Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007

This Act may be cited as the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Section 4206 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7176) is amended to read as follows:

There is authorized to be appropriated $2,750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Section 5401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241) is amended—

(1) by striking There are and inserting (a) In General.— There are; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

In addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated by subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to carry out subpart 10.

Section 402A(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(f)) is amended by striking $700,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years and inserting $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

Section 404H of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–28) is amended by striking $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years and inserting $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

Section 4003 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7103) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking $650,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and inserting $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking such sums for fiscal year 2002, and and inserting $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.

Section 4125 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7135(a)) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking From funds made available to carry out this subpart under section 4003(2), the Secretary may provide and inserting From amounts made available to carry out this subpart under section 4003(2) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not less than $40,000,000 to provide; and

(B) by inserting, gang prevention, after drug prevention; and

(2) in subsection (b)—

(A) in the first sentence—

(i) by inserting, gang prevention, after serve as drug prevention; and

(ii) by inserting “, gang,” after significant drug; and

(B) in the second sentence, by inserting “, gang,” after analyzing assessments of drug.

Section 4130(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(b)) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), by striking The Secretary may award grants from funds made available to carry out this subpart under section 4003(2) and inserting From amounts made available to carry out this subpart under section 4003(2) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not less than $50,000,000 to award grants;

(2) in paragraph (5)(B)(i), by inserting elementary school and middle school after serves; and

(3) in paragraph (5)(C)(ii)(IV), by striking 4th and inserting kindergarten.

Subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

From amounts made available to carry out this subpart under section 4003(2) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not less than $50,000,000 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to nonprofit organizations to enable the nonprofit organizations to establish programs to assist a public elementary school or middle school in providing an innovative approach—

(1) to combat gang activity in the school and the community surrounding the school; and

(2) to heighten awareness of, and provide tools to reduce, gang violence in the school and the community surrounding the school.

To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit organization shall submit an application to the Secretary that includes a detailed plan to combat gang activity and reduce gang violence in a school and the surrounding community.

In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority consideration to applications describing programs that target youth living in a community with a crime level above the average crime level of the State in which the community is located.

Title V of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–690; 102 Stat. 4295) is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle:

This subtitle may be cited as the Public and Assisted Housing Gang Elimination Act of 2007.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle, may make grants to public housing agencies (including any Indian tribe or other recipient under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996) and private, for-profit and nonprofit owners of federally assisted low-income housing for use in eliminating gang-related crime.

Grants under this subtitle may be used in public housing or other federally assisted low-income housing projects for—

(1) the employment of security personnel;

(2) reimbursement of local law enforcement agencies for additional security and protective services;

(3) physical improvements which are specifically designed to enhance security;

(4) the employment of 1 or more individuals—

(A) to investigate gang-related crime on or about the real property comprising any public or other federally assisted low-income housing project; and

(B) to provide evidence relating to such crime in any administrative or judicial proceeding;

(5) the provision of training, communications equipment, and other related equipment for use by voluntary tenant patrols acting in cooperation with local law enforcement officials;

(6) programs designed to reduce gang activity in and around public or other federally assisted low-income housing projects, including encouraging teen-driven approaches to gang activity prevention; and

(7) providing funding to nonprofit public housing resident management corporations and resident councils to develop security and gang prevention programs involving site residents.

To receive a grant under this subtitle, a public housing agency or an owner of federally assisted low-income housing shall submit an application to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such additional information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

Any application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include a plan for addressing the problem of gang-related crime on the premises of the housing administered or owned by the applicant for which the application is being submitted.

Except as provided by subsections (c) and (d) the Secretary shall approve applications under this subtitle based exclusively on—

(1) the extent of the gang-related crime problem in the public or federally assisted low-income housing project or projects proposed for assistance;

(2) the quality of the plan of the applicant to address the crime problem in the public or federally assisted low-income housing project or projects proposed for assistance, including the extent to which the plan includes initiatives that can be sustained over a period of several years;

(3) the capability of the applicant to carry out the plan; and

(4) the extent to which tenants, the local government, and the local community support and participate in the design and implementation of the activities proposed to be funded under the application.

In addition to the selection criteria described in subsection (b), the Secretary may establish other criteria for the evaluation of applications submitted by owners of federally assisted low-income housing, except that such additional criteria shall be designed only to reflect—

(1) relevant differences between the financial resources and other characteristics of public housing authorities and owners of federally assisted low-income housing; or

(2) relevant differences between the problem of gang-related crime in public housing and the problem of gang-related crime in federally assisted low-income housing.

In evaluating the extent of the gang-related crime problem pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary may consider whether housing projects proposed for assistance are located in a high-intensity interstate gang activity area designated under section 211 of the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007.

For the purposes of this subtitle, the following definitions shall apply:

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The term federally assisted low-income housing means housing assisted under—

(A) section 221(d)(3), section 221(d)(4), or 236 of the National Housing Act;

(B) section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965;

(C) section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937; or

(D) the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.

The Secretary shall issue regulations to implement this subtitle within 180 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle.

The Secretary shall require any recipient of a grant under this subtitle to provide periodic reports that include the obligation and expenditure of grant funds, the progress made by the grantee in implementing the plan described in section 5404(a), and any change in the incidence of gang-related crime in projects assisted under this subtitle.

The Secretary shall audit and monitor the programs funded under this subtitle to ensure that assistance provided under this subtitle is administered in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle.

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subtitle $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012. Any amount appropriated under this section shall remain available until expended.

Of any amount made available in any fiscal year to carry out this subtitle, not more than 6.25 percent of such amount shall be available for grants for federally assisted low-income housing.

The table of contents in section 5001 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–690; 102 Stat. 4295) is amended by adding at the end the following new items:

The Attorney General may make grants to public or nonprofit private entities (including faith-based organizations) for the purpose of assisting the entities in carrying out projects involving innovative approaches to combat gang activity.

Approaches under subsection (a) may include the following:

(1) Encouraging teen-driven approaches to gang activity prevention.

(2) Educating parents to recognize signs of problems and potential gang involvement in their children.

(3) Teaching parents the importance of a nurturing family and home environment to keep children out of gangs.

(4) Facilitating communication between parents and children, especially programs that have been evaluated and proven effective.

The Attorney General may make a grant under this section only if the entity receiving the grant agrees to make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward the cost of activities to be performed with that grant in an amount that is not less than 25 percent of such costs.

Non-Federal contributions required under paragraph (1) may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including facilities, equipment, or services. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the amount of such non-Federal contributions.

The Attorney General shall establish criteria for the evaluation of projects involving innovative approaches under subsection (a).

A grant may be made under such subsection only if the entity involved—

(A) agrees to conduct evaluations of the approach in accordance with such criteria;

(B) agrees to submit to the Attorney General reports describing the results of the evaluations, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate; and

(C) submits to the Attorney General, in the application under subsection (e), a plan for conducting the evaluations.

The Attorney General may make a grant under subsection (a) only if an application for the grant is submitted to the Attorney General and the application is in such form, is made in such manner, and contains such agreements, assurances, and information (including the agreements under subsections (c) and (d) and the plan under subsection (d)(2)(C)) as the Attorney General determines to be necessary to carry out this section.

Not later than October 1, 2012, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report describing the extent to which the approaches under subsection (a) have been successful in reducing the rate of gang activity in the communities in which the approaches have been carried out. That report shall describe the various approaches used under subsection (a) and the effectiveness of each of the approaches.

For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13701 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 30403 the following:

The Attorney General may award grants on a competitive basis to eligible local entities to assist eligible communities in developing and carrying out programs that target at-risk youth and juvenile offenders ages 11 to 19 years, who—

(A) fail to successfully complete secondary school;

(B) have entered the juvenile justice system; or

(C) are at risk of failing to successfully complete secondary school or entering the juvenile justice system.

A grant awarded to an eligible local entity under this subtitle shall be for not less than $250,000 for a fiscal year. Amounts made available through such a grant shall remain available until expended.

An eligible local entity that receives funds under this subtitle shall develop or expand community programs in eligible communities that are designed to target at-risk youths and juvenile offenders through prevention, early intervention, and graduated sanctions.

An eligible local entity that receives funds under this subtitle may develop a variety of programs to serve the comprehensive needs of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders, including—

(A) homework assistance and after-school programs, including educational, social, and athletic activities;

(B) mentoring programs;

(C) family counseling; and

(D) parental training programs.

The Attorney General shall establish by regulation the criteria necessary to qualify as an eligible community, which shall include criteria with respect to significant poverty and significant violent crime.

To be eligible to receive a grant under this subtitle, a local entity shall submit an application to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information, as the Attorney General may reasonably require.

Each application submitted under subsection (a) shall—

(1) contain a comprehensive plan for the program that is designed to improve the academic and social development of at-risk youths and juvenile offenders in the eligible community, which—

(A) identifies an eligible community to be assisted;

(B) describes the community planning process to be used by the local entity that includes—

(i) parents and family members;

(ii) local school officials;

(iii) teachers employed at schools within the eligible community;

(iv) local public officials;

(v) law enforcement officers and officials;

(vi) clergy and faith-based organizations;

(vii) public housing authorities;

(viii) public housing resident organization members, where applicable; and

(ix) public and private nonprofit organizations that provide education, child protective services, or other human services to low-income, at-risk youth and juvenile offenders, and their families; and

(C) develops a concentrated strategy for implementation of the community planning process developed under subparagraph (B) that targets clusters of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders in the eligible community;

(2) provide evidence of support for accomplishing the objectives of such plan from—

(A) community leaders;

(B) a school district;

(C) local officials; and

(D) other organizations that the local entity determines to be appropriate;

(3) provide an assurance that the local entity will use grant funds received under this subsection to implement the program requirements listed in section 30701(b);

(4) include an estimate of the number of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders in the eligible community expected to be served under the program;

(5) provide an assurance that the local entity will prepare and submit to the Attorney General an annual report regarding any program conducted under this subtitle; and

(6) provide an assurance that the local entity will maintain separate accounting records for the program.

In awarding grants under this subtitle, the Attorney General shall give priority to eligible local entities that identify under subsection (b)(1)(A) an eligible community that, when compared to other eligible communities, has a greater need than such other eligible communities for assistance under this subtitle, as determined by the Attorney General based on the criteria established under section 30701(c).

The Federal share of the costs of a program developed or carried out with a grant under this section shall be not more than 70 percent. The non-Federal share of such costs may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including personnel, facilities, equipment, and services.

For purposes of this subtitle—

(1) the term local entity means—

(A) a local educational agency; or

(B) a community-based organization, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and

(2) the term eligible community means an area which meets the criteria established by the Attorney General in accordance with section 30701(c).

There are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this subtitle—

(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;

(2) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;

(3) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;

(4) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and

(5) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.

Section 32401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13921) is amended—

(1) in subsection (b)—

(A) by inserting and at the end of paragraph (2); and

(B) by striking paragraphs (3) through (5) and inserting the following:

(3) $21,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

Not more than $1,000,000 of the funds authorized under this section for a fiscal year shall be used to increase the number of samples collected by the National Youth Gang Center for its annual National Youth Gang Survey.

Section 2976(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w(a)) is amended by striking States, Territories and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting States, local governments, territories, or Indian tribes, or any combination thereof, in partnership with stakeholders, service providers, and nonprofit organizations, for purpose of establishing adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects..

Section 2976(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w(b)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) and inserting the following:

(1) establishing or improving the system or systems under which—

(A) the correctional agency of the State or local government develops and carries out plans to facilitate the reentry into the community of each offender in State or local custody;

(B) the supervision and services provided to offenders in State or local custody are coordinated with the supervision and services provided to offenders after reentry into the community;

(C) the efforts of various public and private entities to provide supervision and services to offenders, and to family members of such offenders, after offenders reenter the community are coordinated; and

(D) offenders awaiting reentry into the community are provided with documents useful in achieving a successful transition from prison, jail, or detention (such as identification papers, referrals to services, medical prescriptions, job training certificates, apprenticeship papers, and information on obtaining public assistance);

(2) carrying out programs and initiatives by units of local government to strengthen reentry services for offenders released from local jails;

(3) enabling prison or jail mentors of offenders to remain in contact with those offenders (including through the use of such technology as videoconferencing) during incarceration and after reentry into the community, and encouraging the involvement of prison or jail mentors in the reentry process;

(4) providing structured post-release housing and transitional housing (including group homes for recovering substance abusers) through which offenders are provided supervision and services immediately following reentry into the community;

(5) assisting offenders in securing permanent housing upon release or following a stay in transitional housing;

(6) providing continuity of health services (including screening, assessment, and aftercare for mental health services, substance abuse treatment and aftercare, and treatment for contagious diseases) to offenders in custody and after reentry into the community;

(7) providing offenders with education, job training, responsible parenting and healthy relationship skills training designed specifically for addressing the needs of incarcerated and transitioning fathers and mothers, English as a second language programs, work experience programs, self-respect and life skills training, and other skills useful in achieving a successful transition from prison or jail;

(8) facilitating collaboration among corrections and community corrections, technical schools, community colleges, and the workforce development and employment service sectors—

(A) to promote the employment of offenders released from prison and jail, as appropriate, through efforts such as educating employers about existing financial incentives;

(B) to facilitate the creation of job opportunities for offenders released from prison or jail, including transitional jobs and time-limited subsidized work experience (as appropriate);

(C) to connect offenders to employment (including supportive employment and employment services) before their release to the community, to provide work supports (including transportation and retention services), as appropriate, and to identify labor market needs to ensure that education and training are appropriate;

(D) to address barriers to employment (such as licensing), that are not directly connected to the crime committed, and to provide case management services as necessary to prepare offenders for jobs that offer the potential for advancement and growth; and

(E) to address the risks that offenders reentering the community present to the community;

(9) assessing the literacy and educational needs of offenders in custody and identifying and providing services appropriate to meet those needs, including follow-up assessments and long-term services;

(10) systems under which family members of offenders are involved in facilitating the successful reentry of those offenders into the community, including removing obstacles to the maintenance of family relationships while the offender is in custody, strengthening the family's capacity to function as a stable living situation during reentry (as appropriate), and involving family members in the planning and implementation of the reentry process;

(11) programs under which victims are included, on a voluntary basis, in the reentry process;

(12) identifying and addressing barriers to collaborating with child welfare agencies in the joint provision of services to offenders in custody and to the children of such offenders;

(13) carrying out programs that support children of incarcerated parents, including those in foster care and those cared for by grandparents or other relatives (commonly referred to as kinship care), including programs for mentoring children of incarcerated offenders;

(14) carrying out programs for the entire family unit, including the coordination of service delivery across agencies;

(15) implementing programs in correctional agencies to—

(A) include the collection of information regarding any dependent children of an incarcerated offender as part of intake procedures, including the number of children, age, and location or jurisdiction; and

(B) connect identified children with services as appropriate and as needed;

(16) addressing barriers to the visitation of children with an incarcerated parent and maintenance of the parent-child relationship (as appropriate to the safety and well-being of the children), such as the location of facilities in remote areas, telephone costs, mail restrictions, and visitation policies;

(17) creating, developing, or enhancing incarcerated offender and family assessments curricula, policies, procedures, or programs (including mentoring programs), in coordination with victim service providers, to help prisoners with a history or identified risk of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking—

(A) to reconnect with their families and communities (as appropriate or when it is safe to do so), with particular attention paid to the safety of children affected and the confidentiality concerns of victims; and

(B) to become mutually respectful, nonabusive parents or partners;

(18) developing programs and activities that support parent-child relationships, such as—

(A) using telephone conferencing to permit incarcerated parents to participate in parent-teacher conferences;

(B) using videoconferencing to allow virtual visitation when incarcerated offenders are more than 100 miles from their families;

(C) the development of books on tape programs, through which incarcerated parents read a book into a tape to be sent to their children;

(D) the establishment of family days, which provide for longer visitation hours or family activities;

(E) the creation of children’s areas in visitation rooms with parent-child activities;

(F) the implementation of programs to help incarcerated parents stay connected to their children and learn responsible parenting and healthy relationship skills; and

(G) programs for mentoring children of incarcerated offenders;

(19) expanding family-based treatment centers that offer family-based comprehensive treatment services for offenders reentering the community and their children as a complete family unit;

(20) conducting studies to determine the types of offenders who are returning to prison or jail, and which of those returning offenders represent the greatest risk to community safety;

(21) developing or adopting procedures to ensure that dangerous felons are not released from prison or jail prematurely;

