U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

79–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2018

115–308 

Calendar No. 548 

DHS OVERSEAS PERSONNEL ENFORCEMENT 

ACT OF 2017 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

H.R. 4567 

TO REQUIRE A DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OVERSEAS 

PERSONNEL ENHANCEMENT PLAN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

JULY 30, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

DOUG JONES, Alabama 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

MICHELLE D. WOODS, Senior Professional Staff Member 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

CHARLES A. MOSKOWITZ, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel 

SUBHASRI RAMANATHAN, Minority Counsel 

MICHELLE M. BENECKE, Minority Advisor 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

Calendar No. 548 

115th CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 2d Session 115–308 

DHS OVERSEAS PERSONNEL ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2017 

JULY 30, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 4567] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (H.R. 4567) to require a Department 

of Homeland Security overseas personnel enhancement plan, and 

for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 

thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 4 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 5 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 5 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 6 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported ........................... 6 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 4567, the DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 

2017, requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the 

Department) to provide Congress with a briefing within 90 days of 

submitting its comprehensive multi-year strategy on DHS’s overseas personnel deployments, and every 180 days thereafter. Among 

other things, DHS is required to brief Congress on any barriers impeding information sharing and collaboration across DHS components and stakeholder entities to advance its counterterrorism mission. Within 90 days of the first overseas personnel briefing, the 

Act requires the Department to submit to Congress a plan to improve the effectiveness of personnel located at foreign locations. 

2 

1The Office of International Engagement, Dep’t of Homeland Sec. (July 24, 2018), https:// 

www.dhs.gov/office-international-affairs; International Engagement, Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 

https://www.dhs.gov/topic/international-engagement; U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO–17– 

216, Border Security: CBP Aims to Prevent High-Risk Travelers from Boarding U.S.-Bound 

Flights but Needs to Evaluate Program Performance, 1, (Jan. 2017), available at https:// 

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-216. 2Fact Sheet: DHS’s International Footprint, supra note 1; International Engagement, supra 

note 1. 3 Ron Nixon, Homeland Security Goes Abroad. Not Everyone is Grateful., N.Y. Times (Dec. 26, 

2017), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/world/americas/homeland-security-customs-border-patrol.html. 4Fact Sheet: DHS’s International Footprint, supra note 1. 5 Id.; U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO–13–681, Combating Terrorism: DHS Should Take 

Action to Better Ensure Resources Abroad Align with Priorities 6–7, (Sept. 2013), available at 

https://www.gao.gov/assets/660/658132.pdf; GAO–17–216, supra note 1 at 1. 6Fact Sheet: DHS’s International Footprint, supra note 1; GAO–13–681, Combating Terrorism: 

DHS Should Take Action to Better Ensure Resources Abroad Align with Priorities, supra note 

5; GAO–17–216, supra note 1. 7GAO–13–681, supra note 5 at 13–14; GAO–17–216, supra note 1 at 1. 8 Ron Nixon, supra note 3; GAO–13–681, supra note 1, at 11–13; GAO–17–216, supra note 5 

at 21–22. 9GAO–17–216, supra note 1 at 2,6. 10 Id. 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Protecting the homeland against threats posed by international 

terrorist groups and transnational criminal organizations requires 

efficient and effective management of the nation’s homeland security resources. Because many threats to the homeland originate 

overseas, DHS works closely with international partners and deploys personnel and resources to foreign locations to interdict potential security threats at the earliest possible point.1 Overseas 

personnel are often responsible for sharing information with foreign and domestic partners, and establishing partnerships with foreign allies to prevent the spread of terrorist and other criminal activity to the homeland.2 As of December 2017, the Department had 

an estimated 2,000 personnel deployed to over 70 countries.3

The Department’s global reach advances its counterterrorism 

mission by preventing nefarious actors from entering the country.4

While stationed overseas, DHS personnel engage in a range of programs and activities in fulfillment of its counterterrorism, trade 

and travel missions.5 Specifically, DHS components, including the 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (ICE), Transportation Security Administration, and 

Customs and Immigration Services, deploy personnel abroad to engage in interdiction and criminal investigation activities.6

DHS’s overseas activities have led to the denial of the entry of 

known or suspected terrorists, seizure of drugs, interdiction of narcotics, and disruption of human smuggling rings.7 Among DHS 

components, CBP deploys the largest number of personnel, approximately 1,000, to overseas locations for the purposes of screening 

and vetting passengers at airports, conducting inspections of U.S.- 

bound cargo shipments, and training foreign customs officials at 

international airports to institute screening procedures consistent 

with those used by U.S. customs officials.8 Through its Immigration Advisory Program, CBP identifies ‘‘high-risk’’ travelers prior to 

boarding U.S.-bound flights.9 In Fiscal Year 2015, the program prevented ‘‘8,100 known or suspected terrorists, or individuals with 

connections to known or suspected terrorists’’ from boarding U.S.- 

bound flights.10

3 

11 International Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, https://www.ice.gov/ 

international-operations#wcm-survey-target-id; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Budget Overview (Feb. 27, 2018), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/ 

default/files/publications/U.S.%20Immigration%20and%20Customs%20Enforcement.pdf. 12 International Operations, supra note 11. 13 Id. 14 Id. 15 Id. 16 Id. 17GAO–17–216, Border Security: CBP Aims to Prevent High-Risk Travelers from Boarding 

