H.R. 1741 (111th): Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2010

Introduced:
Mar 26, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Elijah Cummings [D-MD7]
Status:
Died (Passed House)
See Instead:
This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 2647 (112th) on Jul 26, 2011.

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 introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on June 9, 2009 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Mar 26, 2009
Referred to Committee Mar 26, 2009
Reported by Committee May 20, 2009
Passed House Jun 09, 2009
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Jun 09, 2009 5:15 p.m.
Passed 412/11

Cosponsors
13 cosponsors (12D, 1R) (show)
Committees

House Judiciary

Senate Judiciary

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

Full Title

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 programs.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Mar 22, 2010.
10 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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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.

3/22/2010--Reported to Senate amended.
Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2010 - Directs the Attorney General to:
(1) make competitive grants to state, tribal, and local governments to establish or maintain programs to protect or assist witnesses in court proceedings involving homicide, a serious felony or drug offense, or gangs or organized crime;
(2) evaluate grant applicants based on specified criteria, including such government's level of witness intimidation and level of serious crimes;
(3) provide technical assistance to grant applicants for establishing or maintaining a witness protection plan; and
(4) develop and disseminate within one year after development best practice models to assist states and other relevant entities in addressing witness safety, short-term and permanent witness relocation, financial and housing assistance, and other necessary services.
Expresses the sense of Congress that states and relevant entities should use the best practice models developed by the Attorney General to evaluate, improve, and develop witness protection or witness assistance programs.
Requires the Attorney General to:
(1) ensure that grants funds under this Act are equitably distributed throughout the United States and that due consideration is given to applicants of rural and urban communities; and
(2) report to Congress not later than December 31, 2012, on the implementation of this Act and not later than December 31, 2015, on the programs funded by grants awarded by this Act.

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/hr1741.

Background

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a study conducted by the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) found that 36 percent of witnesses in criminal courts in Bronx County, New York, had been directly threatened. The report also indicated that 57 percent of witnesses feared reprisals. CRS goes on to state that witness intimidation and fear of reprisals may lead witnesses to avoid testifying.

In order to protect witnesses in criminal cases, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Marshals Service operates the Witness Security Program. Through the program, The U.S. Marshals Service provides for "the security, health and safety of government witnesses, and their immediate dependents, whose lives are in danger as a result of their testimony against drug traffickers, terrorists, organized crime members and other major criminals." Witnesses in the program and their families generally receive new identities and housing. Since its inception, the U.S. Marshals report that more than 7,500 witnesses and over 9,500 family members have been protected by the program. According to the U.S. Marshals, no Witness Security Program participant, who followed security guidelines, has been harmed while under the active protection the Marshals.

In the 110th Congress, the House passed H.R. 660, the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, which went on to be signed by the President and became public law 110-177. The legislation authorized $100 million between fiscal year 2008 and Fiscal Year 2012 for State, local, and tribal governments to improve their witness protection programs. While the underlying legislation would provide $30 million to States and localities specifically for protection to witnesses in homicides, violent crimes or serious drug offenses, some Members may be concerned that the funding maybe duplicative. Under current law, States and localities are eligible to receive up to $20 million in DOJ witness protection grants. H.R. 1741 does not include a House Report indicating why the additional funding for State and local witness protection grants is needed.

 

Summary

H.R. 1741 would authorize $150 million to establish a new federal grant program to make grants for States, tribes, and local governments to provide protection to witnesses in homicides, violent crimes or serious drug offenses. The grants may be used to pay for all or part of the cost of witness protection.

The bill would require States, tribes, and local governments to submit applications for the grants to the Office of Justice Programs. H.R. 1741 would also require the Attorney General to give priority to grant applications in the District of Columbia or in States with an average murder rate of at least 100 annually during the most recent five-year period.

The legislation would require the U.S. Marshals Service to provide technical assistance to State and local governments that received grants under the program. Each grant recipient would be required to make a report to the AG containing information that evaluates each program established with a grant under the bill. H.R. 1741 would also require the AG to develop best practice models to assist states in addressing issues related to the witness protection program.

The bill would authorize $30 million annually through fiscal year 2014 to carry out the bill.

Cost

According to CBO, H.R. 1741 would cost $100 million over five years, and an additional $50 million fiscal year 2014.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

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

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.)