![](media/image1.jpeg){width="6.489583333333333in"
height="1.15625in"}**Legislative
Bulletin...........................................May 15, 2007**

> **Contents:**
>
> **H.R. 1700** -- COPS Improvement Act of 2007
>
> **H.R. 1593** -- Second Chance Act of 2007

H.R. 1700 --- COPS Improvement Act of 2007 (*Weiner, D-NY*)

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** The bill is scheduled for
consideration on Tuesday, May 15, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill.

**[Summary]{.underline}:** H.R. 1700 would expand provisions of the
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program and create two new
federal grants under the program. Under current law, this program
provides in excess of \$1 billion in federal grants annually, and is
authorized through FY 2009. The specific provisions of the bill are
summarized below.

-   Expands current federal grant authority of the Attorney General to
    make grants for public safety and community policing programs (COPS
    ON THE BEAT grant program), to include:

    -   training officers;

    -   awarding grants to hire school resource officers;

    -   establishing school-based partnerships between local law
        enforcement agencies and local school systems to combat crime,
        grants, drug activity, and other problems in and around
        elementary and secondary schools;

    -   **paying for officers hired to perform intelligence,
        anti-terror, or homeland security duties;**

    -   establishing and implementing "innovative programs" to reduce
        and prevent illegal drug manufacturing, distribution, including
        the use of methamphetamine; and

    -   meeting "emerging law enforcement needs, as warranted."

-   **Establishes a new federal grant program** (Troops-to-Cops Program)
    to hire former members of the Armed Forces to serve as career law
    enforcement officers for deployment in community-oriented policing,
    "particularly in communities that are adversely affected by a recent
    military base closing." [Note]{.underline}: In other words,
    communities that do not have a recently-closed military base (i.e.
    -- those that have had a military base or currently have an
    operating military base) would be less likely to receive this grant.

-   **Establishes a new federal grant program** to develop and use new
    technologies (including interoperable communications technologies
    and other new technologies) to assist state and local law
    enforcement agencies to prevent crime instead of reaching to crime.

-   Grants the Department of Justice exclusive authority over the Office
    of Community Oriented Policing Services to perform functions and
    activities under COPS ON THE BEAT grant program.

-   Allows any grant recipient (under the COPS program) to retain each
    additional law enforcement officer created under that grant for at
    least 12 months after the end of the period of the grant (unless the
    Attorney General waives this retention program).

-   Authorizes the Attorney General to renew grants and extend grant
    periods if the grant recipient can demonstrate "significant
    progress" (not defined) in achieving the objectives of the initial
    application.

**[Additional Background]{.underline}:** The COPS program was created in
1994 under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
(P.L. 103-322). In 2005, Congress reauthorized (through FY 2009) the
COPS program as part of the Violence Against Women and Department of
Justice Reauthorization Act (P.L. 109-162), and changed it from a
multi-grant program to a single-grant program. For additional
information on the COPS program, please view this [CRS
brief](http://www.congress.gov/erp/rl/pdf/RL33308.pdf).

**[Possible Conservative Concerns]{.underline}:** H.R. 1700 would expand
the scope of the COPS program and create at least two new federal grant
programs. As such, conservatives may be concerned about this significant
federal subsidy for what are largely local crime issues. In addition,
this program currently provides for over \$1 billion in federal grants
annually, and H.R. 1700 would increase that amount by over \$100 million
a year. This is particularly noteworthy, considering the bill is being
considered under suspension of the rules -- without the opportunity for
amendment for extended debate. **Further, the COPS program has received
mixed reviews by the OMB's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) in past
years, and received a grade of "[NOT PERFORMING: Results Not
Demonstrated](http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/summary/10000164.2002.html)"
in the latest Review. Specifically, PART observed that the COPS program
was designed to significantly impact and increase community policing
practices, and while COPS still requires that grantees use community
policy practices, "these are now sufficiently widespread that it is
unclear why a substantial federal subsidy is required to sustain them."
The PART assessment went on to state that "COPS has not been able to
define or quantify the remaining unmet "need" for community policy
beyond the number of grant applications it receives.**

**[Committee Action]{.underline}:** H.R. 1700 was introduced on March
26, 2007, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee
on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. The bill was marked-up at
the subcommittee and full committee level, and report (amended) to the
House by voice vote on May 2, 2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}:** According to CBO, **H.R. 1700 will
authorize \$103 million in FY08, and \$3.66 billion over the FY08-FY12
period.**

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}:** Yes, as noted above, the bill would create
at least two new federal programs and expand the COPS program
significantly.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}:** No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}:** A committee report citing
constitutional authority is unavailable.

House Rule XIII, Section 3(d)(1), requires that all committee reports
contain "a statement citing the *specific* powers granted to Congress in
the Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint
resolution." *\[emphasis added\]*

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}:** Derek V. Baker;
[derek.baker@mail.house.gov](mailto:Derek.baker@mail.house.gov);
202-226-8585

H.R. 1593 --- Second Chance Act of 2007 (*Davis, D-IL*)

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** The bill is scheduled for
consideration on Tuesday, May 15, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill.

**[Summary]{.underline}:** H.R. 1593 would reauthorize and significantly
expand federal programs related to prisoner reentry and recidivism,
including provisions providing health care, housing assistance, and
reduced prison terms. The bill would also require the Bureau of Prisons
to create a new prisoner reentry program that includes services such as
job placement, nutrition and money management training, and other
services. The major provisions of the bill are summarized below.

-   Reauthorizes and expands the Adult and Juvenile Offender State and
    Local Reentry Demonstration Projects, including provisions that
    would:

    -   carry out programs by local government to strengthen reentry
        services for individuals released from local jails, including
        coordination with Comprehensive and Continuous Offender Reentry
        Task Forces or similar groups;

    -   "assess the literacy, educational, and vocational needs of
        offenders in custody and identify and **provide services
        appropriate to meet those needs, including follow-up assessments
        and long-term services;"**

    -   facilitate collaboration among corrections, technical schools,
        community colleges, businesses, nonprofit, and the workforce
        development and employment service sectors to promote employment
        of former inmates and the creation of job opportunities (among
        dozens of other provisions);

    -   provide offenders with education, job training, responsible
        parenting and healthy relationship skills training..., English
        literacy education, work experience programs, self-respect and
        life skills training, and other skills..."

    -   "**provide structured post-release housing and transitional
        housing** (including group homes for recovering substance
        abusers (with appropriate safeguards that may include
        single-gender housing)) through which offenders are provided
        supervision and services immediately following reentry into the
        community;"

    -   provide substance abuse treatment and services, **including
        providing a full continuum of substance abuse treatment services
        that encompasses outpatient services, comprehensive residential
        services and recovery, and recovery home services to offenders
        reentering the community from prison, jail, or a juvenile
        facility**;

    -   expand family-based drug treatment centers that offer
        **family-based comprehensive treatment services for parents and
        their children as a complete family unit, as appropriate to the
        safety, security, and well-being of the family**;"

    -   provide or facilitating health care services to offenders
        (including substance abuse screening, treatment, and aftercare,
        infectious disease screening and treatment, and screening,
        assessment, and aftercare for mental health services)..."

    -   provide systems under which family members of offenders are
        involved in facilitating the successful reentry of those
        offenders into the community (as appropriate to the safety,
        security, and well-being of the family), **including removing
        obstacles to the maintenance of family relationships while the
        offender is in custody**, strengthening the family\'s capacity
        to function as a stable living situation during reentry, and
        involving family members in the planning and implementation of
        the reentry process;

> [Note]{.underline}: It is not clear what "removes obstacles to the
> maintenance of family relationships" might entail.

-   maintain the parent-child relationship, as appropriate to the
    safety, security, and well-being of the child as determined by the
    relevant corrections and child protective services agencies,
    including:

    -   addressing "visitation obstacles" to children of an incarcerated
        parent, **such as the location of facilities in remote areas,
        telephone costs, mail restrictions, and visitation policies**;
        and

-   establish or expanding the use of reentry courts and other programs
    to monitor offenders returning to the community and provide
    offenders with drug and alcohol testing and treatment, among other
    provisions.

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-   Requires grant applicants, as a condition of receiving financial
    assistance under the above mentioned Demonstration Projects, to
    develop a comprehensive strategic reentry plan that contains
    measurable annual and 5-year performance outcomes to determine the
    effectiveness of the program. Grant applications also must establish
    a Reentry Task force to examine ways to pool resources and funding
    streams to promote lower recidivism rates.

-   **New federal grant program.** Authorizes the Attorney General to
    award grants to eligible organizations to establish National Adult
    and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Centers, and defines
    additional center requirements, fund restrictions, and eligibility
    requirements.

-   **New federal grant program.** Requires the Attorney General to
    award grants to state and local courts to monitor offenders
    reentering society and to create local "Comprehensive and Continuous
    Offender Task Forces." These task forces would work with
    representatives from local correctional facilities, community health
    care services, drug treatment programs, and employment opportunity
    providers to develop and assess a community reentry program.

-   **New federal grant program.** Authorizes the Attorney General to
    make grants to state and local prosecutors to develop or expand drug
    treatment programs as alternatives to imprisonment. Offenders must
    meet eligibility requirements to enter such programs, and state and
    local prosecutors must submit applications to the Attorney General
    for funding. The federal share of the cost of the programs may not
    exceed 75 percent.

-   **New federal grant program.** Authorizes the Attorney General to
    make grants available to state and local authorities to develop and
    expand family-based substance abuse treatment programs as
    alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent parent drug offenders.
    The bill would also authorize the Attorney General to make grants
    available to provide for prison-based family treatment programs for
    incarcerated parents of minor children.

-   **New federal grant program.** Requires the Attorney General to make
    grants available to state, local, public, and private entities to
    evaluate methods to improve education for imprisoned offenders;
    these recommendations evaluations would be submitted to the Attorney
    General.

-   **New federal grant program.** Requires the Attorney General to make
    grants available to state and local authorities, community based
    organizations, independent researchers, and federal agencies that
    offer demonstration programs to reduce drug use among long-term
    substance abuse users in jail or prison. The bill requires the
    Attorney General to make competitive awards available for any of
    these organizations that help reduce illegal drug demand by offering
    drug treatment.

-   **New federal grant program.** Requires the Attorney General to make
    incentive grants available for prisons, jails, and juvenile
    facilities that increased the number of offenders in drug treatment
    programs. The bill would also authorize grants to make
    pharmacological drug treatment a part of treatment programs in
    prison or jail.

-   **New federal grant program.** Requires Attorney General, through
    the National Institute on Justice and the National Institute on Drug
    Abuse, to establish grants for public or private researchers that
    work with jails or prisons to produce a study of the effectiveness
    of depot naltraxone for the treatment of heroine addiction.

-   **New federal grant program.** Requires the Attorney General to make
    grants available to state and local authorities to provide
    technology career training and mentoring programs for adult and
    juvenile offenders. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons would be
    directed to allow mentoring services to continue after an offender
    is released from prison.

-   Requires the Attorney General to make grants available to nonprofit
    organizations to provide mentoring and other transitional services
    "essential to reintegrating offenders into the community."

-   **Requires the Bureau of Prisons to create a new federal prisoner
    reentry program** to prepare prisoners for reentry into the
    community. Eligible offenders would be granted temporary release for
    reentry preparations and possible early release. **The program would
    offer classes to help offenders find a job, locate housing, manage
    money, socialize with other members of the community, and deal with
    health and nutrition issues.** In order to assess the effectiveness
    of this program, the bill would require the Bureau of Prisons to
    obtain identification for prisoners and track their progress after
    reentry.

-   **Requires the Attorney General to create a new federal program to
    educate employers about tax credits incentives offered to businesses
    that employ former prisoners**.

-   **Requires the Bureau of Prisons to create a new pilot program to
    allow eligible, non-violent prisoners over the age of 60 to serve
    the second half of their sentence under home detention.**

> [Note]{.underline}: It is unclear how this program would affect
> federal mandatory minimum sentences that a prisoner may be serving.

-   **Requires the Attorney General to make grants available to states
    to conduct studies** regarding offender recidivism, parole
    violations, and the needs of children of incarcerated parents.

-   **Requires the Bureau of Prisons to create a new federal program**
    to ensure that prisoners are afforded a "reasonable opportunity to
    adjust to and prepare for" reentry into the community, and may
    include placing a prisoner in home confinement for the last ten
    percent of the term of imprisonment.

-   **Requires the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that each prisoner in a
    community confinement facility (in order to ensure a minimum
    standard of health and habitability) has access to necessary medical
    care, mental health care, and medicine.**

**[Possible Conservative Concerns]{.underline}:** **The bill creates
over a dozen new federal programs regarding treatment and services
available for inmates and former inmates, including provisions to
provide job placement, health care, nutrition, and money management
training, among other items. Conservatives may be concerned by this
significant expansion of federal programs related to prisoner services
and community reentry, considering the number of existing federal
programs in existence to address these issues. Further, conservatives
may be concerned that this bill (114 pages long) is being considered
under suspension of the rules, and thus denies Members the opportunity
for amendment or extended debate on the provisions of the bill.**

**A recently distributed Dear Colleague in support of H.R. 1593 stated
"faith-based nonprofit organizations like Prison Fellowship and Catholic
Charities have been providing re-entry and mentoring services for years
and with significant success -- and they support the Second Chance Act."
Considering the "significant success" of faith-based charities in this
field, it is unclear why the federal government is needed to step in and
provide millions of dollars annually to address this problem, nor is it
clear how the federal government would be more effective (or as
effective) as non-profits in combating recidivism and prisoner reentry
-- particularly because all the provisions provided for in this bill are
devoid of the faith element that Prison Fellowship and Catholic
Charities utilize and state is so fundamental to their success.**

**[Committee Action]{.underline}:** H.R. 1593 was introduced on March
20, 2007, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee
on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. The bill was marked-up at
the subcommittee and full committee level, and it was reported (amended)
to the House by voice vote on March 28, 2007 (House Report
[110-140](http://www.congress.gov/cgi-lis/cpquery/R?cp110:FLD010:@1(hr140))).

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}:** According to
[CBO](http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/80xx/doc8012/hr1593.pdf), **H.R. 1593
will authorize \$214 million in FY08, and \$425 million over the
FY08-FY12 period.**

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}:** **Yes. As noted above, the bill creates over
a dozen new federal programs regarding treatment and services available
for inmates and former inmates.**

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}:** No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}:** The Judiciary Committee, in
House Report
[110-140](http://www.congress.gov/cgi-lis/cpquery/R?cp110:FLD010:@1(hr140)),
cites constitutional authority in Article I, Section 8 (powers of
Congress), but fails to cite specific Clause or foregoing power of
authority.

House Rule XIII, Section 3(d)(1), requires that all committee reports
contain "a statement citing the *specific* powers granted to Congress in
the Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint
resolution." *\[emphasis added\]*

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}:** Derek V. Baker;
[derek.baker@mail.house.gov](mailto:Derek.baker@mail.house.gov);
202-226-8585

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