[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3923-S3924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS:
  S. 772. A bill to permit the reimbursement of the expenses incurred 
by an affected State and units of local government for security at an 
additional non-governmental property to be secured by the Secret 
Service for protection of the President for a period of not to exceed 
60 days each fiscal year; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today I introduce a bill to provide fair 
reimbursement to state and local law enforcement organizations for 
additional costs incurred by them in providing frequent assistance to 
the Secret Service to protect the President of the United States.
  Of course, the Secret Service has the principal responsibility for 
protecting our Presidents. Without the assistance of state and local 
law enforcement organizations, however, providing that protection would 
be more costly and more difficult, if not impossible. For the most 
part, state and local law enforcers provide this assistance with no 
need for or expectation of reimbursement from the Federal government. 
In some cases, however, reimbursement is appropriate. It is 
appropriate, for example, when state and local law enforcement 
organizations are required to incur substantial expenses on a frequent 
basis in localities that are small and thus does not have adequate 
financial bases to provide the necessary services without 
reimbursement.
  This is not a new idea. Dating back to at least the Administration of 
President Jimmy Carter, the Federal government has provided 
reimbursement to local and sometimes state organizations where sitting 
Presidents maintain a principal residence. In the early 1990s, 
reimbursement was provided for

[[Page S3924]]

services provided for then-President Bush's visits to Kennebunkport, 
Maine. Reimbursement is similarly available now to Crawford, Texas. The 
bill I am introducing will extend this authority to localities and 
states other than the place of principal residence when the sitting 
President so designates.
  I envision that it will help, for example, the Kennebunkport Police 
Department and associated law enforcement organizations in my home 
state. I expect that the allure of summer in Maine will draw President 
George W. Bush to the Bush family residence in Kennebunkport for 
several visits in the coming months. My bill will help ensure that the 
town, with a population of only 3,720, will not have to shoulder alone 
the substantial financial burden associated with these visits. In 
addition, however, I anticipate that in the future other localities 
will benefit, for this bill has been carefully drafted to provide 
reimbursement to localities and states designated by future Presidents.
  This bill will not result in an unlimited ``windfall'' to local and 
state law enforcement organizations. It requires that the organizations 
requesting reimbursement first incur the expenses and therefore will 
likely discourage excessive expenditures. It also limits the number of 
days for which reimbursements may be sought to not more than 60 days 
per fiscal year. In addition, it provides reimbursement only for 
services provided in conjunction with visits to small localities with a 
population of no more than 7,000 residences. Finally, the total amount 
of reimbursement is limited to not more than $100,000 per fiscal year.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this modest, yet important and 
equitable provision of support to local and state law enforcement 
organizations.
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