U.S.-Bound Flights but Needs to Evaluate Program Performance 24, 35–36, supra note 1. 18 Id. 19 Id. 20 Id. 21 Id. 22S. Comm. on Appropriations, Explanatory Statement for the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, 2018 (Nov. 21, 2017), available at https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/ 

doc/FY2018-Homeland-Security-Explanatory-Statement.pdf. 

For its part, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division deploys nearly 300 investigators to 50 countries.11 HSI advances the Department’s mission overseas by coordinating with foreign counterparts on investigations, interdicting transnational 

criminal organizations seeking to smuggle drugs, traffic humans 

and wildlife, and building international outreach and training partnerships.12 HSI’s International Operations Division is responsible 

for executing a number of activities and programs.13 For instance, 

within its Transnational Criminal Investigative Units, HSI investigators work on teams with foreign law enforcement officials.14

The Visa Security Program (VSP) deploys HSI special agents to 

U.S. embassies determined to be high-risk to advise Department of 

State consular officers.15 Through the VSP, HSI investigators advance DHS’s counterterrorism mission by screening visa applications and making recommendations to consular officers regarding 

visa refusal and revocations.16

While DHS’s overseas functions are critical to achieving its 

counterterrorism mission and protecting the homeland, questions 

have been raised about the effectiveness of the programs and the 

activities supported by the deployment and use of personnel stationed abroad.17 According to a 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), although CBP’s pre-departure 

programs have resulted in the identification and interdiction of 

high-risk travelers, ‘‘CBP has not fully evaluated the overall effectiveness of these programs using performance measures and baselines.’’ 18 DHS concurred with GAO’s recommendation to develop 

and implement performance measures, including the establishment 

of performance baselines, as a means of assessing the effectiveness 

of its programs.19 DHS has created a working group comprised of 

individuals from each of its pre-departure programs to address this 

recommendation.20 However, the recommendation has not been 

fully addressed.21 Absent appropriate measures, CBP and relevant 

stakeholders cannot assess whether pre-departure programs are 

achieving their intended goals. 

In the Explanatory Statement accompanying the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018, the Senate Committee 

on Appropriations encouraged HSI to prioritize its efforts to collaborate with CBP on investigations supporting trade enforcement 

activities.22 In doing so, HSI will be better positioned to assess the 

cost and benefits of expanding its overseas investigative activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Aug 01, 2018 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR308.XXX SR308
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23 Id. 24 Id. 25 Raising the Standard: DHS’s Efforts to Improve Aviation Security around the Globe, Hearing before the Subcomm. on Transp. & Protective Sec. of the H. Comm. on Homeland Sec. (Sept. 

26, 2017), available at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/HM/HM07/20170926/106421/HMTG-115- 

HM07-Transcript-20170926.pdf; Securing Air Cargo: Industry Perspectives, Hearing before the 

Subcomm. on Transp. & Protective Sec. of the H. Comm. on Homeland Sec. (July 25, 2017), 

available at https://homeland.house.gov/hearing/securing-air-cargo-industry-perspectives/; The 

Future of the Transportation Security Administration, Hearing before the Subcomm. on Transp. 

& Protective Sec. of the H. Comm. on Homeland Sec. (Feb. 2, 2017), available at https://homeland.house.gov/hearing/future-transportation-security-administration/; Examining TSA’s Global 

Efforts to Protect the Homeland from Aviation Threats and Enhance Security at Last Point of 

Departure Airports, Hearing before the Subcomm. on Transp. & Protective Sec. of the H. Comm. 

on Homeland Sec. (Dec. 8, 2015), available at https://www.tsa.gov/news/testimony/2015/12/08/testimony-hearing-%E2%80%9Cexamining-tsas-global-efforts-protect-homeland. 26 Raising the Standard: DHS’s Efforts to Improve Aviation Security around the Globe, Hearing before the Subcomm. on Transp. & Protective Sec. of the H. Comm. on Homeland Sec., supra 

note 25, at 30. 27 Exec. Order No. 13,767, 82 Fed. Reg. 8793 (Jan. 2017); Exec. Order No. 13,768, 82 Fed. Reg. 

