I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2647 
To require the Attorney General to make competitive grants to eligible State, 
tribal, and local governments to establish and maintain certain protection 
and witness assistance programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2011 
Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 
STARK, Mr. PIERLUISI, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require the Attorney General to make competitive grants 
to eligible State, tribal, and local governments to estab-
lish and maintain certain protection and witness assist-
ance programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Witness Security and 
Protection Grant Program Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. WITNESS PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (i), the At-
torney General shall make competitive grants to eligible 
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State, tribal, and local governments to establish or main-
tain programs that provide protection or assistance to wit-
nesses in— 
(1) court proceedings involving homicide, or in-
volving a serious violent felony or serious drug of-
fense as defined in section 3559(c)(2) of title 18, 
United States Code; and 
(2) court proceedings involving gangs or orga-
nized crime. 
(b) CRITERIA.—In making grants under subsection 
(a), the Attorney General shall evaluate applicants based 
upon the following: 
(1) The extent to which the applicant has a 
lack of infrastructure to support a witness assistance 
program. 
(2) The extent to which witness intimidation is 
present with respect to the applicant. 
(3) The level of cases not prosecuted by the ap-
plicant due to witness intimidation. 
(4) The number of homicides per capita com-
mitted in the jurisdiction of the applicant. 
(5) The number of serious violent felonies or se-
rious drug offenses, as defined in section 3559(c)(2) 
of title 18, United States Code, per capita com-
mitted in the jurisdiction of the applicant. 
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(6) The extent to which organized crime is 
present in the jurisdiction of the applicant. 
(7) Other appropriate criteria as determined by 
the Attorney General. 
(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—From amounts made 
available under subsection (i) to carry out this section, the 
Attorney General, upon request of a recipient of a grant 
under this section, shall direct the appropriate offices 
within the Department of Justice to provide technical as-
sistance to such recipient to the extent the Attorney Gen-
eral determines such technical assistance is needed to es-
tablish or maintain a program described in such section. 
(d) BEST PRACTICES.— 
(1) REPORT.—Each recipient of a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Attorney General a 
report, in such form and manner and containing 
such information as specified by the Attorney Gen-
eral, that evaluates each program established or 
maintained pursuant to such grant, including poli-
cies and procedures under the program. 
(2) DEVELOPMENT
OF
BEST
PRACTICES.— 
Based on the reports submitted under paragraph 
(1), the Attorney General shall develop best practice 
models to assist States and other relevant entities in 
addressing— 
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(A) witness safety; 
(B) short-term and permanent witness re-
location; 
(C) financial and housing assistance; and 
(D) any other services related to witness 
protection or assistance that are determined by 
the Attorney General to be necessary. 
(3) DISSEMINATION
TO
STATES.—Not later 
than 1 year after the development of best practice 
models under paragraph (2), the Attorney General 
shall disseminate to States and other relevant enti-
ties such models. 
(4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that States and other relevant entities 
should use the best practice models developed and 
disseminated in accordance with this section to 
evaluate, improve, and develop witness protection or 
witness assistance as appropriate. 
(5) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this section 
requires the dissemination of any information if the 
Attorney General determines such information is law 
enforcement sensitive and should only be disclosed 
within the law enforcement community or that such 
information poses a threat to national security. 
(e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 
cost of a project carried out using a grant made 
under this section shall not be more than 75 per-
cent. 
(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the non-Federal share for a project 
carried out using a grant made under this sec-
tion may be made in the form of in-kind con-
tributions that are directly related to the pur-
pose for which the grant was made. 
(B) MAXIMUM
PERCENTAGE.—Not more 
than 50 percent of the non-Federal share for a 
project carried out using a grant made under 
this section may be in the form of in-kind con-
tributions. 
(f) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Federal adminis-
trative costs to carry out this section for a fiscal year shall 
not exceed 5 percent of the funds appropriated pursuant 
to subsection (i) for such fiscal year. 
(g) GEOGRAPHIC
DISTRIBUTION.—The Attorney 
General shall ensure that, to the extent reasonable and 
practical, grants authorized by this section are made to 
achieve an equitable geographical distribution of such pro-
grams throughout the United States and that due consid-
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eration be given to applicants of rural and urban commu-
nities. 
(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Attorney General 
shall submit a report to Congress— 
(1) not later than December 31, 2013, on the 
implementation of this section and any information 
on programs funded by grants made pursuant to 
this section; and 
(2) not later than December 31, 2017, on the 
programs funded by grants awarded under this sec-
tion, including on matters specified under subsection 
(d)(2). 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 
2016. 
Æ 
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