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Statement of Representative Ed Bryant Civil Service Subcommittee H.R. 583, The Assistant United States Attorneys Retirement Benefit Equity Act of 1999 September 9, 1999 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate your holding this hearing today and I am pleased to be able to testify on behalf of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys in support of H.R. 583, the Assistant United States Attorneys Retirement Benefit Equity Act of 1999. As a former United States Attorney from the Western District of Tennessee, I have first-hand experience and knowledge about AUSAs and the integral role they play in federal law enforcement. Currently, there are more than 4700 AUSAs who work in 93 separate offices throughout the country. These AUSAs are the United States Attorneys principal support for ensuring that the laws are faithfully executed. In today's environment of sophisticated white collar crime, domestic and foreign terrorism, international narcotics trafficking, espionage, government program fraud, organized crime and labor racketeering, the role of the AUSA has evolved to include substantial investigative duties. AUSAs control and direct the most crucial investigative tool in the criminal justice system - the Grand Jury. AUSAs oversee and participate in the investigative activities of federal law enforcement officers working on major prosecutions, and review and approve complex search warrants and applications for wiretaps. In multi-agency cases, the AUSA functions as supervisor of the agents' activities, a particular challenge since there is no line authority from AUSA to agent. Civil AUSAs defend lawsuits brought against federal agents in connection with their performance of their law enforcement duties. Prisoner litigation is an additional aspect of the civil AUSAs practice. Civil AUSAs represent the government in suits brought by those who wish to obstruct government operations. AUSAs have been threatened in this context, had false liens filed against their property, and have had false Form 1099s filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The increasing complexity of federal investigations and the resulting criminal and civil litigation has spawned a relatively new phenomenon - the career Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA). Unfortunately, as more and more AUSAs seek careers within the Department of Justice, the Department has not reacted to provide the professional benefits deemed routine in the highly stressful law enforcement community. As you know, under the current retirement system, federal law enforcement agents are eligible to retire at 50% of their "high-three" salaries at age 50, with 20 years of service. Currently AUSAs are the only employees in the criminal justice system who do not receive this law enforcement retirement, which recognizes the stressful occupations associated with fighting crime, and the physical and mental challenges which wear down body and mind at an accelerated pace. Originally authorized in 1948, federal law enforcement retirement benefits were intended to liberalize retirement provisions in order to enable agents and investigators to retire at age 50, while still physically fit. In enacting that legislation, Congress recognized the stressful, sometimes dangerous, work performed by the law enforcement officers as well as the need for career investigators in the federal government. At that time, there were no "career" AUSAs and, therefore, there was no reason for their inclusion in the statute. Since then, however, circumstances have changed significantly. Only during the 1980s did AUSAs begin to remain employed by the Department until retirement on any regular basis. In the last two decades, the position of AUSA has evolved from being largely political, where it was routine for all AUSAs to resign upon the appointment of a new United States Attorney. Then, newly employed attorneys inherited entire caseloads of ongoing prosecutions. This disruption badly damaged the continuity of investigations and prosecutions, both civil and criminal. Congress has recognized the importance of maintaining an experienced force of career AUSAs. In 1990 the Civil Service Due Process Amendments extended the procedural protections of the Civil Service Reform Act to AUSAs. No longer constantly in jeopardy of being replaced for political reasons, more and more AUSAs are remaining in the Department of Justice for their careers, thus ensuring that the government is getting the best representation. For retirement purposes, the "law enforcement officer" designation is not limited to only line agents who are on the street involved in day-to-day investigative work. The "law enforcement officer" designation includes: FBI agent-attorneys who are stationed at FBI headquarters, Federal prison guards, Federal Probation Officers, Federal Pretrial Services Officers and even accountants, cooks, secretaries, and attorneys of the Bureau of Prisons. In fact, from the time that an individual first comes into contact with the federal criminal justice system until the time that individual leaves the federal criminal justice system, the only individuals that he comes into contact with who are not afforded "law enforcement officer" status for retirement purposes is the Federal Judge who sentences him and the AUSA who prosecutes him. All other contacts are all designated "law enforcement officers" for the purposes of retirement. And, it should be noted, the federal judiciary has its own enhanced retirement system. Data from the Department of Justice reveals that length of service for AUSAs was seven years for 1990 through 1992, and eight years for 1993 through 1996. This trend should be encouraged. By comparison, the length of service for other Justice employees was 19 years in 1996. The American public is best served by experienced, career oriented AUSAs, not only when prosecuting such cases as the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings, but also in defending the United States against drug traffickers, the perpetrators of civil health care fraud and the host of other violators who threaten the safety of our community and endanger our economy. Given the increasing complexity of legislation dealing with offenses against the United States, and the increasing sophistication of lawbreakers, the United States Department of Justice requires the services of experienced, seasoned professional Assistant United States Attorneys to protect the interests of the American people. The work is demanding, stressful and often fraught with danger. AUSAs, both civil and criminal, face stress and strain on mind and body to a degree equal to and in some cases exceeding that faced by others included in the federal law enforcement retirement system. The time has come for the Congress to recognize AUSAs for what they are - an essential part of the front line defenders of safety and justice in America. The AUSA should no longer be the only member of the federal criminal justice system denied law enforcement retirement. And I thank the chair.
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