I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2431 

To authorize appropriations for border and transportation security personnel 

and technology, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2007 

Mr. CUELLAR (for himself and Mr. REHBERG) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations for border and transportation 

security personnel and technology, 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 Infrastructure 

5 and Technology Modernization Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis9 sioner’’ means the Commissioner responsible for 

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1 United States Customs and Border Protection of the 

2 Department of Homeland Security. 

3 (2) MAQUILADORA.—The term ‘‘maquiladora’’ 

4 means an entity located in Mexico that assembles 

5 and produces goods from imported parts for export 

6 to the United States. 

7 (3) NORTHERN BORDER.—The term ‘‘northern 

8 border’’ means the international border between the 

9 United States and Canada. 

10 (4) SOUTHERN BORDER.—The term ‘‘southern 

11 border’’ means the international border between the 

12 United States and Mexico. 

13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Secu15 rity. 

16 SEC. 3. HIRING AND TRAINING OF BORDER AND TRANS17 PORTATION SECURITY PERSONNEL. 

18 (a) OFFICERS AND AGENTS.— 

19 (1) INCREASE IN OFFICERS AND AGENTS.— 

20 During each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, the 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 (A) increase the number of full-time agents 

23 and associated support staff in United States 

24 Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the 

25 Department of Homeland Security by the equivmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 alent of at least 100 more than the number of 

2 such employees as of the end of the preceding 

3 fiscal year; and 

4 (B) increase the number of full-time offi5 cers, agricultural specialists, and associated 

6 support staff in the United States Customs and 

7 Border Protection of the Department of Home8 land Security by the equivalent of at least 200 

9 more than the number of such employees as of 

10 the end of the preceding fiscal year. 

11 (2) WAIVER OF FTE LIMITATION.—The Sec12 retary is authorized to waive any limitation on the 

13 number of full-time equivalent personnel assigned to 

14 the Department of Homeland Security to fulfill the 

15 requirements of paragraph (1). 

16 (b) TRAINING.—The Secretary, acting through the 

17 Assistant Secretary for United States Immigration and 

18 Customs Enforcement and the Commissioner, shall pro19 vide appropriate training for agents, officers, agricultural 

20 specialists, and associated support staff of the Department 

21 of Homeland Security on an ongoing basis to utilize new 

22 technologies and to ensure that the proficiency levels of 

23 such personnel are acceptable to protect the borders of the 

24 United States. 

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1 SEC. 4. PORT OF ENTRY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT 

2 STUDY. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT TO UPDATE.—Not later than 

4 January 31 of each year, the Commissioner, in consulta5 tion with the Administrator of General Services shall— 

6 (1) review the Port of Entry Infrastructure As7 sessment Study prepared by United States Customs 

8 and Border Protection, United States Citizenship 

9 and Immigration Services, and the General Services 

10 Administration in accordance with the matter relat11 ing to the ports of entry infrastructure assessment 

12 that is set out in the joint explanatory statement in 

13 the conference report accompanying H.R. 2490 of 

14 the 106th Congress, 1st session (House of Rep15 resentatives Rep. No. 106–319, on page 67) and the 

16 nationwide strategy to prioritize and address the in17 frastructure needs at the land ports-of-entry pre18 pared by the Department of Homeland Security and 

19 the General Services Administration in accordance 

20 with the Senate report accompanying H.R. 2555 of 

21 the 108th Congress, 1st session (Senate Rep. No. 

22 108–86, on page 22); 

23 (2) update the assessment of the infrastructure 

24 needs of all United States land ports of entry; and 

25 (3) submit to Congress such updated assess26 ment. 

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1 (b) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the updated as2 sessment required in subsection (a), the Commissioner 

3 and the Administrator of General Services shall consult 

4 with the Director of the Office of Management and Budg5 et, the Secretary, and appropriate officials from affected 

6 State and local agencies on the northern border or the 

7 southern border. 

8 (c) CONTENTS.—Each updated assessment required 

9 in subsection (a) shall— 

10 (1) identify port of entry infrastructure and 

11 technology improvement projects that would enhance 

12 border security and facilitate the flow of legitimate 

13 commerce if implemented; 

14 (2) include the projects identified in the Na15 tional Land Border Security Plan required by sec16 tion 5; and 

17 (3) prioritize the projects described in para18 graphs (1) and (2) based on the ability of a project 

19 to— 

20 (A) enhance the ability of United States 

21 Customs and Border Protection to achieve its 

22 mission and to support operations; 

23 (B) fulfill security requirements; and 

24 (C) facilitate trade across the borders of 

25 the United States. 

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1 (d) PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.—As appropriate, 

2 the Commissioner shall implement the infrastructure and 

3 technology improvement projects described in subsection 

4 (c) in the order of priority assigned to each project under 

5 paragraph (3) of such subsection, or forward the 

6 prioritized list of infrastructure and technology improve7 ment projects to the Administrator of General Services for 

8 implementation in the order of priority assigned to each 

9 project under such paragraph (3). 

