[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15850-15851]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




FINDINGS SUBMITTED BY JOHN CONYERS, JR., CHAIRMAN OF HOUSE COMMITTEE ON 
                 THE JUDICIARY PURSUANT TO H. RES. 1493

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2010

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, pursuant to H. Res. 1493, as chair of the 
Committee on the Judiciary, I submit the following highlights of 
``changes in law'' enacted in the 111th Congress within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee that ``help achieve deficit reduction by 
reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, promoting efficiency 
and reform of government, and controlling spending within Government 
programs.'' These enacted changes in law include:
  (1) Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (Public Law 111-21). This law 
clarifies and strengthens the criminal penalties for various forms of 
fraud, including fraud in connection with the Troubled Asset Relief 
Program and other federal assistance programs, including economic 
stimulus funds. It also strengthens incentives and protections under 
the False Claims Act for private citizens to help root out fraud 
against the federal government and help bring the perpetrators to 
justice. See 111 Cong. Rec. H5260-67 (May 6, 2009).
  (2) Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Extension Act 
(Public Law 111-30). This law extends and strengthens a temporary 
program that promotes more effective and efficient detection and 
prosecution of illegal price-fixing cartels, by giving secondary 
participants in the cartel legal protection for blowing the whistle on 
the cartel and cooperating in the investigation and prosecution. This 
program has been demonstrated to substantially enhance the reach of the 
Justice Department's cartel enforcement resources. See 111 Cong. Rec. 
H3716-7 (May 24, 2010).
  (3) Human Rights Enforcement Act (Public Law 111-122). This law 
consolidates Justice Department jurisdiction over serious human rights 
crimes into one section within the Department's Criminal Division. This 
will enable the Department to employ its enforcement resources with 
greater efficiency and effectiveness to vigorously prosecute 
perpetrators of serious human rights crimes. See 111 Cong. Rec. H14892-
4 (December 15, 2009).
  (4) Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act (Public Law 111-79). This 
law promotes greater efficiency and cooperation in international law 
enforcement by streamlining the process by which the federal government 
responds to requests for evidence by foreign governments in their 
investigations. Instead of having to file and process a request 
separately in every federal judicial district where the evidence or 
witnesses might be found, which could require involvement by a dozen or 
more different U.S. Attorneys on a single request, the request can now 
be handled centrally by one or two U.S. Attorneys. See 111 Cong. Rec. 
H10092-4 (Sept. 30, 2009).
  In addition, other proposed legislation within the jurisdiction of 
the Committee has been approved by the House and would reduce waste, 
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, promote efficiency and reform of 
government, and control spending within Government programs. This 
legislation includes:
  (5) H.R. 2247, the Congressional Review Act Improvement Act, which 
would provide for federal agencies to more efficiently promulgate final 
rules, while ensuring effective Congressional review;
  (6) H.R. 3632, the Federal Judiciary Administrative Improvements Act 
of 2009, which would improve the efficiency of the federal court 
system, including by improving the control and protection of 
confidential information and the reporting of criminal wiretapping 
orders; and
  (7) H.R. 3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 
2009, which would improve the efficiency of federal and state courts by 
requiring them to recognize documents lawfully notarized in any state 
where interstate commerce is involved.
  In addition to the legislative activity described above, the 
Committee has conducted extensive oversight aimed at reducing waste, 
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement and improving federal government 
efficiency. A primary focus of the Committee's oversight efforts is the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) and its component divisions and agencies, 
including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Both the Committee 
and the DOJ Inspector General have devoted considerable attention to 
the FBI, DOJ, and other agencies, with several Committee hearings held 
relating to the Bureau and other agencies this year, including:

[[Page 15851]]

  (8) Committee Oversight Focusing on FBI-ATF Problems. The Committee's 
Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee held a hearing on 
February 24, 2010, focusing on three recent Inspector General reports 
raising concerns about long-standing problems in FBI and other DOJ 
operations. These include wasteful and potentially dangerous overlap 
and rivalry between the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) on explosives investigations, backlog 
and related problems concerning the FBI's foreign language translation 
work, and coordination and related problems concerning DOJ and FBI 
anti-gang activities. The hearing and related oversight of the FBI and 
DOJ have revealed significant progress in addressing these 
difficulties, and DOJ indicated at the hearing that it was moving 
forward vigorously to complete its efforts to resolve the decade-long 
FBI-ATF problems. In fact, in early August, 2010, the acting Deputy 
Attorney General issued a memorandum and protocol specifying the 
division of responsibility between FBI and ATF on explosives-related 
matters, including the conduct of investigations and the maintenance of 
a single national explosives database.
  (9) Other Committee Oversight Concerning the FBI. On March 24, 2010, 
the Committee held a hearing including representatives of the FBI's 
Terrorist Screening Center, as well as the National Counterterrorism 
Center and the Departments of Homeland Security and State, which 
focused on efforts to improve the sharing and analyzing of information 
to prevent terrorism. On May 20, 2010, the Committee's Crime, 
Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee held a hearing at which 
an FBI representative provided an update concerning national efforts to 
eliminate the DNA backlog in forensic casework and the Combined DNA 
Index System that supports the national DNA database. A staff briefing 
on FBI efforts to remedy the backlog is scheduled for September 20, 
2010.
  (10) Committee Oversight on the Department of Justice and its 
Divisions. Other Committee oversight hearings have focused on DOJ and 
its divisions. On May 13, 2010, the Committee held a DOJ oversight 
hearing at which Attorney General Eric Holder testified and answered a 
full range of questions from Committee members about many aspects of 
DOJ operations. The Committee has submitted followup written questions, 
including questions focusing on efforts to improve DOJ efficiency with 
respect to financial and grant funds management. On March 4, 2010, the 
Committee's Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee held a 
hearing on efforts to enforce criminal laws against medicaid fraud, 
which included testimony from the Department's Criminal Division. 
Overall, the Committee has held 12 oversight hearings during this year 
alone focusing on DOJ, including testimony from officials from the 
Antitrust, Civil, Criminal, and Civil Rights Divisions, the FBI, and 
the Executive Office of Immigration Review.
  (11) Committee Oversight on Other Federal Agencies. The Committee has 
also held a number of oversight hearings focusing on agencies within 
its jurisdiction that are outside DOJ. For example, focusing on 
hearings during this session, on March 23, 2010, the Committee's 
Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, 
and International Law held an oversight hearing on the U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS), which included testimony from the 
Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General and the Government 
Accountability Office on efforts to improve information technology, 
fees, and other aspects of USCIS management. On May 5, 2010, the 
Committee held an oversight hearing on the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office (PTO), which led to the PTO-related legislation 
discussed above. On May 20, 2010, the Committee's Subcommittee on 
Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on the recently 
revived Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), which 
featured testimony by the Chairman of ACUS and Supreme Court Justices 
Stephen Breyer and Antonin Scalia. On June 29, 2010, the Subcommittee 
on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held an oversight hearing 
featuring testimony from the Secret Service. And on July 27, 2010, the 
Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee held a hearing on 
Federal Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process, which included testimony 
from Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the federal Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs.

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