Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2015
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2015
This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award competitive matching grants to state, local, and tribal governments to establish or maintain witness protection programs in cases related to: (1) a homicide, serious violent felony, or serious drug offense; or (2) gangs or organized crime.
DOJ must evaluate grant applications based on certain criteria, including the prevalence of witness intimidation, the presence of organized crime, and the per capita number of homicides, violent felonies, or serious drug offenses.
The bill also requires DOJ to: (1) consider urban and rural applicants and ensure equitable geographic distribution of grant awards; and (2) develop and disseminate best practice models to help state, local, and tribal governments address witness protection and assistance issues.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 9, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 15, 2016: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD) introduced it on December 9, 2015, and 20 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 20 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 9, 2015, 3928 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3891 days ago, on January 15, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers