II 

Calendar No. 579 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2679 

To establish an Unsolved Crimes Section in the Civil Rights Division of 

the Department of Justice, and an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2006 

Mr. TALENT (for himself, Mr. DODD, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. 

DEWINE, Mr. KERRY, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. NELSON of 

Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AUGUST 3, 2006 

Reported by Mr. SPECTER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish an Unsolved Crimes Section in the Civil Rights 

Division of the Department of Justice, and an Unsolved 

Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office in the Civil Rights 

Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unsolved Civil Rights 

3 Crime Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that all authorities with 

6 jurisdiction, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

7 and other entities within the Department of Justice, 

8 should— 

9 (1) expeditiously investigate unsolved civil 

10 rights murders, due to the amount of time that has 

11 passed since the murders and the age of potential 

12 witnesses; and 

13 (2) provide all the resources necessary to ensure 

14 timely and thorough investigations in the cases in15 volved. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) CHIEF.—The term ‘‘Chief’’ means the Chief 

19 of the Section. 

20 (2) CHIEF INVESTIGATOR.—The term ‘‘Chief 

21 Investigator’’ means the Chief Investigator of the 

22 Office. 

23 (3) CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES.—The 

24 term ‘‘criminal civil rights statutes’’ means— 

25 (A) section 241 of title 18, United States 

26 Code (relating to conspiracy against rights); 


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1 (B) section 242 of title 18, United States 

2 Code (relating to deprivation of rights under 

3 color of law); 

4 (C) section 245 of title 18, United States 

5 Code (relating to federally protected activities); 

6 (D) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18, 

7 United States Code (relating to involuntary ser8 vitude and peonage); 

9 (E) section 901 of the Fair Housing Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 3631); and 

11 (F) any other Federal law that— 

12 (i) was in effect on or before Decem13 ber 31, 1969; and 

14 (ii) the Criminal Section of the Civil 

15 Rights Division of the Department of Jus16 tice enforced, prior to the date of enact17 ment of this Act. 

18 (4) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

19 Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office es20 tablished under section 5. 

21 (5) SECTION.—The term ‘‘Section’’ (except 

22 when used as part of the term ‘‘Criminal Section’’) 

23 means the Unsolved Crimes Section established 

24 under section 4. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTION IN CIVIL RIGHTS DI2 VISION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Civil 

4 Rights Division of the Department of Justice an Unsolved 

5 Crimes Section. The Section shall be headed by a Chief 

6 of the Section. 

7 (b) RESPONSIBILITY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of Federal law, and except as provided in 

10 section 5, the Chief shall be responsible for inves11 tigating and prosecuting violations of criminal civil 

12 rights statutes, in cases in which a complaint alleges 

13 that such a violation— 

14 (A) occurred not later than December 31, 

15 1969; and 

16 (B) resulted in a death. 

17 (2) COORDINATION.— 

18 (A) INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES.—In inves19 tigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the 

20 Chief shall coordinate investigative activities 

21 with State and local law enforcement officials. 

22 (B) VENUE.—After investigating a com23 plaint under paragraph (1), or receiving a re24 port of an investigation conducted under section 

25 5, if the Chief determines that an alleged prac26 tice that is a violation of a criminal civil rights 


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1 statute occurred in a State, or political subdivi2 sion of a State, that has a State or local law 

3 prohibiting the practice alleged and establishing 

4 or authorizing a State or local law enforcement 

5 official to grant or seek relief from such prac6 tice or to institute criminal proceedings with re7 spect to the practice on receiving notice of the 

8 practice, the Chief shall consult with the official 

9 regarding the appropriate venue for the case in10 volved. 

11 (3) REFERRAL.—After investigating a com12 plaint under paragraph (1), or receiving a report of 

13 an investigation conducted under section 5, the 

14 Chief shall refer the complaint to the Criminal Sec15 tion of the Civil Rights Division, if the Chief deter16 mines that the subject of the complaint has violated 

17 a criminal civil rights statute in the case involved 

18 but the violation does not meet the requirements of 

19 subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1). 

20 (c) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

21 (1) STUDY.—The Chief shall annually conduct 

22 a study of the cases under the jurisdiction of the 

23 Chief or under the jurisdiction of the Chief Investi24 gator and, in conducting the study, shall determine 

25 the cases— 


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1 (A) for which the Chief has sufficient evi2 dence to prosecute violations of criminal civil 

3 rights statutes; and 

4 (B) for which the Chief has insufficient 

5 evidence to prosecute those violations. 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than September 30 of 

7 2006 and of each subsequent year, the Chief shall 

8 prepare and submit to Congress a report containing 

9 the results of the study conducted under paragraph 

10 (1), including a description of the cases described in 

11 paragraph (1)(B). 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

14 be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 

15 for fiscal year 2007 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.—Any funds 

17 appropriated under this subsection shall consist of 

18 additional appropriations for the activities described 

19 in this section, rather than funds made available 

20 through reductions in the appropriations authorized 

21 for other enforcement activities of the Department 

22 of Justice. 


