II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3313 

To establish a Federal Polygamy Task Force, to authorize assistance for 

victims of polygamy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2008 

Mr. REID introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a Federal Polygamy Task Force, to authorize 

assistance for victims of polygamy, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Victims of Polygamy 

5 Assistance Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Despite the fact that polygamy has been il9 legal in the United States for over 100 years, the 

10 practice of polygamy involving underage marriages is 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•S 3313 IS

1 growing. Sizable polygamist communities exist in Ar2 izona, Utah, and Nevada, and are expanding into 

3 other States. 

4 (2) Polygamist communities are typically con5 trolled by organizations that engage in widespread 

6 and systematic violations of State laws and the laws 

7 of the United States in order to enrich their leaders 

8 and maintain control over their members. 

9 (3) The crimes perpetrated by these organiza10 tions include child abuse, domestic violence, welfare 

11 fraud, tax evasion, public corruption, witness tam12 pering, and transporting victims across State lines. 

13 (4) Due to the systematic and sophisticated na14 ture of these crimes, State and local law enforce15 ment agencies would benefit from the assistance of 

16 the Federal Government as they investigate and 

17 prosecute these organizations and their leaders for 

18 violations of State law. In addition, violations of 

19 Federal law associated with polygamy should be in20 vestigated and prosecuted directly by Federal au21 thorities. 

22 (5) The work of State and Federal law enforce23 ment agencies to combat crimes by polygamist orga24 nizations would benefit from enhanced collaboration 

25 and information-sharing among such agencies. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•S 3313 IS

1 (6) The establishment of a task force within the 

2 Department of Justice to coordinate Federal efforts 

3 and collaborate with State agencies would aid in the 

4 investigation and prosecution of criminal activities of 

5 polygamist organizations in both Federal and State 

6 courts. 

7 (7) Polygamist organizations isolate, control, 

8 manipulate, and threaten victims with retribution 

9 should they ever abandon the organization. Individ10 uals who choose to testify against polygamist organi11 zations in Federal or State court have unique needs, 

12 including social services and witness protection sup13 port, that warrant Federal assistance. 

14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF A FEDERAL POLYGAMY TASK 

15 FORCE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

17 the Department of Justice a Federal Polygamy Task 

18 Force, which shall consist of the Deputy Attorney General, 

19 the United States attorneys from affected Federal judicial 

20 districts, representatives of the Federal Bureau of Inves21 tigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of 

22 Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Serv23 ices, and any officer of the Federal Government whom the 

24 Deputy Attorney General considers necessary to strength25 en Federal law enforcement activities and provide State 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•S 3313 IS

1 and local law enforcement officials the assistance they 

2 need to address the illegal activity of one or more polyg3 amist organizations. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The Federal Polygamy Task Force 

5 established under subsection (a) shall— 

6 (1) formulate effective responses to the unique 

7 set of crimes committed by polygamist organizations; 

8 (2) establish partnerships with State and local 

9 law enforcement agencies to share relevant informa10 tion and strengthen State and Federal efforts to 

11 combat crimes perpetrated by polygamist organiza12 tions; 

13 (3) assist States by providing strategies and 

14 support for the protection of witnesses; 

15 (4) track the criminal behavior of polygamist 

16 organizations that cross State and international bor17 ders; and 

18 (5) ensure that local officials charged with pro19 tecting the public are not corrupted because of fi20 nancial, family, or membership ties to a polygamist 

21 organization. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•S 3313 IS

1 SEC. 4. POLYGAMY VICTIM ASSISTANCE DISCRETIONARY 

2 GRANTS. 

3 The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 

4 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1404E the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1404F. ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF POLYGAMY. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may make grants 

8 as provided in section 1404(c)(1)(A) to State, tribal, and 

9 local prosecutors’ offices, law enforcement agencies, 

10 courts, jails, and correctional institutions, and to qualified 

11 public and private entities, to develop, establish, and main12 tain programs for the enforcement of rights and provision 

13 of social services (including witness protection, housing, 

14 education, vocational training, mental health services, 

15 child care, and medical treatment) for an individual who 

16 is exploited or otherwise victimized by practitioners of po17 lygamy. 

18 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad19 dition to funds made available under section 1402(d), 

20 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

21 section— 

22 ‘‘(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

23 ‘‘(2) $2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 

24 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

25 ‘‘(c) FALSE CLAIMS ACT.—Notwithstanding any 

26 other provision of law, amounts collected pursuant to secVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:30 Jul 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3313.IS S3313

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•S 3313 IS

1 tions 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code 

2 (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’), may be used 

3 for grants under this section, subject to appropriation.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. POLYGAMY INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION AS5 SISTANCE DISCRETIONARY GRANTS. 

6 Section 506(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

7 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3756(a)) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

10 end; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

12 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) $2,000,000, to be granted by the Attorney 

15 General to States and units of local government to 

16 investigate and prosecute polygamist organizations 

17 that violate Federal, State, or local laws.’’. 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS