II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4775 

To establish and authorize funding for a Border Patrol Reserve, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 4, 2022 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. KELLY, and Mr. LANKFORD) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish and authorize funding for a Border Patrol 

Reserve, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Patrol En5 hancement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BORDER PATROL RESERVE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

8 the United States Border Patrol, the Border Patrol Re9 serve, which shall be organized, administered, trained, and 

10 supplied under the direction of the Commissioner of U.S. 


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1 Customs and Border Protection (referred to in this Act 

2 as the ‘‘Commissioner’’). 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Border Patrol Re4 serve is to augment and support the mission of the United 

5 States Border Patrol. 

6 (c) AUTHORIZED SIZE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 

9 (A) prescribe the initial authorized size of 

10 the Border Patrol Reserve; and 

11 (B) not less frequently than annually, re12 view and adjust, if necessary, the authorized 

13 size of the Border Patrol Reserve. 

14 (2) LIMITATION.—The number of Border Pa15 trol Reserve agents may not exceed 2,500 at any 

16 time. 

17 (3) RESOURCES.—The Commissioner shall 

18 make available to the United States Border Patrol 

19 such services, facilities, and appropriations that may 

20 be necessary to activate and effectuate the purposes 

21 of the Border Patrol Reserve. 

22 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each Border Patrol Reserve 

23 agent— 


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1 (1) shall have previously served as a full-time 

2 United States Border Patrol agent for at least 5 

3 years; 

4 (2) may not have been subject to any discipli5 nary actions described in section 7512 of title 5, 

6 United States Code, during their tenure with the 

7 United States Border Patrol; 

8 (3) shall be serving as— 

9 (A) a Federal law enforcement officer (as 

10 defined in section 115(c) of title 18, United 

11 States Code); or 

12 (B) a law enforcement officer (as defined 

13 in section 2503 of the Omnibus Crime Control 

14 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

15 10533)); 

16 (4) shall be subject to the mandatory separation 

17 requirements under section 8335(b) or 8425(b) of 

18 title 5, United States Code; and 

19 (5) shall meet any other qualifications estab20 lished by the Commissioner. 

21 (e) POWERS; DUTIES; COMPENSATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall— 

23 (A) specify the law enforcement powers 

24 and duties that will be given to Border Patrol 

25 Reserve agents, which powers and duties shall 


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1 only be effective while such agents are on acti2 vated status; 

3 (B) confer upon such agents the same 

4 grades as provided for other Border Patrol 

5 agents, to the extent warranted based on their 

6 respective qualifications and experience; and 

7 (C) provide such agents with the pay and 

8 allowances associated with their rank, grade, or 

9 rating while they are in active duty with the 

10 basic border patrol rate of pay, as adjusted 

11 under this Act, including matching funds under 

12 the Thrift Savings Plan for pay received during 

13 such duty. 

14 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

15 (1)(C), Border Patrol Reserve agents may not be re16 quired to work the minimum number of hours or 

17 days set forth in section 5550(b)(4) of title 5, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (3) COMPENSATION FROM EMPLOYER.—Any 

20 Border Patrol Reserve agent who, immediately be21 fore beginning duty as a Border Patrol Reserve 

22 agent, was receiving compensation as a law enforce23 ment officer (as defined in section 2503 of the Om24 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

25 (34 U.S.C. 10533)), and did not resign from such 


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1 position, may continue to receive such compensation 

2 from a law enforcement agency while on such duty. 

3 (4) EFFECT ON CREDITABLE SERVICE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any Border Patrol Re5 serve agent who is not described in subpara6 graph (B) or (C) shall receive creditable service 

7 under the Federal Employees Retirement Sys8 tem upon the commencement of active duty. 

9 (B) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

10 AGENT.—Any Border Patrol Reserve agent 

11 who, immediately before such duty, was serving 

12 as a Federal law enforcement agent and did not 

13 resign from such position, shall not receive ad14 ditional creditable service under the Federal 

15 Employees Retirement System or the Civil 

16 Service Retirement System while on such duty. 

17 (f) EFFECT OF INJURY OR DEATH.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any Border Patrol Reserve 

19 agent who sustains a physical injury, contracts a 

20 disease or sickness, or dies as a result of service 

21 while performing duty under this section, or while 

22 engaged in authorized travel to or from such duty is 

23 entitled to compensation as a Federal employee in 

24 accordance with chapter 81 of title 5, United States, 

25 Code. 


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1 (2) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS.—For 

2 the purposes of workers’ compensation claims relat3 ing to performing duty as a Border Patrol Reserve 

4 agent, such agents shall be considered employees (as 

5 defined in section 8101 of title 5, United States 

6 Code). 

7 (g) RATES OF PAY; TRAVEL COSTS.—The Commis8 sioner shall— 

9 (1) provide all Border Patrol Reserve agents 

10 hourly pay at a rate equivalent to the rate paid to 

11 an employee classified at the grade level conferred 

12 by the Commissioner under subsection (e)(1)(B) for 

13 any time spent by such agents to fulfill applicable 

14 training requirements; and 

15 (2) reimburse such agents for the costs associ16 ated with travel to and from in-person training. 

