zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Building Bridges and Transforming Resentment and Unfairness to Support and Trust for Municipal Law Enforcement Act of 2014 or the Build TRUST Act of 2014 - Reduces the amount that would otherwise be awarded to a unit of local government under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program: (1) by 75% for any such unit that, during the previous three fiscal years, funded an amount that on average was greater than 18% of its operating budget using revenue generated from collecting fines and other fees related to violations of traffic laws; and (2) by 95% for any such unit for which, during the previous fiscal year, the percentage of individuals who identify as a race who were employees of the law enforcement agency for that unit and the percentage of individuals who identify as that race who live in the jurisdiction such agency serves differ by greater than 30%.

Reduces by 50% the amount that would otherwise be awarded under such Program to a state that did not reduce a subgrant award to a unit of local government in accordance with this Act in the preceding fiscal year.

Requires the Attorney General to reallocate funds withheld from a state or unit of local government pursuant to this Act in accordance with the Program.

Exempts any local governmental unit which certifies that it serves a population of less than 15,000 or to which the Attorney General has granted a waiver for good cause shown based on specified factors, including that: (1) such unit has taken affirmative action to ensure that adequate practices and procedures are in place to increase public trust and confidence in the impartial and equitable administration of justice, and (2) the minority community is equitably represented in the unit's legislative body and executive departments.

Date: 2014-12-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
FPS Improvement Act of 2014 - Assigns responsibility to the Federal Protective Service (FPS) for the protection of federal buildings, grounds, and property and persons on the property. Authorizes FPS to: (1) designate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees with enhanced law enforcement powers for duty in connection with the protection of federal property and persons on the property, (2) authorize protective service guards for the protection of federal buildings and grounds, and (3) assess security charges to owners or tenants of a federal facility protected by FPS that is not in compliance with federal security standards. Requires tenants at federal facilities to maintain a Facility Security Committee.

Establishes the Interagency Security Committee to develop safety and security standards and best practices to mitigate the effects of natural and manmade hazards in federal facilities.

Requires reports on: (1) FPS personnel needs, (2) the feasibility of federalizing the protective service guard workforce, (3) a method for funding FPS, and (4) methods to detect or prevent explosives from entering federal facilities.

Date: 2014-12-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) annually estimate the number of illegal border crossings along the southern U.S. land border, and (2) reduce financial assistance to the government of Mexico by a total of $1,000 for each illegal border crossing from Mexico to the United States during the previous fiscal year.

Authorizes the Secretary to not reduce appropriations for the government of Mexico from the International Military Education and Training Fund, the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Fund, and the fund to carry out nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs and activities.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2013 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to: (1) extend through FY2018 the authorization of appropriations for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program; (2) transfer to the Treasury, no later than January 15, 2016, all previously appropriated funds for such program that are not expended by September 30, 2015; (3) prohibit a state, local government, or Indian tribe from using any funding under another grant program to pay or defer the cost of the matching fund requirement for the grant program; (4) require a grantee to comply with any established requirements for the use of such grants, have a written policy requiring uniformed patrol officers to wear an armor vest or body armor, and use funds for purchasing vests or body armor that meet performance standards established by the Bureau of Justice Assistance; and (5) allow preferential consideration in grant awards to jurisdictions that provide armor vests to law enforcement officers that are uniquely fitted for such officers, including individual female officers.

Expresses the sense of Congress that amounts made available to carry out the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program should be made available through the end of the fiscal year following the one for which the amounts are appropriated and should not be made available until expended by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Date: 2013-05-13
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Stop the Sale of Murderabilia Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a federal or state prison inmate convicted of a crime of violence from knowingly placing in the mail or causing to be delivered in interstate or foreign commerce any property, article, or object. Sets forth exceptions for a mailing or delivery of title to real property, title to motor vehicles, or a security to satisfy debt that is: (1) imposed by law or a court order; or (2) incurred through a contract for legal services, a mortgage on the primary residence of the immediate family of the inmate, the education or medical care of the inmate or a member of the immediate family of the inmate, or life, health, home, or car insurance.

Provides for civil and criminal forfeiture of real or personal property used to commit such a crime or obtained as a result of such crime.

Provides civil remedies, including injunctions, damages, and attorney fees, for persons aggrieved by prisoners using the mail in violation of this Act.

Date: 2013-09-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2014 - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to eliminate a provision of such Act that requires referral of allegations of misconduct involving Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys, investigators, or law enforcement personnel to the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (thus allowing the DOJ Inspector General to investigate such allegations).

Date: 2014-03-13
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Government operations and politics
NSA Internal Watchdog Act - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the President to appoint, with advice and consent of the Senate, the Inspector General of the National Security Agency (NSA). (Currently, the NSA Inspector General is appointed by the NSA Director.)

Directs the Inspector General to include in an annual report to Congress a review of the mechanisms for NSA employees or contractors to submit complaints.

Establishes a General Counsel to the NSA Inspector General, to be appointed by the Inspector General.

 Authorizes the Inspector General, after providing the Attorney General (DOJ) with seven days' advance notice, to subpoena the attendance and testimony of former NSA employees or NSA contractors, former contractors, or former detailees.

Requires the Inspector General to provide Congress with an evaluation of any notice or statement of reasons the Inspector General receives from the Secretary of Defense (DOD) regarding the Secretary's exercise of authority in the interest of national security to prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation.

Directs the Inspector General, in carrying out any audit or investigation of a surveillance or data collection program, to assess the impact of such program on civil rights and liberties.

Requires the Inspector General's reports to Congress to be made available to all Members of Congress.

Directs the Inspector General to audit and report to Congress regarding the effectiveness and use (including improper or illegal use) of NSA surveillance and data collection programs, including programs under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) that authorize: (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to submit applications to the FISA court for an order requiring the production of tangible things (commonly referred to as business records, including books, records, papers, documents, and other items); and (2) the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), with the approval of the FISA court or under exigent circumstances, to authorize the targeting of persons located outside the United States.

Requires such audit to address: (1) the interactions between the NSA and the FISA court, and (2) the process for conducting background investigations of persons for NSA employment or for receiving access to classified information.

Date: 2014-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Building Bridges and Transforming Resentment and Unfairness to Support and Trust for Municipal Law Enforcement Act of 2015 or the Build TRUST Act of 2015

 Reduces the amount that would otherwise be awarded to a unit of local government under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program: (1) by 75% for any such unit that, during the previous three fiscal years, funded an amount that on average was greater than 18% of its operating budget using revenue generated from collecting fines and other fees related to violations of traffic laws; and (2) by 95% for any such unit for which, during the previous fiscal year, the percentage of individuals who identify as a race who were employees of the law enforcement agency for that unit and the percentage of individuals who identify as that race who live in the jurisdiction such agency serves differs by greater than 30%.

Reduces by 50% the amount that would otherwise be awarded under such Program to state that did not reduce a subgrant award to a unit of local government in accordance with this Act in the preceding fiscal year.

Requires the Attorney General to reallocate funds withheld from a state or unit of local government pursuant to this Act in accordance with the Program.

Exempts any local governmental unit which certifies that it serves a population of less than 15,000 or to which the Attorney General has granted a waiver for good cause shown based on specified factors, including that: (1) such unit has taken affirmative action to ensure that adequate practices and procedures are in place to increase public trust and confidence in the impartial and equitable administration of justice, and (2) the minority community is equitably represented in the unit's legislative body and executive departments.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Custodial Interrogation Recording Act 

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Attorney General to make grants to states and local governments for the complete and accurate recording, by both audio and video means, of every custodial interrogation occurring within the state or unit of local government.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Putting Security First in Preclearance Act 

 This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish conditions for commencing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) security screening operations at preclearance facilities outside of the United States. DHS must give Congress 90-days notice before entering into any agreement to commence security screening operations at such a facility.

There shall be no funding either directly or through reimbursement by a foreign government or a foreign person of CBP security screening positions at such facilities.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) Act

Prohibits the use of federal funds for: (1) the position of Public Advocate within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); (2) the position of Deputy Assistant Director of Custody Programs and Community Outreach within ICE; or (3) any other position within ICE whose functions are substantially the same as those assigned to either of these two positions.

Date: 2015-01-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Immigration
Support More Assets, Resources, and Technology on the Border Act of 2015 or the SMART Act of 2015

 Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) take actions to achieve and maintain operational control of the U.S.-Mexico border (defined as a condition in which all illegal border crossers are apprehended and narcotics and other contraband are seized); and (2) report to the Comptroller General on such actions, achievement, and maintenance.

