I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4431 

To direct the Attorney General to reimburse State and local law enforcement 

agencies for costs incurred in carrying out law enforcement activities 

associated with the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife 

Refuge, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2016 

Mr. BLUMENAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To direct the Attorney General to reimburse State and local 

law enforcement agencies for costs incurred in carrying 

out law enforcement activities associated with the armed 

occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. REIMBURSEMENT FOR STATE AND LOCAL LAW 

4 ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES AT THE 

5 MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 


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1 shall make payments to State and local law enforcement 

2 agencies to reimburse such agencies for costs incurred in 

3 carrying out law enforcement activities associated with the 

4 armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 

5 in Harney County, Oregon, beginning on January 2, 2016, 

6 and ending on the date on which the occupation ends, as 

7 determined by the Attorney General. 

8 (b) APPLICATIONS.—A State or local law enforce9 ment agency seeking reimbursement under this section 

10 shall submit to the Attorney General an application at 

11 such time and in such manner as the Attorney General 

12 may reasonably require, which shall include the amount 

13 requested, and a description of how such amounts were 

14 expended by the agency in response to the situation de15 scribed in subsection (a). 

16 (c) AMOUNT.—A payment under this section shall be 

17 in the amount that the State or local law enforcement 

18 agency expended in excess of the agency’s budget for re19 sponding to a situation described in subsection (a). The 

20 Attorney General shall determine the amount of a pay21 ment under this section based on the information provided 

22 in the application by the State or local law enforcement 

23 agency. 

24 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion limits the recovery to which a State or local law enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4431.IH H4431

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1 forcement agency may be entitled in a civil action arising 

2 out of a situation described in subsection (a). 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec5 essary to carry out this section. 

6 SEC. 2. CIVIL ACTION. 

7 If the Attorney General makes a payment under sec8 tion 1, the Attorney General may bring a civil action 

9 against an individual who was a participant in the armed 

10 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 

11 Harney County, Oregon, during the time period described 

12 in subsection (a) in the appropriate district court of the 

13 United States in order to recover the costs of that pay14 ment. 

Æ 


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