[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1253 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1253
To increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Customs
and Border Protection officers and support staff and to require reports
that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance
security at ports of entry.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 20, 2023
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Customs
and Border Protection officers and support staff and to require reports
that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance
security at ports of entry.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Securing America's Ports of Entry
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION PERSONNEL.
(a) Officers.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection shall hire, train, and assign not fewer than 600 new U.S.
Customs and Border Protection officers above the current attrition
level during every fiscal year until the total number of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection officers equals and sustains the requirements
identified each year in the Workload Staffing Model.
(b) Support Staff.--The Commissioner is authorized to hire, train,
and assign support staff, including technicians and Enterprise Services
mission support, to perform non-law enforcement administrative
functions to support the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection
officers hired pursuant to subsection (a).
(c) Traffic Forecasts.--In calculating the number of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection officers needed at each port of entry through the
Workload Staffing Model, the Commissioner shall--
(1) rely on data collected regarding the inspections and
other activities conducted at each such port of entry;
(2) consider volume from seasonal surges, other projected
changes in commercial and passenger volumes, the most current
commercial forecasts, and other relevant information; and
(3) consider historical volume and forecasts prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on international travel.
(d) GAO Report.--If the Commissioner does not hire the 600
additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers authorized under
subsection (a) during fiscal year 2023, or during any subsequent fiscal
year in which the hiring requirements set forth in the Workload
Staffing Model have not been achieved, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall--
(1) conduct a review of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
hiring practices to determine the reasons that such
requirements were not achieved and other issues related to
hiring by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and
(2) submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that
describes the results of the review conducted under paragraph
(1).
SEC. 3. PORTS OF ENTRY INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENT REPORT.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a
report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives that identifies--
(1) infrastructure improvements at ports of entry that
would enhance the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
officers to interdict opioids and other drugs that are being
illegally transported into the United States, including a
description of circumstances at specific ports of entry that
prevent the deployment of technology used at other ports of
entry;
(2) detection equipment that would improve the ability of
such officers to identify opioids, including precursors and
derivatives, that are being illegally transported into the
United States; and
(3) safety equipment that would protect such officers from
accidental exposure to such drugs or other dangers associated
with the inspection of potential drug traffickers.
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Temporary Duty Assignments.--
(1) Quarterly report.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection shall submit a quarterly report to the
appropriate congressional committees that includes, for the
reporting period--
(A) the number of temporary duty assignments;
(B) the number of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection employees required for each temporary duty
assignment;
(C) the ports of entry from which such employees
were reassigned;
(D) the ports of entry to which such employees were
reassigned;
(E) the ports of entry at which reimbursable
service agreements have been entered into that may be
affected by temporary duty assignments;
(F) the duration of each temporary duty assignment;
(G) the cost of each temporary duty assignment; and
(H) for each temporary duty assignment to the
southwest border, a description of any activities done
in support of U.S. Border Patrol operations.
(2) Notice.--Not later than 10 days before redeploying
employees from 1 port of entry to another, absent emergency
circumstances--
(A) the Commissioner shall notify the director of
the port of entry from which employees will be
reassigned of the intended redeployments; and
(B) the port director shall notify impacted
facilities (including airports, seaports, and land
ports) of the intended redeployments.
(3) Staff briefing.--The Commissioner shall brief all
affected U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees regarding
plans to mitigate vulnerabilities created by any planned
staffing reductions at ports of entry.
(b) Reports on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agreements.--
Section 907(a) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of
2015 (19 U.S.C. 4451(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and an assessment'' and
all that follows and inserting a period;
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (12) as
paragraphs (5) through (13), respectively;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) A description of the factors that were considered
before entering into the agreement, including an assessment of
how the agreement provides economic benefits and security
benefits (if applicable) at the port of entry to which the
agreement relates.''; and
(4) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by
inserting after ``the report'' the following: ``, including the
locations of such services and the total hours of reimbursable
services under the agreement, if any''.
(c) Annual Workload Staffing Model Report.--As part of the Annual
Report on Staffing required under section 411(g)(5)(A) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(g)(5)(A)), the Commissioner shall
include--
(1) information concerning the progress made toward meeting
the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and support
staff hiring targets set forth in section 2, while accounting
for attrition;
(2) an update to the information provided in the Resource
Optimization at the Ports of Entry report, which was submitted
to Congress on September 12, 2017, pursuant to the Department
of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2017 (division F of
Public Law 115-31); and
(3) a summary of the information included in the reports
required under subsection (a) and section 907(a) of the Trade
Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, as amended by
subsection (b).
(d) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
(1) $136,292,948 for fiscal year 2024; and
(2) $156,918,590 for each of the fiscal years 2025 through
2029.
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