(22) developing and implementing procedures to assist relevant authorities—

(A) in determining when release is appropriate; and

(B) in the use of data to inform the release decision;

(23) developing and implementing procedures to identify efficiently and effectively those violators of probation, parole, or post-incarceration supervision who should be returned to prison or jail;

(24) utilizing validated assessment tools to assess the risk factors of returning offenders to the community, and prioritizing services based on the risks related to offenders returning to the community;

(25) facilitating and encouraging timely and complete payment of restitution and fines by offenders to victims and the community;

(26) establishing or expanding the use of reentry courts and other programs to—

(A) monitor offenders returning to the community;

(B) provide offenders reentering the community with—

(i) drug and alcohol testing and treatment; and

(ii) mental and medical health assessment and services;

(C) facilitate restorative justice practices and convene family or community impact panels, family impact educational classes, victim impact panels, or victim impact educational classes;

(D) provide and coordinate the delivery of other community services to offenders, including—

(i) housing assistance;

(ii) education;

(iii) employment training;

(iv) children and family support, including responsible parenting and healthy relationship skills training designed specifically to address the needs of incarcerated and transitioning parents;

(v) conflict resolution skills training;

(vi) family violence intervention programs;

(vii) culturally and linguistically competent services, as appropriate; and

(viii) other appropriate services, as determined by the Attorney General; and

(E) establish and implement graduated sanctions and incentives; and

(27) providing technology and other tools to advance post-incarceration supervision.

Section 2976(c) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w(c)) is amended by striking may be expended for and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting may be expended for any activity described in subsection (b)..

Section 2976 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w) is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (p); and

(2) by striking subsections (d) through (g) and inserting the following:

A State, unit of local government, territory, or Indian tribe (or a combination of such jurisdictions) desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General that—

(1) contains a reentry strategic plan developed under subsection (h) that describes the long-term strategy and a detailed implementation schedule, including the jurisdiction's plans to pay for the program after Federal funding is discontinued;

(2) identifies the local government role in the applicant's offender reentry strategy, as well as the role of governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations that will be coordinated by, and that will collaborate on, such strategy, and certifies the involvement of such agencies and organizations;

(3) describes the methodology and outcome measures that will be used in evaluating the program; and

(4) includes a plan for the use of a State, local, territorial, or tribal reentry task force, as referenced in subsection (i), to carry out the activities funded under the grant.

The Attorney General may make a grant to an applicant under this section only if the application—

(1) reflects explicit support of the chief executive officer of the State, unit of local government, territory, or Indian tribe applying for a grant under this section;

(2) provides extensive discussion of the role of State corrections departments, community corrections agencies, juvenile justice systems, or local jail systems, as the case may be, in ensuring successful reentry of offenders into their communities;

(3) provides extensive evidence of collaboration with State and local government agencies overseeing health, housing, child welfare, education, substance abuse, and employment services, and local law enforcement;

(4) provides a plan for analysis of the statutory, regulatory, rules-based, and practice-based hurdles of the applicant to an offender’s reentry into the community that—

(A) takes particular note and makes recommendations with respect to laws, regulations, rules, and practices that disqualify offenders from obtaining professional licenses or other requirements necessary for certain types of employment, and that hinder full civic participation;

(B) identifies and makes recommendations with respect to those laws, regulations, rules, or practices that are not directly connected to the crime committed and the risk that the offender presents to the community; and

(C) affords members of the public an opportunity to participate in the process described in this paragraph.

The Attorney General shall give priority to grant applications under this section that best—

(1) focus initiative on geographic areas with a high population of offenders reentering the community;

(2) include partnerships with nonprofit organizations;

(3) provide consultations with crime victims and offenders who have reentered the community and their families;

(4) review the process by which the State and local governments adjudicate violations of parole, probation, or post-incarceration supervision, and consider reforms to maximize the use of graduated, community-based sanctions for minor and technical violations of parole, probation, or post-incarceration supervision;

(5) establish prerelease planning procedures for offenders to ensure that an offender's eligibility for Federal or State benefits (including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and veterans benefits) upon release is established prior to release, subject to any limitations in law, and to ensure that offenders are provided with referrals to appropriate social and health services or are linked to appropriate nonprofit organizations; and

(6) target high-risk offenders for reentry programs through validated assessment tools.

The Federal share of the costs of a project carried out with a grant under this section shall be not more than 75 percent, unless the Attorney General—

(A) waives, in whole or in part, the requirement of this paragraph; and

(B) publicly delineates the rationale for the waiver.

Federal funds received under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for the activities funded under this section.

As a condition of receiving financial assistance under this section, each applicant shall develop a comprehensive strategic reentry plan that contains measurable annual and 5-year performance outcomes. The plan shall have as a goal to reduce the rate of recidivism of offenders served with funds received under this section by 50 percent over a period of 5 years.

In developing reentry plans under this subsection, applicants shall coordinate with communities and stakeholders, including persons in the fields of public safety, corrections, housing, health, education, substance abuse, children and families, employment, business, and members of nonprofit organizations that provide reentry services.

Each reentry plan developed under this subsection shall include a plan to measure the progress of the applicant toward increasing public safety by reducing rates of recidivism and enabling offenders to transition successfully back into their communities.

As a condition of receiving a grant under this section, each applicant shall establish or empower a Reentry Task Force, or other relevant convening authority, to examine ways to pool resources and funding streams to promote lower recidivism rates for offenders reentering the community and to minimize the harmful effects of incarceration on families and communities by collecting data and best practices in offender reentry from demonstration grantees and other agencies and organizations, and to provide a plan, as described in subsection (e)(4).

The reentry task force or other authority shall be comprised of relevant—

(A) State, tribal, territorial, or local leaders;

(B) agencies;

(C) service providers;

(D) nonprofit organizations; and

(E) stakeholders.

Each applicant shall identify in the reentry strategic plan of that applicant developed under subsection (h) specific performance outcomes related to the long-term goals of increasing public safety and reducing recidivism.

The performance outcomes identified under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to offenders reentering the community—

(A) reduction in recidivism rates;

(B) reduction in crime;

(C) increased employment and education opportunities;

(D) reduction in violations of conditions of supervised release;

(E) increased payment of child support;

(F) increased housing opportunities;

(G) reduction in drug and alcohol abuse; and

(H) increased participation in substance abuse and mental health services.

States may include in their reentry strategic plan other performance outcomes that increase the success rates of offenders reentering the community.

Applicants shall coordinate with communities and stakeholders about the selection of performance outcomes identified by the applicant, and shall consult with the Department of Justice for assistance with data collection and measurement activities.

Each grantee under this section shall submit an annual report to the Attorney General that—

(1) identifies the progress of that grantee toward achieving its strategic performance outcomes identified under subsection (j); and

(2) describes other activities conducted by the grantee to increase the success rates of the reentry population, such as programs that foster effective risk management and treatment programming, offender accountability, and community and victim participation.

The Attorney General, in consultation with the grantees, shall—

(A) identify primary and secondary sources of information to support the measurement of the strategic performance outcomes identified under subsection (j);

(B) identify sources and methods of data collection in support of performance measurement required under this section;

(C) provide to all grantees technical assistance and training on performance measures and data collection for purposes of this section; and

(D) coordinate with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on strategic performance outcome measures and data collection for purposes of this section relating to substance abuse and mental health.

The Attorney General shall coordinate with other Federal agencies to identify national and other sources of information to support grantee’s performance measurement.

Any statistical analysis of population data conducted under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Federal Register Notice dated October 30, 1997, relating to classification standards.

The Attorney General may, using amounts made available to carry out this section, make a grant to an eligible organization to provide for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center.

An organization eligible for the grant under paragraph (1) is any national nonprofit organization that—

(A) is approved by the Federal task force established under subsection (o); and

(B) provides technical assistance and training to, and has special expertise and broad, national-level experience in, offender reentry programs, training, and research.

