‘Start Of A New Era Of Oversight For The FBI
And The Justice Department’

Senate Clears DOJ Bill,
Sending To President’s Desk
The 1^st New Justice Department Charter
In More Than Two Decades 

Reaction Of Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy To Final Senate Passage: 

“A new era of oversight begins now with this new charter for the Justice Department.  The Senate and House Judiciary Committees are taking active new roles in setting the priorities and monitoring the operations of the Department of Justice, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, and this bill will help our oversight duties in many ways.  The fight against terrorism makes constructive oversight more important than ever before.  Chairman Sensenbrenner has been a superb partner in this effort, and I commend him and all the members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees for the hard work that went into producing the first revised charter for the Justice Department in more than two decades.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF CONFERENCE REPORT
ON “THE 21^st CENTURY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT,” H.R. 2215

(Thurs., Oct. 3) – The Senate, by voice vote, late Thursday afternoon passed what will be the first Justice Department authorization bill to become law in more than two decades. Congress last authorized spending for the entire Department of Justice in 1979, with extensions in 1980 and 1981. On Sept. 26, 2002, the House of Representatives passed the conference report on H.R. 2215 (H. Report 107-685) by a vote of 400-4.  The Senate invoked cloture on the bill earlier Thursday in a vote of 93 to 5.  The bill includes elements of the FBI Reform Act, produced by the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of the FBI oversight hearing series launched by Chairman Patrick Leahy in July 2001– the first comprehensive FBI oversight hearings in two decades.  

COMBATING TERRORISM

Border Security: Fortifies national border security by authorizing more than $4 billion for the administration and enforcement of the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, and alien registration. More than $3.2 billion of this amount will be allotted to the national Border Patrol.

Domestic Preparedness: Authorizes funding for Centers for Domestic Preparedness in Alabama, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Nevada, Vermont and Pennsylvania, and adds additional uses for grants from the Office of Domestic Preparedness to support state and local law enforcement agencies.

International Convention for the Suppression of Financing Terrorism: Improves implementation of a treaty banning terrorist financing.

IMPROVING LAW ENFORCEMENT

FBI Reform Act: Includes provisions from the Leahy-Grassley “FBI Reform Act,” S.1974, to codify the authority of the DOJ Inspector General to investigate allegations of misconduct by FBI employees, require a 10-point plan to push the FBI to update its computer system, require a report addressing the issue of “double counting” of case statistics by the FBI, to implement the security reforms recommended by the Webster Commission, and to improve the FBI Police.

FBI Agent Danger Pay: Provides special danger pay allowances to FBI agents in hazardous duty locations outside the United States.

Law Enforcement Tribute Act: Includes the Carnahan-Leahy-Schumer “Law Enforcement Tribute Act,” S. 2179, authorizing grants to States, local governments and Indian tribes for memorials to honor men and women who were killed or disabled while serving as law enforcement or public safety officers.

Criminal Law Improvements: Includes criminal law improvements from the Leahy-Hatch “Judicial Improvement and Integrity Act,” S.1315, to help protect witnesses who provide information on criminal activity to law enforcement officials and eliminate loopholes that have been used by defendants to avoid serving prison terms imposed by the court or further prosecution if a plea agreement is vacated.

Carnivore: Includes reporting requirement by the Attorney General and FBI on use of the DCS 1000 (Carnivore).

State and Local Support: Amends the Paul Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act to permit local crime labs to receive grants and authorizes the Attorney General to make discretionary grants to any State or locality to enhance forensic science capabilities.

Body Armor: Includes the Feinstein-Sessions-Carnahan-Durbin “James Guelff and Chris McCurley Body Armor Act,” S.166, to provide appropriate sentencing enhancements when defendants use body armor in crimes of violence or drug trafficking crimes.

Antitrust: Establishes the Antitrust Modernization Commission and makes technical corrections to the antitrust laws.

PREVENTING CRIME

Violence Against Women Office: Establishes a separate and independent Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) within the Justice Department, similar to S.570, introduced by Senator Biden, with 22 cosponsors, and to S.161, introduced by Senator Wellstone, with 14 cosponsors.

Boys and Girls Clubs: Authorizes funding for the critically important work of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, allowing for the establishment of 1,200 additional Clubs across the Nation. This will bring the number of Clubs to nearly 4,000, serving nearly 6 million young people across America.

Crime-Free Rural States Grants: Creates and authorizes $30 million for the Crime-Free Rural States program to make grants to rural States to help local communities prevent and reduce crime, violence, and substance abuse.

Mental Illness: Requires study and report on recidivism of offenders with mental illness who are released from prison or jail and the number of such offenders who qualify for Medicaid, SSI, or SSDI.

SCAAP: Reauthorizes the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program through FY 2004.

FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE

Includes several steps from the Hatch-Leahy-Biden-Feinstein “Drug Abuse Education, Prevention and Treatment Act,” S.304, that will move federal anti-drug policy toward a more balanced approach that includes added attention to prevention and treatment. Provisions authorize funding for following programs:

Drug Courts: Authorizes $172 million over the next three fiscal years to support State and local adult and juvenile drug courts, which provide treatment as an alternative to jail for nonviolent offenders who stay off of drugs.

Drug-Free Prisons: Authorizes the use of Federal funds for jail-based substance abuse programs, which attempt to reduce recidivism by reducing drug dependency among prisoners.

Re-entry Programs: Establishes a Federal demonstration project to reduce recidivism by recently-released offenders, and authorizes funding to assist similar State projects.

DEA Police Training: Authorizes funding for Drug Enforcement Administration police training in South and Central Asia to reduce the supply of drugs entering the United States.

IMPROVING JUVENILE JUSTICE

Juvenile Justice: Reauthorizes the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and preserves the core protections that ensure juvenile delinquents are dealt with fairly but firmly. Similar to the Leahy-Hatch-Kennedy-Landrieu-Daschle “Children's Confinement Conditions Improvement Act,” S. 1174 and the Biden-Kohl-Reed-Landrieu-Daschle “Juvenile Crime Prevention and Control Act,” S.1165.

ENHANCING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION

Madrid Protocol: Includes the Leahy-Hatch “Madrid Protocol Implementation Act,” S. 407/ H.R. 741, to implement the “Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks,” and provide “one stop” international trademark registration – a process available only to signatory countries to the Protocol. This would benefit American businesses and companies who need to protect their trademarks as they sell their goods and services in international markets, particularly over the Internet.

Distance Learning: Includes the Hatch-Leahy-Johnson-Grassley-Cantwell “Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act,” S. 487, to clarify the educational use exemption in the Copyright law and allow educators to use the same rich material in distance learning over the Internet that they are able to use in face-to-face classroom instruction.

PTO Authorization and Modernization: Includes provisions of the Leahy-Hatch-Reid-Bennett-Cantwell-Carper “Patent and Trademark Office Authorization Act,” S. 1754, and the Hatch-Leahy “Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act,” S. 320, to re-authorize the Patent and Trademark Office and help make it a more autonomous and efficient agency. The legislation would also make improvements to ensure the fairness of re-examination procedures for patents.

Enhanced Enforcement of IP Laws: Includes authorization of not less than $10,000,000 to augment the investigation and prosecution of intellectual property crimes, including software counterfeiting crimes and crimes identified in the Leahy-Ashcroft-Kyl “No Electronic Theft (NET) Act,” (P. L. 105-147).

STRENGTHENING THE JUDICIARY

Additional Judicial Positions: Authorizes eight new permanent judgeships in: Southern District S.D.) California (5), W. D. of Texas (2), and W. D. of North Carolina (1); converts four temporary judgeships to permanent judgeships, one each in: C. D. of Illinois, the S. D. of Illinois, the N. D. of New York, and the E. D. of Virginia; creates seven new temporary judgeships, one each in the N. D. of Alabama, the D. of Arizona, the C. D. of California, the S. D. of Florida, the D. of New Mexico, the W. D. of North Carolina, and the E. D. of Texas; and extends the temporary judgeship in the N. D. of Ohio for five years.

Improved Accountability: Includes Leahy-Thompson AJudicial Improvements Act,@ S.2713, to codify and improve judicial disciplinary procedures.

Protecting Judges from Harm: Includes the Smith-Leahy AFederal Judiciary Protection Act,@ S.1099, to increase penalties for a variety of crimes committed against judges, law enforcement officers, or other officials, including assault, intimidation, and actual or attempted influencing, impeding, or retaliating.

IMPROVING CIVIL JUSTICE

Motor Vehicle Franchise Fairness: Prohibits mandatory binding arbitration in a motor vehicle franchise contract between manufacturers and automobile dealers, to the same effect as the Hatch-Feingold-Leahy-Grassley AMotor Vehicle Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act,@ S.1140, which has more than 60 cosponsors.

Radiation Exposure Compensation Act: Expands eligibility for compensation for injured uranium miners, mill workers, and ore transporters, and streamlines application process for claimants to prove eligibility. Similar to legislation supported by Senators Daschle, Hatch and Johnson.

Antitrust Technical Corrections Act: Includes improvements to the Clayton Act and other anti-trust laws.

IMPROVING IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES

J-1 Visa Waiver: Includes reauthorization of the J-1 visa waiver program, which allows foreign doctors who are educated in the United States to remain here if they will practice in underserved areas. The language is similar to S. 2674, introduced by Senators Conrad and Brownback.

H-1B Visas: Allows extension of H-1B status for aliens who file a labor certification more than 365 days before the end of their sixth year, due to the lengthy processing times at the Department of Labor.

Help to Children: Authorizes naturalization on behalf of a child by the child's grandparent or legal guardian, if the parent who otherwise would be authorized to submit such application is deceased.

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