19–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 112–582 

JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK GRANT REAUTHORIZATION AND THE BULLYING PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION ACT OF 2012 

JULY 9, 2012.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SMITH of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 6019] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 6019) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to enhance the use of Juvenile Accountability Block 

Grants for programs to prevent and address occurrences of bullying 

and to reauthorize the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants program, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 

an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

The Amendment ...................................................................................................... 1 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 5 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 6 

The Amendment 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 


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1See Bullying Among Middle School and High School Students—Massachusetts, 2009, http:// 

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6015a1.htm?slcid=mm6015a1lw. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 2. BULLYING PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS; REAUTHORIZATION OF JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK GRANTS. 

(a) BULLYING PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (13) of section 1801(b) of the Omnibus Crime 

Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ee(b)) is amended to read 

as follows: 

‘‘(13) establishing and maintaining accountability-based programs that are designed to enhance school safety, which programs may include research-based 

bullying prevention, cyberbullying prevention, and gang prevention programs, 

as well as intervention programs regarding bullying;’’. 

(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress that the use of best 

practices is encouraged for all activities for which grants under part R of title 

I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 may be used. 

(b) REAUTHORIZATION OF JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK GRANTS.—Section 

1810(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796ee–10(a)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘and $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

2017’’. 

Purpose and Summary 

H.R. 6019 reauthorizes the Justice Department’s Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) program at $40 million a year for 

5 years. The bill also amends the existing JABG school safety purpose area to ensure that grant funds may be spent on bullying 

intervention programs, and provides a Sense of Congress that best 

practices should be used to implement all JABG purposes. 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

The JABG program provides grants to states, tribes, and units 

of local government to strengthen their juvenile justice systems and 

foster accountability within their juvenile populations by holding 

juveniles responsible for their actions. Each state is automatically 

distributed 0.5% of the total appropriated money under the program, and the remaining amount is distributed based on the states’ 

rate of juveniles under the age of 18. The JABG program was originally codified in 2002, and was most recently reauthorized in 2005 

at $350 million a year for fiscal years 2006 through 2009. The program was appropriated $46 million in fiscal year 2011, and $30 

million in fiscal year 2012. 

The JABG program currently has 17 authorized purpose areas, 

including: implementing graduated sanctions for juveniles; building 

or operating juvenile correction or detention facilities; supporting 

prosecutorial initiatives aimed at curbing drug use, violence, and 

gangs; accountability-based school safety initiatives; and establishing juvenile drug courts and gun courts. 

In 2005, a purpose area was added to the program to address 

school safety, including bullying and cyberbullying prevention. Although bullying among youth is not a new problem, it remains a 

serious one. A 2009 study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 43.9% of the participating middle 

school students and 30.5% of the participating high school students 

had been affected by bullying.1 Bullying is also not always harmless juvenile fun. According to this same study, victims of bullying 


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are more than three times more likely to report having seriously 

considered committing suicide or intentionally harming themselves, 

and they are much more likely to report drug and alcohol use. 

H.R. 6019 reauthorizes the JABG program at $40 million a year 

for 5 years, expands the existing anti-bullying purpose area to include intervention in addition to prevention, and encourages the 

use of best practices for bullying prevention and intervention and 

all of the other purpose areas within the JABG program. 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 6019. 

Committee Consideration 

On June 28, 2012, the Committee met in open session and ordered the bill H.R. 6019 favorably reported with an amendment, by 

voice vote, a quorum being present. 

Committee Votes 

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

6019. The Committee approved by voice vote two amendments offered by Mr. Scott. 

Committee Oversight Findings 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this 

report. 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures 

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 6019, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 9, 2012. 

Hon. LAMAR SMITH, CHAIRMAN, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6019, the ‘‘Juvenile AcVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:19 Jul 10, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR582.XXX HR582

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countability Block Grant Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2012.’’ 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF, DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 6019—Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act 

of 2012. 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary 

on June 28, 2012. 

SUMMARY

H.R. 6019 would authorize the appropriation of $40 million annually over the 2013–2017 period for the Department of Justice 

(DOJ) to make grants to State and local governments for programs 

to strengthen the juvenile justice system, including programs to 

combat bullying in schools. 

Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 6019 would cost $121 million over 

the 2013–2017 period. Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to 

this legislation because it would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 6019 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). 

ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 6019 is shown in the following table. CBO assumes that the authorized amounts will be appropriated near the start of each fiscal year and that outlays will 

follow the historical rate of spending for similar activities. The 

costs of this legislation fall within budget function 750 (administration of justice). 

By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars 

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2013– 

2017 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Authorization Level 40 40 40 40 40 200 

Estimated Outlays 5 16 26 34 40 121 


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PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS

None. 

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

H.R. 6019 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. State, local, and tribal governments 

would benefit from grants authorized by the bill. Any costs to those 

governments would be incurred voluntarily as a condition of Federal assistance. 

ESTIMATE PREPARED BY: 

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz 

Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell 

Impact on the Private Sector: Vi Nguyen 

ESTIMATE APPROVED BY: 

Peter H. Fontaine 

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis 

Performance Goals and Objectives 

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 6019, reauthorizes the JABG program, ensures that grant funds may be spent on 

bullying intervention programs, and provides a Sense of Congress 

that best practices should be used to implement the purposes of the 

JABG program. 

Advisory on Earmarks 

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 6019 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. 

Section–by–Section Analysis 

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill as Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention 

and Intervention Act of 2012. 

Sec. 2. Bullying Prevention and Intervention Programs; Reauthorization of Juvenile Accountability Block Grants. 

Section 2 amends the existing JABG school safety purpose area 

(42 U.S.C. § 3796ee(b)) to expressly state that grant funds may be 

used for bullying intervention programs, and provides a Sense of 

Congress that best practices should be used to combat bullying. 

Section 2 also reauthorizes the JABG program at $40 million for 

5 years. 


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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, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT 

OF 1968 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE I—JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT 

* * * * * * * 

PART R—JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK 

GRANTS 

SEC. 1801. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

(a) * * * 

(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Amounts paid to a State or a unit 

of local government under this part shall be used by the State or 

unit of local government for the purpose of strengthening the juvenile justice system, which includes— 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

ø(13) establishing and maintaining accountability-based 

programs that are designed to enhance school safety, which 

programs may include research-based bullying, cyberbullying, 

and gang prevention programs;¿ 

(13) establishing and maintaining accountability-based 

programs that are designed to enhance school safety, which programs may include research-based bullying prevention, 

cyberbullying prevention, and gang prevention programs, as 

well as intervention programs regarding bullying; 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 1810. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

carry out this part, $350,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

through 2009 and $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

2017. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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