[House Report 111-274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    111-274

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



 
                   FBI FAMILIES OF FALLEN HEROES ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 29, 2009.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Towns, from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2711]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 2711) to amend title 5, United States 
Code, to provide for the transportation of the dependents, 
remains, and effects of certain Federal employees who die while 
performing official duties or as a result of the performance of 
official duties, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended 
do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Legislative History..............................................     2
Section-By-Section...............................................     3
Explanation of Amendments........................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Roll Call Votes..................................................     3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     4
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     4
Unfunded Mandates Statement......................................     4
Earmark Identification...........................................     4
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate...     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

  The amendments (stated in terms of the page and line numbers 
of the introduced bill) are as follows:
    Page 2, line 21, strike ``continental''.
    Page 3, line 19, insert ``and'' after the semicolon.
    Page 3, line 24, strike ``; and'' and insert the following: 
``.'.''.
    Page 4, strike lines 1-2.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2711, the ``FBI Families of Fallen Heroes Act,'' was 
introduced by Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI), Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and 
8 additional original co-sponsors on June 4, 2009. H.R. 2711 
would amend section 5724 of title 5, U.S.C., to provide the 
Attorney General or a designee with the authority to pay the 
moving and relocation expenses for the family of a Federal 
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee if the employee dies 
while performing official duties or as a result of the 
performance of official duties.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 2711, the FBI Families of Fallen Heroes Act, provides 
the Attorney General or a designee with the authority to pay 
certain moving and relocation expenses for the family of an FBI 
employee if the employee is killed in the line of duty. FBI 
employees, particularly agents, police officers, and other 
employees who directly support field investigations, may be 
required to move their families throughout their careers. If 
the employee dies while performing his or her duties, the 
family may find itself far from other family members, 
supportive neighbors and friends, religious communities, and 
other support systems. Congress has authorized Federal agencies 
to pay the moving or relocation expenses for an employee's 
family in a number of circumstances, including in the case of 
an employee who dies while performing official duties outside 
the continental United States (pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5742). 
However, under current law, the government is not authorized to 
pay for moving and relocation of an employee's family if the 
death occurs in the United States.
    Specific statutory authority is needed to authorize payment 
of moving and relocation expenses in the event of a tragic and 
untimely death of an FBI employee that occurs in the United 
States. For instance, Special Agent Sam Hicks, 33, was assigned 
to the Pittsburgh FBI office and was fatally shot on November 
19, 2008, while executing a federal search warrant associated 
with a drug distribution ring. He was survived by his wife and 
2-year-old son. Special Agent Hicks was a former police officer 
with the Baltimore Police Department. He and his family 
relocated to Pittsburgh when he became an Agent. The Bureau was 
unable to assist the Hicks family in moving back to Baltimore. 
The authority provided in H.R. 2711 is necessary to allow the 
Bureau to assist families like the Hicks' in a time of need.

                          Legislative History

    The Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a markup 
of H.R. 2711 on September 10, 2009, and ordered the bill, as 
amended, to be reported by voice vote.
    Similar authority for the Justice Department to pay moving 
and relocation expenses for families of FBI employees was 
passed by the House of Representatives on June 18, 2009, as 
section 534 of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2010.

                           Section-by-Section


Sec.1. Short title

    The short title of the bill is the FBI Families of Fallen 
Heroes Act.

Sec.2. Transportation of dependents, remains, and effects of certain 
        Federal employees

    This section would amend Subchapter II of chapter 57 of 
title 5, United States Code, by providing the Attorney General 
or a designee with the authority to pay the qualified expenses 
for the family of an employee of the FBI, if the employee dies 
while performing official duties or as a result of the 
performance of official duties. Qualified expenses include the 
moving expenses, transportation expenses, and relocation 
expenses of the family which are attributable to a change in 
the place of residence after the death of an employee. The 
Attorney General or a designee is also authorized to pay the 
expenses of preparing and transporting the remains of the 
deceased employee.
    Subsection (c) defines moving expenses to include the 
expenses of transporting, packing, crating, temporarily 
storing, draying, and unpacking the household goods and 
personal effects of such family, not in excess of 18,000 pounds 
net weight. Relocation expenses have the same meaning given 
such term under regulations prescribed by the General Services 
Administration under section 5738 of title 5.

                       Explanation of Amendments

    Rep. Jason Chaffetz offered an amendment to the bill, which 
was adopted by voice vote. The amendment will allow the 
Attorney General or a designee to pay moving and relocation 
expenses for a family if the family moves or relocates outside 
the continental United States.

