79–006

106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–859

NATIONAL POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE YOUTH

ENRICHMENT ACT OF 2000

SEPTEMBER 18, 2000.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HYDE, from the Committee on the Judiciary,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 3235]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

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

(H.R. 3235) to improve academic and social outcomes for youth and

reduce both juvenile crime and the risk that youth will become victims of crime by providing productive activities conducted by law

enforcement personnel during nonschool hours, having considered

the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

The Amendment ......................................................................................... 2

Purpose and Summary .............................................................................. 4

Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................ 4

Committee Consideration .......................................................................... 5

Vote of the Committee ............................................................................... 5

Committee Oversight Findings ................................................................. 5

Committee on Government Reform Findings .......................................... 5

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ........................................ 5

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ............................................ 5

Constitutional Authority Statement ......................................................... 7

Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion ............................................ 7

2

The amendment is as follows:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The goals of the Police Athletic League are to—

(A) increase the academic success of youth participants in PAL programs;

(B) promote a safe, healthy environment for youth under the supervision of law enforcement personnel where mutual trust and respect can be

built;

(C) increase school attendance by providing alternatives to suspensions

and expulsions;

(D) reduce the juvenile crime rate in participating designated communities and the number of police calls involving juveniles during nonschool

hours;

(E) provide youths with alternatives to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and

gang activity;

(F) create positive communications and interaction between youth and

law enforcement personnel; and

(G) prepare youth for the workplace.

(2) The Police Athletic League, during its 55-year history as a national organization, has proven to be a positive force in the communities it serves.

(3) The Police Athletic League is a network of 1,700 facilities serving over

3,000 communities. There are 320 PAL chapters throughout the United States,

the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, serving 1,500,000

youths, ages 5 to 18, nationwide.

(4) Based on PAL chapter demographics, approximately 82 percent of the

youths who benefit from PAL programs live in inner cities and urban areas.

(5) PAL chapters are locally operated, volunteer-driven organizations. Although most PAL chapters are sponsored by a law enforcement agency, PAL

chapters receive no direct funding from law enforcement agencies and are dependent in large part on support from the private sector, such as individuals,

business leaders, corporations, and foundations. PAL chapters have been exceptionally successful in balancing public funds with private sector donations and

maximizing community involvement.

(6) Today’s youth face far greater risks than did their parents and grandparents. Law enforcement statistics demonstrate that youth between the ages

of 12 and 17 are at risk of committing violent acts and being victims of violent

acts between the hours of 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

(7) Greater numbers of students are dropping out of school and failing in

school, even though the consequences of academic failure are more dire in 1999

than ever before.

(8) Many distressed areas in the United States are still underserved by

PAL chapters.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to provide adequate resources in the form of—

(1) assistance for the 320 established PAL chapters to increase of services

to the communities they are serving; and

(2) seed money for the establishment of 250 (50 per year over a 5-year period) additional local PAL chapters in public housing projects and other distressed areas, including distressed areas with a majority population of Native

Americans, by not later than fiscal year 2006.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Assistant Attorney General’’

means the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs of the

Department of Justice.

(2) DISTRESSED AREA.—The term ‘‘distressed area’’ means an urban, suburban, or rural area with a high percentage of high-risk youth, as defined in section 509A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa–8(f)).

(3) PAL CHAPTER.—The term ‘‘PAL chapter’’ means a chapter of a Police or

Sheriff’s Athletic/Activities League.

3

(4) POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE.—The term ‘‘Police Athletic League’’ means

the private, nonprofit, national representative organization for 320 Police or

Sheriff’s Athletic/Activities Leagues throughout the United States (including the

Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico).

(5) PUBLIC HOUSING; PROJECT.—The terms ‘‘public housing’’ and ‘‘project’’

have the meanings given those terms in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).

SEC. 5. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to appropriations, for each of fiscal years 2001

through 2005, the Assistant Attorney General shall award a grant to the Police Athletic League for the purpose of establishing PAL chapters to serve public housing

projects and other distressed areas, and expanding existing PAL chapters to serve

additional youths.

(b) APPLICATION.— (1) SUBMISSION.—In order to be eligible to receive a grant under this section, the Police Athletic League shall submit to the Assistant Attorney General

an application, which shall include—

(A) a long-term strategy to establish 250 additional PAL chapters and

detailed summary of those areas in which new PAL chapters will be established, or in which existing chapters will be expanded to serve additional

youths, during the next fiscal year;

(B) a plan to ensure that there are a total of not less than 570 PAL

chapters in operation before January 1, 2004;

(C) a certification that there will be appropriate coordination with those

communities where new PAL chapters will be located; and

(D) an explanation of the manner in which new PAL chapters will operate without additional, direct Federal financial assistance once assistance

under this Act is discontinued.

