The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“DEBBIE SMITH ACT OF 2019” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S7149-S7150 on Dec. 18, 2019.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DEBBIE SMITH ACT OF 2019
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am delighted that we last week reached a compromise enabling Congress to send another 5-year reauthorization of the Debbie Smith Act to the President's desk this week. Both Chambers' adoption of that compromise, which passed the Senate by voice vote last night, with my support, signals Congress's continued support for the DNA Backlog and Capacity Enhancement Program.
Earlier this year, I called for reforms to the grant program that the Debbie Smith Act established. These reforms, suggested this year by the Government Accountability Office, would require both that the Justice Department articulate measurable, program-wide goals and that the National Institute of Justice take additional steps to prevent lobbying-related conflicts of interest. They would not resolve every issue with this grant program, but I believe the implementation of such reforms would substantially strengthen the program. I also advocated for reforms, which are included in the final legislation, that ensure the analysis of untested DNA in sexual assault cases is accorded higher priority under this program.
As mentioned earlier this week, I have called on the Attorney General to implement several of my proposed reforms through administrative action. I thank the Attorney General for committing to do so, in the attached letter dated December 11, 2019. My letter to the Attorney General on this subject, dated December 9, 2019, also is attached, and I ask unanimous consent that both letters be printed in the Congressional Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Legislative Affairs,
Washington, DC, December 11, 2019.Hon. Charles E. Grassley,Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance,U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.Hon. John Cornyn,U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Grassley and Senator Cornyn: This responds to your letter to the Attorney General dated December 9, 2019, regarding the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction
(CEBR) Program. We write to assure you that the Department of Justice places a high priority on the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) reports and recommendations. The recommendations from the 2019 GAO report regarding the CEBR program are being addressed by the Office of Justice Programs, and specifically, by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
In particular, NIJ concurs with the recommendations in the 2019 GAO report regarding performance measures. To create and implement appropriate and meaningful performance measures NIJ has: conducted an in-depth analysis of currently available program performance data to identify information gaps; made corresponding modifications to program performance measures to address these gaps; aligned its performance measures with consistently articulated program goals and permitted program activities; clearly delineated between measures intended to capture the state of DNA backlog and laboratory throughout, and those measures intended to gauge grant program impact; made clarifications to promote consistency in grant recipient data reporting; augmented its measures to efficiently capture the level of DNA funding used for outsourcing DNA sample analysis (which accounted for approximately only 10 percent of program costs for FY 2015 award recipients).
Consistent with the recommendations in the GAO report, NIJ will communicate enhancements to DNA CEBR program measures starting in calendar year 2020 and continuing through 2020. This will occur in advance of updated performance measures that will appear in the FY 2021 DNA CEBR Program solicitation. Grant recipients will be required to report against the specific articulated updated measures thereafter.
The 2019 GAO report expressed concern regarding lobbying disclosure certifications and a lack of controls to follow-up with grantees to help ensure they are meeting statutory requirements. As of February 2, 2019, all entities registering for federal awards in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) are required to review the Financial Assistance Representations and Certifications required by statutes or regulations in accordance with guidance under Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations. SAM.gov registration question 8.L. references compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. Under this question, the registrant must attest as follows:
I have read each of the certifications and representations presented on this page. By submitting this certification, I,
, am attesting to the accuracy of the certification and representations contained herein. I understand that I may be subject to criminal prosecution under Section 1001, Title 18 of the United States Code or civil liability under the False Claims Act if I misrepresent by providing false, fictitious, or fraudulent information to the U.S. Government.
In addition, OJP plans to send annual reminders to all OJP vendors with open active awards reminding them of the disclosure requirements under the Lobbying Disclosure Act along with instructions on how to submit the disclosures.
Finally, regarding GAO's concerns regarding controls for conflict of interest and lobbying, OJP has historically followed Justice Management Division procedures. However, OJP did not have these procedures reduced to writing, as acknowledged by GAO. OJP has memorialized the procedures in writing, which the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General has approved. The procedures are in process for implementation.
It is OJP's intent, as evidenced by the work already completed and the plan moving forward, to comply with the 2019 GAO report. We hope this information is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact this office if we may provide additional assistance regarding this or any other matter.
Sincerely,
Stephen E. Boyd,Assistant Attorney General.
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Hon. William P. Barr,Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice,Washington, DC.
Dear Attorney General Barr: We are writing to urge your immediate adoption of a government watchdog agency's recommendations respecting a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grant program that makes resources available for criminal laboratories across the country to process DNA evidence collected from crime scenes and criminal offenders. We also request that you commit to implement specific and measurable goals for this program, known as the ``DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program'' (CEBR), by the end of the year.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) repeatedly has faulted DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for neglecting to articulate, in clear, specific, and measurable terms, program-wide goals for this formula grants program, originally authorized by Congress under the Debbie Smith Act. The CEBR program, which has received roughly $1.5 billion in congressional appropriations since its inception 15 years ago, has been the subject of two critical GAO reports, one in 2013 and another this year.
As stated by GAO in a 2019 report on this subject:
``[T]he Office of Justice Programs (OJP)--the primary grant-making arm of the Department of Justice--has not consistently documented program-wide goals for its DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction grant program
(CEBR). For instance, OJP has documented different meanings of ``capacity enhancement.'' Additionally, CEBR performance measures do not fully reflect selected attributes of successful performance measures, such as having measurable targets. These issues hinder OJP's ability to assess program results.''
This is not a new concern: GAO reported a half dozen years ago that DOJ was not doing enough to assess the results of the CEBR program. As stated in a 2013 report by the Comptroller General: ``NIJ has a process in place to determine DNA and forensic program funding priorities, but its decisions regarding these priorities are not clearly documented.'' GAO noted that NIJ was unable to articulate its rationale for how funding priorities are determined, and
``[w]ithout a clearly documented process that demonstrates the rationale for NIJ's funding priorities, there is limited transparency regarding how and why the agency is allocating its funding.'' In 2018, a GAO spokesperson testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that we lack the tools necessary to assess whether the CEBR program is working:
Concerns regarding the process for identifying lobbying-related conflicts of interest were reported by the Comptroller General in the 2019 report on the CEBR program. This 2019 report states that ``OJP has not properly designed all controls related to selected requirements for conflicts of interest and lobbying.'' Because DOJ's Office of Inspector General also identified conflicts of interest with NIJ grant programs as early as 2009, it is imperative that the Office of Justice Programs immediately establish all appropriate controls necessary to eliminate such conflicts, as recommended by the Government Accountability Office in the report entitled, `DNA Evidence: DOJ Should Improve Performance Measurement and Properly Design controls for Nationwide Grant Program' (GAO-19-216).
We also request that you give your commitment, prior to the end of this calendar year, to implement three steps, based on the 2019 and 2013 recommendations of the Comptroller General. Specifically, we ask that you commit that OJP will:
Define CEBR program-wide goals in clear, specific, and measurable terms by no later than June 30, 2019.
Consistently document these measurable goals for the CEBR program and use performance measures that fully reflect the recommendations made by GAO in its report entitled, `DNA Evidence: DOJ Should Improve Performance Measurement and Properly Design controls for Nationwide Grant Program' (GAO-19-216).
Describe any actions taken, including steps to eliminate conflicts of interest to improve the CEBR program based on the 2019 recommendations of the Comptroller General.
We look forward to hearing your response no later than December 20, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Fortier of Senator Grassley's staff or Franci Rooney of Senator Cornyn's staff. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,Charles E. Grassley,
Chairman.John Cornyn,
U.S. Senator.
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