[House Report 106-459]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    106-459

======================================================================



 
         UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

November 8, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. McCollum, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2336]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2336) amending title 28, United States Code, to 
provide for appointment of United States marshals by the 
Attorney General, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as 
amended do pass.

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                  

                                                                 Page
The Amendment..............................................           2
Purpose and Summary........................................           2
Background and Need for the Legislation....................           3
Hearings...................................................           4
Committee Consideration....................................           4
Vote of the Committee......................................           4
Committee Oversight Findings...............................           4
Committee on Government Reform Findings....................           4
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures..................           4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate..................           4
Constitutional Authority Statement.........................           6
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion.................           6
Agency Views...............................................           6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported......           7
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United States Marshals Service 
Improvement Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. APPOINTMENTS OF MARSHALS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 37 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in section 561(c)--
                    (A) by striking ``The President shall appoint, by 
                and with the advice and consent of the Senate,'' and 
                inserting ``The Attorney General shall appoint''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``United States marshals shall be 
                appointed subject to the provisions of title 5 
                governing appointments in the competitive civil 
                service, and shall be paid in accordance with the 
                provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
                53 of such title relating to classification and pay 
                rates.'' after the first sentence;
            (2) by striking subsection (d) of section 561;
            (3) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), and 
        (i) of section 561 as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h), 
        respectively; and
            (4) by striking section 562.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 37 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 562.

SEC. 3. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS; PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN 
                    UNITED STATES MARSHALS.

    (a) Incumbent Marshals.--Notwithstanding the amendments made by 
this Act, each marshal appointed under chapter 37 of title 28, United 
States Code, before the date of the enactment of this Act shall, unless 
that marshal resigns or is removed by the President, continue to 
perform the duties of that office until the expiration of that 
marshal's term and the appointment of a successor.
    (b) Vacancies After Enactment.--Notwithstanding the amendments made 
by this Act, with respect to the first vacancy which occurs in the 
office of United States marshal in any district, during the period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on 
December 31, 2001, the President shall appoint, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, a marshal to fill that vacancy for a term of 
4 years. Any marshal appointed by the President under this subsection 
shall, unless that marshal resigns or is removed from office by the 
President, continue to perform the duties of that office after the end 
of the four-year term to which such marshal was appointed or until a 
successor is appointed.

SEC. 4. STUDY BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.

    The General Accounting Office shall conduct a study detailing the 
number of United States marshals chosen by the Attorney General who are 
people of color and women, and report to Congress the results of that 
study within one year after the effective date of this Act.

                          Purpose and Summary

    Under current law, United States Marshals are appointed by 
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. In many instances, these appointed Marshals lack the 
law enforcement experience and qualifications necessary for 
discharging the sensitive and varied demands of the position of 
U.S. Marshal. There are no mandated requirements to become a 
U.S. Marshal, and the only training a newly appointed Marshal 
receives is a 40-hour orientation session.
    H.R. 2336, the ``United States Marshals Service Improvement 
Act of 1999,'' will change the selection process of United 
States Marshals from that of appointment by the President with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, to appointment by the 
Attorney General. United States Marshals will be selected on a 
competitive basis from among the career managers within the 
Marshals Service and other Federal law enforcement agencies.
    Incumbent U.S. Marshals, selected before enactment of H.R. 
2336, will continue to perform the duties of their office until 
their terms expire and successors are appointed. Marshals 
selected between the enactment of this bill and December 31, 
2001, will still be appointed by the President, with the advice 
and consent of the Senate. They will serve a four year term, 
unless they resign or are removed by the President.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation's oldest Federal 
law enforcement agency. Since 1789, U.S. Marshals have been 
involved in a variety of vital law enforcement activities 
including protection of the Federal judiciary and Federal 
witnesses, apprehension of Federal fugitives, management and 
disposal of seized and forfeited properties, transportation of 
prisoners and hundreds of other special operations projects.
    Currently, there is no criteria for the selection of a U.S. 
Marshal. Past Marshals have included a phone company employee, 
a children's television show host, a coroner, and a pig farmer. 
The lack of professional standards for the position of U.S. 
Marshal makes it possible for persons with a similar lack of 
qualifications to be appointed. Presently, approximately 
fifteen of the nation's 94 U.S. Marshals have previous 
experience as Deputy Marshals.
    Once appointed, a U.S. Marshal is not subject to 
disciplinary action, short of removal by the President. A. U.S. 
Marshal is not accountable to the Director of the Marshals 
Service, and cannot be demoted, suspended, or transferred. This 
lack of accountability has resulted in numerous problems, 
including budgetary irresponsibility among a few individual 
Marshals.
    Under H.R. 2336, career Marshals will be subjected to the 
same disciplinary actions as the employees that they supervise. 
An ineffectual U.S. Marshal could be transferred or demoted, 
and the Director will finally have control over the entire U.S. 
Marshals Service.
    Partly because of the lack of experience in law enforcement 
of many U.S. Marshals, the Marshals Service has created the 
position of Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal. As the Marshals Service 
is currently organized, these Chief Deputy Marshals are 
essential because they provided the requisite leadership in 
district offices. In turn, these Chief Deputy Marshals have 
Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshals to assist them with daily 
activities.
    But, partly as a result of creating these positions, the 
ratio of employees to managers in the U.S. Marshals Service 
nationwide is four to one--the highest ratio in Federal law 
enforcement. Because H.R. 2336 would professionalize the office 
of U.S. Marshal, by ensuring that only knowledgeable career 
managers could be considered for the position, there would no 
longer be a need for the surplus of middle managers who support 
the presently unprepared U.S. Marshals.
    H.R. 2336 is supported by several former directors of the 
U.S. Marshals Service.

