[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 126 (Tuesday, September 25, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H6012-H6013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA POLICE COORDINATION AMENDMENT ACT OF 2001

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2199) to amend the National Capital Revitalization and Self-
Government Improvement Act of 1997 to permit any Federal law 
enforcement agency to enter into a cooperative agreement with the 
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to assist 
the Department in carrying out crime prevention and law enforcement 
activities in the District of Columbia if deemed appropriate by the 
Chief of the Department and the United States Attorney for the District 
of Columbia, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2199

       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 ``District of Columbia Police 
     Coordination Amendment Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. PERMITTING ADDITIONAL FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 
                   AGENCIES TO ENTER INTO COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS 
                   WITH METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE 
                   DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

       Section 11712(d) of the National Capital Revitalization and 
     Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (D.C. Code, sec. 4-
     192(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(33) Any other law enforcement agency of the Federal 
     government that the Chief of the Metropolitan Police 
     Department and the United States Attorney for the District of 
     Columbia deem appropriate to enter into an agreement pursuant 
     to this section.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella) and the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H.R. 2199.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Our colleague the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. 
Norton) introduced this bill, H.R. 2199, on June 14 of this year. It 
was referred to the House Committee on Government Reform and was then 
referred to the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia on June 19. 
The subcommittee considered and marked up the legislation on June 26, 
forwarded it to the full committee by unanimous consent, and the 
committee considered and marked up H.R. 2199 on July 25 and ordered it 
to be reported.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2199 amends the National Capital Revitalization and 
Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 to permit any Federal law 
enforcement agency to enter into an agreement with the D.C. 
Metropolitan Police Department in order to assist the Metropolitan 
Police Department with local law enforcement in the District.

                              {time}  1330

  The original 1997 legislation provided great assistance to the 
District of Columbia by enabling Federal law enforcement agencies to 
enforce local laws on or near their jurisdictional boundaries.
  The 1997 legislation specified certain law enforcement agencies, 
inadvertently leaving out some agencies. H.R. 2199 cures this 
restriction by allowing other law enforcement agencies to enter into 
cooperative agreements with the Metropolitan Police Department if the 
Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States 
Attorney for the District of Columbia deem it appropriate.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my appreciation to the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), the ranking 
minority member of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, for 
her leadership in expanding the provisions of the existing law to 
improve public safety and reduce crime in the Nation's capital.
  I would also like to thank the chairman of the Committee on 
Government Reform, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), for his 
interest in District of Columbia issues and for his guidance in 
bringing this bill to the floor, and of course to the ranking member, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 2199, the District of 
Columbia Police Coordination Amendment Act of 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bill to amend P.L. 105-
33, legislation that has done much to cure our coordinated efforts of 
Federal and local law enforcement officials in the Nation's capital. I 
want to thank the chairman of the Subcommittee on the District of 
Columbia (Mrs. Morella) for her leadership and her work in bringing 
this bill to the floor today and moving so quickly to facilitate this 
important bill.
  H.R. 2199, the District of Columbia Police Coordination Act of 2001, 
amends the Police Coordination Act I introduced in 1997, signed that 
year, by allowing those agencies not named in the original legislation 
to assist the Metropolitan Police Department with local law enforcement 
in the district. Inadvertently, P.L. 105-33 failed to make the language 
sufficiently open-ended to include agencies not mentioned in the 
original bill.
  Prior to the Police Coordination Act, Federal agencies often were 
confined to agency premises and were not able to enforce local laws on 
or near their premises. Instead, for example, Federal officers 
sometimes called 911, taking hard-pressed D.C. police officers from 
urgent work in neighborhoods experiencing serious crime. Federal 
officers were trained and willing to do the job, but lacked the 
authority to do so before the passage of the Police Coordination Act. 
When our country has been attacked, this flexibility provided to 
Federal police officers to pursue suspects beyond their desks is both 
timely and necessary.
  Five agencies have already signed agreements with the U.S. Attorney 
for the District of Columbia enabling them

[[Page H6013]]

to assist the Metropolitan Police Department, including the Federal 
Protective Service, the largest Federal force to participate. Now over 
400 officers are assisting D.C. police.
  Federal agencies understand that the extension of their jurisdiction 
will enhance safety and security within and around their agencies, 
while offering needed assistance as well to District residents. The 
Capitol Police and Amtrak police, who have the longest experience with 
expanded jurisdiction, report that the morale of their officers was 
affected positively because of the satisfaction that comes from being 
integrated into efforts to reduce and prevent crime in and around their 
agencies and in the Nation's capital.
  This non-controversial technical amendment to the Police Coordination 
Act is another step toward achieving my goal of assuring the most 
efficient use of all the available police resources to protect Federal 
agency staff, visitors, commuters, and D.C. residents. I urge all of my 
colleagues to support H.R. 2199.
  Once again, I thank the chairman for her work on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my thanks to the sponsor of the legislation, 
the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her 
leadership on these issues. I urge unanimity supporting this important 
bill to coordinate the police action in the District of Columbia to 
provide for further public safety and reduction of crime.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bereuter). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2199.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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