[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H12509-H12510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COMPUTER CRIME ENFORCEMENT ACT

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 2816) to establish a grant program to assist State and local law 
enforcement in deterring, investigating, and prosecuting computer 
crimes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I yield to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) for an explanation of the bill.

[[Page H12510]]

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I am offering a bill tonight, H.R. 2816, the Computer 
Crime Enforcement Act of 2000, which was introduced by the gentleman 
from Arizona (Mr. Salmon).
  The bill would authorize $25 million in grants to be awarded by the 
Department of Justice to local law enforcement agencies in order to 
assist them in combatting computer crime. Crime committed by computers 
is one of the most rapidly growing areas. With ever-innovating 
computers come new innovations and crimes committed by those computers.
  Of course, to fight this crime, law enforcement agencies must have 
equipment that is equal of that used by criminals and the training to 
effectively use that equipment. Much of the investigation of this type 
of crime has been done at the Federal level, but there is simply not 
sufficient resources for the Federal Government to do all the work.
  State and local law enforcement agencies stand ready to investigate 
these crimes but often the financial resources are lacking to do so. 
This bill will help address the problem.
  According to a recent report released by the FBI and the Computer 
Security Institute, 32 percent of companies surveyed required 
assistance from law enforcement agencies, up 17 percent from the prior 
year. And according to a recent report by the San Francisco Computer 
Security Institute, nearly a third of U.S. companies, financial 
institutions and Government agencies and universities say their 
computer systems were penetrated by outsiders last year.
  A recent poll conducted by the Information Technology Association of 
America found that 61 percent of consumers questioned are less likely 
to shop over the Internet as a result of a rise in cyber crimes.
  Mr. Speaker, we simply cannot allow this type of crime to hinder a 
robust expansion in this new area of commerce. The bill before us will 
help put more law enforcement agencies on the trail of these criminals. 
It will make our business in other commercial activities more secure. 
And so, I strongly urge support of the bill.
  As introduced, it authorizes award of grants from fiscal year 2002 to 
2003. Because we are now well into the 2000 fiscal year, the amendment 
that I offer will start the 4-year authorization in fiscal year 2001.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon) for his 
leadership in introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support 
it.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 2816

       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 in accordance with subsection (b).
       (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 agencies in 
     enforcing State and local criminal laws relating to computer 
     crime;
       (2) assist State and local law enforcement agencies 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 criminal 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.


                   Amendment Offered by Mr. Mc Collum

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. McCollum:
       Page 4, line 17, strike ``2000 through 2003'' and insert 
     the following: ``2001 through 2004''.

  Mr. McCOLLUM (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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