December 18, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 205 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S7149-S7150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        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.

[[Page S7150]]

       Sincerely,
                                                  Stephen E. Boyd,
     Assistant Attorney General.
                                  ____

     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.

                          ____________________