17 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, and each fiscal year there19 after through fiscal year 2028, the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security shall submit a report to the Committee on Home21 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 

22 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

23 Representatives regarding the utilization of Border Patrol 

24 Reserve agents that describes— 


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1 (1) the powers, duties, and compensation of 

2 Border Patrol Reserve agents; 

3 (2) the number of Border Patrol Reserve agents 

4 who were activated during the report period, 

5 disaggregated by U.S. Border Patrol sector; 

6 (3) the compliance rate for completing the 

7 training courses required of Border Patrol Reserve 

8 agents and the training provided to Border Patrol 

9 Reserve agents during the report period; and 

10 (4) the total costs incurred during the reporting 

11 period by the Border Patrol Reserve. 

12 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZED STAFFING LEVEL FOR THE UNITED 

13 STATES BORDER PATROL. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) QUALIFIED RESEARCH ENTITY.—The term 

16 ‘‘qualified research entity’’ means an independent, 

17 not-for-profit, federally funded research entity with 

18 appropriate expertise and analytical capability to 

19 analyze and validate the personnel requirements de20 termination model. 

21 (2) VALIDATED PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS

22 DETERMINATION MODEL.—The term ‘‘validated per23 sonnel requirements determination model’’ means a 

24 determination of the number of United States Bor25 der Patrol agents needed to meet the critical mission 


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1 requirements of the United States Border Patrol to 

2 maintain an orderly process for migrants entering 

3 the United States, that has been validated by a 

4 qualified research entity pursuant to subsection (d). 

5 (b) IN GENERAL.—The authorized personnel level for 

6 United States Border Patrol agents on the date of the en7 actment of this Act is 20,500. 

8 (c) UNITED STATES BORDER PATROL PERSONNEL

9 REQUIREMENTS DETERMINATION MODEL.— 

10 (1) COMPLETION; NOTICE.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

12 Commissioner shall complete a personnel require13 ments determination model for United States Border 

14 Patrol that builds on the 5-year United States Bor15 der Patrol staffing and deployment plan referred to 

16 on page 33 of House of Representatives Report 

17 112–91 (May 26, 2011) and submit a notice of com18 pletion to— 

19 (A) the appropriate congressional commit20 tees; 

21 (B) the Director of the Office of Personnel 

22 Management; and 

23 (C) the Comptroller General of the United 

24 States. 


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1 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the completion of the personnel requirements 

3 determination model described in paragraph (1), the 

4 Commissioner shall submit a copy of such model and 

5 a strategy for obtaining third-party validation of 

6 such model, to— 

7 (A) the appropriate congressional commit8 tees; 

9 (B) the Office of Personnel Management; 

10 and 

11 (C) the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States. 

13 (d) INDEPENDENT STUDY OF PERSONNEL REQUIRE14 MENTS DETERMINATION MODEL.— 

15 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Not later than 

16 90 days after the completion of the personnel re17 quirements determination model pursuant to sub18 section (c)(1), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

19 shall enter into a contract with a qualified research 

20 entity to conduct a study that analyzes the validity 

21 of the model. 

22 (2) REPORTS.— 

23 (A) TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 1 

24 year after the completion of the personnel re25 quirements determination model under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Aug 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4775.IS S4775

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1 section (c)(1), the qualified research entity shall 

2 submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security that includes— 

4 (i) the results of the study required 

5 under paragraph (1); and 

6 (ii) any recommendations regarding 

7 the model that the qualified research entity 

8 considers to be appropriate. 

9 (B) TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 

10 days after receiving the report described in sub11 paragraph (A), the Secretary of Homeland Se12 curity shall submit such report, along with any 

13 additional views or recommendations regarding 

14 the personnel requirements determination 

15 model, to the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

17 Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

18 of Representatives. 

19 (e) AUTHORITY TO ADJUST AUTHORIZED PER20 SONNEL LEVEL.—Beginning on the date that is 180 days 

21 after receiving a report pursuant to subsection (d)(2) that 

22 validates the personnel requirements determination model, 

23 the Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the au24 thorized personnel level for the United States Border Pa25 trol to a level that does not exceed the level recommended 


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1 by the validated personnel requirements determination 

2 model. 

3 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HIGHER MINIMUM RATES OF 

4 PAY FOR UNITED STATES BORDER PATROL 

5 AGENTS. 

6 (a) HIGHER MINIMUM RATE OF PAY.—Not later 

7 than January 1, 2023, the Director of the Office of Per8 sonnel Management— 

9 (1) shall, in accordance with section 5305 of 

10 title 5, United States Code— 

11 (A) increase the minimum rate of pay for 

12 United States Border Patrol agents at the 

13 grade GS–12 of the General Schedule by not 

14 less than 14 percent; and 

15 (B) increase other grades or levels, occupa16 tional groups, series, classes, or subdivisions 

17 thereof, as determined by the Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security; and 

19 (2) may make increases in all rates in the pay 

20 range for each such grade or level, in accordance 

21 with such section 5305. 

22 (b) INAPPLICABILITY.—The discretion granted to 

23 agency heads under section 5305(a)(2) of title 5, United 

24 States Code, shall not apply to increase in rates of pay 

25 authorized under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 5. CONTINUING TRAINING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall require 

3 all United States Border Patrol agents, including Border 

4 Patrol Reserve agents and other employees or contracted 

5 employees designated by the Commissioner, to participate 

6 in annual continuing training to maintain and update 

7 their understanding of— 

8 (1) Department of Homeland Security policies, 

9 procedures, and guidelines; 

10 (2) the fundamentals of law, ethics, and profes11 sional conduct; 

12 (3) applicable Federal law and regulations; 

13 (4) precedential legal rulings, including Federal 

14 Circuit Court and United States Supreme Court 

15 opinions relating to the duty of care and treatment 

16 of persons in the custody of the United States Bor17 der Patrol that the Commissioner determines are 

18 relevant to active duty agents; 

19 (5) applicable migration trends that the Com20 missioner determines are relevant; 

21 (6) best practices for coordinating with commu22 nity stakeholders; and 

23 (7) any other information that the Commis24 sioner determines to be relevant to active duty 

25 agents. 


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1 (b) TRAINING SUBJECTS.—Continuing training 

2 under this subsection shall include training regarding— 

3 (1) non-lethal use of force policies available to 

4 United States Border Patrol agents and de-esca5 lation strategies and methods; 

6 (2) identifying, screening, and responding to 

7 vulnerable populations, such as children, persons 

8 with diminished mental capacity, victims of human 

9 trafficking, victims of gender-based violence, victims 

10 of torture or abuse, and the acutely ill; 

11 (3) trends in transnational criminal organiza12 tion activities that impact border security and mi13 gration; 

14 (4) policies, strategies, and programs— 

15 (A) to protect due process, the civil, 

16 human, and privacy rights of individuals, and 

17 the private property rights of land owners; 

18 (B) to reduce the number of migrant and 

19 agent deaths; and 

20 (C) to improve the safety of agents on pa21 trol; 

22 (5) personal resilience; 

23 (6) anti-corruption and officer ethics training; 


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1 (7) current migration trends, including updated 

2 cultural and societal issues of nations that are a sig3 nificant source of migrants who are— 

4 (A) arriving at a United States port of 

5 entry to seek humanitarian protection; or 

6 (B) encountered at a United States inter7 national boundary while attempting to enter 

8 without inspection; 

9 (8) the impact of border security operations on 

10 natural resources and the environment, including 

11 strategies to limit the impact of border security op12 erations on natural resources and the environment; 

13 (9) relevant cultural, societal, racial, and reli14 gious training, including cross-cultural communica15 tion skills; 

16 (10) training authorized under the Prison Rape 

17 Elimination Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 15601 et seq.); 

18 (11) risk management and safety training that 

19 includes agency protocols for ensuring public safety, 

20 personal safety, and the safety of persons in the cus21 tody of the Department of Homeland Security; 

22 (12) non-lethal, self-defense training; and 

23 (13) any other training that meets the require24 ments to maintain and update the subjects identified 

25 in subsection (a). 


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1 (c) COURSE REQUIREMENTS.—Courses offered under 

2 this section— 

3 (1) shall be administered by the United States 

4 Border Patrol, in consultation with the Federal Law 

5 Enforcement Training Center; and 

6 (2) shall be approved in advance by the Com7 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to 

8 ensure that such courses satisfy the requirements for 

9 training under this section. 

10 (d) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

12 of the United States shall submit a report to the Com13 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

14 of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 of the House of Representatives that assesses the training 

16 and education provided pursuant to this section, including 

17 continuing education. 

18 (e) FREQUENCY REQUIREMENTS.—Training offered 

19 as part of continuing education under this section shall 

20 include— 

21 (1) annual courses focusing on the curriculum 

22 described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of sub23 section (b); and 


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1 (2) biannual courses focusing on curriculum de2 scribed in paragraphs (7) through (12) of subsection 

3 (b). 

4 (f) BORDER PATROL RESERVE TRAINING.—The 

5 Commissioner shall— 

6 (1) establish such requirements as may be nec7 essary for the training and familiarization of Border 

8 Patrol Reserve agents, which shall include— 

9 (A) medical fitness screenings and the con10 tinuing training described in this section; 

11 (B) requirements for in-person or virtual 

12 training to ensure that such agents maintain 

13 the capabilities necessary to perform their du14 ties; and 

15 (C) firearms training and qualification, 

16 commensurate with the requirements for United 

17 States Border Patrol agents; 

18 (2) establish and require completion of a com19 prehensive in-person training and familiarization 

20 program for Border Patrol Reserve Agents upon ac21 tivation before utilizing those Reserve agents in 

22 operational roles; and 

23 (3) take actions necessary, up to and including 

24 separation for any Border Patrol Reserve Agent who 


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1 does not adhere to the requirements established by 

2 the Commissioner for training and familiarization. 

Æ 


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