[House Report 106-800]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-800

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





 
EXTENSION OF RETROACTIVE ELIGIBILITY DATES FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
  HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 
  OFFICERS AND PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

                                _______
                                

 July 27, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2059]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2059) amending the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for 
financial assistance for higher education for spouses and 
dependent children of Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
officers who are killed in the line of duty, 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....................           2
Committee Consideration....................................           3
Vote of the Committee......................................           3
Committee Oversight Findings...............................           3
Committee on Government Reform Findings....................           3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures..................           3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate..................           3
Constitutional Authority Statement.........................           6
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion.................           6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported......           6

  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF RETROACTIVE ELIGIBILITY DATES FOR FINANCIAL 
                    ASSISTANCE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SPOUSES AND 
                    CHILDREN OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE 
                    LINE OF DUTY.

  (a) In General.--Section 1216(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796d-5(a)) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``May 1, 1992,'' and inserting ``January 1, 
        1978,''; and
          (2) by striking ``October 1, 1997,'' and inserting ``January 
        1, 1978,''.
  (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take 
effect October 1, 1999.

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 2059 is to amend the Federal Law 
Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 3796d-5(a)) to extend the retroactive eligibility dates 
for financial assistance for higher education to the spouses 
and dependent children of Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Current law 
provides that the dependents of Federal law enforcement 
officers killed in the line of duty after May 1, 1992, are 
eligible for this assistance. Dependents of State and local 
public safety officers killed in the line of duty after October 
1, 1997, are also eligible. This legislation will move the 
eligibility dates farther back in time to make more dependents 
eligible. For Federal law enforcement officers and State and 
local public safety officers, the dates will be changed to 
January 1, 1978.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    In 1996, Congress amended Part L of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3796 et. 
seq.) by passing the Federal Law Enforcement Dependents 
Assistance Act. The Act was in response to several fatal 
shootings of Federal law enforcement officers in the early 
1990's, which left surviving spouses and children in difficult 
financial circumstances, without the means to pursue higher 
education. It provided that the Attorney General could extend 
benefits to pursue higher education to the dependents of 
Federal law enforcement officers killed or permanently disabled 
in the line of duty. The act included a ``special rule'' of 
retroactive eligibility to receive educational benefits for the 
dependents of Federal law enforcement officers killed in the 
line of duty on or after May 1, 1992. By its terms, the 
retroactive eligibility clause did not cover the dependents of 
Federal law enforcement officers permanently disabled in the 
line of duty. The act was amended in 1998 to offer educational 
benefits to the dependents of State and local public safety 
officers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty, 
and that amendment included retroactive eligibility for the 
dependents of public safety officers killed in the line of duty 
on or after October 1, 1997.
    Unfortunately, the somewhat arbitrary choice of dates to 
qualify for benefits has excluded deserving dependents from 
participating in the program. H.R. 2059 would correct this 
inequity by 1) making the retroactive eligibility dates to 
receive benefits for higher education the same for both Federal 
law enforcement officers and public safety officers, and 2) by 
moving the eligibility dates farther back in time to make it 
possible for more young people to pursue higher education.
    To date, the cost of providing educational benefits to 
dependents of officers killed in the line of duty has been 
surprisingly modest. For example, the Department of Justice 
reports that for fiscal year 1999, only eight survivors of 
Federal agents were paid a total of $44,036 in benefits, while 
no State and local survivors received benefits. The 
Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending 
retroactive eligibility would cost the Government an additional 
$14 million over fiscal years 2000 through 2005 and about $24 
million over the next 10 years.

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 11, 2000, the Committee on the Judiciary met in 
open session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 2059, 
as amended, by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                         Vote of the Committee

    Mr. Chabot offered an amendment to make the dates for 
retroactive eligibility to receive educational benefits the 
same for both Federal law enforcement officers and public 
safety officers, the proposed new date being January 1, 1978. 
The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
    Vote on final passage: passed by 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 in 
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. 2059, 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, July 17, 2000.
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. 2059, a bill to 
amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
extend the retroactive eligibility dates for financial 
assistance for higher education for spouses and dependent 
children of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers 
who are killed in the line of duty.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                  Dan L. Crippen, Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable John Conyers Jr.
        Ranking Democratic Member
H.R. 2059--A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
        Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for 
        financial assistance for higher education for spouses and 
        dependent children of federal, state, and local law enforcement 
        officers who are killed in the line of duty.