10 (e) DIVERGENCE FROM PRIORITIES.—The Commis11 sioner may diverge from the priority order if the Commis12 sioner determines that significantly changed cir13 cumstances, including immediate security needs, changes 

14 in infrastructure in Mexico or Canada, or other similar 

15 concerns compellingly alter the need for a project in the 

16 United States. 

17 SEC. 5. NATIONAL LAND BORDER SECURITY PLAN. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN.—Not later than Janu19 ary 31 of each year, the Secretary, acting through the 

20 Commissioner, shall prepare a National Land Border Se21 curity Plan and submit such plan to Congress. 

22 (b) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the plan required 

23 in subsection (a), the Commissioner shall consult with ap24 propriate officials from other appropriate Federal agen25 cies, and the State, local law enforcement agencies, and 

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1 private entities that are involved in international trade 

2 across the northern border or the southern border. 

3 (c) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The plan required in sub5 section (a) shall include a vulnerability assessment 

6 of each port of entry located on the northern border 

7 or the southern border. 

8 (2) PORT SECURITY COORDINATORS.—The Sec9 retary, acting through the Commissioner, may estab10 lish one or more port security coordinators at each 

11 port of entry located on the northern border or the 

12 southern border— 

13 (A) to assist in conducting a vulnerability 

14 assessment at such port; and 

15 (B) to provide other assistance with the 

16 preparation of the plan required under sub17 section (a). 

18 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF COMMERCE SECURITY PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) COMMERCE SECURITY PROGRAMS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

22 Commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary, 

23 shall develop a plan to expand the size and scope, 

24 including personnel needs, of the Customs-Trade 

25 Partnership Against Terrorism program or other 

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1 voluntary government-private sector programs to 

2 strengthen and improve the overall security of the 

3 international supply chain and United States border 

4 security along the northern border and southern bor5 der. 

6 (2) SOUTHERN BORDER DEMONSTRATION PRO7 GRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

8 the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall 

9 establish a demonstration program along the south10 ern border for the purpose of implementing at least 

11 one voluntary government-private sector program to 

12 strengthen and improve the overall security of the 

13 international supply chain and United States border 

14 security along such border. The program selected for 

15 the demonstration program shall have been success16 fully implemented along the northern border as of 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (b) MAQUILADORA DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.— 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, the Commissioner shall establish a demonstra21 tion program to develop a cooperative trade security sys22 tem to improve supply chain security along the southern 

23 border. 

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1 SEC. 7. PORT OF ENTRY TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

4 through the Commissioner, shall carry out a technology 

5 demonstration program to test and evaluate new port of 

6 entry technologies, refine port of entry technologies and 

7 operational concepts, and train personnel under realistic 

8 conditions. 

9 (b) TECHNOLOGY AND FACILITIES.— 

10 (1) TECHNOLOGY TESTED.—Under the dem11 onstration program, the Commissioner shall test 

12 technologies that enhance port of entry operations, 

13 including those related to inspections, communica14 tions, port tracking, identification of persons and 

15 cargo, sensory devices, personal detection, decision 

16 support, and the detection and identification of 

17 weapons of mass destruction. 

18 (2) FACILITIES DEVELOPED.—At a demonstra19 tion site selected pursuant to subsection (c)(2), the 

20 Commissioner shall develop facilities to provide ap21 propriate training to law enforcement personnel who 

22 have responsibility for border security, including 

23 cross-training among agencies, advanced law en24 forcement training, and equipment orientation. 

25 (c) DEMONSTRATION SITES.— 

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1 (1) NUMBER.—The Commissioner shall carry 

2 out the demonstration program at not fewer than 

3 three sites and not more than five sites. 

4 (2) LOCATION.—At least one of the sites se5 lected under subsection (c) shall be located on the 

6 northern border of the United States and at least 

7 one of the sites selected under subsection (c) shall 

8 be located on the southern border of the United 

9 States. 

10 (3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—To ensure that at 

11 least one of the facilities selected as a port of entry 

12 demonstration site for the demonstration program 

13 has the most up-to-date design, contains sufficient 

14 space to conduct the demonstration program, has a 

15 traffic volume low enough to easily incorporate new 

16 technologies without interrupting normal processing 

17 activity, and can efficiently carry out demonstration 

18 and port of entry operations, at least one port of 

19 entry selected as a demonstration site shall— 

20 (A) have been established not more than 

21 15 years before the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act; 

23 (B) consist of not less than 65 acres, with 

24 the possibility of expansion onto not less than 

25 25 adjacent acres; and 

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1 (C) have serviced an average of not more 

2 than 50,000 vehicles per month in the 12 full 

3 months preceding the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 (d) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

6 Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall permit 

7 personnel from appropriate Federal and State agencies to 

8 utilize a demonstration site described in subsection (c) to 

9 test technologies that enhance port of entry operations, 

10 including those related to inspections, communications, 

11 port tracking, identification of persons and cargo, sensory 

12 devices, personal detection, decision support, and the de13 tection and identification of weapons of mass destruction. 

14 (e) REPORT.— 

15 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than one year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act and an17 nually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Con18 gress a report on the activities carried out at each 

19 demonstration site under the technology demonstra20 tion program established under this section. 

21 (2) CONTENT.—The report shall include an as22 sessment by the Commissioner of the feasibility of 

23 incorporating any demonstrated technology for use 

24 throughout United States Customs and Border Pro25 tection. 

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1 SEC. 8. PROJECT CONSOLIDATION AND STREAMLINING; 

2 LOCAL EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS. 

3 (a) PROJECT CONSOLIDATION AND STREAM4 LINING.—With respect to the implementation of infra5 structure and technology improvement projects under sec6 tion 4(d), the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Ter7 rorism program or other voluntary government-private 

8 sector programs, the Southern border demonstration pro9 gram, and the Maquiladora demonstration program under 

10 section 6, and the technology demonstration program 

11 under section 7, the Commissioner shall take such actions 

12 as are necessary to— 

13 (1) consolidate, where appropriate, Federal, 

14 State, and local government and tribal contracting 

15 activities; and 

16 (2) review if Federal, State, or local govern17 ment or tribal entities are carrying out similar 

18 projects or programs. 

19 (b) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall de21 velop a coordinated review process relating to the 

22 projects and programs referred to in subsection (a) 

23 with respect to any necessary environmental review, 

24 analysis, or permit and licensing processes. Such 

25 processes shall be conducted concurrently and commstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 pleted within a specific time frame, as determined by 

2 the Commissioner. 

3 (2) AGREEMENTS FOR REVIEW.—The Commis4 sioner is authorized to enter into agreements with 

5 State or local governments or tribal entities for re6 view, permits, hearings, or other process under para7 graph (1) related to the projects and programs re8 ferred to in subsection (a). 

9 (3) NOTIFICATION.—If the Commissioner deter10 mines that a State or local government or tribal en11 tity has not completed a process within a specific 

12 time frame as required under paragraph (1), the 

13 Commissioner shall promptly notify Congress of 

14 such delay. 

15 (4) NO DUPLICATION.—The Commissioner shall 

16 ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that there 

17 is no duplication of efforts among Federal, State, 

18 and local government and tribal contracting activi19 ties with respect to the projects and programs re20 ferred to in subsection (a). 

21 (c) LOCAL EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to enter into a con23 tract with the Department of Homeland Security re24 lated to the projects and programs referred to in 

25 subsection (a), a private business shall submit to the 

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1 Commissioner a certification that not less than 50 

2 percent of the employees of such business are local 

3 residents. 

4 (2) WAIVER.—The Commissioner may waive 

5 the local employment requirement of paragraph (1) 

6 if the Commissioner determines that such require7 ment is inappropriate in light of such a project or 

8 program. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any funds other11 wise available, there are authorized to be appropriated— 

12 (1) to carry out the provisions of section 3, 

13 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2008 

14 through 2012; 

15 (2) to carry out the provisions of section 4— 

16 (A) to carry out subsection (a) of such sec17 tion, such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

18 years 2008 through 2012; and 

19 (B) to carry out subsection (d) of such sec20 tion— 

21 (i) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 

22 years 2008 through 2012; and 

23 (ii) such sums as may be necessary in 

24 any succeeding fiscal year; 

25 (3) to carry out the provisions of section 6— 

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1 (A) to carry out subsection (a) of such sec2 tion— 

3 (i) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, 

4 of which $5,000,000 shall be made avail5 able to fund the demonstration project es6 tablished in paragraph (2) of such sub7 section; and 

8 (ii) such sums as may be necessary 

9 for fiscal years 2009 through 2012; and 

10 (B) to carry out subsection (b) of such sec11 tion— 

12 (i) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

13 and 

14 (ii) such sums as may be necessary 

15 for fiscal years 2009 through 2012; and 

16 (4) to carry out the provisions of section 7, pro17 vided that not more than $10,000,000 may be ex18 pended for technology demonstration program activi19 ties at any one port of entry demonstration site in 

20 any fiscal year— 

21 (A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

22 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

23 each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012. 

24 (b) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—Funds author25 ized to be appropriated in this Act may be used for the 

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1 implementation of projects described in the Declaration on 

2 Embracing Technology and Cooperation to Promote the 

3 Secure and Efficient Flow of People and Commerce across 

4 our Shared Border between the United States and Mexico, 

5 agreed to on March 22, 2002, in Monterrey, Mexico, (com6 monly known as the Border Partnership Action Plan), or 

7 the Smart Border Declaration between the United States 

8 and Canada, agreed to on December 12, 2001, in Ottawa, 

9 Canada, that are consistent with the provisions of this Act. 

Æ 

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