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1 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE IN FEDERAL BUREAU 

2 OF INVESTIGATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Civil 

4 Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the 

5 Department of Justice an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime In6 vestigative Office. The Office shall be headed by a Chief 

7 Investigator. 

8 (b) RESPONSIBILITY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with an 

10 agreement established between the Chief Investi11 gator and the Chief, the Chief Investigator shall be 

12 responsible for investigating violations of criminal 

13 civil rights statutes, in cases described in section 

14 4(b). 

15 (2) COORDINATION.— 

16 (A) INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES.—In inves17 tigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the 

18 Chief Investigator shall coordinate the inves19 tigative activities with State and local law en20 forcement officials. 

21 (B) REFERRAL.—After investigating a 

22 complaint under paragraph (1), the Chief Inves23 tigator shall— 

24 (i) determine whether the subject of 

25 the complaint has violated a criminal 

26 rights statute in the case involved; and 


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1 (ii) refer the complaint to the Chief, 

2 together with a report containing the de3 termination and the results of the inves4 tigation. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

7 be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 

8 for fiscal year 2007 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

9 (2) ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.—Any funds 

10 appropriated under this subsection shall consist of 

11 additional appropriations for the activities described 

12 in this section, rather than funds made available 

13 through reductions in the appropriations authorized 

14 for other enforcement activities of the Department 

15 of Justice. 

16 SEC. 6. COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE DEPART17 MENT OF JUSTICE. 

18 In addition to any amounts authorized to be appro19 priated under title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

20 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.), there are authorized to be appro21 priated to the Community Relations Service of the Depart22 ment of Justice $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2007 and each 

23 subsequent fiscal year, to enable the Service (in carrying 

24 out the functions described in title X of such Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 2000g et seq.)) to provide technical assistance by 


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1 bringing together law enforcement agencies and commu2 nities in the investigation of violations of criminal civil 

3 rights statutes, in cases described in section 4(b). 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unsolved Civil Rights 

6 Crime Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that all authorities with ju9 risdiction, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

10 and other entities within the Department of Justice, 

11 should— 

12 (1) expeditiously investigate unsolved civil rights 

13 murders, due to the amount of time that has passed 

14 since the murders and the age of potential witnesses; 

15 and 

16 (2) provide all the resources necessary to ensure 

17 timely and thorough investigations in the cases in18 volved. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) CHIEF INVESTIGATOR.—The term ‘‘Chief In22 vestigator’’ means the Chief Investigator of the Unit. 

23 (2) CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES.—The 

24 term ‘‘criminal civil rights statutes’’ means— 


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1 (A) section 241 of title 18, United States 

2 Code (relating to conspiracy against rights); 

3 (B) section 242 of title 18, United States 

4 Code (relating to deprivation of rights under 

5 color of law); 

6 (C) section 245 of title 18, United States 

7 Code (relating to federally protected activities); 

8 (D) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18, 

9 United States Code (relating to involuntary ser10 vitude and peonage); 

11 (E) section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 3631); and 

13 (F) any other Federal law that— 

14 (i) was in effect on or before December 

15 31, 1969; and 

16 (ii) the Criminal Section of the Civil 

17 Rights Division of the Department of Jus18 tice enforced, prior to the date of enactment 

19 of this Act. 

20 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Un21 solved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office estab22 lished under section 5. 

23 (4) DEPUTY.—The term ‘‘Deputy’’ means the 

24 Deputy for the Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crimes 

25 Unit 


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1 (5) UNIT.—The term ‘‘Unit’’ (except when used 

2 as part of the term ‘‘Criminal Section’’) means the 

3 Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crimes Unit established 

4 under section 4. 

5 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTION IN CIVIL RIGHTS DI6 VISION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Crimi8 nal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department 

9 of Justice an Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crimes Unit. The 

10 Unit shall be headed by a Deputy for the Unsolved Civil 

11 Rights Era Crimes Unit. 

12 (b) RESPONSIBILITY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

14 provision of Federal law, and except as provided in 

15 section 5, the Deputy shall be responsible for inves16 tigating and prosecuting violations of criminal civil 

17 rights statutes, in cases in which a complaint alleges 

18 that such a violation— 

19 (A) occurred not later than December 31, 

20 1969; and 

21 (B) resulted in a death. 

22 (2) COORDINATION.— 

23 (A) INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES.—In inves24 tigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the 


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1 Deputy shall coordinate investigative activities 

2 with State and local law enforcement officials. 

3 (B) VENUE.—After investigating a com4 plaint under paragraph (1), or receiving a re5 port of an investigation conducted under section 

6 5, if the Deputy determines that an alleged prac7 tice that is a violation of a criminal civil rights 

8 statute occurred in a State, or political subdivi9 sion of a State, that has a State or local law 

10 prohibiting the practice alleged and establishing 

11 or authorizing a State or local law enforcement 

12 official to grant or seek relief from such practice 

13 or to institute criminal proceedings with respect 

14 to the practice on receiving notice of the practice, 

15 the Deputy shall consult with the official regard16 ing the appropriate venue for the case involved. 

