and forensic analyses of evidence and 
     prosecutions of computer crime;

[[Page S8088]]

       (4) assist State and local law enforcement officers and 
     prosecutors in acquiring computer and other equipment to 
     conduct investigations and forensic analysis of evidence of 
     computer crimes; and
       (5) facilitate and promote the sharing of Federal law 
     enforcement expertise and information about the 
     investigation, analysis, and prosecution of computer crimes 
     with State and local law enforcement officers and 
     prosecutors, including the use of multijurisdictional task 
     forces.
       (b) Use of Grant Amounts.--Grants under this section may be 
     used to establish and develop programs to--
       (1) assist State and local law enforcement in enforcing 
     State and local criminal laws relating to computer crime;
       (2) assist State and local law enforcement in educating the 
     public to prevent and identify computer crime;
       (3) educate and train State and local law enforcement 
     officers and prosecutors to conduct investigations and 
     forensic analyses of evidence and prosecutions of computer 
     crime;
       (4) assist State and local law enforcement officers and 
     prosecutors in acquiring computer and other equipment to 
     conduct investigations and forensic analysis of evidence of 
     computer crimes; and
       (5) facilitate and promote the sharing of Federal law 
     enforcement expertise and information about the 
     investigation, analysis, and prosecution of computer crimes 
     with State and local law enforcement officers and 
     prosecutors, including the use of multijurisdictional task 
     forces.
       (c) Assurances.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this section, a State shall provide assurances to the 
     Attorney General that the State--
       (1) has in effect laws that penalize computer crime, such 
     as penal laws prohibiting--
       (A) fraudulent schemes executed by means of a computer 
     system or network;
       (B) the unlawful damaging, destroying, altering, deleting, 
     removing of computer software, or data contained in a 
     computer, computer system, computer program, or computer 
     network; or
       (C) the unlawful interference with the operation of or 
     denial of access to a computer, computer program, computer 
     system, or computer network;
       (2) an assessment of the State and local resource needs, 
     including criminal justice resources being devoted to the 
     investigation and enforcement of computer crime laws; and
       (3) a plan for coordinating the programs funded under this 
     section with other federally funded technical assistant and 
     training programs, including directly funded local programs 
     such as the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program 
     (described under the heading ``Violent Crime Reduction 
     Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance'' of the 
     Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 
     105-119)).
       (d) Matching Funds.--The Federal share of a grant received 
     under this section may not exceed 90 percent of the costs of 
     a program or proposal funded under this section unless the 
     Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the requirements 
     of this subsection.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2000 through 2003.
       (2) Limitations.--Of the amount made available to carry out 
     this section in any fiscal year not more than 3 percent may 
     be used by the Attorney General for salaries and 
     administrative expenses.
       (3) Minimum amount.--Unless all eligible applications 
     submitted by any State or unit of local government within 
     such State for a grant under this section have been funded, 
     such State, together with grantees within the State (other 
     than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each fiscal year 
     under this section not less than 0.75 percent of the total 
     amount appropriated in the fiscal year for grants pursuant to 
     this section, except that the United States Virgin Islands, 
     American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands each 
     shall be allocated 0.25 percent.
       (f) Grants to Indian Tribes.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this section, the Attorney General may use 
     amounts made available under this section to make grants to 
     Indian tribes for use in accordance with this section.
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