107TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 107–458

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRIBUTE ACT

MAY 14, 2002.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. SENSENBRENNER, from the Committee on the Judiciary,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 2624]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

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

(H.R. 2624) to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to

honor, through permanent tributes, men and women of the United

States who were killed or disabled while serving as law enforcement or public safety officers, having considered the same, reports

favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the

bill do pass.

CONTENTS

Page

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1

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

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 2

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 2

Vote of the Committee ............................................................................................. 2

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 2

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 2

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

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

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 4

Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion .......................................................... 4

Markup Transcript .................................................................................................. 5

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 2624, the ‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act’’ would authorize

the Attorney General to make grants to States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to construct permanent tributes to

honor the achievements of United States law enforcement or public

safety officers who were killed or disabled in the line of duty. It esVerDate 11-MAY-2000 22:38 May 14, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\NSET\HR458.XXX pfrm04 PsN: HR458
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tablishes a program to award grants directly to a State, local government or Indian tribe for up to 50 percent of the cost of construction of a permanent tribute. The Federal contribution may not exceed $150,000 for any single recipient.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

A. THE NEED FOR H.R. 2624

More than 700,000 men and women risk assault, injury and their

lives to serve as law enforcement officers in this country. Each

year, one in nine officers is assaulted, one in 25 is injured, and one

in 4,400 is killed in the line of duty. Nationwide, 51 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in the year

2000, compared with 42 in 1999, according to statistics from the

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Additionally, FBI statistics

also show that 83 officers were accidentally killed in the line of

duty in 2000, compared with 65 accidental deaths in 1999. In 1999,

112 firefighters also died in the line of duty.

B. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 2624, the ‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act’’ was introduced on

July 25, 2001, and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. It was then referred to the Subcommittee on Crime on July 27,

2001.

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H.R. 2624, the ‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act.’’

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On August 2, 2001, the Subcommittee on Crime met in open session and ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 2624, by voice

vote, a quorum being present. On April 24, 2002, the Committee

met in open session and ordered favorably reported the bill H.R.

2624 without amendment by voice vote, a quorum being present.

VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE

There were no recorded votes on this legislation.

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 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.

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

H.R. 2624, the ‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act’’ authorized appropriations of $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006

to allow the Attorney General to may make grants to States, local

governments, and Indian tribes to establish permanent tributes to

men and women who were killed or disabled while serving as law

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enforcement or public safety officers. No grant recipient shall receive more than $150,000 and a 50 percent match is required.

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. 2624, 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, May 1, 2002.

Hon. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., 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. 2624, the Law Enforcement Tribute Act.

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,

DAN L. CRIPPEN, Director.

Enclosure

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr.

Ranking Member

H.R. 2624—Law Enforcement Tribute Act.

SUMMARY

H.R. 2624 would authorize the appropriation of $3 million for

each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006 for the Department of Justice to make grants to State and local governments and Indian

tribes to honor law enforcement or public safety officers who were

killed or disabled in the line of duty. Assuming appropriation of the

authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2624

would cost $13 million over the 2002–2007 period. This legislation

would not affect direct spending or receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.

H.R. 2624 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).

The bill would benefit State, local, and tribal governments that receive the grants that it would establish. Any costs incurred to receive or administer such grants would be voluntary.

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ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized in

H.R. 2624 for 2003 through 2006 will be appropriated by the start

of each fiscal year and that outlays will follow historical spending

patterns for similar grant programs. We assume that amounts authorized for 2002 will be appropriated this summer. The estimated

budgetary impact of H.R. 2624 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

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level 3 3 3 3 3 0

Estimated Outlays 0 1 3 4 3 2

PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

ESTIMATED IMPACT ON STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS

H.R. 2624 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in

UMRA. The bill would benefit State, local, and tribal governments

that receive the grants that it would establish. Any costs incurred

to receive or administer such grants would be voluntary.

ESTIMATED IMPACT ON THE PRIVATE-SECTOR

H.R. 2624 contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in

UMRA.

ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226–2860)

Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Angela Seitz

(225–3220)

Impact on the Private Sector: Cecil McPherson (226–2949)

ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:

Peter H. Fontaine

Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 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, clause 1 and 18 of the Constitution.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Section 1. Short Title. The short title of the bill is the ‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act.’’ Section 2. Findings. This section of the bill makes findings regarding the number of law enforcement and public safety officers

currently serving in the United States and the number assaulted,

injured or killed in the line of duty each year. Congress finds that

these officers risk their safety to serve the citizens of their commuVerDate 11-MAY-2000 22:38 May 14, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\NSET\HR458.XXX pfrm04 PsN: HR458
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nities. This section makes the finding that many of the communities do not have the resources to properly honor the fallen officers

that have served them.

Section 3. Program Authorized. This section authorizes the Attorney General to award matching grants up to 50 percent of the cost

of the tribute directly to a State, local government or Indian Tribe

in an amount not to exceed $150,000. It provides that Indian

Tribes may use any funds appropriated by Congress for activities

of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or Indian tribal government to meet

the matching requirements.

This section also requires any application for funds under this

bill to meet the criteria established by the Attorney General. Section 3 requires the Attorney General to provide an annual report

to provide Congress with information regarding the number of

grants awarded, the amount of funds provided for those grants,

and the activities the funds were used for.

This section includes an authorization of $3 million for each fiscal year 2002–2006, which results in a total authorization of $15

million over 5 years.

MARKUP TRANSCRIPT

BUSINESS MEETING

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2002

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY,

Washington, DC.

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:09 a.m., in Room

2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. [Presiding.] The Committee will be

in order.

[Intervening business.]

The next item on the agenda is the adoption of H.R. 2624, the

‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act.’’ The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Smith, Chairman of the Subcommittee on

Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, for a motion.

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman, the Subcommittee reports favorably

the bill H.R. 2624 and moves its favorable recommendation to the

full House.

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. Without objection, the bill will be

considered as read and open for amendment at any point.

[The bill, H.R. 2624, follows:]

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Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman

from Texas in support of his motion.

Mr. SMITH. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, H.R. 2624, the ‘‘Law Enforcement Tribute Act,’’ was introduced by Representative Adam Schiff and has bipartisan

support. It would authorize grants to allow States, units of local

government, and Indian tribes to construct permanent tributes to

honor United States law enforcement or public safety officers who

have been killed or disabled in the line of duty.

Congressman Schiff’s efforts on this bill are very important to

the men and women of law enforcement who put their lives at risk

on September 11th and continue to do so every day.

Nationwide, 135 law enforcement officers were killed in the line

of duty in the year 2000. In 2001, 228 officers lost their lives in

the line of duty, 71 in terrorist attacks.

Mr. Chairman, we are honored every day by the service these

men and women give to their communities. This bill will allow us

to give them the honor they deserve, and I thank Mr. Schiff for introducing it and will be happy to yield the balance of my time to

him.

Mr. SCHIFF. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to

thank the Chairman for scheduling the bill for consideration this

afternoon. The bill authorizes funding for grants to States and localities to help them in honoring through permanent tributes men

and women in the United States who are killed or disabled while

serving as law enforcement or public safety officers. To ensure the

funding would allow for the development of many tributes around

the country, there is a limit that no award can be greater than

$150,000. The bill further requires a 50 percent match by the State

or locality requesting the funding. It authorizes $3 million for each of 5 years to be administered

through the Department of Justice. If the maximum amount were

awarded in each case, at least 20 projects could be funded each

year. Over a period of 5 years, a minimum of 100 projects could be

established. Senators Carnahan and Leahy have introduced a companion bill in the Senate just last week, S. 2179.

We have all, regrettably, experienced the loss of law enforcement

officers in our district who have died serving our communities. In

one of the communities I represent, Glendale, California, we’ve lost

four police officers and one sheriff’s deputy in the line of duty, most

recently a Glendale police officer named Charles Lazzaretto, who

was killed in a shootout with armed robbers.

The Glendale Police Department has worked tirelessly to raise

funds for the memorial. It would be a fitting tribute for the Federal

Government to assist them and other communities, providing a relatively small amount of assistance for these often strapped departments, in order to honor their fallen heroes. And I want to again

take this opportunity to thank the Crime Subcommittee Chairman

Lamar Smith for all of his assistance, Ranking Member Bobby

Scott, for marking up the bill in Subcommittee, and, again, Mr.

Chairman, I thank you for scheduling it this afternoon.

I yield back.

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. Does the gentleman from Virginia

wish to say something, with the admonition that I see our reporting quorum drifting away?

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Mr. SCOTT. Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The gentleman’s recognized for 5

minutes.

Mr. SCOTT. For the reasons articulated by the gentleman from

Texas and the gentleman from California, I support the bill and

yield back the balance of my time.

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. Without objection, Members will be

authorized to insert opening statements in the record.

Are there amendments? If there are no amendments, the Chair

notes the presence of a reporting quorum. The question occurs on

the motion to report the bill H.R. 2624 favorably. Those in favor

will say aye? Opposed, no?

The ayes appear to have it, and the ayes have it, and the motion

to report favorably is adopted.

Without objection, the Chair is authorized to move to go to conference pursuant to House rules. Without objection, the staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes, and all

Members will be given 2 days, as provided by the House rules, in

which to submit additional dissenting, supplemental, or minority

views.

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