Minor and miscellaneous bills : hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, on H.R. 1241, H.R. 1533, H.R. 1552, H.R. 2359, and H.R. 2360, September 28, 1995 (Volume Pt. 2) online

2 the 3, one shall be a Member of the Senate, one

3 shall be a representative of public law enforcement,

4 and one shall be a representative of private security'.

5 (2) 3 members to be appointed by the minorit}'

6 leader of the Senate who shall select such members

7 from a list of nominees pro\ided by the ranking mi-

8 norit}' member of the Committee on the Judiciarj- of

9 the Senate. Of the 3, one shall be a Member of the

10 Senate, one shall be a representatrve of public law

11 enforcement, and one shall be a representative of

12 priv-ate security.

13 (3) 3 members appointed by the Speaker of the

14 House of Representatives who shall select such

15 members from a list of nominees pro\'ided by the

16 chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary of

17 the House of Representati\'es. Of the 3, one shall be

18 a Member of the House, one shall be a representa-

19 tive of public law enforcement, and one shall be a

20 representative of private security.

21 (4) 3 members appointed by the minority leader

22 of the House of Representatives who shall select

23 such members from a list of nominees provided by

24 the r anking minority member of the Committee on

25 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. Of



47



o

1 the 3, one shall be a Member of the House, one shall

2 be a representative of public law enforcement, and
.3 one shaU be a representative of private securitj'.

4 (c) Continuation of Membership. — If a member

5 was appointed to the Commission as a ^lember of Con-

6 gress and the member ceases to be a Member of Congress,

7 or was appointed to the Commission because the member

8 was not an officer or employee of any government and

9 later becomes an officer or employee of a government, that

10 member may continue as a member for not longer than

11 the 30-day period beginning on the date that member

12 ceases to be a Member of Congress, or becomes such an

1 3 officer or employee, as the case may be.

14 (d) Chairperson. — The Commission shall elect a

15 chairperson from among its members.

16 (e) Quorum; vacancy. —

17 (1) In general. — ^After its initial meeting, the

18 Commission shall meet upon the call of the chair-

19 person or a majority of its members. Seven members

20 of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, except

21 a lesser number may hold hearings.

22 (2) Vacancy. — ^Any vacancy in the Commission

23 shall not affect its powers but shall be filled in the

24 same maimer in which the original appointment was

25 made.



48



6

1 (f) Appointment of Members: Meeting. —

2 (1) Appointment of members. — Members of

3 the Commission shall be appointed not later than

4 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

5 (2) Meeting. — If after 120 da\-s after the date

6 of enactment of this Act, 7 or more members of the

7 Commission have been appointed, the members who

8 have been appointed may meet and select a chair-

9 person who thereafter shall have authority to begin

10 the operations of the Commission, including the hir-

1 1 ing of staff.

1 2 SEC. 5. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.

13 (a) Compensation. —

14 (1) In general. — Except as pro\ided in para-

15 graph (2), a member of the Commission whose ser\'-

16 ices are not donated by such member's employer

17 may be compensated at a rate not to exceed the

18 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in

19 effect for a position at level IV of the Executive

20 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United

21 States Code, for each day during which such mem-

22 ber is engaged in the actual performance of the du-

23 ties of the Commission.

24 (2) Limitation. — Members of the Commission

25 who are officers or employees of the United States



7

1 or Members of Congress shall receive no additional

2 pay on account of their ser\'ice on the Commission.
. 3 (b) Trav'EL Expenses. — Each member shall receive

4 travel expenses, including per diem in Ueu of subsistence,

5 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5,

6 United States Code.

7 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

8 (a) Hearings and Subpoenas. — The Commission

9 may hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and

10 places, administer such oaths, take such testimony, receive

11 such e\idence, and require by subpoena the attendance

12 and testimony of such witnesses and the production of

13 such materials as the Commission considers appropriate.

14 (b) Information From Federal Agencies. — The

15 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart-

16 ment or agency such information as the Commission con-

17 siders necessary to carry out the pro^^sions of this Act.

1 8 Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the

19 head of such department or agency may furnish such in-

20 formation to the Commission.

