[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 134 (Monday, September 12, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H6046-H6047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INVESTIGATIVE ASSISTANCE FOR VIOLENT CRIMES ACT OF 2011

  Mr. GOWDY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 2076) to amend title 28, United States Code, to clarify the 
statutory authority for the longstanding practice of the Department of 
Justice of providing investigatory assistance on request of State and 
local authorities with respect to certain serious violent crimes, and 
for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2076

       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 ``Investigative Assistance for 
     Violent Crimes Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF MASS KILLING OR ATTEMPTED MASS 
                   KILLING AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES.

       Title 28, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 530C(b)(1)(L)(i), by striking ``2,000,000'' 
     and inserting ``$3,000,000'';
       (2) in section 530C(b)(4), by adding at the end the 
     following: ``The authority to conduct or assist in 
     investigations includes the authority to deploy tactical 
     response, command and control, and other crisis-management 
     assets of the Bureau, as appropriate; and any such conduct or 
     assistance shall be understood presumptively to be within the 
     scope of Federal office or employment.'';
       (3) in section 540A--
       (A) in the section heading, by striking ``Investigation of 
     certain violent crimes;'' and inserting ``Investigation of 
     certain violent crimes'';
       (B) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, in the 
     investigation of violent acts and shootings occurring in 
     venues such as schools, colleges, universities, non-Federal 
     office buildings, malls, and other public places, and in the 
     investigation of mass killings and attempted mass killings'' 
     after ``traveler''; and
       (C) in subsection (c), by adding the following new 
     paragraph at the end:
       ``(4) `mass killings' means three or more killings in a 
     single incident.''; and
       (4) in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 
     33, by striking the item relating to section 540A and 
     inserting the following:
       ``540A. Investigation of certain violent crimes.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Gowdy) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOWDY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on H.R. 2076, as amended, currently 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from South Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOWDY. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, violent crimes that impact multiple victims in mass 
shootings in particular are unpredictable and, in addition to sending 
shock waves through the communities impacted, often test the resources 
of the State and local law enforcement jurisdictions involved. 
Regrettably, within our lifetime, there have been scores of mass 
shootings ranging from restaurants to high schools to universities and 
churches. No place is safe.
  There are no sanctuaries left any more, Mr. Speaker, in our culture. 
And despite the tremendous training, education, and hard work of the 
brave women and men in State and local law enforcement, these types of 
tragedies can test even the most well-resourced law enforcement 
agencies. Not only is there an active crime scene with victims, there 
are hundreds of pieces of forensic or ballistic evidence, and the 
gathering of evidence is taking place sometimes contemporaneous with 
the search for an assailant.
  There is a deep and rich history of cooperation and collaboration 
between and among law enforcement agencies. This is true at the local 
level, the State level and, indeed, at the Federal level. Federal law 
enforcement agencies have unique skill sets, access to resources and 
equipment and other investigative techniques that can and do assist 
smaller police departments on a regular basis.
  But, Mr. Speaker, currently the FBI does not have the specific 
statutory authority to assist in all investigations, specifically with 
respect to the investigation of mass shootings or other violent crimes 
occurring in non-Federal venues.
  H.R. 2076, the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 
2011, is a commonsense bill that allows the FBI to provide assistance 
to State and local law enforcement authorities, if requested, in 
response to a mass shooting or other mass casualty. This bill addresses 
when the FBI is asked to assist State or local authorities with mass 
shootings and mass killings at a public place, such as a shopping mall 
or a school.
  The FBI has traditionally assisted State and local law enforcement 
authorities, but the statutory authority explicitly granting the FBI 
jurisdiction is lacking. To be sure, the FBI helps and is willing to 
help, but the absence of a specific statutory grant of jurisdiction, 
even jurisdiction by invitation, needs to be resolved.
  This bill is not an expansion of Federal authority, and it does not 
expand the authority of the FBI. Any assistance from the FBI must be 
requested by the State or local authority and agreed to by Federal 
authorities. The FBI will only assist when State or local counterparts 
ask for help and they agree to provide it.
  This legislation, Mr. Speaker, is simple, but it is also critical. 
State and local authorities often look to the FBI for assistance in 
handling large, violent crimes, but the FBI must look to Federal law to 
determine what authority it has been granted by Congress before it can 
offer assistance.
  Accordingly, H.R. 2076 gives the FBI the specific authority to 
respond to requests for assistance from State and local law enforcement 
authorities when mass killings or other acts of violence are committed 
or attempted.
  H.R. 2076, Mr. Speaker, was passed out of the House Judiciary 
Committee by a voice vote with broad bipartisan support. This bill is 
also supported by the FBI Agents Association, a voluntary professional 
association currently representing over 12,000 active duty and retired 
FBI special agents.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I begin by commending my colleague on Judiciary, Trey Gowdy, for 
introducing this bill and being the sponsor

[[Page H6047]]

of it. I agree with everything that has been said.
  I would like to ask my colleague about a shooting I read about just 
today--it wasn't a mass killing, but some of these things are so 
awful--a 17-year-old young girl athlete shot mysteriously. Do you see 
that that might be a role that we may want the FBI to be able to 
intervene in if they are invited as well?
  Mr. GOWDY. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina.
  Mr. GOWDY. I thank the gentleman from Michigan, and I would tell the 
distinguished former chairman of Judiciary, I am not aware of a single 
instance in my 16 years as a prosecutor where the FBI was asked to 
provide help and didn't do so, and I know that my friend from Michigan 
would want the FBI to be on solid, legal footing.
  So with respect to the shooting that you are referencing--and I fear 
that I am familiar with that shooting; I believe I read about it, the 
tragic loss of life of a wonderful high school young lady who happened 
to be a tremendous basketball player--the FBI agents that I know would 
gladly help in that case.
  And if the gentleman from Michigan wanted to provide a way for the 
Bureau to help whenever requested, I would be happy to work on that 
with him.
  Mr. CONYERS. I thank the gentleman, and I think this is something 
that our community might well want to look into, because the general 
impression is that crime is going down, and I assume that's accurate, 
but in some places it isn't. I thank the gentleman for making sure that 
this assistance from the FBI has a statutory basis, which it hasn't 
enjoyed until now.
  I join with him in providing this assistance as a matter of law, and 
I urge the passage of the measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 2076. This bill will 
improve the ability of the FBI to assist state and local law 
enforcement in response to certain types of incidents.
  H.R. 2076 would give the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, 
specific statutory authority to respond to requests from state and 
local law enforcement authorities for assistance in the investigation 
of felony crimes of violence that are violent acts, shootings, mass 
killings, and attempted mass killings.
  The FBI does not currently have specific statutory authority to 
assist in the investigation of mass killings or attempted mass killings 
occurring in venues such as schools, colleges, universities, non-
federal office buildings, malls, and/or other public places.
  While the FBI continues to receive requests for such assistance from 
state and local law enforcement, there is no federal statute that 
directly provides jurisdiction to the FBI to respond to such requests.
  Legislation granting the proposed investigative authority would allow 
the FBI to provide state and local law enforcement with the assistance 
requested when the violent act does not appear to otherwise violate a 
federal law.
  State and local law enforcement agencies responsible for 
investigating mass killings in the workplace or classroom often need 
the many resources which the FBI is well capable of providing. Further, 
the general public expects the FBI to be capable of responding when 
mass killings threaten the safety of our nation's citizens.
  There is a need for legislation that grants the FBI authority to 
respond immediately to requests for assistance from state and local law 
enforcement authorities when mass killings are committed or attempted.
  I commend the gentleman from South Carolina, Representative Trey 
Gowdy, for introducing H.R. 2076. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOWDY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1610

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Gowdy) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2076, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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