II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 414 

To facilitate lawful international trade by increasing the daily commercial 

hours of operation at designated ports of entry along the southern 

border, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To facilitate lawful international trade by increasing the daily 

commercial hours of operation at designated ports of 

entry along the southern border, 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 ‘‘Trade Facilitation and 

5 Security Enhancement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXTENDING PORTS OF ENTRY HOURS OF OPER7 ATION FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES. 

8 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this Act, the term ‘‘10 busi9 est ports of entry’’ means the 10 land ports of entry on 


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1 the border between the United States and Mexico through 

2 which the highest total value of products and commodities 

3 passed through during 2017, as reported by the United 

4 States Census Bureau. 

5 (b) MINIMUM HOURS OF OPERATION.—Not later 

6 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with 

8 the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

9 shall facilitate the safe, secure, and efficient cross border 

10 movement of people, motor vehicles, cargo, and lawful and 

11 legitimate trade travel by ensuring that commercial vehi12 cles are permitted to enter into or exit from the United 

13 States through the 10 busiest ports of entry for not fewer 

14 than— 

15 (1) 16 hours per day, Monday through Friday; 

16 and 

17 (2) 8 hours per weekend. 

18 SEC. 3. RESOURCES; COORDINATION. 

19 (a) RESOURCES.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity shall ensure that sufficient U.S. Customs and Border 

21 Protection officers and resources are dedicated to des22 ignated ports of entry— 

23 (1) to carry out the functions of commercial op24 erations, including accepting entries of merchandise, 


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1 collecting duties, and enforcing the customs, immi2 gration, and trade laws of the United States; and 

3 (2) to perform the functions described in para4 graph (1) during the hours set forth in section 2(b) 

5 beginning not later than the date set forth in such 

6 section. 

7 (b) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity shall coordinate with the appropriate officials of the 

9 Government of Mexico to implement this section. 

10 SEC. 4. PORTS OF ENTRY MODERNIZATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of U.S. Cus12 toms and Border Protection, in consultation with the Ad13 ministrator of General Services, shall conduct a study of 

14 commercial operations at the 10 busiest ports of entry to 

15 identify any improvements that could be made to such 

16 ports of entry to facilitate lawful international trade, in17 cluding redesigning, modernizing, and improving the effi18 ciency of such ports of entry and expanding their hours 

19 of operation. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall sub22 mit a report to Congress that summarizes the results of 

23 the study conducting pursuant to subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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