[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2291 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2291
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Northern Border Coordination Center, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Northern Border Coordination Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the Northern Border
Coordination Center established pursuant to section 3.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Homeland Security.
(3) Northern border.--The term ``northern border'' means--
(A) the international border between the United
States and Canada; and
(B) the maritime border between Alaska and the
Russian Federation.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Homeland Security.
SEC. 3. NORTHERN BORDER COORDINATION CENTER.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the Northern
Border Coordination Center.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Center shall be to serve as the
Department's forward deployed centralized coordination center for
operations, domain awareness, information sharing, intelligence,
training, and stakeholder engagement with Federal, State, tribal,
local, and international government partners along the northern border
of the United States. The Center shall be placed along the northern
border at a location that is collocated with an existing U.S. Border
Patrol sector headquarters, an Air and Marine Operations branch, and a
United States Coast Guard air station, and other existing Department
activities.
(c) Components.--
(1) In general.--The Center shall collocate personnel and
activities of--
(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including
U.S. Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations;
(B) the United States Coast Guard;
(C) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's
Homeland Security Investigations;
(D) other components and offices of the Department
that the Secretary determines to be necessary,
including to support the training, technology testing,
and development described in subsection (d); and
(E) additional Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international government partners, as the Secretary
determines to be necessary and appropriate to support
the coordination of operations described in this Act.
(d) Functions.--The Center shall perform the functions described in
this subsection in addition to any other functions assigned by the
Secretary.
(1) Northern border strategy.--The Center, in collaboration
with relevant offices and components of the Department, shall--
(A) serve as a coordination mechanism for
operational components for the implementation,
evaluation, and updating of the Northern Border
Strategy and any successor strategy; and
(B) support the development of best practices and
policies for personnel at the northern border to
support such implementation.
(2) Training.--The Center shall serve as a training
location to support the delivery of training or exercises for
Department personnel and Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international government partners.
(3) Metrics.--The Center, in collaboration with relevant
offices and components of the Department, shall coordinate the
development and tracking of border security metrics for the
northern border.
(4) Resource and technological needs and challenges.--The
Center, in collaboration with relevant offices and components
of the Department, shall--
(A) identify resource and technological needs or
challenges affecting security along the northern
border; and
(B) serve as a testing ground and demonstration
location for the testing of border security technology,
including determining such technology's suitability and
performance in the northern border and maritime
environments.
(5) Air and marine operations.--
(A) Quick reaction capabilities.--In support of the
Center, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Air and
Marine Operations--
(i) shall establish and maintain capability
that is collocated with the Center and
available for quick deployment in support of
the northern border missions, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, and the Department,
including missions in the Great Lakes region;
and
(ii) in coordination with the Center and
relevant offices and components of the
Department, shall evaluate requirements and
make recommendations to support the operations
of large unmanned aircraft systems based at the
Center.
(B) Northern border domain awareness.--In order to
coordinate with the Center and support its operations,
the Air and Marine Operations Center shall collocate
personnel and resources with the Center to enhance the
Department's capabilities to--
(i) support air and maritime domain
awareness and information sharing efforts along
the northern border;
(ii) provide dedicated monitoring of
northern border systems; and
(iii) lead, in coordination with other U.S.
Customs and Border Protection components,
Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international governments, and private sector
partners, the Center's efforts to track and
monitor legitimate cross-border traffic
involving unmanned aircraft and unmanned
aircraft systems.
(6) Counter-unmanned aircraft systems.--
(A) In general.--Pursuant to policies established
by the Secretary, consistent with section 210G of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124n), the
Center shall support counter-unmanned aircraft systems
operations along the northern border to respond to the
increased use of unmanned aircraft systems. Such
support may involve development, testing, and
evaluation of technologies.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act may
be construed to provide additional authority related to
detection, mitigation, research, development, or
testing of unmanned aircraft systems or counter-
unmanned aircraft systems.
(7) Privacy and civil rights.--The Center, in collaboration
with the Chief Privacy Officer and the Office for Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties of the Department, shall ensure that
operations and practices of the Center comply with the privacy
and civil rights policies of the Department and its components.
(8) Noncontiguous northern border.--The Center, in
collaboration with relevant offices and components of the
Department, shall--
(A) identify the specific challenges that exist
along the noncontiguous international land border with
Canada and the maritime border with Russia, including
resource, technological challenges, and domain
awareness;
(B) ensure that dedicated personnel, including
reachback support, are working to evaluate and address
the challenges identified pursuant to subparagraph (A);
and
(C) determine the feasibility of establishing a
satellite facility of the Center to address the
specific challenges identified pursuant to subparagraph
(A).
(e) Annual Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after the
establishment of the Center, and annually thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
of the House of Representatives that describes the activities of the
Center during the most recently concluded fiscal year, including--
(1) personnel levels;
(2) additional resources that are needed to support the
operations of the Center and northern border operations of the
Department; and
(3) any additional assets or authorities that are needed to
increase security and domain awareness along the northern
border.
(f) Temporary Duty Assignments.--The Secretary shall submit a
quarterly report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives regarding temporary duty assignments of U.S. Border
Patrol agents during the reporting period, including--
(1) the number of agents on temporary duty assignment;
(2) the duration of the temporary duty assignment; and
(3) the sectors from which the agents were assigned.
(g) Rule of Construction.--The Center established pursuant to
subsection (a) shall be established separate and distinct from the
Secretary's authorities under section 708 of the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 348).
(h) Sunset.--This Act shall cease to be effective on the date that
is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the Senate June 5, 2024.
Attest:
Secretary.
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2291
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Northern Border Coordination Center, and for other
purposes.