United States who were killed or disabled while serving
as law enforcement or public safety officers.
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 ‘‘Law Enforcement
Tribute Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The well-being of all citizens of the United
States is preserved and enhanced as a direct result
of the vigilance and dedication of law enforcement
and public safety personnel.
(2) More than 700,000 law enforcement offi-
cers, both men and women, at great risk to their
personal safety, serve their fellow citizens as guard-
ians of peace.
(3) Nationwide, 51 law enforcement officers
were killed in the line of duty in 2000, according to
statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation. This number is an increase of 9 from the
1999 total of 42.
(4) In 1999, 112 firefighters died while on
duty, an increase of 21 deaths from the previous
year.
(5) Every year, 1 in 9 peace officers is as-
saulted, 1 in 25 is injured, and 1 in 4,400 is killed
in the line of duty.
(6) In addition, recent statistics indicate that
83 officers were accidentally killed in the perform-
ance of their duties in 2000, an increase of 18 from
the 65 accidental deaths in 1999.
(7) A permanent tribute is a powerful means of
honoring the men and women who have served our
Nation with distinction. However, many law enforce-
ment and public safety agencies lack the resources
to honor their fallen colleagues.
SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to
carry out this section, the Attorney General may make
grants to States, units of local government, and Indian
tribes to carry out programs to honor, through permanent
tributes, men and women of the United States who were
killed or disabled while serving as law enforcement or pub-
lic safety officers.
(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this
section shall be distributed directly to the State, unit of
local government, or Indian tribe, and shall be used for
the purposes specified in subsection (a).
(c) $150,000 LIMITATION.—A grant under this sec-
tion may not exceed $150,000 to any single recipient.
(d) MATCHING FUNDS.—
(1) The Federal portion of the costs of a pro-
gram provided by a grant under this section may not
exceed 50 percent.
(2) Any funds appropriated by Congress for the
activities of any agency of an Indian tribal govern-
ment or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing
law enforcement or public safety functions on any
Indian lands may be used to provide the non-Federal
share of a matching requirement funded under this
subsection.
(e) APPLICATIONS.—To request a grant under this
section, the chief executive of a State, unit of local govern-
ment, or Indian tribe shall submit an application to the
Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and ac-
companied by such information as the Attorney General
may require.
(f) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than
November 30 of each year, the Attorney General shall sub-
mit a report to the Congress regarding the activities car-
ried out under this section. Each such report shall include,
for the preceding fiscal year, the number of grants funded
under this section, the amount of funds provided under
those grants, and the activities for which those funds were
used.
(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
Union Calendar No. 273
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2624
[Report No. 107–458]
A BILL
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 pub-
lic safety officers.
MAY 14, 2002
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed