I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1857 
To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report to Congress serious 
crimes, authorized as well as unauthorized, committed by their confiden-
tial informants. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 3, 2017 
Mr. LYNCH (for himself and Mr. CUMMINGS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report to 
Congress serious crimes, authorized as well as unauthor-
ized, committed by their confidential informants. 
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 ‘‘Confidential Informant 
Accountability Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1 and Sep-
tember 1 of each year, the head of each department that 
contains a law enforcement agency shall, with respect to 
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each law enforcement agency within that Department, 
fully report to the House Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, the House Committee on the Judici-
ary, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs, and the Senate Committee on the 
Judiciary— 
(1) all serious crimes, authorized and unauthor-
ized, committed by informants maintained by the 
law enforcement agency; 
(2) the amounts expended by the law enforce-
ment agency on payments to such informants; and 
(3) the amounts received by the law enforce-
ment agency through the information from or co-
operation by the informant. 
(b) PERIOD COVERED.—Each report due on March 
1 of a year shall cover serious crimes that took place dur-
ing the 6-month period beginning July 1 and ending De-
cember 31 of the preceding year. Each report due on Sep-
tember 1 of a year shall cover serious crimes that took 
place beginning January 1 and ending June 30 of that 
year. 
(c) CONTENTS.— 
(1) REQUIRED.—Each report under subsection 
(a) shall include a description of the total number of 
each type and category of crime; the amount of 
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drugs involved if the crime is a drug crime; the 
amount of money involved if the crime is a theft or 
bribery crime; whether the crime was authorized or 
unauthorized; the State in which each crime took 
place; and any amounts expended from sources other 
than appropriated amounts, including from assets 
seized and forfeited by offenders and any tangible 
benefits, including relocation costs, rent, travel ex-
penses, or other transfers in kind. 
(2) PROHIBITED.—The report shall not contain 
individual informant names, informant control num-
bers, or other personal identification information 
that could reveal the identity of an individual in-
formant. 
(d) ARREST OR CHARGE OF INFORMANT NOT TO AF-
FECT DUTY TO REPORT.—The duty to report crimes 
under this section exists regardless of whether the inform-
ant has or has not been arrested or charged with the re-
portable crime in any jurisdiction. 
(e) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this section limits the 
authority and responsibility of the appropriate committees 
of each House of Congress to obtain such information as 
they may need to carry out their respective functions and 
duties. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
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(1) the term ‘‘department that contains a law 
enforcement agency’’ means the Department of Jus-
tice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the 
Department of the Treasury; 
(2) the term ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug En-
forcement Administration, the United States Secret 
Service, United States Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives; 
(3) the term ‘‘informant’’ means any individual 
who is believed to be providing useful and credible 
information to the law enforcement agency for any 
authorized information collection activity, and from 
whom the law enforcement agency expects or intends 
to obtain additional useful and credible information 
in the future, and whose identity, information, or re-
lationship with the law enforcement agency warrants 
confidential handling; and 
(4) the term ‘‘serious crime’’ means— 
(A) any serious violent felony as that term 
is defined in section 3559(c)(2)(F) of title 18, 
United States Code; 
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(B) any serious drug offense as that term 
is defined in section 3559(c)(2)(H) of title 18, 
United States Code; 
(C) an offense involving the theft of 
$500,000 or greater; or 
(D) an offense consisting of racketeering, 
bribery, child pornography, obstruction of jus-
tice, or perjury, 
that an agent or employee of the relevant law en-
forcement agency has reasonable grounds to believe 
that an informant has committed. 
Æ 
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