The organization receiving the grant under paragraph (1) shall establish a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center to—

(A) provide education, training, and technical assistance to States, units of local governments, territories, tribes, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and corrections institutions;

(B) collect data and best practices in offender reentry from demonstration grantees and others agencies and organizations;

(C) develop and disseminate evaluation tools, mechanisms, and measures to better assess and document coalition performance measures and outcomes;

(D) disseminate knowledge to States and other relevant entities about reentry, including best practices, policy standards, and research findings;

(E) develop and implement procedures to assist relevant authorities in—

(i) determining when release is appropriate; and

(ii) the use of data to inform the release decision;

(F) develop and implement procedures to identify efficiently and effectively those violators of probation, parole, or post-incarceration supervision who should be returned to prison or jail and those who should receive other penalties based on defined, graduated sanctions;

(G) collaborate with the Federal task force established under subsection (o) and the Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners;

(H) develop a national reentry research agenda; and

(I) bridge the gap between reentry research and practice by translating knowledge from reentry research into practical information.

Of amounts made available to carry out this section, not more than 4 percent shall be available to carry out this subsection.

Of amounts made available to carry out this section—

(1) not more than 2 percent shall be available for administrative expenses in carrying out this section; and

(2) not more than 2 percent shall be made available to the National Institute of Justice to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration projects funded under this section in reducing recidivism and increasing public safety.

The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the heads of such other elements of the Federal Government as the Attorney General considers appropriate, and in collaboration with States, units of local government, territories, tribes, stakeholders, service providers, and nonprofit organizations, shall establish an interagency task force on Federal programs and activities relating to the reentry of offenders into the community.

The task force established under paragraph (1) shall—

(A) identify any reentry program or activity that may be resulting in overlapping or duplication of reentry services, the scope of such overlapping or duplication, and the relationship of such overlapping and duplication to public safety, public health, and effectiveness and efficiency;

(B) identify methods to improve collaboration and coordination of such programs and activities;

(C) identify areas of responsibility in which improved collaboration and coordination of such programs and activities would result in increased effectiveness or efficiency;

(D) develop innovative interagency or intergovernmental programs, activities, or procedures that would improve outcomes of offenders reentering the community and the children of offenders;

(E) develop methods for increasing regular communication that would increase interagency program effectiveness;

(F) identify areas of research that can be coordinated across agencies with an emphasis on applying science-based practices to support, treatment, and intervention programs for offenders reentering the community;

(G) identify funding areas that should be coordinated across agencies, and any gaps in funding for reentry services; and

(H) in collaboration with the National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resources Center established under subsection (m), identify successful reentry programs and collect best practices in offender reentry from demonstration grantees and other agencies and organizations, determine the extent to which such programs and practices can be replicated, and make information on such programs and practices available to States, localities, nonprofit organizations, and others.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007, the task force established under paragraph (1) shall submit to Congress a report on barriers to reentry, including recommendations to overcome such barriers. The task force shall provide for public input in preparing the report.

The report required by subparagraph (A) shall identify Federal and other barriers to successful reentry of offenders into the community and analyze the effects of such barriers on offenders and on children and other family members of offenders, including barriers relating to—

(i) child support obligations and procedures;

(ii) Social Security benefits (including barriers in timely restoration of suspended disability benefits immediately upon release), veterans benefits, food stamps, and other forms of Federal public assistance;

(iii) Medicaid and Medicare laws, regulations, guidelines or procedures (including barriers in timely restoration of benefits caused by delay in reinstatement of suspended Social Security disability benefits);

(iv) education programs, financial assistance, and full civic participation;

(v) TANF program funding criteria and other welfare benefits;

(vi) sustainable employment and career advancement, including barriers that are not directly connected to the crime committed and the risk that the offender presents to the community;

(vii) laws, regulations, rules, and practices that restrict Federal employment licensure and participation in Federal contracting programs;

(viii) admissions to and evictions from Federal housing programs, including—

(I) examining the number and characteristics of offenders who are evicted from or denied eligibility for Federal housing programs;

(II) the effect of eligibility denials and evictions on homelessness, family stability, and family reunification;

(III) the extent to which arrest records are the basis for denying applications;

(IV) the implications of considering misdemeanor convictions that occurred more than 5 years before the date of an application and felony convictions that occurred more than 10 years before the date of an application, and the appropriateness of taking into account rehabilitation and other mitigating factors; and

(V) the feasibility of using probationary or conditional eligibility based on participation in a supervised rehabilitation program or other appropriate social services;

(ix) reentry procedures, case planning, and transitions of offenders from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to a Federal parole or probation program, or to community corrections;

(x) laws, regulations, rules, and practices that may require a parolee to return to the same county that the parolee was living in prior to being arrested, and the potential for changing such laws, regulations, rules, and practices; and

(xi) prerelease planning procedures for offenders to ensure that the eligibility of an offender for Federal or State benefits (including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and veterans benefits) upon release is established prior to release, subject to any limitations in law, and to ensure that offenders are provided with referrals to appropriate social and health services or are linked to appropriate nonprofit organizations.

On an annual basis, the task force established under paragraph (1) shall submit to Congress a report on the activities of the task force, including specific recommendations of the task force on matters referred to in paragraph (2).

Any statistical analysis of population data under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Federal Register Notice dated October 30, 1997, relating to classification standards.

Section 2976 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w) is amended in subsection (p)(1), as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, by striking $15,000,000 and all that follows, and inserting $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 and 2009..

The Secretary of Health and Human Services may—

(1) prepare and make available to States a report on any recommendations regarding the role of State child protective services at the time of the arrest of an individual; and

(2) by regulation, establish such services as the Secretary determines necessary for the preservation of families that have been impacted by the incarceration of a family member, with special attention given to the impact on children.

The Secretary of Labor shall take such steps as are necessary to implement a program, including a program carried out through the Employment and Training Administration, to educate employers, and to educate one-stop partners and one-stop operators (as such terms are defined in section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801)), about incentives (in existence as of the date of the implementation), including the Federal bonding program carried out through the Employment and Training Administration and tax credits, for hiring former Federal, State, or local prisoners.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for fiscal years 2008 and 2009, such sums as may be necessary for the continuing activities of the National Resource Center for Children and Families of the Incarcerated, including conducting a review of the policies and practices of State and Federal corrections agencies to support parent-child relationships.

Section 20102(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13702(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking and at the end;

(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting; and; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

(4) to carry out any activity described in subsection (b) or (c) of section 2976 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w (b) and (c)).

The Attorney General may award grants to States to study and to improve the collection of data with respect to—

(1) offenders whose parole or post-incarceration supervision is revoked; and

(2) which such offenders represent the greatest risk to community safety.

As a condition of receiving a grant under this section, the Governor or other chief executive officer of a State shall—

(1) certify that the State has, or intends to establish, a program that collects comprehensive and reliable data with respect to individuals described in subsection (a)(1), including data on—

(A) the number and type of parole or post-incarceration supervision violations that occur within that State;

(B) the reasons for parole or post-incarceration supervision revocation;

(C) the underlying behavior that led to the revocations; and

(D) the terms of imprisonment or other penalties that are imposed for the violations; and

(2) provide the data described in paragraph (1) to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in a form prescribed by the Bureau.

Any statistical analysis of population data conducted under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Federal Register Notice dated October 30, 1997, relating to classification standards.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Section 1904(d) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ff–3(d)) is amended to read as follows:

In this part, the term residential substance abuse treatment —

(1) means a course of individual and group activities and treatment, lasting at least 6 months, in residential treatment facilities set apart from the general prison population; and

(2) may include the use of pharmacotherapies where appropriate, that may extend beyond the 6-month period.

Section 3621(e)(5)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking means a course of and all that follows through the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: means a course of individual and group activities and treatment, lasting at least 6 months, in residential treatment facilities set apart from the general prison population (which may include the use of pharmacotherapies, where appropriate, that may extend beyond the 6-month period);.

Section 222(a)(1) of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9222(a)(1)) is amended by striking, of which not more than 10 percent of the 82.5 percent shall be available to carry out section 225.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall submit to Congress a report—

(1) on the use of literacy funds provided under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.) to correctional institutions as defined in section 225(d)(2) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 9225(d)(2)); and

(2) that specifies the amount of literacy funds that are provided to each category of correctional institution in each State, and identify whether funds are being sufficiently allocated among the various types of institutions.

From amounts made available to carry out this section, the Attorney General shall make grants, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing mentoring and other transitional services essential to the reentry of offenders into the community.

A grant under subsection (a) may be used for—

(1) mentoring adult and juvenile offenders during incarceration, during transition back to the community, and post-incarceration; and

(2) transitional services to assist in the reentry of offenders into the community.