21 (c) Admnistrative Support Sermces. — Upon the

22 request of the Commission, the Administrator of General

23 Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs-

24 able basis, the administrative support services necessary



50



S

1 for the Commission to earn* out its responsibilities under

2 this Act.

3 (d) Contracting. — The Commission may enter into

4 contracts to enable the Commission to discharge its duties

5 under this Act.

6 (e) Assistance From Federal Agencies. —

7 (1) In general. — Financing of the Commis-

8 sion and its acti\'ities \Till come from corporate,

9 foundation, and indi^^dual contributions. No special

10 appropriation of Federal funds shall be made for the

1 1 purposes of this Act.

12 (2) Federal sermces. — ^Departments and

13 agencies of the United States are authorized, how-

14 ever, to pro^^de to the Commission such ser^nces,

15 funds, facilities, staff, and other support services as

16 they may deem ad^-isable for the purposes of this

17 Act and as may be authorized by law.

18 (f) Gifts. — The Commission may accept, use, and

19 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.

20 SEC. 7. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION.

21 (a) Staff. — The Commission chairperson, in accord-

22 ance with rules agreed upon by the Commission and rea-

23 sonable limitations imposed by budget, may appoint a

24 staff director and such other personnel as may be nec-

25 essan^ to enable the Commission to carrv out its functions.



51



9

1 The staff director and other personnel may be appointed

2 without regard to the provisions of title 5. United States

3 Code, governing appointments in the competitive ser\ice,

4 and may be paid without regard to the pro\isions of chap-

5 ter 51 and subchapter IH of chapter 53 of that title relat-

6 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates.

7 (b) Consultants and Experts. — The Commission

8 is authorized to procure the services of experts and con-

9 sultants in accordance with budgetary' strictures.

10 SEC. 8. REPORT.

1 1 \J»ie Commission shall submit to Congress and the At-

12 tomey General, not later than 2 years after the date of

13 its first meeting, a final report containing such rec-

14 ommendations concerning methods and acti\ities that pro-

15 mote cooperation between pubUc sector law enforcement

16 agencies and pri\'ate sector security professionals, includ-

17 ing proposing new or changed procedures, rules, regula-

1 8 tions, or legislation.

19 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

20 Not later than 60 days after submitting its final re-

21 port pursuant to section 8 the Commission shall termi-

22 nate.



52

Mr. McCoLLUM. Now, today, rather than going through all of the
introductory statements at the moment, which I am going to come
back and do with my colleague, Mr. Schumer, and malang com-
ments on a couple of bills that I have introduced, and letting Mr.
Heineman make comments, since Mr. Frank is here and I know he
is chairing another subcommittee that he has got to attend.

Mr. Frank, I wish.

Mr. McCoLLUM. You wish you were chairing it. He has got to at-
tend it. You wish you were chairing it, that's right.

I have been asked as a collegial matter to go forward at this
point and testify on his matter, and I am going to recognize him
before we proceed with anything else.

STATEMENT OF HON. BARNEY FRANK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

Mr. Frank. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I like to think of myself as a once and future chairman. But I
appreciate your accommodating me. It is the affirmative action
markup. I am the ranking minority member.

Let me say on behalf of three of your colleagues, Mr. Conyers,
Mr. Watt and Ms. Jackson Lee, they are all down at that markup.
So that is why they are not here.

I appreciate your hearing this. Frankly, this is something I got
from reading the papers, which can sometimes be better than at
other times. I read about a case of a person accused of a Federal
crime who had been hiding from the Federal authorities for some
period of time and then, it sounds like a bad joke, he went before
the judge and said that his right to a speedy trial was being vio-
lated.

It really is a case of the person who kills her parents and says
have mercy, I am an orphan. This accused individual hides from
the Federal authorities and then says you didn't try me quickly
enough.

And what my legislation says is that for every year an individual
absents himself or herself from the authorities, 60 days should be
added to the speedy trial requirement. Obviously — and the Justice
Department reminds me that every 21 days, the 70-day clock is re-
newed, and we would hope we could do speedy trials, but in fact
someone has been in hiding for a couple of years, it might be hard-
er to assemble that evidence than if it was fresher.