                                SUMMARY

    Under current law, the spouses and children of public 
safety officers killed or permanently disabled in the line of 
duty are eligible to receive financial assistance for higher 
education. However, this assistance is available only to 
dependents of federal law enforcement officers who were killed 
or disabled on or after May 1, 1992, and to dependents of other 
public safety officers who were killed or disabled on or after 
October 1, 1997. H.R. 2059 would extend both of these cutoff 
dates back to January 1, 1978. CBO estimates that the bill 
would authorize the appropriation of $15 million over fiscal 
years 2000 through 2005 to provide educational assistance to 
dependents who would become eligible under this bill.
    Enacting H.R. 2059 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would 
not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.

                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 2059 is shown in the 
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within 
budget function 750 (administration of justice).

                                     By fiscal year, in millions of dollars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              2000     2001     2002     2003     2004     2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level                                     0        2        2        4        4        3
Estimated Outlay                                                  0        2        2        4        4        3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           BASIS OF ESTIMATE

    For the purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
bill will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 2000, and that 
payments to eligible spouses and children would begin in 2001. 
Based on the ages of dependents that would become eligible for 
assistance under this legislation, we expect that they would 
apply for financial assistance over the next 20 years, with 
most doing so by 2010. We estimate that H.R. 2059 would 
authorize the appropriation of $15 million over the 2001-2005 
period and about $24 million over the next 10 years.
    According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), about 4,100 
federal law enforcement officers and other public safety 
officers were killed or permanently disabled in the line of 
duty during the 19-year period of eligibility for education 
benefits that would be added by H.R. 2059. Spouses and children 
of these officers number about 2,900 and 3,400, respectively. 
All of the spouses, but only children under the age of 27, 
would be eligible for educational assistance under H.R. 2059, 
with the children of public safety officers expected to 
comprise the majority of beneficiaries. We estimate current or 
future students could receive payments of about $3,600 per year 
(in 2000 dollars), while dependents who have completed their 
education could receive a retroactive lump-sum payment of about 
$15,000.
    Since the educational assistance program began in 1997 for 
dependents of federal law enforcement officers, about 50 
percent of federal college-age dependents have received 
assistance. This program began in 1999 for dependents of other 
public safety officers, and less than 5 percent of eligible 
college-age dependents have received educational assistance 
thus far. Based on information from DOJ, we expect nonfederal 
participation to approach 50 percent as the program's 
visibility grows and as more children complete high school. 
However, CBO expects that participation by dependents under 
H.R. 2059 would be lower because some dependents are already 27 
years old or older, and thus would not be eligible for 
assistance. CBO estimates that roughly 40 percent of the 
children and 10 percent of the spouses, or about 1,700 
individuals, eventually could receive financial assistance for 
higher education under H.R. 2059.

                     PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS:

    None.

              INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

    H.R. 2059 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of 
state, local, or tribal governments.

                         PREVIOUS CBO ESTIMATE

    On March 29, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1638, as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on 
February 10, 2000. The two pieces of legislation are very 
similar and the cost estimates are identical.

                         ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226-2860)
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Shelley 
        Finlayson (225-3220)

          Impact on the Private Sector: John Harris (226-2940)

ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:
Peter H. Fontaine
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to 3(d)(1) of rule XIII 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. Extension of Retroactive Eligibility Dates for Financial 
        Assistance for Higher Education for Spouses and Children of Law 
        Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty.
    This section would amend section 1216(a) of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that the 
date of retroactive eligibility to receive financial assistance 
for higher education for the dependents of Federal law 
enforcement officers and public safety officers killed in the 
line of duty will be January 1, 1978.

         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):

 SECTION 1216 OF THE OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968

SEC. 1216. SPECIAL RULE.

  (a) Retroactive Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, each dependent of a Federal law enforcement 
officer killed in the line of duty on or after [May 1, 1992,] 
January 1, 1978, and each dependent of a public safety officer 
killed in the line of duty on or after [October 1, 1997,] 
January 1, 1978, shall be eligible for assistance under this 
subpart, subject to the other limitations of this subpart.

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