IB 
Union Calendar No. 70 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1741 
[Report No. 111–138] 
To require the Attorney General to make competitive grants to eligible State, 
tribal, and local prosecutors to establish and maintain certain protection 
and witness assistance programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2009 
Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 
VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SESTAK, and Ms. BORDALLO) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
JUNE 8, 2009 
Additional sponsors: Mr. CONYERS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, 
Mr. FATTAH, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. PIERLUISI, and Mr. POE 
of Texas 
JUNE 8, 2009 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 26, 2009] 
A BILL 
To require the Attorney General to make competitive grants 
to eligible State, tribal, and local prosecutors to establish 
and maintain certain protection and witness assistance 
programs. 
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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 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WITNESS PROTECTION GRANT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall make 
competitive grants to eligible State, tribal, and local govern-
ments to establish or maintain programs that provide pro-
tection or assistance to witnesses in court proceedings in-
volving homicide, or involving a serious violent felony or 
serious drug offense as defined in section 3559(c)(2) of title 
18, United States Code. The Attorney General shall ensure 
that, to the extent reasonable and practical, such grants are 
made to achieve an equitable geographical distribution of 
such programs throughout the United States. 
(b) STATE DEFINED.—For purposes of this Act, the 
term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the United States, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
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SEC. 3. USE OF GRANTS. 
A grant made under section 2 may be used only to 
pay all or part of the cost of the program for which such 
grant is made. 
SEC. 4. PRIORITY. 
In making grants under section 2, the Attorney Gen-
eral shall give priority to applications submitted under sec-
tion 5 involving programs in States with an average of not 
less than 100 murders per year during the most recent 5- 
year period, as calculated using the latest available crime 
statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
SEC. 5. APPLICATION. 
To be eligible for a grant under section 2, a State, trib-
al, or local government shall submit to the Office of Justice 
Programs an application in such form and manner, at such 
time, and accompanied by such information as the Attorney 
General specifies. 
SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
From amounts made available to carry out this Act, 
the Attorney General, upon request of a recipient of a grant 
under section 2, shall provide technical assistance to such 
recipient to the extent the Attorney General determines such 
technical assistance is needed to establish or maintain a 
program described in such section. 
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SEC. 7. BEST PRACTICES. 
(a) REPORT.—Each recipient of a grant under section 
2 shall submit to the Attorney General a report, in such 
form and manner and containing such information as spec-
ified by the Attorney General, that evaluates each program 
established or maintained pursuant to such grant, includ-
ing policies and procedures under the program. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES.—Based on 
the reports submitted under subsection (a), the Attorney 
General shall develop best practice models to assist States 
and other relevant entities in addressing— 
(1) witness safety; 
(2) short-term and permanent witness relocation; 
(3) financial and housing assistance; and 
(4) any other services related to witness protec-
tion or assistance that are determined by the Attorney 
General to be necessary. 
(c) DISSEMINATION TO STATES.—Not later than 1 
year after the development of best practice models under 
subsection (b), the Attorney General shall disseminate to 
States and other relevant entities such models. 
(d) 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 Act to evaluate, improve, and develop witness pro-
tection or witness assistance as appropriate. 
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(e) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this Act 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 na-
tional security. 
SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than December 31, 2015, the Attorney Gen-
eral shall submit a report to Congress on the programs 
funded by grants awarded under section 2, including on 
matters specified under section 7(b). 
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 
through 2014. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill 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 pro-
grams.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 70 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1741 
[Report No. 111–138] 
A BILL 
To require the Attorney General to make competi-
tive grants to eligible State, tribal, and local 
prosecutors to establish and maintain certain 
protection and witness assistance programs. 
JUNE 8, 2009 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
22:20 Jun 08, 2009
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