[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7149-S7150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEBBIE SMITH ACT OF 2019
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am delighted that we last week reached
a compromise enabling Congress to send another 5-year reauthorization
of the Debbie Smith Act to the President's desk this week. Both
Chambers' adoption of that compromise, which passed the Senate by voice
vote last night, with my support, signals Congress's continued support
for the DNA Backlog and Capacity Enhancement Program.
Earlier this year, I called for reforms to the grant program that the
Debbie Smith Act established. These reforms, suggested this year by the
Government Accountability Office, would require both that the Justice
Department articulate measurable, program-wide goals and that the
National Institute of Justice take additional steps to prevent
lobbying-related conflicts of interest. They would not resolve every
issue with this grant program, but I believe the implementation of such
reforms would substantially strengthen the program. I also advocated
for reforms, which are included in the final legislation, that ensure
the analysis of untested DNA in sexual assault cases is accorded higher
priority under this program.
As mentioned earlier this week, I have called on the Attorney General
to implement several of my proposed reforms through administrative
action. I thank the Attorney General for committing to do so, in the
attached letter dated December 11, 2019. My letter to the Attorney
General on this subject, dated December 9, 2019, also is attached, and
I ask unanimous consent that both letters be printed in the
Congressional Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Legislative Affairs,
Washington, DC, December 11, 2019.
Hon. Charles E. Grassley,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. John Cornyn,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Grassley and Senator Cornyn: This responds to
your letter to the Attorney General dated December 9, 2019,
regarding the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction
(CEBR) Program. We write to assure you that the Department of
Justice places a high priority on the Government
Accountability Office's (GAO) reports and recommendations.
The recommendations from the 2019 GAO report regarding the
CEBR program are being addressed by the Office of Justice
Programs, and specifically, by the National Institute of
Justice (NIJ).
In particular, NIJ concurs with the recommendations in the
2019 GAO report regarding performance measures. To create and
implement appropriate and meaningful performance measures NIJ
has: conducted an in-depth analysis of currently available
program performance data to identify information gaps; made
corresponding modifications to program performance measures
to address these gaps; aligned its performance measures with
consistently articulated program goals and permitted program
activities; clearly delineated between measures intended to
capture the state of DNA backlog and laboratory throughout,
and those measures intended to gauge grant program impact;
made clarifications to promote consistency in grant recipient
data reporting; augmented its measures to efficiently capture
the level of DNA funding used for outsourcing DNA sample
analysis (which accounted for approximately only 10 percent
of program costs for FY 2015 award recipients).
Consistent with the recommendations in the GAO report, NIJ
will communicate enhancements to DNA CEBR program measures
starting in calendar year 2020 and continuing through 2020.
This will occur in advance of updated performance measures
that will appear in the FY 2021 DNA CEBR Program
solicitation. Grant recipients will be required to report
against the specific articulated updated measures thereafter.
The 2019 GAO report expressed concern regarding lobbying
disclosure certifications and a lack of controls to follow-up
with grantees to help ensure they are meeting statutory
requirements. As of February 2, 2019, all entities
registering for federal awards in the System for Award
Management (SAM.gov) are required to review the Financial
Assistance Representations and Certifications required by
statutes or regulations in accordance with guidance under
Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations. SAM.gov
registration question 8.L. references compliance with the
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. Under
this question, the registrant must attest as follows:
I have read each of the certifications and representations
presented on this page. By submitting this certification, I,
, am attesting to the accuracy of the certification
and representations contained herein. I understand that I may
be subject to criminal prosecution under Section 1001, Title
18 of the United States Code or civil liability under the
False Claims Act if I misrepresent by providing
false, fictitious, or fraudulent information to the U.S.
Government.
In addition, OJP plans to send annual reminders to all OJP
vendors with open active awards reminding them of the
disclosure requirements under the Lobbying Disclosure Act
along with instructions on how to submit the disclosures.
Finally, regarding GAO's concerns regarding controls for
conflict of interest and lobbying, OJP has historically
followed Justice Management Division procedures. However, OJP
did not have these procedures reduced to writing, as
acknowledged by GAO. OJP has memorialized the procedures in
writing, which the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney
General has approved. The procedures are in process for
implementation.
It is OJP's intent, as evidenced by the work already
completed and the plan moving forward, to comply with the
2019 GAO report. We hope this information is helpful. Please
do not hesitate to contact this office if we may provide
additional assistance regarding this or any other matter.
[[Page S7150]]
Sincerely,
Stephen E. Boyd,
Assistant Attorney General.
____
Hon. William P. Barr,
Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice,
Washington, DC.
Dear Attorney General Barr: We are writing to urge your
immediate adoption of a government watchdog agency's
recommendations respecting a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
grant program that makes resources available for criminal
laboratories across the country to process DNA evidence
collected from crime scenes and criminal offenders. We also
request that you commit to implement specific and measurable
goals for this program, known as the ``DNA Capacity
Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program'' (CEBR), by the
end of the year.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) repeatedly has
faulted DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and National
Institute of Justice (NIJ) for neglecting to articulate, in
clear, specific, and measurable terms, program-wide goals for
this formula grants program, originally authorized by
Congress under the Debbie Smith Act. The CEBR program, which
has received roughly $1.5 billion in congressional
appropriations since its inception 15 years ago, has been the
subject of two critical GAO reports, one in 2013 and another
this year.
As stated by GAO in a 2019 report on this subject:
``[T]he Office of Justice Programs (OJP)--the primary
grant-making arm of the Department of Justice--has not
consistently documented program-wide goals for its DNA
Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction grant program
(CEBR). For instance, OJP has documented different meanings
of ``capacity enhancement.'' Additionally, CEBR performance
measures do not fully reflect selected attributes of
successful performance measures, such as having measurable
targets. These issues hinder OJP's ability to assess program
results.''
This is not a new concern: GAO reported a half dozen years
ago that DOJ was not doing enough to assess the results of
the CEBR program. As stated in a 2013 report by the
Comptroller General: ``NIJ has a process in place to
determine DNA and forensic program funding priorities, but
its decisions regarding these priorities are not clearly
documented.'' GAO noted that NIJ was unable to articulate its
rationale for how funding priorities are determined, and
``[w]ithout a clearly documented process that demonstrates
the rationale for NIJ's funding priorities, there is limited
transparency regarding how and why the agency is allocating
its funding.'' In 2018, a GAO spokesperson testified before
the Senate Judiciary Committee that we lack the tools
necessary to assess whether the CEBR program is working:
Concerns regarding the process for identifying lobbying-
related conflicts of interest were reported by the
Comptroller General in the 2019 report on the CEBR program.
This 2019 report states that ``OJP has not properly designed
all controls related to selected requirements for conflicts
of interest and lobbying.'' Because DOJ's Office of Inspector
General also identified conflicts of interest with NIJ grant
programs as early as 2009, it is imperative that the Office
of Justice Programs immediately establish all appropriate
controls necessary to eliminate such conflicts, as
recommended by the Government Accountability Office in the
report entitled, `DNA Evidence: DOJ Should Improve
Performance Measurement and Properly Design controls for
Nationwide Grant Program' (GAO-19-216).
We also request that you give your commitment, prior to the
end of this calendar year, to implement three steps, based on
the 2019 and 2013 recommendations of the Comptroller General.
Specifically, we ask that you commit that OJP will:
Define CEBR program-wide goals in clear, specific, and
measurable terms by no later than June 30, 2019.
Consistently document these measurable goals for the CEBR
program and use performance measures that fully reflect the
recommendations made by GAO in its report entitled, `DNA
Evidence: DOJ Should Improve Performance Measurement and
Properly Design controls for Nationwide Grant Program' (GAO-
19-216).
Describe any actions taken, including steps to eliminate
conflicts of interest to improve the CEBR program based on
the 2019 recommendations of the Comptroller General.
We look forward to hearing your response no later than
December 20, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact
Evelyn Fortier of Senator Grassley's staff or Franci Rooney
of Senator Cornyn's staff. Thank you in advance for your
cooperation.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley,
Chairman.
John Cornyn,
U.S. Senator.
____________________