And what this does, to me, is to make sure that someone accused
of a crime gets no benefit. There is no right to flee the jurisdiction
and to hide out from the authorities. So this simply would give the
prosecutor an ability — it is obviously not mandatory. If the prosecu-
tor can move speedily, obviously, that is in everybody's interest, but
it would give the prosecutor the option of holding off because some-
one being away for 3, 4, 5 years, it might be harder to reassemble
the evidence. People might have scattered.

There are a number of reasons why you want more of time. I
have talked about it with the Justice Department. I would not be
adverse to making explicit that if the defense could show that the
added time in this case was going to be a particular hardship, they
would have some burden of proof and some right to try to show



53

that. But in general, it seems to me it ought to be within the dis-
cretion of the prosecutor in most of these cases.

If you have tried to foil the legal process by illegally hiding out
and refusing to show up— obviously, if you haven't been notified,
this doesn't work against you — ^then you shouldn't get the benefit
of that and the Grovemment ought to have the option of extra time
if your absence has increased its difficulty.

So that is the legislation, Mr. Chairman, and I hope we can work
it out.

Mr. McCoLLUM. Mr. Frank, I just want to ask one quick ques-
tion.

Why did you choose 60 days as the additional time?

Mr. Frank. For the usual arbitrary reason you pick some time.
Obviously, you don't want to do a day-for-day. I did note that the
original time in the speedy trial, I think it was a 70-day clock.

Mr. McCoLLUM. Right.

Mr. Frank. And you are not doing it de novo. This is 60 days
on top of the 70 days. It seemed to me a rough ratio, but I am not
an expert in this. And, you know, 100 years seemed too long and
an hour didn't seem long enough, and we got 60.

Mr. McCoLLUM. I wanted to ask that, that is all.

Anybody else got any questions they want to ask Mr. Frank?

Yes, Mr. Heineman.

Mr. Heineman. Is this not, in effect, a suspension of the statute
of limitations if there is a set time?

Mr. Frank. I think this would be equivalent to a tolling of a stat-
ute of limitations, exactly right. In both cases, we have laws on the
books that are intended to provide speed and protect the right of
the accused. But if the accused abuses that, he or she shouldn't get
the benefit of it.

Mr. McCoLLUM. Any other questions for Mr. Frank?

If not, thank you very much.

Mr. Frank. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your accom-
modating us.

Mr. McCoLLUM. We did deviate a little bit from what we nor-
mally would do. I notice Mr. Martinez and Mr. Chrysler are here
and I don't want to hold them, but I want to give Mr. Schumer,
my ranking minority member, an opportunity to make an opening
statement.

Mr. Schumer. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I think this hearing demonstrates that the length of a bill doesn't
measure its importance. Many of the bills before us are only a few
pages long. Each of them are important, both to the Member who
introduced it and to the public that it potentially affects.

I would like to focus my remarks on one bill that I introduced
with your cosponsorship, Mr. Chairman, a bill that would help stop
the explosive growth of theft of airbags from automobiles. Stealing
airbags is a costly and dangerous trend and we need to stop it.

H.R. 2804 is a simple bill. It doesn't create a new crime. It
doesn't extend the investigative power of Federal law enforcement
or mandate any new tax dollars. It simply adds airbags to the list
of existing major auto parts that automobile manufacturers are re-
quired to mark with a distinctive number that matches the auto-
mobile in which the part is contained.



54

The problem is happening everywhere. Airbags have become a
hot new item to steal all over America. Insurance industry statis-
tics say they gprew by 79 percent between 1992 and 1994, and if the
present trend continues, airbag thefts will cost the auto insurance
industry $120 million a year, which will translate into higher rates
for you and for me.

I am going to skip through most of my statement here. It is sort
of lengthy on this issue. It was like opening— you know, it was like
testif^^ng here, and ask unanimous consent that it be put into the
record.

I also just want to mention H.R. 2803, the Anti-Car Theft Im-
provements Act, which I cosponsored with you, it is a sound move
making the 1992 law, which I authored, work better by moving re-
sponsibility for central registry of automobile titles from the De-
partment of Transportation, which has never wanted to do this for
some reason, to the Department of Justice.

I also want to mention support of Congresswoman Lowers bill,
2607, the Veterans Memorial Protection Act. There is little more
despicable than the desecration of memorials to men and women
who have answered the call of duty and given their service to our
Nation in a time of war.