Directs the Comptroller General, within 90 days after such report is submitted, to: (1) consult with state and local officials along such border regarding such operational control; and (2) report on such operational control to specified congressional committees. Requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to vote on a joint resolution on the question of whether such report should be disapproved within 90 days of receiving it or such joint resolution shall be deemed passed. Requires the Comptroller General to submit an annual report on such operational control.

Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to: (1) deploy up to an additional 10,000 members of the National Guard along the U.S.-Mexico border as requested by border states; and (2) provide funds to the governor of a state who submits a state border control activities plan that is approved by the Secretary and that specifies how personnel of the National Guard of such state are to be used in border control activities. Authorizes National Guard personnel to be ordered to carry out border control activities.

Authorizes: (1) the DHS Secretary to deploy smart border technologies if necessary to achieve and maintain such operational control; and (2) the Defense Secretary to transfer specified eligible equipment returned from DOD operations to federal, state, and local agencies, with preference to agencies that will use such equipment primarily to strengthen border security.

Requires the DHS Secretary: (1) if such a joint resolution of disapproval on operational control passes, to appoint an additional 1,500 Border Patrol agents; (2) make grants to sheriffs' departments along the border in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California to hire additional deputies; and (3) establish the biometric entry and exit data system required under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

Authorizes the DHS Secretary to make competitive grants for public-private partnerships that finance equipment and infrastructure to improve the public safety of residents of U.S. rural areas near the border by enhancing access to mobile communications for such persons.

Directs the the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that an individual who is apprehended unlawfully crossing, or attempting to unlawfully cross, the border into the United States is counted only once for purposes of counting border apprehensions.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Emergency management
Rapid DNA Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to issue standards and procedures for using Rapid DNA instruments to analyze DNA samples of criminal offenders.

Rapid DNA instruments carry out a fully automated process to create a DNA analysis from a DNA sample.

DNA samples prepared by criminal justice agencies using Rapid DNA instruments in compliance the FBI-issued standards and procedures may be included in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

(Sec. 3) The bill amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to allow the FBI to waive certain existing requirements if a DNA sample is analyzed using Rapid DNA instruments and the results are included in CODIS.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enter into agreements with certain entities for the CBP to provide customs, agricultural processing, border security, or inspection-related immigration services at federal-owned land, or sea or air ports of entry, subject to payment of a fee to reimburse the CBP for providing such services. The bill prescribes requirements for the termination of CBP services and the imposition of a penalty after notice and demand for payment of fees not timely paid by an entity. The CBP and the General Services Administration may enter into an agreement with an entity to accept donations of: personal property, money, or nonpersonal services for use in the purchase and installation of furniture and other equipment at new or existing sea or air ports of entry or new or existing federal-owned land ports of entry; or real property or money for use in the construction or maintenance of such facilities. The CBP shall establish, and make available to the public, criteria for evaluating a proposal to enter into agreements to accept donations.

CBP and the Government Accountability Office shall report annually to specified congressional committees on CBP fee agreements and donations.

(Sec. 3) Modifies CBP reporting requirements under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to include reporting on reimbursable fee agreements with CBP.

(Sec. 4) The bill amends the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, to repeal:

 CBP authority to enter into reimbursable fee agreements for a period of up to five years, and the partnership pilot program allowing CBP to enter into partnerships with the private sector and government entities at ports of entry for certain CBP services and to accept certain donations. (Sec. 5) The bill amends the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 to permit the CBP to waive certain polygraph examination requirements for certain qualifying applicants for law enforcement positions with CBP.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2015

Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire, train, and assign to duty, by September 30, 2020: (1) 5,000 additional full-time U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to serve on all inspection lanes and enforcement teams at U.S. land ports of entry on the northern and southern borders; and (2) 350 full-time support staff for all U.S. ports of entry.

Requires DHS to: (1) ensure that each CBP officer is equipped with a secure two-way communication and satellite-enabled device that allows CBP officers to communicate between ports of entry and inspection stations and with other law enforcement entities; and (2) establish a program for awarding grants for the purchase of identification and detection equipment and mobile, hand-held, two-way communication devices for state and local law enforcement officers serving on the southern border.