To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit organization shall submit an application to the Attorney General based on criteria developed by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The Attorney General shall give priority consideration to applications that—

(A) include a plan to implement activities that have been demonstrated to be effective in facilitating the successful reentry of offenders into the community; and

(B) provide for an independent evaluation.

The Attorney General shall require each applicant under this section to identify specific performance outcomes related to the long-term goal of stabilizing communities by reducing recidivism and reintegrating offenders into the community.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Section 3624(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

The Bureau of Prisons shall, to the extent practicable, assure that a prisoner serving a term of imprisonment spends 20 percent of the final portion of such term, not to exceed 12 months, under conditions that will afford the prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for reentry into the community. Such conditions may include a community correctional facility.

The Bureau of Prisons is authorized to place a prisoner in home confinement for the final portion of the term of imprisonment of that prisoner, not to exceed the shorter of 10 percent of that term of imprisonment or 6 months.

The United States Probation System shall, to the extent practicable, offer assistance to a prisoner during any prerelease custody under this subsection.

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or restrict the authority of the Bureau of Prisons granted under section 3621 of this title.

Section 821 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 1151) is amended to read as follows:

For purposes of this section, the term youth offender means a male or female offender under the age of 35, who is incarcerated in a State prison, including a prerelease facility.

The Secretary of Education (in this section referred to as the Secretary)—

(1) shall establish a program in accordance with this section to provide grants to the State correctional education agencies in the States, from allocations for the States under subsection (h), to assist and encourage youth offenders to acquire functional literacy, life, and job skills, through—

(A) the pursuit of a postsecondary education certificate, or an associate or bachelor's degree while in prison; and

(B) employment counseling and other related services which start during incarceration and end not later than 1 year after release from confinement; and

(2) may establish such performance objectives and reporting requirements for State correctional education agencies receiving grants under this section as the Secretary determines are necessary to assess the effectiveness of the program under this section.

To be eligible for a grant under this section, a State correctional education agency shall submit to the Secretary a proposal for a youth offender program that—

(1) identifies the scope of the problem, including the number of youth offenders in need of postsecondary education and career and technical education;

(2) lists the accredited public or private educational institution or institutions that will provide postsecondary educational services;

(3) lists the cooperating agencies, public and private, or businesses that will provide related services, such as counseling in the areas of career development, substance abuse, health, and parenting skills;

(4) describes specific performance objectives and evaluation methods (in addition to, and consistent with, any objectives established by the Secretary under subsection (b)(2)) that the State correctional education agency will use in carrying out its proposal, including—

(A) specific and quantified student outcome measures that are compared with outcomes for non-program participants with similar demographic characteristics; and

(B) measures, consistent with the data elements and definitions described in subsection (d)(1)(A), of—

(i) program completion, including an explicit definition of what constitutes a program completion within the proposal;

(ii) knowledge and skill attainment, including specification of instruments that will measure knowledge and skill attainment;

(iii) attainment of employment both before and after release;

(iv) success in employment indicated by job retention and advancement; and

(v) recidivism, including such subindicators as time before subsequent offense and severity of subsequent offense;

(5) describes how the proposed programs are to be integrated with existing State correctional education programs (such as adult education, graduate education degree programs, and career and technical education) and State industry programs;

(6) describes how the proposed programs will utilize technology to deliver the services under this section; and

(7) describes how students will be selected so that only youth offenders eligible under subsection (e) will be enrolled in a program receiving a grant under this section.

Each State correctional education agency receiving a grant under this section shall—

(1) annually report to the Secretary regarding—

(A) the results of the evaluations conducted using data elements and definitions provided by the Secretary for the use of State correctional education programs;

(B) any objectives or requirements established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b)(2); and

(C) the additional performance objectives and evaluation methods contained in the proposal described in subsection (c)(4), as necessary to document the attainment of project performance objectives; and

(2) expend on each participating eligible student for an academic year, not more than the maximum Federal Pell Grant appropriated under section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 for such academic year, which shall be used for—

(A) tuition, books, and essential materials; and

(B) related services such as career development, substance abuse counseling, parenting skills training, and health education.

A youth offender shall be eligible for participation in a program receiving a grant under this section if the youth offender—

(1) is eligible to be released within 5 years (including a youth offender who is eligible for parole within such time); and

(2) is 35 years of age or younger.

A State correctional education agency receiving a grant under this section shall provide educational and related services to each participating youth offender for a period not to exceed 5 years, 1 year of which may be devoted to study in a graduate education degree program or to remedial education services for students who have obtained a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent. Educational and related services shall start during the period of incarceration in prison or prerelease, and the related services may continue for not more than 1 year after release from confinement.

State correctional education agencies and cooperating institutions shall, to the extent practicable, use high-tech applications in developing programs to meet the requirements and goals of this section.

From the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (i) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each State an amount that bears the same relationship to such funds as the total number of youth offenders eligible under subsection (e) in such State bears to the total number of such youth offenders in all States.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

The Attorney General shall take such steps as are necessary to modify existing procedures and policies to enhance case planning and to improve the transition of offenders from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to the community, including placement of such individuals in community corrections facilities.

The Bureau of Prisons shall establish reentry planning procedures within the Release Preparation Program that include providing Federal offenders with information in the following areas:

(A) Health and nutrition.

(B) Employment.

(C) Personal finance and consumer skills.

(D) Information and community resources.

(E) Release requirements and procedures.

(F) Personal growth and development.

Any written information that the Bureau of Prisons provides to offenders for reentry planning purposes shall use common terminology and language. The Bureau of Prisons shall provide the United States Probation and Pretrial Services System with relevant information on the medical care needs and the mental health treatment needs of offenders scheduled for release and reentry into the community. The United States Probation and Pretrial Services System shall take this information into account when developing supervision plans in an effort to address the medical care and mental health care needs of such offenders. The Bureau of Prisons shall provide offenders with a sufficient amount of all necessary medications upon release from custody.

Section 501(a)(1)(A) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12681(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking fiscal year 1994 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1996 and inserting fiscal year 2008 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

Section 161 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2901) is amended by striking such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2003 and inserting $1,800,000,000 (of which $300,000,000 shall be designated to create additional Job Corps centers, especially in high gang activity areas) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

Section 137(a) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2872(a)) is amended by striking such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003 and inserting $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

Section 261(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5665(a)) is amended by inserting at the end the following: The Administrator shall expand the number of sites receiving such grants from 4 to 12..

Section 299 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5671) is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part E $4,800,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

The Attorney General may make grants to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, other public and private entities, and multi-jurisdictional or regional consortia thereof to increase police presence, to expand and improve cooperative efforts between law enforcement agencies and members of the community to address gang activity problems, and to otherwise enhance public safety.

Grants made under this subtitle may include programs, projects, and other activities to—

(1) rehire law enforcement officers who have been laid off as a result of State and local budget reductions for deployment to reduce gang activity;

(2) hire and train additional career law enforcement officers for deployment to reduce gang activity;

(3) procure equipment, technology, or support systems, or pay overtime, to increase the number of officers deployed in gang activity policing;

(4) hire officers to perform intelligence activities to reduce gang activity;

(5) increase the number of law enforcement officers involved in activities that are focused on interaction with members of the community or on proactive gang control and prevention by redeploying officers to such activities;

(6) establish and implement innovative programs to increase and enhance proactive crime control and gang prevention programs involving law enforcement officers and young persons in the community;

(7) establish school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems by using school resource officers who operate in and around elementary and secondary schools to combat gangs;

(8) develop new technologies, including interoperable communications technologies, modernized criminal record technology, and forensic technology, to assist State and local law enforcement agencies in reducing gang activity and to train law enforcement officers to use such technologies; and

(9) support the purchase by law enforcement agencies of not more than 1 service weapon per officer, upon hiring for deployment in gang activity policing or, if necessary, upon the initial redeployment of an officer to gang activity policing.

In awarding grants under this subtitle, the Attorney General may give preferential consideration to applicants—

(1) for hiring and rehiring additional career law enforcement officers that involve a non-Federal contribution exceeding the 25 percent minimum under this subtitle; and

(2) that are located in a high-intensity interstate gang activity area designated under section 211.

The Attorney General may use any component of the Department of Justice in carrying out this subtitle.

Unless all applications submitted by any qualifying State and grantee within that State under this subtitle have been funded, each qualifying State, together with grantees within that State, shall receive in each fiscal year under this subtitle an amount equal to not less than 0.5 percent of the total amount appropriated in that fiscal year for grants under this subtitle. In this section, qualifying State means any State that has submitted an application for a grant, or in which a unit of local government, Indian tribe, other public or private entity, or multijurisdictional or regional consortia thereof has submitted an application for a grant, that meets the requirements established by the Attorney General under this subtitle.

The Federal share of the costs of a program, project, or activity carried out with a grant under this subtitle shall be not more than 75 percent, unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the requirement under this section of a non-Federal contribution to the costs of a program, project, or activity.

For a grant for a period exceeding 1 year for hiring or rehiring career law enforcement officers, the Federal share shall decrease each year for up to 5 years, by an amount determined by the Attorney General, with a goal of the continuation of the increased hiring level using State or local sources of funding following the conclusion of Federal support.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subtitle $700,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012. Any amount appropriated under this section shall remain available until expended.

In this section the following definitions shall apply:

The term Governor means a Governor or other chief executive officer of a State, or the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

The term high-intensity interstate gang activity area means an area within a State that is designated as a high-intensity interstate gang activity area under subsection (b)(1).

The term State —

(A) means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States; and

(B) includes an Indian tribe, as that term is defined in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).

The Attorney General, after consultation with the Governor of any appropriate State, may designate as high-intensity interstate gang activity areas, a specific area that is located within 1 or more States, based on the criteria under paragraph (4). To the extent that the goals of a high-intensity interstate gang activity area overlap with the goals of a high-intensity drug trafficking area designed under section 707 of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 1706), the Attorney General may merge the 2 areas to serve both functions. The Attorney General may not make the final designation of a high-intensity interstate gang activity area without consulting with and receiving comment from local elected officials representing communities within the affected States.

In order to provide Federal assistance to high-intensity interstate gang activity areas, the Attorney General shall—

(A) establish criminal street gang enforcement teams, consisting of Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities, for the coordinated investigation, disruption, apprehension, and prosecution of criminal street gangs and offenders in each high-intensity interstate gang activity area;

(B) direct the reassignment or detailing from any Federal department or agency (subject to the approval of the head of that department or agency, in the case of a department or agency other than the Department of Justice) of personnel to each criminal street gang enforcement team established under subparagraph (A); and

(C) provide all necessary funding for the operation of such criminal street gang enforcement teams in each high-intensity interstate gang activity area.

Each team established under paragraph (2)(A) shall consist of agents and officers, where feasible, from—

(A) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;

(B) the Department of Homeland Security;

(C) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(D) the Drug Enforcement Administration;

(E) the Internal Revenue Service;

(F) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(G) the United States Marshals Service;

(H) the United States Postal Service;

(I) State and local law enforcement; and

(J) Federal, State, and local prosecutors.

In considering an area for designation as a high-intensity interstate gang activity area under this section, the Attorney General shall consider—

(A) the current and predicted levels of gang crime activity in that area;

(B) the extent to which violent crime in that area appears to be related to criminal street gang activity, such as drug trafficking, murder, robbery, assaults, carjacking, arson, kidnapping, extortion, and other criminal activity;

(C) the extent to which State and local law enforcement agencies have committed resources to—

(i) respond to the gang crime problem in that area; and

(ii) participate in a gang enforcement team;

(D) the extent to which a significant increase in the allocation of Federal resources would enhance local response to the gang crime activities in that area; and

(E) any other criteria that the Attorney General considers to be appropriate.

There are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 to 2012 to carry out this section.

Of amounts made available under paragraph (1) in each fiscal year—

(A) 50 percent shall be used to carry out subsection (b)(2); and

(B) 50 percent shall be used to make grants available for community-based programs to provide crime prevention, research, and intervention services that are designed for gang members and at-risk youth in a high-intensity interstate gang activity area.

Not later than February 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall provide a report to Congress which describes, for each high-intensity interstate gang activity area—

(A) the specific long-term and short-term goals and objectives;

(B) the measurements used to evaluate the performance of the high-intensity interstate gang activity area in achieving the long-term and short-term goals;

(C) the age, composition, and membership of gangs in that high-intensity interstate gang activity area;

(D) the number and nature of crimes committed by gangs in that high-intensity interstate gang activity area; and

(E) the definition of the term gang used to compile that report.

The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall use any funds made available under this section to carry out the Safe Streets Program and to support the criminal street gang enforcement teams, established under section 211(b)(2), in high-intensity interstate gang activity areas designated under section 211(b)(1).

In addition to amounts otherwise authorized, there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section, to remain available until expended.

Section 31702 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13862) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (3), by striking and at the end;

(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

(5) to hire additional prosecutors to—

(A) allow more cases to be prosecuted; and

(B) reduce backlogs;

(6) to fund technology, equipment, and training for prosecutors and law enforcement in order to increase accurate identification of gang members and violent offenders, and to maintain databases with such information to facilitate coordination among law enforcement and prosecutors; and

(7) to create and expand witness and victim protection programs to prevent threats, intimidation, and retaliation against victims of, and witnesses to, violent crimes.

Section 31707 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13867) is amended to read as follows:

There are authorized to be appropriated $32,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this subtitle.

Of the amounts made available under subsection (a) in each fiscal year, $12,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 31702(7).

The Attorney General is authorized to expand the Project Safe Neighborhoods program to require each United States attorney to—

(1) identify, investigate, and prosecute significant criminal street gangs operating within the district of that United States attorney;

(2) coordinate the identification, investigation, and prosecution of criminal street gangs among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies; and

(3) coordinate and establish criminal street gang enforcement teams, established under section 211(b)(2), in high-intensity interstate gang activity areas designated under section 211(b)(1) within the district of that United States attorney.

The Attorney General may hire assistant United States attorneys, non-attorney coordinators, or paralegals to carry out this section.

There are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section.

Section 816 of the USA PATRIOT Act (28 U.S.C. 509 note) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (4), by striking and at the end;

(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as (6); and

(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:

(5) to hire additional forensic examiners to help with forensic work and to fight gang activity; and; and

(2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:

There is authorized to be appropriated $55,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out this section.

Section 521 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

As used in this chapter:

The term criminal street gang means a formal or informal group, club, organization, or association of 5 or more individuals—

(A) who individually, jointly, or in combination, have committed or attempted to commit for the direct or indirect benefit of, at the direction of, in furtherance of, or in association with the group, club organization, or association at least 2 separate acts, each of which is a predicate gang crime—

(i) 1 of which occurs after the date of enactment of the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007;

(ii) the last of which occurs not later than 5 years after the commission of a prior predicate gang crime (excluding any period of imprisonment); and

(iii) 1 of which is a crime of violence or involves manufacturing, importing, distributing, possessing with intent to distribute, or otherwise dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)); and

(B) whose activities affect interstate or foreign commerce, or involve the use of any facility of, or travel in, interstate or foreign commerce.

The term predicate gang crime means—

(A) any act, threat, conspiracy, or attempted act, which is chargeable under Federal or State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year involving—

(i) murder;

(ii) manslaughter;

(iii) maiming;

(iv) assault with a dangerous weapon;

(v) assault resulting in serious bodily injury;

(vi) gambling;

(vii) kidnapping;

(viii) robbery;

(ix) extortion;

(x) arson;

(xi) obstruction of justice;

(xii) tampering with or retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant;

(xiii) burglary;

(xiv) sexual assault;

(xv) carjacking; or

(xvi) manufacturing, importing, distributing, possessing with intent to distribute, or otherwise dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemicals (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));

(B) any act punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year under—

(i) section 844 (relating to explosive materials);

(ii) section 922(g)(1) (where the underlying conviction is a violent felony (as defined in section 924(e)(2)(B) of this title) or is a serious drug offense (as defined in section 924(e)(2)(A) of this title));

(iii) subsection (a)(2), (b), (c), (g), or (h) of section 924 (relating to receipt, possession, and transfer of firearms);

(iv) sections 1028 and 1029 (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents or access devices);

(v) section 1503 (relating to obstruction of justice);

(vi) section 1510 (relating to obstruction of criminal investigations);

(vii) section 1512 (relating to tampering with a witness, victim, or informant) or section 1513 (relating to retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant);

(viii) section 1708 (relating to theft of stolen mail matter);

(ix) section 1951 (relating to interference with commerce, robbery or extortion);

(x) section 1952 (relating to racketeering);

(xi) section 1956 (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments);

(xii) section 1957 (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity);

(xiii) section 1958 (relating to use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire); or

(xiv) sections 2312 through 2315 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles or stolen property); or

(C) any violation of section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to importation of alien for immoral purpose) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324, 1327, and 1328).

