[House Report 107-458]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-458
======================================================================
LAW ENFORCEMENT TRIBUTE ACT
_______
May 14, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Sensenbrenner, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2624]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 2624) to authorize the Attorney General to make
grants to honor, through permanent tributes, men and women of
the United States who were killed or disabled while serving as
law enforcement or public safety officers, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Vote of the Committee............................................ 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 2
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 4
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion....................... 4
Markup Transcript................................................ 5
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 2624, the ``Law Enforcement Tribute Act'' would
authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States, units
of local government, and Indian Tribes to construct permanent
tributes to honor the achievements of United States law
enforcement or public safety officers who were killed or
disabled in the line of duty. It establishes a program to award
grants directly to a State, local government or Indian tribe
for up to 50 percent of the cost of construction of a permanent
tribute. The Federal contribution may not exceed $150,000 for
any single recipient.
Background and Need for the Legislation
A. The Need for H.R. 2624
More than 700,000 men and women risk assault, injury and
their lives to serve as law enforcement officers in this
country. Each year, one in nine officers is assaulted, one in
25 is injured, and one in 4,400 is killed in the line of duty.
Nationwide, 51 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed
in the line of duty in the year 2000, compared with 42 in 1999,
according to statistics from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI). Additionally, FBI statistics also show
that 83 officers were accidentally killed in the line of duty
in 2000, compared with 65 accidental deaths in 1999. In 1999,
112 firefighters also died in the line of duty.
B. Legislative History
H.R. 2624, the ``Law Enforcement Tribute Act'' was
introduced on July 25, 2001, and referred to the House
Committee on the Judiciary. It was then referred to the
Subcommittee on Crime on July 27, 2001.
Hearings
No hearings were held on H.R. 2624, the ``Law Enforcement
Tribute Act.''
Committee Consideration
On August 2, 2001, the Subcommittee on Crime met in open
session and ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 2624, by
voice vote, a quorum being present. On April 24, 2002, the
Committee met in open session and ordered favorably reported
the bill H.R. 2624 without amendment by voice vote, a quorum
being present.
Vote of the Committee
There were no recorded votes on this legislation.
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.
Performance Goals and Objectives
H.R. 2624, the ``Law Enforcement Tribute Act'' authorized
appropriations of $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002
through 2006 to allow the Attorney General to may make grants
to States, local governments, and Indian tribes to establish
permanent tributes to men and women who were killed or disabled
while serving as law enforcement or public safety officers. No
grant recipient shall receive more than $150,000 and a 50
percent match is required.
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. 2624, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 1, 2002.
Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., 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. 2624, the Law
Enforcement Tribute Act.
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 Member
H.R. 2624--Law Enforcement Tribute Act.
SUMMARY
H.R. 2624 would authorize the appropriation of $3 million
for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006 for the Department
of Justice to make grants to State and local governments and
Indian tribes to honor law enforcement or public safety
officers who were killed or disabled in the line of duty.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates
that implementing H.R. 2624 would cost $13 million over the
2002-2007 period. This legislation would not affect direct
spending or receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would not
apply.
H.R. 2624 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The bill would benefit State, local, and tribal governments
that receive the grants that it would establish. Any costs
incurred to receive or administer such grants would be
voluntary.
ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized
in H.R. 2624 for 2003 through 2006 will be appropriated by the
start of each fiscal year and that outlays will follow
historical spending patterns for similar grant programs. We
assume that amounts authorized for 2002 will be appropriated
this summer. The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 2624 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level 3 3 3 3 3 0
Estimated Outlays 0 1 3 4 3 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS:
None.
ESTIMATED IMPACT ON STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
H.R. 2624 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in UMRA. The bill would benefit State, local, and tribal
governments that receive the grants that it would establish.
Any costs incurred to receive or administer such grants would
be voluntary.
ESTIMATED IMPACT ON THE PRIVATE-SECTOR
H.R. 2624 contains no new private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA.
ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:
Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226-2860)
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Angela Seitz
(225-3220)
Impact on the Private Sector: Cecil McPherson (226-2949)
ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:
Peter H. Fontaine
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 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, clause 1 and 18 of
the Constitution.
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion
Section 1. Short Title. The short title of the bill is the
``Law Enforcement Tribute Act.''
Section 2. Findings. This section of the bill makes
findings regarding the number of law enforcement and public
safety officers currently serving in the United States and the
number assaulted, injured or killed in the line of duty each
year. Congress finds that these officers risk their safety to
serve the citizens of their communities. This section makes the
finding that many of the communities do not have the resources
to properly honor the fallen officers that have served them.