Finally, I also strongly support H.R. 2641, the U.S. Marshals
Service Improvement Act of 1995. The Marshals Service has too
many dangerous, sensitive and critical law enforcement responsibil-
ities to entrust its top positions to patronage appointments.

With that. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for calling this
hearing, and ask unanimous consent that my entire statement be
placed in the record.

Mr. McCoLLLTM. Without objection, so ordered.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Scnumer follows:]



55

Prepared Statement of Hon. Charles E. Schumer, a Representative in
Congress From the State of New York

THANK YOU. MR. CHAIRMAN.

THIS HEARING DEMONSTRATES THAT THE LENGTH OF A
BILL DOES NOT MEASURE ITS IMPORTANCE.

MANY OF THE BILLS BEFORE US TODAY ARE ONLY A FEW
PAGES LONG. BUT EACH OF THEM IS IMPORTANT - BOTH TO
THE MEMBER WHO BSTRODUCED FT AND TO THE PUBLIC IT
POTENTIALLY AFFECTS.

I'D LIKE TO FOCUS MY REMARKS ON ONE BILL THAT I
INTRODUCED, WITH THE CO-SPONSORSHIP OF CHAIRMAN
MCCOLLUM - H.R. 2804. THIS BILL WILL HELP STOP THE
EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN THE THEFT OF AIR BAGS FROM
AUTOMOBILES. STEALING AIR BAGS IS A COSTLY AND
DANGEROUS TREND. WE NEED TO STOP IT.

H.R. 2804 IS A SIMPLE BILL. IT DOES NOT CREATE A NEW
CRIME. IT DOES NOT EXTEND THE INVESTIGATIVE POWER OF
FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. IT DOES NOT MANDATE



56

SPENDING ANY NEW TAX DOLLARS.

IT SIMPLY ADDS AIR BAGS TO THE EXISTING LIST OF MAJOR
AUTO PARTS THAT AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS ARE
REQUIRED TO MARK WITH A DISTINCTIVE NUMBER THAT
MATCHES THE AUTOMOBILE IN WHICH THE PART IS CONTAINED.

FIRST, LET ME ASSURE EVERYONE HERE - THIS PROBLEM IS
HAPPENING IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

AIR BAGS HAVE BECOME THE HOT NEW ITEM TO STEAL
FROM CARS, ALL OVER AMERICA.

ACCORDING TO INSURANCE INDUSTRY STATISTICS, THEFTS
OF AIR BAGS GREW BY A STAGGERING 79 PERCENT BETWEEN
1992 AND 1994. THERE ARE ABOUT 22 MILLION AIR BAGS IN CARS
TODAY - AND EVERY ONE OF THEM IS A POTENTIAL TARGET.

IF THE PRESENT TREND CONTINUES, AIR BAG THEFTS WILL
COST THE AUTO INSURANCE INDUSTRY $120 MILLION A YEAR.
THAT COST WILL TRANSLATE INTO HIGHER RATES FOR EVERY
INSURANCE POLICY HOLDER TOO. YOU, AND I, AND ALL OF OUR
CONSTITUENTS, WILL PAY FOR THIS AIR BAG THEFT EXPLOSION
IN HIGHER INSURANCE PREMIUMS.



57

THIS PROBLEM WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION FIRST BY
AN AUTO DEALERS ASSOCIATION IN NEW YORK. THEY HAVE
BEEN HIT BY UGHTNING RAIDS IN WHICH AIR BAGS ARE STOLEN
FROM SCORES OF CARS AT ONCE.

BUT WHEN WE RESEARCHED THE ISSUE, WE FOUND OUT
THAT IT'S A PROBLEM ALL OVER AMERICA. I INVITE EVERYONE
HERE TO GO BACK TO YOUR OFHCE AND RESEARCH THE
NEWSPAPERS IN YOUR STATE OR YOUR HOME TOWN, OR TALK
TO THE AUTO DEALERS OR TEIE COPS. I AM CONFIDENT THAT
YOU WILL FIND THAT AIR BAG THEFT IS A PROBLEM IN YOUR
STATE OR DISTRICT, TOO.