8799 (Jan. 2017). 28 Exec. Order No. 13,767, supra note 27; Exec. Order No. 13,768, supra note 27. 29 Exec. Order No. 13,767, supra note 27; Exec. Order No. 13,768, supra note 27. 

ties.23 The Senate Committee on Appropriations acknowledged the 

importance of impeding the flow of individuals posing a threat and 

illicit contraband, but encouraged HSI to continue reviewing the 

cost and benefit of overseas agents, noting that ‘‘the annual cost of 

an overseas agent can be four times the cost of an agent deployed 

domestically.’’ 24

Oversight of DHS’s international counterterrorism programs has 

raised questions about the need for additional overseas personnel.25

Specially, during a September 2017 hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Transportation 

and Protective Security, Mr. Anthony Reardon, National President 

of the National Treasury Employees Union, expressed concerns 

with the Department’s proposal to increase the number of CBP personnel stationed abroad in support of the Department’s efforts to 

expand its Preclearance Program citing ‘‘critical staffing shortages 

at the nation’s ports of entry.’’ 26

DHS should deploy its personnel and resources in a manner that 

is consistent with the nation’s homeland security priorities. In January 2017, the President issued a series of Executive Orders aimed 

at stemming the flow of illegal entrants along the U.S. border with 

Mexico.27 Under these Executive Orders, CBP and ICE, DHS components with large international footprints, are to execute hiring 

plans that would significantly increase the number of Border Patrol 

and ICE agents.28 As the Department develops its staffing models 

and budget requests for its international programs, consideration 

should be given to whether proposed staffing increases advance 

current homeland security priorities and provide intended security 

benefits.29

This Act provides transparency into the use and effectiveness of 

overseas personnel. Specifically, the briefing and plan required by 

this Act will enable Congress to hold the Department accountable 

for ensuring that the costs associated with overseas personnel do 

not outweigh the derived security benefits. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Representative John Katko (R–NY) introduced H.R. 4567, the 

DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act, on December 6, 2017. 

The Act passed the House unanimously on January 10, 2018, and 

5 

was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

The Committee considered H.R. 4567 at a business meeting on 

June 13, 2018. The Committee reported the Act favorably by voice 

vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote were Johnson, Portman, 

Lankford, Enzi, McCaskill, Carper, Peters, Hassan, Harris, and 

Jones. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE ACT, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides the short title of Act, the ‘‘DHS Overseas 

Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017.’’ 

Section 2. Overseas personnel briefing 

Subsection (a) requires the Secretary of the DHS to brief Congress regarding personnel stationed abroad. The first briefing is to 

occur 90 days after the submission of the strategy required under 

section 1910 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2017, P.L. 114–328. Subsequent briefings are to be provided 

to the aforementioned Committees every 180 days. 

Subsection (b) specifies the content requirements for the briefing 

in subsection (a). The briefing is to include information on the 

types of overseas positions, including how the geographical and regional locations and position-specific training provided to overseas 

personnel support the Department’s counterterrorism mission. The 

briefing is also to include information on the challenges impeding 

the sharing of counterterrorism information between DHS personnel at foreign locations and DHS personnel within the United 

States. The subsection also requires the Department to provide a 

status update on the implementation of the strategy in subsection 

(a) and the enhancement plan discussed under section 3. 

Section 3. Overseas personnel enhancement plan 

Subsection (a) requires the Secretary, within 90 days of the first 

briefing required in section 2, to submit to Congress an effectiveness enhancement plan for DHS overseas personnel. 

Subsection (b) outlines the contents required to be included within the plan. The plan is to include proposals to improve foreign 

partner capacity development; the use of threat information to redeploy personnel; enhance coordination with partners, including 

DHS entities within the U.S. and foreign partners; and practices 

for preventing counter-espionage activities. 

Section 4. Termination 

This section sunsets the briefing required under section 2 of this 

Act 4 years after the submission of the strategy required in Public 

Law Number 114–328. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this Act and determined that the Act will 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 

Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s stateVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Aug 01, 2018 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR308.XXX SR308
6 

ment that the Act contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, June 22, 2018. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4567, the DHS Overseas 

Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 4567—DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017 

H.R. 4567 would require the Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) to devise a plan to improve the effectiveness of DHS personnel who are stationed at foreign locations. The act also would 

require DHS—about twice a year over the next four years—to provide briefings to the Congress on department personnel with primary duties outside the United States. Using information from 

DHS, CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would 

cost less than $500,000 annually; such spending would be subject 

to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 4567 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4567 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 4567 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On January 18, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

4567 as passed by the House of Representatives on January 10, 

2018. CBO estimates of the budgetary effects of the two versions 

of the legislation are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. The 

estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE ACT, AS REPORTED

Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any provision 

of current law, it would not make changes in existing law within 

7 

the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

Æ