SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Financial Crisis of 2008 Criminal 
Investigation and Prosecution Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has testified 
        that ``today's financial crisis dwarves the S&L crisis as 
        financial institutions have reduced their assets by more than 
        $1 trillion related to the current global financial crisis 
        compared to the estimated $160 million lost during the S&L 
        crisis.'' (Testimony by Mr. John Pistole, Deputy Director of 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States 
        Department of Justice before the U.S. Senate Committee on the 
        Judiciary, February 11, 2009).
            (2) The FBI has testified that mortgage fraud was such a 
        major contributor to the current global financial crisis that: 
        ``it would be irresponsible to neglect mortgage fraud's impact 
        on the U.S. housing and financial markets''.
            (3) In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United States 
        experienced a similar financial crisis with the collapse of the 
        Savings and Loan institutions. Again, according to Deputy 
        Director Pistole, ``the Department of Justice (DOJ), [and more 
        specifically the FBI], were provided a number of tools through 
        the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act 
        of 1989 (FIRREA) and Crime Control Act of 1990 (CCA) to combat 
        the aforementioned crisis. As stated in Senate Bill 331 dated 
        January 27, 2009, `in the wake of the Savings and Loan crisis 
        of the 1980s, a series of strike forces based in 27 cities was 
        staffed with 1,000 FBI agents and forensic experts and dozens 
        of Federal prosecutors'.''.
            (4) Fraud also played a decisive role in the Savings and 
        Loan crisis. The FBI and Justice Department made prosecuting 
        those elite frauds among its highest priorities. This took a 
        massive commitment of FBI resources, but it produced the most 
        successful prosecution of an epidemic of elite fraud in 
        history--over 1,000 ``priority'' felony convictions of senior 
        insiders, according to Professor William K. Black in his book 
        ``The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One''.
            (5) However, the FBI, because of its crippling personnel 
        limitations, has been unable to assign sufficient FBI agents 
        assigned to investigate the current global financial crisis. 
        The FBI identified the mortgage fraud ``epidemic'' in 
        congressional testimony in September 2004. It had so few white-
        collar crime specialists available, however, that it was able 
        to assign only 120 special agents to mortgage fraud cases--less 
        than one-eighth the agents it found essential to respond 
        adequately to the huge, but far smaller, Savings and Loan 
        crisis.
            (6) Given the magnitude of the financial crisis of 2008 and 
        the resulting losses and billions of taxpayer dollars spent to 
        keep the financial system from collapsing, the FBI should have 
        no less than 1,000 agents to address corporate, securities, and 
        mortgage fraud located across the country, and, in addition, 
        more forensic experts and Federal prosecutors to uncover the 
        crimes committed and bring the perpetrators to justice.
            (7) This authorization is expected to bring the FBI and 
        prosecutorial staffing to the necessary levels to investigate 
        complex financial crimes and prosecute those who have committed 
        these crimes.

SEC. 3. ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.

    The funds authorized in this Act shall be used for the following:
            (1) The hiring of additional employees, including the 
        hiring of 1,000 FBI agents and, in addition, a sufficient 
        number of forensic experts, by the Director of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice to 
        investigate corporate, securities, and mortgage fraud, and 
        associated violations of the law relating to the United States 
        financial markets.
            (2) The hiring of additional employees by the Attorney 
        General of the Department of Justice to prosecute violations of 
        the laws relating to the United States financial markets.
            (3) The hiring of additional employees by the Chair of the 
        Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement to 
        investigate and prosecute violations of the law relating to 
        United States financial markets.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as necessary for fiscal year 2009, fiscal year 2010, fiscal year 
2011, and fiscal year 2012. Such sums shall be available until 
obligated.
Financial Crisis of 2008 Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Act of 2009 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2009-FY2012 for the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to hire 1,000 FBI agents as well as additional forensic experts to investigate corporate, securities, and mortgage fraud, and associated violations of law relating to the U.S. financial markets.

Authorizes the hiring also of additional employees by the Attorney General and by the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement to conduct related investigations and prosecutions.
To provide additional resources for Federal investigations and prosecutions of crimes related to the 2008 Financial Crisis, and for other purposes.