NOW, WHY HAS THIS PROBLEM EMERGED?

FIRST. BECAUSE IT IS EASY TO STEAL AN AIRBAG. IT TAKES
LESS THAN A MINUTE FOR A THIEF TO POP AN AIRBAG OUT. I
KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN IT DEMONSTRATED.

SECOND. BECAUSE - UNI.IKK OTHER MAJOR PARTS IN
AUTOMOBn.F^S - AIR BAGS ARK NOT MARKED WTTH A
DISTINCTIVE NUMBER. THIS MAKES IT EASY TO RE-SELL THE
STOLEN PART TO A CROOKED REPAIR SHOP. AND THAT'S WHAT



58

IS HAPPENING TO MOST OF THESE STOLEN AIR BAGS.

A FACTORY ORDERED REPLACEMENT AIR BAG CAN COST
AROUND $600. BUT A CROOKED REPAIR SHOP CAN GET A STOLEN
BAG FOR FROM $50 TO $100. THE DIFFERENCE IS ALL PROFIT FOR
THE CROOKED OPERATOR.

THIRD. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM. CROOKED
REPAIR SHOPS ARE NOT CAREFUL ABOUT PUTTING THE RIGHT
BAG INTO THE RIGHT CAR. AND AIR BAGS ARE NOT
INTERCHANGEABLE ACROSS CAR MODELS. THAT MEANS IF YOU
GET A STOLEN REPLACEMENT PART, YOU MAY GET A BAG THAT
EITHER WONT OPEN AT ALL, OR THAT WILL OPEN IN A WAY
THAT HURTS YOU MORE THAN IT PROTECTS YOU.

WHAT WILL MARKING THESE PARTS DO TO HELP STOP THE
PROBLEM? TWO THINGS.

FIRST. AS SOON AS IT GOES INTO EFFECT IT Wn.L MAKF IT
EASIER FOR POLICE AND PROSECUTORS TO PROVE THAT BAGS
H AVE BE E N S TO LE N .

IF A POLICE OFnCER TODAY ARRESTED A CROOK WITH
FIFTY STOLEN AIR BAGS IN HIS BACK SEAT, HE WOULD HAVE NO



59

WAY OF PROVING THOSE BAGS WERE STOLEN, BECAUSE YOU
CAN'T SHOW WHICH BAG CAME FROM WHICH CAR.

MARKING AIR BAGS WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO LINK EACH
BAG TO A SPECIFIC CAR.

SECOND. WHEN THE 1992 ANTI-AUTO THE FT ACT ALREADY
ON THE BOOKS IS FULLY IMPLEMENTED, ALL STOLEN MAJOR
AU TO P ARTS WnX GQ INTO A COMFUTER KE D C EN TR AL
REGISTER. PEOPLE WHO DEAL IN USED AUTO PARTS WILL
CHECK THOSE PARTS AGAINST THAT REGISTER, AND STOLEN
PARTS CAN BE QUICKLY AND EASILY IDENTIFIED.

IN SUMMARY: THERE IS A REAL AND DANGEROUS CRIME
WAVE IN STOLEN AUTO PARTS. IT IS FUELED BY THE LACK OF
UNIFORM MARKING ON THESE AIR BAGS. THIS BILL WILL GO A
VERY LONG WAY TOWARD FIXING THE PROBLEM.

IF I MAY, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY A FEW
THINGS IN SUPPORT OF ONE OR TWO OTHER BILLS BEFORE US.

OBVIOUSLY, I SUPPORT H.R. 2803, THE ANTI-CAR THEFT
IMPROVEMENTS ACT WHICH I CO-SPONSOR WITH YOU. THIS IS A
SOUND MOVE TOWARD MAKING THE 1992 LAW WORK BETTER BY



60

MOVING RESPONSIBIUTY FOR A CENTRAL REGISTER OF
AUTOMOBILE TITLES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION ~ WHICH DOES NOT WANT THE
RESPONSIBILITY - TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WHICH
DOES.

