,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cccd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #c1  
#bjbe,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself and    
,mr4 ,crapo7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to prohibit reductions in the  
workforce at the ,drug ,enforcement     
,administration1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,laboratory ,analysts and  
,biometric ,personnel ,act of #bjbe or  
the ,,lab ,personnel ,act of #bjbe4  #b4
 ,definition ,in this ,act1 the term    
laboratory workforce at the ,drug       
,enforcement ,administration means--    
7#a7 positions in the ,drug ,enforcement
 ,administration at forensic            
laboratories of the ,drug ,enforcement  
,administration1 including-- 7,a7       
forensic chemists2  7,b7 fingerprint    
specialists2  7,c7 digital forensic     
examiners2 and  7,d7 any other positions
 in the ,drug ,enforcement              

,administration at such forensic        
laboratories2 and  7#b7 other positions 
in the ,drug ,enforcement               
,administration at locations other than 
such a forensic laboratory that will be 
relocated to such a forensic laboratory 
that1 as of the date of the enactment of
 this ,act1 is being constructed or     
otherwise finalized4  #c4 ,prohibition  
on reducing the laboratory workforce at 
the ,drug ,enforcement ,agency  7a7 ,in 
general ,the laboratory workforce at the
 ,drug ,enforcement ,administration     
shall be exempt from any hiring freezes 
or workforce reductions related to      
spending cuts1 reprogramming of funds1  
or the probationary status of employees4
  7b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in 
this section may be construed to        
restrict the authority of the ,attorney 
,general to manage the workforce of the 
,department of ,justice under existing  
procedures in cases of misconduct or    
poor performance4