 Authorizes CBP to aid in the enforcement of federal customs, immigration, and agriculture laws by: (1) designing, constructing, and modifying U.S. ports of entry, living quarters for personnel, technology and equipment, and other structures and facilities; (2) acquiring land deemed necessary to carry out the CBP's duties under this Act; and (3) constructing additional ports of entry along the southern and northern borders. Directs CBP to give priority consideration to projects that will substantially reduce commercial and passenger vehicle and pedestrian crossing wait times, increase trade, travel efficiency, and the projected total annual volume, and enhance safety and security, at border facilities at one or more ports of entry on the same border.

Authorizes CBP and the General Services Administration, over a 10-year period, to enter into cost-sharing or reimbursement agreements, or accept donations of real or personal property or nonpersonal services, to facilitate the construction, alteration, operation, or maintenance of a new or existing facility or other infrastructure at a port of entry under their jurisdiction, custody, and control.

Directs DHS to: (1) develop a strategic plan for standardized collection of vehicle wait times at land ports of entry and update it to reflect new practices, timelines, tools, and assessments; (2) develop a standardized model for the allocation of CBP officers and support staff at land ports of entry; and (3) identify and adopt at least two new, outcome-based performance measures that support the trade facilitation goals of CBP.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Jamiel Shaw, II Memorial Act of 2015

 Prohibits the payment of funds to a state or its political subdivisions under any program or activity administered by the Department of Homeland Security unless such state: (1) compiles statistics on each person arrested, charged, convicted of a crime, or incarcerated by such state, including the immigration status and country of origin of such persons and the crimes for which such persons were arrested, charged, convicted, or incarcerated; (2) reports such statistics monthly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and (3) certifies, on a monthly basis, compliance with the requirements of this Act.  Requires each federal agency to compile similar statistics and report on such statistics monthly to the FBI.

Requires the FBI to annually publish all statistics reported under this Act as a separate data collection of its Uniform Crime Reports. Defines "crime" for purposes of this Act.

Date: 2015-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Amends the federal judicial code to add a federal defender representative designated by the Judicial Conference of the United States as a nonvoting member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
ATF Elimination Act

 Rescinds the hiring authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Requires ATF, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to jointly develop and submit a plan for winding up the affairs of ATF that, without compromising core functions, eliminates and reduces duplicative, unnecessary functions or waste.

Requires the FBI to transmit to the General Services Administration a report that specifies the property to be transferred to the FBI pursuant to this Act that the FBI has determined will not be needed.

Abolishes ATF.

Transfers ATF functions relating to the investigation and enforcement of: (1) criminal and regulatory violations of the federal firearms, explosives, and arson laws, and the investigation of violent crime and domestic terrorism to the Attorney General, who shall delegate them to the FBI; and (2) criminal and regulatory violations of the federal alcohol and tobacco smuggling laws to the Attorney General, who shall delegate them to the DEA.

Transfers: (1) the contracts, liabilities, records, property, and other assets and interests associated with such transferred functions to the Attorney General for appropriate allocation; and (2) personnel employed in connection with the transferred functions to the Attorney General.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Transnational Criminal Organization Illicit Spotter Prevention and Elimination Act

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it a crime to: (1) transmit to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents while intending to further a federal crime relating to U.S. immigration; and (2) destroy, alter, or damage any physical or electronic device used by the federal government to control the border or any port of entry.

 Subjects a violator to fine, up to 10 years' imprisonment, or both.

Prohibits the carrying or use of a firearm in an alien smuggling crime.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Immigration
FPS Improvement Act of 2015

 Assigns responsibility to the Federal Protective Service (FPS) for the protection of federal buildings, grounds, and property and persons on the property. Authorizes FPS to: (1) designate Department of Homeland Security employees with enhanced law enforcement powers for duty in connection with the protection of federal property and persons on the property, (2) authorize protective service officers for the protection of federal buildings and grounds, and (3) assess security charges to owners or tenants of a federal facility protected by FPS that is not in compliance with federal security standards. Requires tenants at federal facilities to maintain a Facility Security Committee.

Establishes the Interagency Security Committee to develop safety and security standards and best practices to mitigate the effects of natural and manmade hazards in federal facilities.

Requires reports on: (1) FPS personnel needs, (2) the feasibility of federalizing the protective service officer workforce, (3) a method for funding FPS, and (4) methods to detect or prevent explosives from entering federal facilities.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Customs Training Enhancement Act

 Directs the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish educational seminars at U.S. ports of entry to improve the ability of CBP personnel to classify and appraise articles imported into the United States in accordance with U.S. customs laws, including their ability to identify and prevent the mislabeling and transshipment of such articles.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

This bill amends the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 to establish a general effective date for the pay provisions of such Act as the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2016, except that the provision in such Act relating to administering elections and making advance assignments to a regular tour of duty shall be applicable before such effective date to the extent deemed necessary by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM is authorized to issue regulations as necessary prior to such effective date.