The term sexual assault means any offense that involves conduct that would violate chapter 109A if the conduct occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

The term State means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

It shall be unlawful—

(1) to commit, or conspire or attempt to commit a predicate gang crime—

(A) in furtherance or in aid of the activities of a criminal street gang;

(B) for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in such a gang; or

(C) for the direct or indirect benefit of the criminal street gang, or in association with the criminal street gang; or

(2) to employ, use, command, counsel, persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any individual to commit, cause to commit, or facilitate the commission of, a predicate gang crime—

(A) in furtherance or in aid of the activities of a criminal street gang;

(B) for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in such a gang; or

(C) for the direct or indirect benefit of the criminal street gang, or in association with the criminal street gang.

Whoever violates subsection (b)—

(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 30 years, or both; and

(2) if the violation is based on a predicate gang crime for which the maximum penalty includes life imprisonment, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both.

The court, in imposing sentence on a person who is convicted of an offense under this section, shall order that the defendant forfeit to the United States—

(A) any property, real or personal, constituting or traceable to gross proceeds obtained from that offense; and

(B) any property used or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or to facilitate the commission of that offense.

The procedures under section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853) (other than subsection (d) of that section) and under rule 32.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall apply to all stages of a criminal forfeiture proceeding under this section.

Property subject to forfeiture under paragraph (1) may be forfeited in a civil case under the procedures set forth in chapter 46 of this title.

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 26 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 521 and inserting the following:

Chapter 26 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

It shall be unlawful for any person to recruit, employ, solicit, induce, command, or cause another person to be or remain as a member of a criminal street gang, or conspire to do so, with the intent to cause that person to participate in a predicate gang crime.

In this section, the term minor means a person who is less than 18 years of age.

Any person who violates subsection (a) shall—

(1) be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined under this title, or both; or

(2) if the person recruited, solicited, induced, commanded, or caused to participate or remain in a criminal street gang is under the age of 18—

(A) be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or both; and

(B) at the discretion of the sentencing judge, be liable for any costs incurred by the Federal Government, or by any State or local government, for housing, maintaining, and treating the person until the person attains the age of 18 years.

Chapter 26 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Any person who, for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in, or in furtherance or in aid of, or for the direct or indirect benefit of, or in association with a criminal street gang, or as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value to or from a criminal street gang, murders, kidnaps, sexually assaults, maims, assaults with a dangerous weapon, commits assault resulting in serious bodily injury upon, commits any other crime of violence or threatens to commit a crime of violence against any individual, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished, in addition and consecutive to the punishment provided for any other violation of this chapter—

(1) for murder, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under this title, or both;

(2) for kidnapping or sexual assault, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under this title, or both;

(3) for maiming, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under this title, or both;

(4) for assault with a dangerous weapon or assault resulting in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment for not more than 30 years, a fine under this title, or both;

(5) for any other crime of violence, by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine under this title, or both;

(6) for threatening to commit a crime of violence specified in paragraphs (1) through (4), by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine under this title, or both;

(7) for attempting or conspiring to commit murder, kidnapping, maiming, or sexual assault, by imprisonment for not more than 30 years, a fine under this title, or both; and

(8) for attempting or conspiring to commit a crime involving assault with a dangerous weapon or assault resulting in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine under this title, or both.

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 26 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Section 1952 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking and thereafter performs or attempts to perform and inserting and thereafter performs, or attempts or conspires to perform; and

(B) by striking 5 years and inserting 10 years;

(2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively;

(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

(b) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, with the intent to kill, assault, bribe, force, intimidate, or threaten any person, to delay or influence the testimony of, or prevent from testifying, a witness in a State criminal proceeding and thereafter performs, or attempts or conspires to perform, an act described in this subsection, shall—

(1) be fined under this title, imprisoned for any term of years, or both; and

(2) if death results, imprisoned for any term of years or for life.; and

(4) in subsection (c)(2), as redesignated under subparagraph (B), by inserting intimidation of, or retaliation against, a witness, victim, juror, or informant, after extortion, bribery,.

Section 113(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking with intent to do bodily harm, and without just cause or excuse,.

Section 1112(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by—

(1) striking ten years and inserting 20 years; and

(2) striking six years and inserting 10 years.

Section 1153(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting an offense for which the maximum statutory term of imprisonment under section 1363 is greater than 5 years, after a felony under chapter 109A,.

Section 1961(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting, or would have been so chargeable if the act or threat (other than lawful forms of gambling) had not been committed in Indian country (as defined in section 1151) or in any other area of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, after chargeable under State law.

Section 2119 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm.

Section 924(h) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by inserting, or will be possessed in furtherance of, after commit; and

(2) by striking 10 years and inserting 20 years.

Section 3582(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking chapter 95 (racketeering) or 96 (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations) of this title and inserting section 521 (criminal street gangs) or 523 (violent crimes in furtherance or in aid of criminal street gangs), in chapter 95 (racketeering) or 96 (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations),; and

(2) by inserting a criminal street gang or before an illegal enterprise.

Section 3663(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking chapter 46 or chapter 96 of this title and inserting section 521, under chapter 46 or 96,.

No person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government shall be subject to section 3559(e) of title 18, United States Code, for any offense for which Federal jurisdiction is solely predicated on the fact that the offense was committed in Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of such title 18) and which occurs within the boundaries of such Indian country, unless the governing body of such Indian tribe elects to subject the persons under the criminal jurisdiction of the tribe to section 3559(e) of such title 18.

Section 1958 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking the heading and inserting the following:

(2) in subsection (a), by striking Whoever and all that follows through conspires to do so and inserting the following: Any person who travels in or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses or causes another (including the intended victim) to use the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent that a murder or other felony crime of violence be committed in violation of the laws of any State or the United States as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value, or who conspires to do so.

(3) striking ten years and inserting 20 years; and

(4) by striking twenty years and inserting 30 years.

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 95 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 1958 and inserting the following:

Section 1959(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking Whoever and all that follows through punished and inserting the following: Any person who, as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value from an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, or for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, or in furtherance or in aid of an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, murders, kidnaps, sexually assaults (as that term is defined in section 521), maims, assaults with a dangerous weapon, commits assault resulting in serious bodily injury upon, or threatens to commit a crime of violence against any individual in violation of the laws of any State or the United States, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished, in addition and consecutive to the punishment provided for any other violation of this chapter; and

(2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (6) and inserting the following:

(2) for kidnapping or sexual assault, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under this title, or both;

(3) for maiming, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under this title, or both;

(4) for assault with a dangerous weapon or assault resulting in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment for not more than 30 years, a fine under this title, or both;

(5) for threatening to commit a crime of violence, by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine under this title, or both;

(6) for attempting or conspiring to commit murder, kidnapping, maiming, or sexual assault, by imprisonment for not more than 30 years, a fine under this title, or both; and

(7) for attempting or conspiring to commit assault with a dangerous weapon or assault which would result in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine under this title, or both.

Part D of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

Any person who, during and in relation to any drug trafficking crime, murders, kidnaps, sexually assaults, maims, assaults with a dangerous weapon, commits assault resulting in serious bodily injury upon, commits any other crime of violence or threatens to commit a crime of violence against, any individual, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished, in addition and consecutive to the punishment provided for the drug trafficking crime—

(1) in the case of murder, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under title 18, United States Code, or both;

(2) in the case of kidnapping or sexual assault by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under such title 18, or both;

(3) in the case of maiming, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, a fine under such title 18, or both;

(4) in the case of assault with a dangerous weapon or assault resulting in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment not more than 30 years, a fine under such title 18, or both;

(5) in the case of committing any other crime of violence, by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine under such title 18, or both;

(6) in the case of threatening to commit a crime of violence specified in paragraphs (1) through (4), by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine under such title 18, or both;

(7) in the case of attempting or conspiring to commit murder, kidnapping, maiming, or sexual assault, by imprisonment for not more than 30 years, a fine under such title 18, or both; and

(8) in the case of attempting or conspiring to commit a crime involving assault with a dangerous weapon or assault resulting in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine under such title 18, or both.

A prosecution for a violation of this section may be brought in—

(1) the judicial district in which the murder or other crime of violence occurred; or

(2) any judicial district in which the drug trafficking crime may be prosecuted.

As used in this section—

(1) the term crime of violence has the meaning given that term in section 16 of title 18, United States Code;

(2) the term drug trafficking crime has the meaning given that term in section 924(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code; and

(3) the term sexually assault has the meaning given that term in section 521 of title 18, United States Code.

The table of contents for the Controlled Substances Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 423, the following:

Chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any noncapital felony, crime of violence (as defined in section 16), including any racketeering activity or gang crime which involves any violent crime, unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted by the later of—

(1) 10 years after the date on which the alleged violation occurred;

(2) 10 years after the date on which the continuing offense was completed; or

(3) 8 years after the date on which the alleged violation was first discovered.

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Section 2516(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in paragraph (q), by striking or’.;

(2) by redesignating paragraph (s) as paragraph (u); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (r) the following:

(s) any violation of section 424 of the Controlled Substances Act (relating to murder and other violent crimes in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime);

(t) any violation of section 521, 522, or 523 (relating to criminal street gangs); or.

Rule 804(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Evidence is amended by striking A statement and all that follows and inserting: A statement offered against a party that has engaged, acquiesced, or conspired, in wrongdoing that was intended to, and did, procure the unavailability of the declarant as a witness..

Section 1513 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by—

(1) redesignating subsection (e) beginning with Whoever conspires as subsection (f); and

(2) adding at the end the following:

(g) A prosecution under this section may be brought in the district in which the official proceeding (whether or not pending, about to be instituted, or completed) was intended to be affected or was completed, or in which the conduct constituting the alleged offense occurred.

Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend its guidelines and its policy statements to conform to the amendments made by this title.

In carrying out this section, the Sentencing Commission shall—

(1) establish new guidelines and policy statements, as warranted, in order to implement new or revised criminal offenses created under this title;

(2) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and policy statements reflect the serious nature of the offenses and the penalties set forth in this title, the growing incidence of serious gang and violent crimes, and the need to modify the sentencing guidelines and policy statements to deter, prevent, and punish such offenses;

(3) consider the extent to which the guidelines and policy statements adequately address—

(A) whether the guideline offense levels and enhancements for gang and violent crimes—

(i) are sufficient to deter and punish such offenses; and

(ii) are adequate in view of the statutory increases in penalties contained in the amendments made by this title; and

(B) whether any existing or new specific offense characteristics should be added to reflect congressional intent to increase gang and violent crime penalties, punish offenders, and deter gang and violent crime;

(4) assure reasonable consistency with other relevant directives and with other sentencing guidelines;

(5) account for any additional aggravating or mitigating circumstances that might justify exceptions to the generally applicable sentencing ranges;

(6) make any necessary conforming changes to the sentencing guidelines; and

(7) assure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing under section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.

Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on the costs and benefits associated with expanding Federal authority to prosecute offenders under the age of 18 years who are gang members who commit criminal offenses.

The report submitted under subsection (a) shall—

(1) examine the ability of the judicial systems of the States to respond effectively to juveniles who are members of criminal street gangs, as that term is defined in section 521 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this Act;

(2) examine the extent to which offenders who are 16 and 17 years old are members of criminal street gangs, and are accused of committing violent crimes and prosecuted in the adult criminal justice systems of the individual States;

(3) determine the percentage of crimes committed by members of criminal street gangs that are committed by offenders who are 16 and 17 years old;

(4) examine the extent to which United States attorneys bring criminal indictments and prosecute offenders under the age of 18 years, and the extent to which United States Attorneys' offices include prosecutors with experience prosecuting juveniles for adult criminal violations;

(5) examine the extent to which the Bureau of Prisons houses offenders under the age of 18 years, and has the ability and experience to meet the needs of young offenders;

(6) estimate the cost to the Federal Government of prosecuting and incarcerating members of criminal street gangs who are 16 or 17 years old and are accused of violent crimes; and

(7) detail any benefits for Federal prosecutions that would be realized by expanding Federal authority to bring charges against members of criminal street gangs who are 16 or 17 years old and are accused of violent crimes.

Section 3142 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (e), in the matter following paragraph (3)—

(A) by inserting an offense under section 922(g)(1) where the underlying conviction is a serious drug offense (as that term is defined in section 924(e)(2)(A) of this title) for which a period of not more than 10 years has elapsed since the date of the conviction or the release of the person from imprisonment, whichever is later, or is a serious violent felony (as that term is defined in section 3559(c)(2)(F) of this title), after that the person committed; and

(B) by inserting a comma before or an offense involving a minor; and

(2) in subsection (f)(1)—

(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking or at the end; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

(F) an offense under section 922(g); or.

Section 924(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking shall and inserting or conspires to use, carry, or possess a firearm during and in relation to any such crime shall, for each instance in which the firearm is so used, carried, or possessed;

(2) in clause (i)—

(A) by striking 5 years and inserting 7 years; and

(B) by adding or at the end;

(3) by striking clause (ii); and

(4) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (ii).

Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (c)—

(A) by striking paragraph (4); and

(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4); and

(2) by striking subsection (o).

Section 924(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

(A) Whoever violates section 922(g), previously having been convicted by any court of a violent felony or a serious drug offense—

(i) if the person has 1 such prior conviction, and not more than 10 years has elapsed since the date of that prior conviction or the release of the person from imprisonment for that prior conviction, shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years, fined under this title, or both;

(ii) if the person has 2 such prior convictions, committed on occasions different from one another, of any combination of such crimes and not more than 10 years has elapsed since the date of either of the prior convictions or of the release of the person from imprisonment for either of the prior convictions, shall be imprisoned not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or both; or

(iii) if the person has 3 such prior convictions, committed on occasions different from one another, of any combination of such crimes, shall be imprisoned not less than 15 years and fined under this title.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall not suspend the sentence of, or grant a probationary sentence to, the person referred to in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph with respect to the conviction under section 922(g).

Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to provide for an appropriate increase in the offense level for violations of section 922(g) of title 18, United States Code, in accordance with section 924(e) of such title 18, as amended by subsection (a) of this section.

Section 922(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting, transfer, after sell.

Section 7332(c) of the Uniform Federal Crime Reporting Act of 1988 (28 U.S.C. 534 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:

The Attorney General shall create a separate category in the Uniform Crime Reports to distinguish criminal offenses committed by juveniles.

For each fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007, all departments and agencies within a State or unit of local government which routinely investigate complaints of criminal activity, shall meet the requirements of paragraph (2).

For any fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2007, a State or unit of local government that fails to comply with subparagraph (A) shall not be eligible to receive any of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the State or unit of local government under subtitle A of title II of such Act.

Amounts not allocated to a State or unit of local government under the subtitle referred to in subparagraph (B) for failure to fully comply with subparagraph (A) shall be reallocated under that subtitle to States and units of local government that have not failed to comply with such subparagraph.

The Attorney General shall waive the requirements of subparagraph (A) if compliance with such subparagraph by a State or unit of local government would be unconstitutional under the constitution of the applicable State.

Section 7332 of the Uniform Federal Crime Reporting Act of 1988 (28 U.S.C. 534 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:

The Attorney General shall develop a national strategy to coordinate, consolidate, and standardize all investigations by Federal law enforcement agencies of crimes that are included in the Uniform Crime Reports.

Not later than January 1, 2009, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the President and Congress—

(A) outlining the strategy developed under paragraph (1); and

(B) describing the efforts and strategy of the Department of Justice in consolidating and standardizing data on all crimes that are included in the Uniform Crime Reports.

Section 150008 of the Violent Crime Control and law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14062) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a), by inserting, consolidate, and standardize all after strategy to coordinate;

(2) in subsection (b), by striking acquire and collect and inserting acquire, collect, consolidate, and standardize all;

(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

Not later than January 1, 2009, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the President and Congress—

(1) outlining the strategy developed under subsection (a); and

(2) describing the efforts and strategy of the Department of Justice in consolidating and standardizing data on national gang offenses.; and

(4) in subsection (d), by striking $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1996 and inserting $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.