[House Report 112-293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-293
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FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACT OF 2011
_______
November 22, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1550]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1550) to establish programs in the Department of Justice
and in the Department of Homeland Security to help States that
have high rates of homicide and other violent crime, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill as amended
do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
The Amendments................................................... 2
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 3
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 5
The Amendments
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Law Enforcement Recruitment
and Retention Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PROGRAM.
(a) Creation of Program.--The Attorney General shall establish a
program within the Department of Justice to address the need to
recruit, assign, and retain Federal law enforcement officers in States
and jurisdictions with a high rate of homicide or other violent crime
as reported pursuant to the Uniform Federal Crime Reporting Act of 1988
(28 U.S.C. 534 note).
(b) Federal Coordinator.--The Attorney General shall designate an
official within the Department of Justice to be the Federal coordinator
of the program established under this section.
(c) Duties of Coordinator.--The Federal coordinator appointed under
this section shall--
(1) consult with the States and units of local government
with a high rate of homicide or other violent crime to
determine how additional Federal law enforcement officers may
assist those States and units of local government; and
(2) coordinate the implementation of the program established
under this section.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
The Attorney General shall establish the program described in
section 2 not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
The Attorney General shall provide a report annually on the
implementation of the program described in section 2 as part of the
report on program performance prepared pursuant to section 4(b) of the
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, as amended (31 U.S.C.
1116). The report required by this section shall describe--
(1) the actions taken by the Attorney General to improve the
recruitment, assignment, and retention of Federal law
enforcement officers in States and jurisdictions with a high
rate of homicide or other violent crime;
(2) any recommendations for additional authorities in law to
improve recruitment and retention of Federal law enforcement
officers; and
(3) the results of the actions described in paragraph (1).
SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF ``STATE''.
In this Act, the term ``State'' means any State of the United States,
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to establish a program in the Department of
Justice to improve recruitment, assignment, and retention of
Federal law enforcement officers in States, territories, and
jurisdictions that have a high rate of homicide or other
violent crime.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 1550, as amended, addresses the problem of high crime
areas of the country by directing the Department of Justice to
establish a program within the Department to consider, in
consultation with State and local governments, the need to
recruit, assign, and retain Federal law enforcement officers in
jurisdictions that experience a high rate of homicides and
other violent crimes. This legislation also provides the
Department of Justice 120 days to implement this program and
directs the Department to report to Congress any actions the
Department has taken to improve the recruitment, assignment,
and retention in high-crime areas, the result of such actions,
and any other recommendations the Department may have. H.R.
1550 does not authorize any additional spending, but instead
directs the Department to consider how its current resources
can be used to address the problem of high crime areas.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Violent crime is continuing a decades-long decline in the
United States. However, there are areas of the country where
homicides and other violent crimes remain a serious problem
and, in some cases, are even on the rise. For example, Puerto
Rico had a homicide rate of 22.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in
2009, as compared to the national average of 5 homicides per
100,000 inhabitants. The crime in these areas of the United
States is often further compounded by the fact that many
Federal law enforcement positions remain unfilled in high-crime
jurisdictions. In 2000, a representative of the Drug
Enforcement Administration testified before the House
Government Reform Committee that ``few personnel from the
Continental United States are willing to accept a transfer to
Puerto Rico.''
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
1550.
Committee Consideration
On July 20, 2011, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R. 1550 favorably reported with an amendment
in the nature of a substitute, by voice vote, a quorum being
present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 1550. The Committee approved by voice vote an amendment in
the nature of a substitute offered by Mr. Pierluisi. The
substitute amendment struck the requirement that a similar
program be established in the Department of Homeland Security,
provided that the Department of Justice has 120 days to
implement the program, and directed the Department of Justice
to report to Congress on its efforts to address the
recruitment, assignment, and retention of law enforcement in
areas with high rates of violent crime.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 1550, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, November 14, 2011.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1550, the
``Federal Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention Act of
2011.''
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
H.R. 1550--Federal Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention Act of
2011.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on
July 20, 2011
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1550 would cost about
$1 million annually from appropriated funds. Enacting the bill
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1550 would direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to
establish a program to improve the recruiting and retention of
Federal law enforcement officers in States with high rates of
violent crime. Based on information from DOJ, we expect the
department would hire a small number of additional staff to
carry out the program. Implementation costs would include
salaries, benefits, and travel expenses.
CBO anticipates that H.R. 1550 would be implemented so as
to increase the number of Federal law enforcement officers
working in States with high rates of violent crime, and that
any increase in the cost to deploy additional law enforcement
officers would be insignificant. If DOJ sought appropriated
funds to increase the overall number of law enforcement
officers, the cost to implement this legislation could be
considerably greater.
H.R. 1550 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
1550 establishes a program within the Department of Justice to
address the need to recruit, assign, and retain Federal law
enforcement officers is jurisdictions that experience a high
rate of homicides and other violent crimes.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 1550 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1: Short Title
Section 1 provides that the short title of H.R. 1550 is the
``Federal Law Enforcement and Recruitment Act of 2011.''
Sec. 2: Department of Justice Program
Section 2 directs the Attorney General to establish, within
the Department of Justice, a program to address the need to
recruit, assign, and retain Federal law enforcement officers in
States and other jurisdictions with a high rate of homicide or
other violent crime (``Program''). This section also directs
the coordinator of the Program to consult with the States and
units of local government on how additional Federal law
enforcement officers could be used.
Sec. 3: Establishment of Program
Section 3 directs the Attorney General to establish the
Program no later than 120 days after enactment.
Sec. 4: Reporting Requirement
Section 4 directs the Department of Justice to report to
Congress on the actions taken under the Program, the results of
such actions, and any additional recommendations for how to
improve the recruitment and retention of Federal law
enforcement officers.
Sec. 5: Definition of ``State''
Section 5 defines the term ``State'' to include any state
of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern
Mariana Islands.