Date: 2015-05-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Commercial Remote Sensing Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Commerce to report annually to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on: (1) the implementation of its authority to license private entities to operate private remote sensing space systems; (2) all notifications and information provided to Commerce by licensees; and (3) all administrative actions taken to adjust penalties for violations of licensing requirements, issue subpoenas, and seize by warrant material necessary to investigate violations of licensing requirements.

(Sec. 3) Commerce must also report to such Committees on statutory updates necessary to protect national security, privacy (which is not to be taken as altering any condition or standards for licensing), and the U.S. industrial base, and to reflect the current state of the art of remote sensing systems, instruments, or technologies.

Date: 2015-05-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Correction Act

 Prohibits construing either the national monument designation or any management plan in furtherance of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, New Mexico (designated on May 21, 2014) as:

 preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from undertaking law enforcement and border security activities within the areas designated as the Monument, including the ability to use motorized vehicles within it; limiting the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding among DHS, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture regarding cooperative national security and counterterrorism efforts on federal land along U.S. borders; preventing DHS from conducting low-level overflights over the Monument for law enforcement and border security purposes; or preventing Interior from allowing within the Monument the installation and maintenance of communication or surveillance infrastructure necessary for law enforcement or border security activities. Makes the route excluded from the Potrillo Mountains, identified as "Restricted--Administrative Access" on the map entitled "Potrillo Mountains Complex," dated December 10, 2013, available for administrative and law enforcement uses, including border security activities.

Date: 2015-05-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

State Licensing Efficiency Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) Amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to direct the Attorney General to provide appropriate state officials responsible for regulating financial service providers (in addition to state officials responsible for regulating state-licensed loan originators) with access to criminal history information to the extent that criminal history background checks are required under state law for the licensing of such parties.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on September 28, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Border Jobs for Veterans Act of 2015

(Sec. 3) Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to consider the expedited hiring of qualified candidates who have the ability to perform the essential functions of the position of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer and who are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment.

(Sec. 4) Requires DHS to enhance DHS efforts to recruit members of the Armed Forces who are separating from military service to serve as CBP officers. Requires such enhanced recruiting efforts to:

 include CBP officer opportunities in relevant job assistance efforts under the Transition Assistance Program; place CBP officials or other relevant DHS officials at recruiting events and jobs fairs involving separating members of the Armed Forces; provide opportunities for local CBP field offices to partner with military bases in the region; include outreach efforts to educate members of the Armed Forces with qualifications that are transferable to CBP officer requirements; identify shared activities and opportunities for reciprocity related to steps in hiring CBP officers with the goal of minimizing the time required to hire qualified applicants; ensure the streamlined interagency transfer of relevant background investigations and security clearances; and include other elements to ensure that separating members of the Armed Forces are aware of opportunities to fill vacant CBP officer positions. (Sec. 5) Directs DHS to report to Congress on DHS efforts to hire members of the Armed Forces who are separating from military service as CBP officers.

Date: 2015-06-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Emergency management
Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to analyze existing law enforcement accreditation standards, recommend additional areas for the development of national standards, recommend the adoption of additional standards, and adopt policies and procedures to encourage accreditation of law enforcement agencies. It authorizes DOJ to make grants to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to obtain accreditation from certified organizations.

The legislation authorizes DOJ to make grants to state, local, or tribal governments, public and private entities, or consortia to study law enforcement agency management and operations standards and to develop pilot programs to address law enforcement misconduct.

DOJ must study the prevalence and effect of any law, rule, or procedure that allows a law enforcement officer to delay the investigation and prosecution of law enforcement misconduct.

The legislation establishes the Task Force on Law Enforcement Oversight within DOJ to coordinate the detection and referral of complaints of alleged law enforcement misconduct.

Law enforcement agencies must report data regarding practices on traffic violation stops, pedestrian stops, frisk and body searches, and use of deadly force. Data must include the number of incidents of each practice broken down by race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the officers, employees, and members of the public involved in the practice.