Section 3. Program Authorized. This section authorizes the
Attorney General to award matching grants up to 50 percent of
the cost of the tribute directly to a State, local government
or Indian Tribe in an amount not to exceed $150,000. It
provides that Indian Tribes may use any funds appropriated by
Congress for activities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or
Indian tribal government to meet the matching requirements.
This section also requires any application for funds under
this bill to meet the criteria established by the Attorney
General. Section 3 requires the Attorney General to provide an
annual report to provide Congress with information regarding
the number of grants awarded, the amount of funds provided for
those grants, and the activities the funds were used for.
This section includes an authorization of $3 million for
each fiscal year 2002-2006, which results in a total
authorization of $15 million over 5 years.
Markup Transcript
BUSINESS MEETING
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2002
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:09 a.m., in
Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. F. James
Sensenbrenner, Jr. [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
Chairman Sensenbrenner. [Presiding.] The Committee will be
in order.
[Intervening business.]
The next item on the agenda is the adoption of H.R. 2624,
the ``Law Enforcement Tribute Act.'' The Chair recognizes the
gentleman from Texas, Mr. Smith, Chairman of the Subcommittee
on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, for a motion.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, the Subcommittee reports favorably
the bill H.R. 2624 and moves its favorable recommendation to
the full House.
Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, the bill will be
considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
[The bill, H.R. 2624, follows:]
Chairman Sensenbrenner. The Chair recognizes the gentleman
from Texas in support of his motion.
Mr. Smith. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, H.R. 2624, the ``Law Enforcement Tribute
Act,'' was introduced by Representative Adam Schiff and has
bipartisan support. It would authorize grants to allow States,
units of local government, and Indian tribes to construct
permanent tributes to honor United States law enforcement or
public safety officers who have been killed or disabled in the
line of duty.
Congressman Schiff's efforts on this bill are very
important to the men and women of law enforcement who put their
lives at risk on September 11th and continue to do so every
day.
Nationwide, 135 law enforcement officers were killed in the
line of duty in the year 2000. In 2001, 228 officers lost their
lives in the line of duty, 71 in terrorist attacks.
Mr. Chairman, we are honored every day by the service these
men and women give to their communities. This bill will allow
us to give them the honor they deserve, and I thank Mr. Schiff
for introducing it and will be happy to yield the balance of my
time to him.
Mr. Schiff. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want
to thank the Chairman for scheduling the bill for consideration
this afternoon. The bill authorizes funding for grants to
States and localities to help them in honoring through
permanent tributes men and women in the United States who are
killed or disabled while serving as law enforcement or public
safety officers. To ensure the funding would allow for the
development of many tributes around the country, there is a
limit that no award can be greater than $150,000. The bill
further requires a 50 percent match by the State or locality
requesting the funding.
It authorizes $3 million for each of 5 years to be
administered through the Department of Justice. If the maximum
amount were awarded in each case, at least 20 projects could be
funded each year. Over a period of 5 years, a minimum of 100
projects could be established. Senators Carnahan and Leahy have
introduced a companion bill in the Senate just last week, S.
2179.
We have all, regrettably, experienced the loss of law
enforcement officers in our district who have died serving our
communities. In one of the communities I represent, Glendale,
California, we've lost four police officers and one sheriff's
deputy in the line of duty, most recently a Glendale police
officer named Charles Lazzaretto, who was killed in a shootout
with armed robbers.
The Glendale Police Department has worked tirelessly to
raise funds for the memorial. It would be a fitting tribute for
the Federal Government to assist them and other communities,
providing a relatively small amount of assistance for these
often strapped departments, in order to honor their fallen
heroes. And I want to again take this opportunity to thank the
Crime Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith for all of his
assistance, Ranking Member Bobby Scott, for marking up the bill
in Subcommittee, and, again, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for
scheduling it this afternoon.
I yield back.
Chairman Sensenbrenner. Does the gentleman from Virginia
wish to say something, with the admonition that I see our
reporting quorum drifting away?
Mr. Scott. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Sensenbrenner. The gentleman's recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. Scott. For the reasons articulated by the gentleman
from Texas and the gentleman from California, I support the
bill and yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, Members will be
authorized to insert opening statements in the record.
Are there amendments? If there are no amendments, the Chair
notes the presence of a reporting quorum. The question occurs
on the motion to report the bill H.R. 2624 favorably. Those in
favor will say aye? Opposed, no?
The ayes appear to have it, and the ayes have it, and the
motion to report favorably is adopted.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to move to go to
conference pursuant to House rules. Without objection, the
staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes,
and all Members will be given 2 days, as provided by the House
rules, in which to submit additional dissenting, supplemental,
or minority views.