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[House Report 114-664]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

114th Congress   }                                       {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                       {     114-664

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 TO PERMIT THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE TO ACCEPT CERTAIN PROPERTY 
 FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES AND TO DISPOSE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN ITS 
                               POSSESSION

                                _______
                                

  July 5, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mrs. Miller of Michigan, from the Committee on House Administration, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4733]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4733) to permit the United States Capitol Police 
to accept certain property from other Federal agencies and to 
dispose of certain property in its possession, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 4733 (Brady of Pennsylvania)--To permit the United 
States Capitol Police to accept certain property from other 
Federal agencies and to dispose of certain property in its 
possession.
    This bill would allow the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) to 
dispose of property they acquire through forfeiture, voluntary 
abandonment, or simply being unclaimed rather than absorb 
infrastructure and space costs related to storing them. 
Further, the USCP would be allowed to accept certain types of 
surplus equipment from other government and federal agencies, 
similar to other equipment donation programs currently in place 
throughout the Executive Branch of government.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    Currently the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) is authorized to 
dispose of only its own surplus or obsolete property. The USCP 
stores any property and items that are left in public spaces of 
the Capitol and Congressional buildings. These types of items 
can include electronics, jewelry, bikes, etc. Current 
legislation does not provide USCP with the authority to dispose 
or remove these items from their possession, so all materials 
remain in storage. This bill would allow them to dispose of 
assets they acquire through disposal, forfeiture, voluntary 
abandonment, or simply being unclaimed rather than absorb 
infrastructure and space costs related to storing them. The 
USCP would model its disposal program after the Executive 
Branch property regulations, which are managed by the General 
Services Administration. Specific mechanisms could include 
interagency transfer, donation, sale by an auctioneer, trade-
in, or other appropriate methods. It is important to note that 
H.R. 4733 would not be applicable to narcotics and weapons, as 
these types of items remain in the possession of the USCP 
during investigations. Once investigations are completed, 
property is disposed of through the Metropolitan Police 
Department of the District of Columbia.
    In addition, the legislation would allow the USCP to accept 
surplus or obsolete property from other Federal agencies and 
offices upon notifying the House and Senate Committee on 
Appropriations. This type of program is widespread among 
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, as GSA 
administers a number of similar types of efforts. Donation of 
surplus equipment could potentially be a cost-efficient option 
for USCP to add value in certain areas of need if there is a 
functional use or purpose to the property.

                               Conclusion

    This legislation would put the U.S. Capitol Police on 
similar standing to other federal, state, and local law 
enforcement agencies. Allowing USCP to dispose of property 
currently taking up storage space and other resources is a 
needed measure to ensure that these items are not held 
indefinitely. The USCP will be able to follow established laws, 
regulations and programs implemented in the Executive Branch to 
handle surplus equipment and donations, and amending the 
current law allows USCP to better utilize, organize, and manage 
resources.

                       Introduction and Referral

    On March 14, 2016, Rep. Robert Brady (PA-1) introduced H.R. 
4733, which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration.

                                Hearings

    There were no legislative hearings held on H.R. 4733.

                        Committee Consideration

    On May 17, 2016, the Committee on House Administration met 
to consider H.R. 4733. The Committee ordered the bill reported 
favorably to the House without amendment by voice vote with a 
quorum present.

                         Committee Record Votes

    In compliance with House Rule XIII, clause 3(b), requiring 
the results of each record vote on an amendment or motion to 
report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, to be printed in the Committee report, the Committee 
states that there were no record votes during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 4733.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    In compliance with House Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(1), the 
Committee states that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under House Rule X, 
clause 2(b)(1), are incorporated into the general discussion 
section of this report.

            Statement of Budget Authority and Related Items

    The bill does not provide new budget authority, new 
spending authority, new credit authority, or an increase or 
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures and a statement under 
House Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(2), and section 308(a)(1) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is not required.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 4733 does not provide any new 
spending or savings.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 13, 2016.
Hon. Candice Miller,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4733, a bill to 
permit the United States Capitol Police to accept certain 
property from other Federal agencies and to dispose of certain 
property in its possession.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4733--A bill to permit the United States Capitol Police to accept 
        certain property from other Federal agencies and to dispose of 
        certain property in its possession

    Under current law, the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) cannot 
dispose of personal property that has been abandoned, 
forfeited, or unclaimed by the public (such as jewelry, bikes, 
and electronics) and is recovered by the USCP in the course of 
police activities. H.R. 4733 would permit the USCP to dispose 
of such property. In addition, the legislation would permit the 
USCP to accept surplus or obsolete personal property (including 
items such as furniture, office supplies, and construction 
equipment) offered by other federal agencies.
    Based on information from the USCP and the General Services 
Administration about the current federal program for donating 
surplus or obsolete personal property and the amount of such 
property that USCP would dispose of, CBO estimates that 
implementing the legislation would have no significant effect 
on the federal budget. Because the bill would not affect direct 
spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4733 would not increase 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
    H.R. 4733 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    In compliance with House Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(4), the 
Committee states that the general discussion section of this 
report includes a statement of the general performance goals 
and objectives, including outcome-related goals and objectives.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    In compliance with Sec. 3(g)(2) of H. Res. 5 (114th 
Congress), the Committee states that no provision of the bill 
establishes or reauthorizes: (1) a program of the Federal 
Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program; 
(2) a program included in any report from the Government 
Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of 
Public Law 111-139; or (3) a program related to a program 
identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance, published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Pub. L. No. 95-220, as amended by Pub. L. No. 
98-169).

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    In compliance with Sec. 3(i) of H. Res. 5 (114th Congress), 
the following statement is made concerning directed rule 
makings: The Committee estimates that the bill requires no 
directed rule makings within the meaning of such section.

               Information Relating to Unfunded Mandates

    This information is provided in accordance with section 423 
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-
4). The Committee has determined that the bill contains no 
unfunded mandate on the private sector, nor does it impose a 
Federal intergovernmental mandate on State, local, or tribal 
governments.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
to Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution granting 
Congress the authority to exercise exclusive legislation in all 
cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles 
square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the 
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of 
the United States.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with House Rule XXI, clause 9, the Committee 
states that H.R. 4733 does not contain any congressional 
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as 
defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.

         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 (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

    SECTION 1003 OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2003

  Sec. 1003. Disposal of Surplus Property. (a) In General.--
Within the limits of available appropriations, the Capitol 
Police may dispose of [surplus or obsolete property of the 
Capitol Police] surplus or obsolete property of the Capitol 
Police, and property which is in the possession of the Capitol 
Police because it has been disposed, forfeited, voluntarily 
abandoned, or unclaimed, by interagency transfer, donation, 
sale, trade-in, or other appropriate method.
  (b) Amounts Received.--Any amounts received by the Capitol 
Police from the disposition of property under subsection (a) 
shall be credited to the account established for the general 
expenses of the Capitol Police, and shall be available to carry 
out the purposes of such account during the fiscal year in 
which the amounts are received and the following fiscal year.
  (c) Effective Date.--This section shall apply to fiscal year 
2003 and each fiscal year thereafter.

                                  [all]
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