DOJ must create a medallion for distribution to survivors of each law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty and memorialized on the wall of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

Date: 2015-06-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Right to Counsel and Taxpayer Protection Act 

This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to make the provision that prohibits law enforcement agencies from engaging in patterns or practices of conduct that violate constitutional rights related to the administration of juvenile justice applicable to adults as well as juveniles.

Date: 2015-07-07
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Confidential Informant Accountability Act of 2015

 Directs the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury to report biannually to Congress on: (1) all serious crimes, authorized and unauthorized, committed by informants maintained by their respective law enforcement agencies (i.e., the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives); and (2) the amounts expended by each of such agencies on payments to such informants.

Defines a "serious crime" as any serious violent felony or drug offense or any offense of racketeering, bribery, child pornography, obstruction of justice, or perjury that an agent or employee of the relevant law enforcement agency has reasonable grounds to believe an informant has committed.

Date: 2015-07-08
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Ensuring Congressional Oversight of Immigration Act

This bill terminates the authority exercised by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) two years after enactment of this Act, unless extended by legislation.

No funds, fees, or resources available to USCIS may be used to implement specified immigration-related memoranda from the President, DHS, USCIS, or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Immigration
Border Enforcement Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act of 2015

Establishes: (1) the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Commission, and (2) a northern border subcommittee and a southern border subcommittee within the Commission.

Requires the Commission and the subcommittees to: (1) recommend border enforcement policy improvements; (2) evaluate policies of federal agencies operating along the borders to protect due process and human rights of border residents and visitors, protect land owner private property rights, and reduce the number of migrant deaths; (3) recommend safety improvements for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel; and (4) evaluate training and the extent to which CBP supervisory and management personnel practices encourage workforce development and promote field safety.

Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to rename the position of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the Ombudsman for Border and Immigration Related Concerns. Revises related function and administrative provisions, including requiring the Ombudsman to establish a Border Community Liaison Office in each Border Patrol sector on the northern and southern borders.

Sets forth specified training and continuing education requirements for CBP personnel.

Directs DHS to submit to Congress an assessment of current guidelines for managing ports of entry under DHS control.

 Directs: (1) CBP to report to Congress regarding deaths occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border, and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review such report.

Directs: (1) GAO to examine the extent to which CBP has clarified use of force policies, and (2) DHS to require CBP to implement any recommendations contained in such examination.

Date: 2015-09-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Immigration
This bill provides $135 million in FY2016 emergency appropriations for the construction of a new courthouse for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The bill designates the funds as an emergency requirement, which exempts the funds from limits on discretionary spending and other budget enforcement rules.

The construction of the courthouse must include a real property exchange between the city of San Antonio, Texas, and the General Services Administration (GSA) involving: (1) federally owned land including the Wood Courthouse and Spears Judicial Training Center, and (2) city-owned land commonly known as the San Antonio Police Headquarters Site.

Within six months of enactment of this bill, the GSA must provide a progress report to Congress.

Date: 2015-09-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Help Ensure Legal Detainers Act or the HELD Act

This bill prohibits the use of federal funds by a state or local subdivision that has in effect a law, policy or procedure that prevents or impedes: (1) a timely response to a request by the Department of Homeland Security for information about an alien in custody, including the alien's estimated release date; or (2) compliance with a detainer request.

Date: 2015-10-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Protecting Individuals From Mass Aerial Surveillance Act of 2015

This bill prohibits a federal entity from using unmanned aircraft or other mobile aerial-view devices (MAVDs) to: (1) surveil property, persons, or their effects; or (2) gather evidence pertaining to known or suspected criminal conduct, or conduct that violates a law or regulation.

Exceptions allow MAVDs to be used by federal entities to:

 surveil national borders or national waters to prevent or deter illegal entry of persons or illegal substances; prevent imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to a specific individual, counter an imminent risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization, prevent imminent destruction of evidence, or counter an imminent or actual escape of a criminal or terrorist suspect; monitor or research environmental, geologic, or weather-related damage and events, including forest fires, erosion, floods, wildlife, habitats, or illegal vegetation on public lands; or acquire information about an individual who consents to the use of an MAVD. Law enforcement officials or agencies may use an MAVD to surveil specific property, persons, or their effects pursuant to a search and seizure warrant.

The bill: (1) prohibits a federal entity actor from making an intentional effort to identify an individual from, or associate an individual with, the information collected under certain exceptions to the prohibition on the use of MAVDs; and (2) bars disclosure of collected information except to another federal entity or state, tribal, or local government agency that agrees to be bound by the restrictions in this Act. Such identification and disclosure restrictions shall not apply if there is probable cause that the information collected is evidence of specific criminal activity and a warrant is obtained.

Federal entities are prohibited from: (1) soliciting or awarding contracts to surveil by MAVD for a federal entity, unless the federal entity has existing authority for such surveillance; or (2) purchasing information obtained from MAVD surveillance by a nonfederal entity if such information contains personal information, except with the consent of the affected persons.

This Act shall not be construed to preempt any state law regarding the use of MAVDs exclusively within the borders of that state.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Secure Fence Restoration Act of 2015

This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to construction of border fencing and road improvements to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to complete the required 700-mile southwest border fencing and priority-area fencing by December 31, 2017.

The Secure Fence Act of 2006 is amended to direct DHS, in consultation with state and local officials along the U.S.-Mexico border, to achieve operational control over U.S. international land and maritime borders by December 31, 2017.

National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act

Neither the Department of the Interior nor the Department of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activities on federal land under their respective jurisdictions within 100 miles of an international land border to:

 execute search and rescue operations; and prevent unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband through such border. CBP shall have access to such lands to conduct: (1) road and barrier construction and maintenance, (2) vehicular patrols, (3) surveillance activities, and (4) deployment of temporary tactical infrastructure.

Date: 2015-11-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Immigration
Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2015

 This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award competitive matching grants to state, local, and tribal governments to establish or maintain witness protection programs in cases related to: (1) a homicide, serious violent felony, or serious drug offense; or (2) gangs or organized crime.

DOJ must evaluate grant applications based on certain criteria, including the prevalence of witness intimidation, the presence of organized crime, and the per capita number of homicides, violent felonies, or serious drug offenses.

 The bill also requires DOJ to: (1) consider urban and rural applicants and ensure equitable geographic distribution of grant awards; and (2) develop and disseminate best practice models to help state, local, and tribal governments address witness protection and assistance issues.

Date: 2015-12-09
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
End of Debtor's Prison Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to prohibit the Department of Justice from allocating Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program funding to a state or local government that has a contract with a person (e.g., a private probation company) who: (1) collects unpaid debt (i.e., state- or court-imposed fines or fees) from an individual placed on probation for failing to pay such debt; and (2) charges separate fees (e.g., monthly fees) to the probationer with respect to the collection.

Date: 2016-01-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reimburse state and local law enforcement agencies for costs associated with the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon.

DOJ may file a civil action against an armed occupation participant to recover reimbursement costs.

Date: 2016-02-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Promoting Travel, Commerce, and National Security Act of 2016

This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow the United States to prosecute certain U.S. employees who engage in conduct in Canada that would constitute a federal criminal offense if the conduct had occurred in the United States. This bill applies to employees, contractors, and grantees of a U.S. department or agency other than the Department of Defense who are stationed in Canada pursuant to a border security initiative.

Date: 2016-03-01
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Stop Swatting in Our Schools Act of 2016

This bill directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation to create a task force to combat swatting.

It defines swatting as an activity that uses the mail, telephone, or another instrument of interstate or foreign commerce to willfully make a threat or maliciously and knowingly convey false information with the intent to trigger an emergency law enforcement response.

Date: 2016-03-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
DUI Reporting Act of 2016

This bill requires a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to enact a law or policy to ensure that law enforcement agencies report arrests involving driving under the influence to the National Crime Information Center. The Department of Justice (DOJ) must reduce by up to 20% the JAG allocation of a state or local government that fails to comply.

Date: 2016-05-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Counterterrorism Enhancement Act of 2016

This bill authorizes additional FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Justice for:

 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for personnel, training, and equipment to counter terrorism; the Bureau of Justice Programs, for a Violence Against Law Enforcement Officer Resilience and Survivability (i.e., VALOR) initiative; the Civil Rights Division; and the Community Relations Service. Additionally, this bill amends the federal criminal code to revise the prohibition on transferring a firearm knowing that the firearm will be used to commit a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. Specifically, it broadens the scope of the prohibition to bar the transfer or receipt of a firearm knowing or reasonably believing that the firearm will be used to commit a crime of violence, a drug trafficking crime, or a federal crime of terrorism. It increases from 10 to 15 years the maximum prison term for a violator.

Date: 2016-07-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Agencies)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement