H.R. 1299 (111th): United States Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act of 2009

Introduced:
Mar 04, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Robert Brady [D-PA1]
Status:
Signed by the President
Slip Law:
This bill became Pub.L. 111-145.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on March 4, 2010.

Progress
Introduced Mar 04, 2009
Referred to Committee Mar 04, 2009
Reported by Committee Mar 25, 2009
Passed House Mar 31, 2009
Passed Senate with Changes Oct 29, 2009
Signed by the President Mar 04, 2010
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Mar 31, 2009 4:42 p.m.
Passed 416/1

On the Cloture Motion H.R. 1299
Feb 25, 2010 7:51 p.m.
Cloture Motion Agreed to 76/20

On the Motion (DeMint Motion to Suspend Rule XXII)
Feb 25, 2010 8:20 p.m.
Motion Rejected 38/58

On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 1299)
Feb 25, 2010 8:35 p.m.
Motion Agreed to 78/18

Cosponsors
2 cosponsors (1R, 1D) (show)
Committees

House Homeland Security

House House Administration

Senate Rules and Administration

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To make technical corrections to the laws affecting certain administrative authorities of the United States Capitol Police, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jan 01, 2010.
17 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

3/4/2010.
Section 2 -
Makes technical amendments to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001 with respect to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Capitol Police. Requires appointment of the CAO without regard to political affiliation.
Repeals requirements that the Comptroller General be involved in the process of hiring and evaluating the CAO. Authorizes the Chief of the Capitol Police to:
(1) suspend with or without pay, and to discipline, employees; and
(2) terminate an officer or employee after notifying and obtaining the approval of the Capitol Police Board. Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of:
(1) 2004 to grant legal representation authority to the Employment Counsel to the Chief of Police (current law grants such authority to the Employment Counsel of the United States Capitol Police Board); and
(2) 2005 and 2008 to require advance notification of the House and Senate Administration (as well as Appropriation) Committees regarding the deployment of an officer outside the areas of jurisdiction of the Capitol Police or advance payments for subscription services.
Section 3 -
Establishes a General Counsel to the Chief of Police and the U.S. Capitol Police, who shall be appointed by the Chief (after consultation with the Capitol Police Board) without regard to political affiliation.
Section 5 -
Prohibits lump sum payments to terminated U.S. Capitol Police officers or employees for unused compensatory time, except as permitted under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.
Authorizes the Chief of Police to provide overtime compensation in the form of additional pay or compensatory time off for officers and employees exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 if:
(1) there are special circumstances;
(2) the Chief has established a monetary value for the work; and
(3) the sum of the total compensation paid for the overtime work and the total regular compensation paid with respect to the pay period involved is limited to the cap on the aggregate sum of annual compensation that may be paid during that year, as allocated on a per pay period basis consistent with the Capitol Police Board's premium pay regulations.
Section 6 -
Repeals provisions requiring U.S. Capitol Police officers to purchase their own uniforms.
Section 7 -
Expands the definition, for purposes of provisions regarding federal government organization and employees, of: (1) "congressional employee" to include an employee of the U.S. Capitol Police; and (2) "agency in the legislative branch" to include the U.S. Capitol Police. Includes the U.S. Capitol Police within the scope of provisions pertaining to: (1) dual pay from more than one position; and (2) fees for jury and witness service.
Section 8 -
Grants the Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate the same law enforcement authority, including the authority to carry firearms, as a member of the U.S. Capitol Police, provided that they have the following qualifications:
(1) a minimum of five years experience as a law enforcement officer before beginning service as Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate;
(2) current certification in the use of firearms by the appropriate federal law enforcement entity or an equivalent nonfederal entity; and
(3) any other firearms qualification required for members of the U.S. Capitol Police.
Section 9 -
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as an independent nonprofit corporation.
Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities.
Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, counter and correct misperceptions regarding U.S. entry policy, and promote U.S. travel.
Requires the Corporation to develop and maintain a publicly accessible website.
Requires the Corporation to establish annual objectives and an annual marketing plan and to submit an annual Corporation activities report to Congress. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund and requires non-federal matching funds.
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require (under current law, authorize) the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish and collect a fee for the use of an electronic data sharing system concerning the admissibility of certain aliens into the United States that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering such system.
Terminates such fee following FY2014. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry represented on the Board of Directors of the Corporation. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to establish in the Department of Commerce the Office of Travel Promotion, to be headed by a Director. Requires that the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries expand its research and development activities to promote international travel to the United States. Authorizes appropriations.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr1299.

Background

This legislation is similar to another bill (H.R. 5972) which was passed by the House on June 4, 2008, by voice vote.  The Senate never considered that bill.

The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) was founded in 1828.  The force was charged with keeping Members of Congress safe and protecting the Capitol building.  Over the years, the jurisdiction of the USCP has grown and the size of the force has greatly increased.  Today's Capitol Police are charged with keeping the Capitol safe from terrorist attacks as well as other threats that emerge.  There are currently about 1,600 Capitol Police employees under the direction of Chief of Police Philip Morse.

 

Summary

H.R. 1299 makes amendments to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 2001. The bill requires the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Capitol Police to be hired without regard to political affiliation. Additionally, the Comptroller General would not need to be involved in the hiring of the CAO as is required under current law.

H.R. 1299 also clarifies administrative authorities of the Capitol Police CAO regarding pay scales, overtime compensation requirements, and certain other policies. It requires the CAO to give notice to Congress prior to hires, promotions and terminations, as well as before creating new positions or reorganizing current positions.

The bill also establishes a General Counsel to the Chief of Police and the U.S. Capitol Police. Finally, the bill repeals several obsolete provisions of Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 2001, such as requiring police officers to purchase their own uniforms.

 

Cost

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet produced a cost estimate for H.R. 1299. However, CBO estimated that last year's bill would have no impact on discretionary spending, direct spending, or revenues.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Statutes at Large

The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.

  • 18 Stat. 345
  • 32 Stat. 124
  • 34 Stat. 1365
  • 56 Stat. 343
  • 57 Stat. 230
  • 85 Stat. 130
  • 85 Stat. 636
  • 117 Stat. 359
  • 117 Stat. 368