                                Hearings

    The committee's Subcommittee on Crime held no hearings on 
H.R. 2336. During the 104th Congress, the Subcommittee on Crime 
held a legislative hearing on H.R. 2641, the ``United States 
Marshals Service Improvement Act of 1995,'' which is nearly 
identical to H.R. 2336. The subcommittee published a transcript 
of that hearing (Serial No. 40, part 2).

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 1, 1999, the Subcommittee on Crime met in open 
session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 2336 
without amendment, by a voice vote, a quorum being present. On 
July 20, 1999, the committee met in open session and ordered 
reported favorably the bill H.R. 2336, as amended, by voice 
vote, a quorum being present.

                         Vote of the Committee

    Ms. Jackson Lee offered an amendment that would direct the 
General Accounting Office to ``conduct a study detailing the 
number of U.S. Marshals chosen by the Attorney General who are 
people of color and women, and report to Congress the results 
of that study within one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.'' Mr. Nadler modified Ms. Jackson Lee's amendment 
by unanimous consent, substituting the words ``effective date'' 
for the words ``date of enactment,'' and the amendment was 
agreed to by a voice vote. The Chairman moved to favorably 
report H.R. 2336, as amended, to the House. The motion was 
agreed to by a voice vote.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

                Committee on Government Reform Findings

    No findings or recommendations of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 2336, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 3, 1999.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2336, the United 
States Marshals Service Improvement Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susanne S. 
Mehlman, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                  Dan L. Crippen, Director.
H.R. 2336--United States Marshals Service Improvement Act of 1999.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2336 would result in no 
significant cost or savings to the Federal Government. Because 
the bill would not affect direct spending or receipts, pay-as-
you-go procedures would not apply. H.R. 2336 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no effect on State, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Under current law, U.S. Marshals are appointed by the 
President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and many 
are compensated according to the executive level pay schedule. 
H.R. 2336 would enable the Attorney General to appoint U.S. 
Marshals beginning on January 1, 2002, and require that 
compensation for all U.S. Marshal positions be consistent with 
the general schedule pay rates. (Any vacancies occurring before 
January 1, 2002, would be filled as they are currently--by 
Presidential appointment.) Because those appointees subject to 
the general schedule pay rates would also be eligible for 
overtime pay, their total compensation would probably not 
differ on average by more than $500 from the compensation 
currently provided to those U.S. Marshals who are receiving 
executive level pay. Currently, 26 U.S. Marshals receive 
executive level pay; thus, CBO estimates that any net savings 
realized would be less than $15,000 each year beginning in 
fiscal year 2002.
    H.R. 2336 also would require the General Accounting Office 
(GAO) to conduct a study detailing the number of U.S. Marshals 
chosen by the Attorney General who are women or people of 
color. Based on information from GAO, CBO estimates that 
completing this study would cost less than $500,000, subject to 
the availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Susanne S. 
Mehlman, who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was 
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for 
Budget Analysis.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to rule XIII, clause 3(d)(1) of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution.

               Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion

Sec. 1. Short Title.
    This section states that the short title of the bill is the 
United States Marshals Service Improvement Act of 1999.
Sec. 2. Appointments of Marshals.
    This section amends chapter 37 of title 28, United States 
Code, to provide for the appointment of United States Marshals 
by the Attorney General of the United States. Currently, United 
States Marshals are appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. The section also provides 
that Unites States Marshals shall be appointed subject to the 
provisions of Title 5, United States Code, governing 
appointments in the competitive civil service, and shall be 
paid on the government service scale. As a result, only persons 
who are employed in the civil service of the United States--as 
are all Deputy U.S. Marshals--are eligible to be appointed as a 
U.S. Marshal.
Sec. 3. Transitional Provisions; Presidential Appointment of Certain 
        United States Marshals.
    The section directs that each United States Marshal 
appointed before enactment of this Act shall remain in that 
position until the term is completed and a successor is 
appointed. The section also provides that, during the period 
between the date of enactment of this Act and December 31, 
2001, the President shall appoint U.S. Marshals with the advice 
and consent of the Senate. Under the bill, these Marshals will 
serve a four-year term, and will continue to serve after the 
four-year term expires until a successor is appointed. This 
section thus ``grandfathers'' the current U.S. Marshals, 
appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the 
Senate.

                              Agency Views

    The committee did not receive any agency views regarding 
H.R. 2336, the United States Marshals Service Improvement Act 
of 1999, or on a virtually identical bill, HR. 927, the 
``United States Marshals Service Improvement Act of 1997,'' 
which was introduced during the 105th Congress. The committee 
did receive views in the 104th Congress regarding H.R. 2641, 
the ``United States Marshals Service Improvement Act of 1995,'' 
which is nearly identical to H.R. 2336. The agency views 
received by the committee on H.R. 2641 are as follows:

                        U.S. Department of Justice,
                             Office of Legislative Affairs,
                                     Washington, DC, March 6, 1996.
Hon. Bill McCollum, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Crime,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: I am pleased to respond to your request 
for the Department of Justice's views on a number of bills the 
subcommittee will soon consider. Our views are provided below.

H.R. 2641--The United States Marshals Service Improvements Act.

    H.R. 2641 would amend 28 U.S.C. Sec.  561(c) to authorize 
the Director of the Marshals Service to appoint U.S. Marshals 
from the competitive civil service. Marshals thus would be 
career law enforcement officers who had risen through the ranks 
of the Marshals Service. The provision would take effect in the 
year 2000. Until that time, Marshals would continue to be 
appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the 
Senate as they have been since the earliest days of our nation.
    We support the thrust of the bill, which is consistent with 
a recommendation from the National Performance Review. We 
would, however, note a constitutional concern with the specific 
language of H.R. 2641. The bill should provide for appointment 
of Marshals by the Attorney General rather than the Director of 
the Marshals Service. Courts have held that Marshals are 
``officers of the United States'' in the constitutional sense. 
Under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, such 
officers must be appointed by the President, courts of law, or 
heads of Departments.
    Appointment of Marshals by the Attorney General would 
result in naming as Marshals persons who have demonstrated 
outstanding law enforcement and administrative expertise 
through a career in the Service. Although politically appointed 
Marshals have long served the National with dedication and 
integrity, today the multifaceted law enforcement missions of 
the Marshals Service--involving such matters as judicial 
security, fugitive apprehension, prisoner transportation, 
witness protection, and disposal of seized assets--require that 
its field offices, like those of other law enforcement 
agencies, be headed by career law enforcement officers.
    Again, we are pleased to assist the subcommittee's 
consideration of these bills. Please do not hesitate to 
contract me if you need any additional assistance.
            Sincerely,
                                               Andrew Fois,
                                Assistant Attorney General.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the 
bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 
printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

               CHAPTER 37 OF TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE

               CHAPTER 37-UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE

Sec.
561.  United States Marshals Service.
[562.  Vacancies.]
     * * * * * * *

Sec.  561. United States Marshals Service

    (a)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) [The President shall appoint, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate,] The Attorney General shall appoint 
a United States marshal for each judicial district of the 
United States and for the Superior Court of the District of 
Columbia, except that any marshal appointed for the Northern 
Mariana Islands may at the same time serve as marshal in 
another judicial district. United States marshals shall be 
appointed subject to the provisions of title 5 governing 
appointments in the competitive civil service, and shall be 
paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and 
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 
classification and pay rates. Each United States marshal shall 
be an official of the Service and shall serve under the 
direction of the Director.
    [(d) Each marshal shall be appointed for a term of four 
years. A marshal shall, unless that marshal has resigned or 
been removed by the President, continue to perform the duties 
of that office after the end of that 4-year term until a 
successor is appointed and qualifies.]
    [(e)] (d) The Director shall designate places within a 
judicial district for the official station and offices of each 
marshal. Each marshal shall reside within the district for 
which such marshal is appointed, except that--
            (1) the marshal for the District of Columbia, for 
        the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and for 
        the Southern District of New York may reside within 20 
        miles of the district for which the marshal is 
        appointed; and
            (2) any marshal appointed for the Northern Mariana 
        Islands who at the same time is serving as marshal in 
        another district may reside in such other district.
    [(f)] (e) The Director is authorized to appoint and fix the 
compensation of such employees as are necessary to carry out 
the powers and duties of the Service and may designate such 
employees as law enforcement officers in accordance with such 
policies and procedures as the Director shall establish 
pursuant to the applicable provisions of title 5 and 
regulations issued thereunder.
    [(g)] (f) The Director shall supervise and direct the 
United States Marshals Service in the performance of its 
duties.
    [(h)] (g) The Director may administer oaths and may take 
affirmations of officials and employees of the Service, but 
shall not demand or accept any fee or compensation therefor.
    [(i)] (h) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Service.

[Sec.  562. Vacancies

    [(a) In the case of a vacancy in the office of a United 
States marshal, the Attorney General may designate a person to 
perform the functions of and act as marshal, except that the 
Attorney General may not designate to act as marshal any person 
who was appointed by the President to that office but with 
respect to such appointment the Senate has refused to give its 
advice and consent.
    [(b) A person designated by the Attorney General under 
subsection (a) may serve until the earliest of the following 
events:
            [(1) The entry into office of a United States 
        marshal appointed by the President, pursuant to section 
        561(c).
            [(2) The expiration of the thirtieth day following 
        the end of the next session of the Senate.
            [(3) If such designee of the Attorney General is 
        appointed by the President pursuant to section 561(c), 
        but the Senate refuses to give its advice and consent 
        to the appointment, the expiration of the thirtieth day 
        following such refusal.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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