I ALSO SUPPORT CONGRESSWOMAN LOWEY'S BILL, H.R.
2607, THE VETERANS MEMORIAL PROTECTION ACT. THERE IS
LITTLE MORE DESPICABLE THAN THE DESECRATION OF
MEMORIALS TO THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE ANSWERED
THE CALL OF DUTY AND GIVEN THEIR SERVICE TO OUR NATION
IN TIME OF WAR. THIS BILL WOULD STRENGTHEN PROTECTION
OF STATE MEMORIALS. OUR VETERANS IN NEW YORK THINK
THIS IS IMPORTANT, AND I AGREE WITH THEM
WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

FINALLY, I ALSO STRONGLY SUPPORT H.R 2641, THE
UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1995.
THE MARSHALS SERVICE HAS TOO MANY DANGEROUS,
SENSITIVE, AND CRITICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
RESPONSIBILmES TO ENTRUST ITS TOP POSITIONS TO



61

PATRONAGE APPOINTMENTS. WE WOULDN'T APPOEMT FBI
SPECIAL AGENTS IN CHARGE, OR SECRET SERVICE REGIONAL
DIRECTORS, BY PATRONAGE. WE SHOULD NOT APPOINT U.S.
MARSHALS THAT WAY EITHER.

THERE ARE A FEW OTHER BILLS ON THIS LIST ABOUT
WHICH I HAVE SOME RESERVATIONS. BUT I WOULD PREFER TO
LET THE SUPPORTERS OF THESE BELLS MAKE THEIR CASE
WITHOUT MY POISONING THE WELLS. IT MAY BE THAT THEY
WILL PERSUADE ME TO CHANGE MY MIND.

THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.



35-554 0-96-3



62

Mr. McCoLLUM. Before I recognize Mr. Heineman, who I think
has something he wants to comment on, and we get to our Mem-
bers, I want to briefly mention a couple of bills that don't have wit-
nesses to testify today, too, because I have sponsored those particu-
lar bills, as you sponsored some here today.

You mentioned one of them, H.R. 2641, which is the U.S. Mar-
shals Service Improvement Act, which would change the selection
Erocess of the Nation's 94 U.S. marshals, from that of appointment
y the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, to the
appointment by the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service.

U.S. marshals would be selected on a competitive basis among
career managers within the Marshals Service rather than being
nominated by the administration and approved or rejected by the
Senate. An incumbent U.S. marshal selected by enactment would
perform the duties of their office until their terms expire.

H.R. 2641 represents another step towards changing the way
Congress does business by taking politics out of Federal law en-
forcement. The current selection of U.S. marshals is as varied as
the Senators who nominate them.

And I am not goin^ to go into the great details of this, just as
you haven't. I am going to, after I finish commenting on each of
these bills, simply ask that the fiill discussion as part of my state-
ment be put into the record.

But it is a very significant change for the U.S. Marshals Service.
It seems to me it is a common sense approach, and of the bills at
least that I am offering today, it is right at the top of those that
I think are most important.

H.R. 2803 is the Anti-Car Theft Improvement Act of 1995, to in-
crease the utility of motor vehicle title information to State and
Federal law enforcement officials. Under current law established in
the Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992, the Department of Transportation
was to install by January 1996 an electronic information system
that would allow a State motor vehicle tilting authority — titling au-
thority, I should say, to check instantly whether a vehicle had been
stolen before it issues a new title for that vehicle.

In 1992, the act also established a Federal grant program to help
States modify computer software for this purpose. Responsibility
for implementing the act has been delegated between the Depart-
ment of Justice and the Department of Transportation.

To date, DOJ has a designated system for stolen parts informa-
tion but DOT has neither established a related stolen vehicle sys-
tem nor designated another entity to do so. The need for national
titling was established by Congress 4 years ago, yet little has been
done.

This bill would fill the critical gaps in the existing law, improve
the 1992 act in three ways, by transferring to the Department of
Transportation the responsibility for a titling system to the Depart-
ment of Justice, and extending the implementation from January
1996 to a more realistic deadline in October 1997; provide for im-
munity for individuals who make a good-faith effort to comply with
the titling efforts and authorize appropriations for the previously
established grant program.

I am not going into again the reasons why this bill is important,
just to let folks know what it is.



63

And H.R. 2996 is the Law Enforcement and Industrial Security
Cooperation Act of 1996, creates a Commission to encourage co-
operation between the pubHc sector law enforcement agencies and