                        Committee Consideration

    On Thursday, September 10, 2009, the Committee met in open 
session and favorably ordered H.R. 2711, as amended, to be 
reported to the House by a voice vote.

                             Rollcall Votes

    No rollcall votes were taken.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch where the bill relates to terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services and accommodations.
    H.R. 2711 amends title 5 of the United States Code to 
provide the Attorney General or a designee to pay the moving 
and relocation expenses for the family of an employee of the 
FBI if the employee is killed in the line of duty. This bill 
does not relate to employment or access to public services and 
accommodations in the legislative branch.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the descriptive portions of this report, including 
the need to provide the Attorney General or a designee with the 
authority to pay moving and relocation expenses for the family 
of an FBI employee, if the employee is killed in the United 
States.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance 
goals and objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions 
of this report, including the need to provide the Attorney 
General or a designee with the authority to pay moving and 
relocation expenses for FBI families to better serve these 
families in a time of need.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee must include a statement 
citing the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law 
proposed by H.R. 2711. Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the 
Constitution of the United States grants the Congress the power 
to enact this law.

                     Federal Advisory Committee Act

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).

                      Unfunded Mandates Statement

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act, Public Law 104-4) requires a statement on 
whether the provisions of the report include unfunded mandates. 
In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received 
a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included herein.

                         Earmark Identification

    H.R. 2711 does not include any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                           Committee Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 2711. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 
that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has 
included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the 
bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

     Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received 
the following cost estimate for H.R. 2711 from the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office:

                                                September 25, 2009.
Hon. Edolphus Towns,
Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2711, the FBI 
Families of Fallen Heroes Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2711--FBI Families of Fallen Heroes Act

    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2711 would have no 
significant cost to the federal government. Enacting the bill 
would not affect direct spending or revenues. H.R. 2711 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 2711 would authorize the Department of Justice to use 
appropriated funds to pay certain relocation expenses for the 
families of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees who 
have died as a result of performing official duties. Since 
1986, 17 FBI agents have died under such circumstances. Based 
on this information CBO expects that no more than one family 
per year, on average, would be affected by the provisions of 
H.R. 2711.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

         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 (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



PART III--EMPLOYEES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SUBPART D--PAY AND ALLOWANCES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


          CHAPTER 57--TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, AND SUBSISTENCE


    SUBCHAPTER I--TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE EXPENSES; MILEAGE ALLOWANCES

Sec.
5701. Definitions.
     * * * * * * *

   SUBCHAPTER II--TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES; NEW APPOINTEES, 
               STUDENT TRAINEES, AND TRANSFERRED EMPLOYEES

     * * * * * * *
5724d. Transportation of dependents, remains, and effects of certain 
          Federal employees.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


  SUBCHAPTER II--TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES; NEW APPOINTEES, 
STUDENT TRAINEES, AND TRANSFERRED EMPLOYEES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 5724d. Transportation of dependents, remains, and effects of 
                    certain Federal employees

  (a) In General.--Under regulations prescribed under section 
5738 and to the extent that the Attorney General (or a 
designee) authorizes or approves, if an employee of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation dies while performing official duties 
or as a result of the performance of official duties, the 
Department of Justice may pay from Government funds--
          (1) the qualified expenses of the immediate family of 
        the employee, if the place where the family will reside 
        following the death of the employee is--
                  (A) different from the place where the family 
                resided at the time of the employee's death; 
                and
                  (B) within the United States; and
          (2) the expenses of preparing and transporting the 
        remains of the deceased to--
                  (A) the place where the immediate family will 
                reside following the death of the employee; or
                  (B) such other place, appropriate for 
                interment, as is determined by the Attorney 
                General (or designee).
  (b) Qualified Expenses.--For purposes of this section, the 
term ``qualified expenses'', as used with respect to a family 
changing its place of residence, means the moving expenses, 
transportation expenses, and relocation expenses of the family 
which are attributable to the change in place of residence.
  (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
          (1) the term ``moving expenses'', as used with 
        respect to a family, includes the expenses of 
        transporting, packing, crating, temporarily storing, 
        draying, and unpacking the household goods and personal 
        effects of such family, not in excess of 18,000 pounds 
        net weight; and
          (2) the term ``relocation expenses'' has the meaning 
        given such term under regulations prescribed under 
        section 5738, including relocation expenses and 
        relocation services described in sections 5724a and 
        5724c, respectively.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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