(2) REVIEW.—The Assistant Attorney General shall review and take action

on an application submitted under paragraph (1) not later than 120 days after

the date of such submission.

SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS.

(a) IN GENERAL.— (1) ASSISTANCE FOR NEW AND EXPANDED CHAPTERS.—Amounts made available under a grant awarded under this Act shall be used by the Police Athletic

League to provide funding for the establishment of PAL chapters serving public

housing projects and other distressed areas, or the expansion of existing PAL

chapters.

(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Each new or expanded PAL chapter assisted

under paragraph (1) shall carry out not less than 4 programs during nonschool

hours, of which—

(A) not less than 2 programs shall provide—

(i) mentoring assistance;

(ii) academic assistance;

(iii) recreational and athletic activities; or

(iv) technology training; and

(B) any remaining programs shall provide—

(i) drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities;

(ii) health and nutrition counseling;

(iii) cultural and social programs;

(iv) conflict resolution training, anger management, and peer pressure training;

(v) job skill preparation activities; or

(vi) Youth Police Athletic League Conferences or Youth Forums.

(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the programs under subsection

(a), a PAL chapter shall, to the maximum extent practicable—

(1) use volunteers from businesses, academic communities, social organizations, and law enforcement organizations to serve as mentors or to assist in

other ways;

(2) ensure that youth in the local community participate in designing the

after-school activities;

(3) develop creative methods of conducting outreach to youth in the community;

(4) request donations of computer equipment and other materials and

equipment; and

(5) work with State and local park and recreation agencies so that activities

funded with amounts made available under a grant under this Act will not duplicate activities funded from other sources in the community served.

4

SEC. 7. REPORTS.

(a) REPORT TO ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for which

a grant is awarded under this Act, the Police Athletic League shall submit to the

Assistant Attorney General a report on the use of amounts made available under

the grant.

(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than May 1 of each fiscal year for which

amounts are made available to carry out this Act, the Assistant Attorney General

shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of

Representatives a report that details the progress made under this Act in establishing and expanding PAL chapters in public housing projects and other distressed

areas, and the effectiveness of the PAL programs in reducing drug abuse, school

dropouts, and juvenile crime.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $16,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

(b) FUNDING FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amount made available to

carry out this Act in each fiscal year—

(1) not less than 2 percent shall be used for research and evaluation of the

grant program under this Act;

(2) not less than 1 percent shall be used for technical assistance related to

the use of amounts made available under grants awarded under this Act; and

(3) not less than 1 percent shall be used for the management and administration of the grant program under this Act, except that the total amount made

available under this paragraph for administration of that program shall not exceed 6 percent.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 3235 would authorize the creation of a program that would

direct the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the United States

Department of Justice to award grants to the Police Athletic

League (PAL) for the purposes of establishing PAL chapters to

serve public housing projects and other distressed areas and expanding existing chapters to serve additional youth. The bill would

authorize the appropriation of $16 million a year for 5 years beginning with fiscal year 2001 for this purpose. The money would be

used to enhance the services provided by the 320 established PAL

chapters and provide seed money for the establishment of 250 (50

per year over a 5-year period) additional PAL chapters in public

housing projects and other distressed areas, including distressed

areas with a majority population of Native Americans.

In order to be eligible to receive a grant, the bill would require

PAL to submit to the Assistant Attorney General for OJP an application which includes: (1) a long-term strategy to establish 250 additional chapters and a detailed summary of those areas in which

new chapters will be established, or in which existing chapters will

be expanded to serve additional youths, during the next fiscal year;

(2) a plan to ensure that there is a total of not less than 570 chapters in operation before January 1, 2003; (3) a certification that

there will be appropriate coordination with those communities

where new chapters will be located; and (4) an explanation of the

manner in which new chapters will operate without additional, direct Federal financial assistance once assistance under this act is

discontinued. The bill directs the Assistant Attorney General to review, and take action on, an application within 120 days after the

date of its submission.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

The Police Athletic League was founded by police officers in New

York City in 1914. Its mission is to offer an alternative to crime,

5

drugs and violence for our nation’s most at-risk youth. Since its

founding, PAL has grown into one of the largest youth-crime prevention programs in the nation, with a network of 320 local chapters and 1,700 facilities that serve more than 3,000 communities

and 1.5 million young people. Local chapters are staffed by off-duty

police officers, and they receive most of their funding from private

sources. In partnership with local law enforcement agencies, PAL

chapters help to narrow the gap in trust between children and the

police, especially in low-income and high-crime neighborhoods. PAL

offers after-school athletic, recreational, and educational programs

designed to give children an alternative to gangs, drugs and crime,

and to reinforce the values of responsibility, hard work and community. These programs are geared to the after-school hours of

3:00 to 8:00 p.m., the peak hours for juvenile crime and other antisocial behavior.

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On July 25, 2000, the Committee on the Judiciary met in open

session and ordered reported favorably the bill H.R. 3235 by voice

vote with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, a quorum

being present.

VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE

Vote on final passage: passed by voice vote.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

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

House of Representatives, the committee reports that the findings

and recommendations of the committee, based in 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.

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM FINDINGS

No findings or recommendations of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in clause

3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII 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. 3235, the following estimate and comparison prepared

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section

403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

6

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 4, 2000.

Hon. HENRY J. HYDE, 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. 3235, the National Police

Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 2000.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Mark Grabowicz (for

federal costs), who can be reached at 226–2860, and Shelley

Finlayson (for the state and local impact), who can be reached at

225–3220.

Sincerely,

DAN L. CRIPPEN, Director.

Enclosure

cc: Honorable John Conyers Jr.

Ranking Democratic Member

H.R. 3235—National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act

of 2000.

SUMMARY

H.R. 3235 would authorize the appropriation of $16 million for

each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005 for the Department of Justice to make a grant to the Police Athletic League (PAL). The PAL

would use these funds to expand its current program that serves

disadvantaged youths.

Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3235 would cost $80 million over the

2001–2005 period. This legislation would not affect direct spending

or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.

H.R. 3235 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

and would not directly affect state, local, and tribal governments.

ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized by

the bill will be appropriated by the start of each fiscal year. Based

on information from the Department of Justice, we expect that

these amounts will be spent in the same year that they are appropriated. The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 3235 is shown in

the following table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget

function 750 (administration of justice).

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level 16 16 16 16 16

Estimated Outlays 16 16 16 16 16

7

PAY–AS–YOU–GO CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE–SECTOR IMPACT

H.R. 3235 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA and would not directly affect state, local,

and tribal governments.

ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226–2860)

Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Shelley Finlayson

(225–3220)

Impact on the Private Sector: Patrice Gordon (226–2940)

ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:

Peter H. Fontaine

Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for this legislation

in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Sec. 1. Short Title.

This section provides that the short title of the bill is the ‘‘National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 2000.’’

Sec. 2. Findings.

This section contains findings made by Congress in support of

H.R. 3235.

Sec. 3. Purpose.

This section states the purpose of the act, which is to provide

grant money to the 320 established PAL chapters to increase services to the communities they are serving, and to provide seed

money for the establishment of 250 (50 per year over a 5-year period) additional local PAL chapters in public housing project and

other distressed areas, including distressed areas with a majority

population of Native Americans, by not later than fiscal year 2006.

Sec. 4. Definitions.

This section defines several terms used in the act.

Sec. 5. Grants Authorized.

This section would direct the Assistant Attorney General for the

Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice to award

a grant to the Police Athletic League for each of fiscal years 2001

through 2005 for the purpose of establishing PAL chapters to serve

public housing projects and other distressed areas, and expanding

existing PAL chapters to serve additional young people. Section

five establishes guidelines that PAL must meet to be eligible to receive a grant.

8

Sec. 6. Use of Funds.

This section establishes guidelines for how grant money awarded

to PAL may be used. Each new or expanded PAL chapter that receives assistance under the act shall carry out not less than four

programs during non-school hours, of which not less than two programs shall provide mentoring assistance, academic assistance, recreational and athletic activities or technology training. Several additional programs may be offered as well, including drug, alcohol,

and gang prevention activities, health and nutrition counseling,

cultural and social programs, and job preparation activities. Section

six would also require that, to the maximum extent possible, PAL

chapters use volunteers from businesses, academia, social organizations, and law enforcement organizations to serve as mentors or to

assist in other ways. Additionally, PAL chapters would be required

to work with State and local park recreation agencies so that activities funded with amounts made available under a PAL grant

will not duplicate activities funded from other sources in the community served.

Sec. 7. Reports.

This section would require that the Police Athletic League report

to the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs on the use of grant money for each fiscal year in which a

grant was awarded. Section 7 would also require that the Attorney

General report to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary each year on the progress made under the act in establishing

and expanding PAL chapters and the effectiveness of PAL programs in reducing drug abuse, school dropouts, and juvenile crime.

Sec. 8. Authorization of Appropriations.

This section would authorize the appropriation of $16 million a

year for 5 years beginning with fiscal year 2001 to carry out the

purposes of the act.

Æ