17 (3) REFERRAL.—After investigating a complaint 

18 under paragraph (1), or receiving a report of an in19 vestigation conducted under section 5, the Deputy 

20 shall refer the complaint to the Criminal Section of 

21 the Civil Rights Division, if the Deputy determines 

22 that the subject of the complaint has violated a crimi23 nal civil rights statute in the case involved but the 

24 violation does not meet the requirements of subpara25 graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1). 


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1 (c) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

2 (1) STUDY.—The Deputy shall annually conduct 

3 a study of the cases under the jurisdiction of the Dep4 uty or under the jurisdiction of the Chief Investigator 

5 and, in conducting the study, shall determine the 

6 cases— 

7 (A) for which the Deputy has sufficient evi8 dence to prosecute violations of criminal civil 

9 rights statutes; and 

10 (B) for which the Deputy has insufficient 

11 evidence to prosecute those violations. 

12 (2) REPORT.—Not later than September 30 of 

13 2006 and of each subsequent year, the Deputy shall 

14 prepare and submit to Congress a report containing 

15 the results of the study conducted under paragraph 

16 (1), including a description of the cases described in 

17 paragraph (1)(B). 

18 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE IN FEDERAL BUREAU 

19 OF INVESTIGATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Civil 

21 Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the 

22 Department of Justice an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime In23 vestigative Office. The Office shall be headed by a Deputy 

24 Investigator. 

25 (b) RESPONSIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with an agree2 ment established between the Deputy Investigator and 

3 the Deputy, the Deputy Investigator shall be respon4 sible for investigating violations of criminal civil 

5 rights statutes, in cases described in section 4(b). 

6 (2) COORDINATION.— 

7 (A) INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES.—In inves8 tigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the 

9 Deputy Investigator shall coordinate the inves10 tigative activities with State and local law en11 forcement officials. 

12 (B) REFERRAL.—After investigating a com13 plaint under paragraph (1), the Deputy Investi14 gator shall— 

15 (i) determine whether the subject of the 

16 complaint has violated a criminal rights 

17 statute in the case involved; and 

18 (ii) refer the complaint to the Deputy, 

19 together with a report containing the deter20 mination and the results of the investiga21 tion. 

22 (C) RESOURCES.—The Federal Bureau of 

23 Investigation, in coordination with the Depart24 ment of Justice, Civil Rights Division, shall have 

25 discretion to re-allocate investigative personnel to 


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1 jurisdictions to carry out the goals of this sec2 tion. 

3 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out this Act $10,000,000 for fiscal year 

6 2007 and each subsequent fiscal year through 2016. These 

7 funds shall be allocated by the Attorney General to the Un8 solved Civil Rights Era Crime Unit of the Department of 

9 Justice and the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau 

10 of Investigation in order to advance the purposes set forth 

11 in this Act. 

12 (b) ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.—Any funds appro13 priated under this section shall consist of additional appro14 priations for the activities described in this Act, rather than 

15 funds made available through reductions in the appropria16 tions authorized for other enforcement activities of the De17 partment of Justice. 

18 (c) COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE DEPART19 MENT OF JUSTICE.—In addition to any amounts author20 ized to be appropriated under title XI of the Civil Rights 

21 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.), there are authorized 

22 to be appropriated to the Community Relations Service of 

23 the Department of Justice $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2007 

24 and each subsequent fiscal year, to enable the Service (in 

25 carrying out the functions described in title X of such Act 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 2000g et seq.)) to provide technical assistance 

2 by bringing together law enforcement agencies and commu3 nities in the investigation of violations of criminal civil 

4 rights statutes, in cases described in section 4(b). 

5 SEC. 7. SUNSET. 

6 Sections 1 through 6 of this Act shall expire at the 

7 end of fiscal year 2016. 

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL. 

9 Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 

10 U.S.C. 5779 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 3703. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An Inspector General appointed 

14 under section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

15 (5 U.S.C. App.) may authorize staff to assist the National 

16 Center for Missing and Exploited Children— 

17 ‘‘(1) by conducting reviews of inactive case files 

18 to develop recommendations for further investigations; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(2) by engaging in similar activities. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—An Inspector General may not 

23 permit staff to engage in activities described in sub24 section (a) if such activities will interfere with the 


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1 duties of the Inspector General under the Inspector 

2 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

3 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—No additional funds are author4 ized to be appropriated to carry out this section.’’. 


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Calendar No. 579 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2679 

A BILL 

To establish an Unsolved Crimes Section in the 

purposes. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and for other tigative Office in the Civil Rights Unit of the tice, and an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime InvesCivil Rights Division of the Department of JusAUGUST 3, 2006 

Reported with an amendment 


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