I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 875 

To provide for alternative financing arrangements for the provision of certain 

services and the construction and maintenance of infrastructure at land 

border ports of entry, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2015 

Mr. CUELLAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for alternative financing arrangements for the 

provision of certain services and the construction and 

maintenance of infrastructure at land border ports of 

entry, 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 ‘‘Cross-Border Trade 

5 Enhancement Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR; ADMINISTRATION.—The 

4 terms ‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘Administration’’ mean 

5 the Administrator of General Services and the Gen6 eral Services Administration, respectively. 

7 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis8 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

9 and Border Protection. 

10 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 

11 (A) an individual; or 

12 (B) a corporation, partnership, trust, asso13 ciation, or any other public or private entity, in14 cluding a State or local government. 

15 (4) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

16 The term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) the Committee on Environment and 

19 Public Works of the Senate; 

20 (B) the Committee on Finance of the Sen21 ate; 

22 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 

23 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

24 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

25 Senate; 


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1 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 

2 of the House of Representatives; 

3 (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 (G) the Committee on Transportation and 

6 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

7 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS FOR THE 

8 PROVISION OF CERTAIN SERVICES AT LAND 

9 BORDER PORTS OF ENTRY. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 451 

12 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1451), and 

13 consistent with section 560 of the Department of 

14 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2013 (divi15 sion D of Public Law 113–6; 127 Stat. 378) and 

16 section 559 of the Department of Homeland Secu17 rity Appropriations Act, 2014 (division F of Public 

18 Law 113–76; 6 U.S.C. 211 note) the Commissioner 

19 may, during the 10-year period beginning on the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act and upon the re21 quest of any person, enter into an agreement with 

22 that person under which— 

23 (A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

24 will provide the services described in paragraph 

25 (2) at a land border port of entry; and 


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1 (B) that person will pay the fee described 

2 in subsection (b) to reimburse U.S. Customs 

3 and Border Protection for the costs incurred in 

4 providing such services. 

5 (2) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—Services described 

6 in this paragraph are any services related to cus7 toms, agricultural processing, border security, or in8 spection-related immigration matters provided by an 

9 employee or contractor of U.S. Customs and Border 

10 Protection at land border ports of entry. 

11 (3) LIMITATION.—The Commissioner may not 

12 modify existing requirements or reimbursement fee 

13 agreements in effect as of the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act unless the relevant person requests a 

15 modification to include services described in this sec16 tion. 

17 (4) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this para18 graph may be construed to reduce the responsibil19 ities or duties of U.S. Customs and Border Protec20 tion to provide services at land border ports of entry 

21 that have been authorized or mandated by law and 

22 are funded in any appropriation Act or from any ac23 counts in the Treasury of the United States derived 

24 by the collection of fees. 

25 (b) FEE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person requesting U.S. 

2 Customs and Border Protection services shall pay a 

3 fee pursuant to an agreement under subsection (a) 

4 in an amount equal to the sum of— 

5 (A) a proportionate share of the salaries 

6 and expenses of the individuals employed by 

7 U.S. Customs and Border Protection who pro8 vided such services; and 

9 (B) other costs incurred by U.S. Customs 

10 and Border Protection relating to such services, 

11 such as temporary placement or permanent re12 location of such individuals. 

13 (2) OVERSIGHT OF FEES.—The Commissioner 

14 shall develop a process to oversee the activities reim15 bursed by the fees authorized under paragraph (1) 

16 that includes— 

17 (A) a determination and report on the full 

18 cost of providing services, including direct and 

19 indirect costs; 

20 (B) a process for increasing such fees, as 

21 necessary; 

22 (C) the establishment of a monthly remit23 tance schedule to reimburse appropriations; and 

24 (D) the identification of overtime costs to 

25 be reimbursed by such fees. 


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1 (3) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS.—Amounts collected in 

2 fees under paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) shall be deposited as an offsetting col4 lection; 

5 (B) shall remain available until expended, 

6 without fiscal year limitation; and 

7 (C) shall directly reimburse each appro8 priation account for the amount paid out of 

9 such account for— 

10 (i) any expenses incurred for pro11 viding U.S. Customs and Border Protec12 tion services to the person paying such fee; 

13 and 

14 (ii) any other costs incurred by the 

15 U.S. Customs and Border Protection relat16 ing to such services. 

17 (4) TERMINATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

19 shall terminate the services provided pursuant 

20 to an agreement with a private sector or gov21 ernment entity under subsection (a) upon re22 ceiving notice from the Commissioner that such 

23 entity failed to pay the fee imposed under para24 graph (1) in a timely manner. 


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1 (B) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—At the 

2 time services are terminated pursuant to sub3 paragraph (A), all costs incurred by U.S. Cus4 toms and Border Protection to provide services 

5 to the entity described in subparagraph (A), 

6 which have not been reimbursed by the entity, 

7 will become immediately due and payable. 

8 (C) INTEREST.—Interest on unpaid fees 

9 will accrue from the date of termination based 

10 on current Treasury borrowing rates. 

11 (D) PENALTIES.—Any private sector or 

12 government entity that fails to pay any fee in13 curred under paragraph (1) in a timely manner, 

14 after notice and demand for payment, shall be 

15 liable for a penalty or liquidated damage equal 

16 to 2 times the amount of such fee. 

17 (5) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 3 days be18 fore entering into an agreement under this section, 

19 the Commissioner shall notify— 

20 (A) the relevant committees of Congress; 

21 and 

22 (B) the members of Congress who rep23 resent the State or district in which the facility 

24 at which services will be provided under the 

25 agreement. 


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1 SEC. 4. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE FINANCING AR2 RANGEMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND 

3 MAINTENANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AT 

4 LAND BORDER PORTS OF ENTRY. 

5 (a) AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.—Consistent with 

6 section 559 of the Department of Homeland Security Ap7 propriations Act, 2014 (division F of Public Law 113– 

8 76; 6 U.S.C. 211 note), during the 10-year period begin9 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis10 sioner and the Administrator may, for purposes of facili11 tating the construction, alteration, operation, or mainte12 nance of a new or existing facility or other infrastructure 

13 at a port of entry under the jurisdiction, custody, and con14 trol of the Commissioner or the Administrator— 

15 (1) enter into cost-sharing or reimbursement 

16 agreements with any person; or 

17 (2) accept donations from any person of— 

18 (A) real or personal property (including 

19 monetary donations); or 

20 (B) nonpersonal services. 

21 (b) ALLOWABLE USES OF AGREEMENTS.—The Com22 missioner and the Administrator, with respect to an agree23 ment authorized under subsection (a), may— 

24 (1) use such agreements for activities related to 

25 an existing or new port of entry, including expenses 

26 related to— 


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1 (A) land acquisition, design, construction, 

2 repair, or alternation; 

3 (B) furniture, fixtures, or equipment; 

4 (C) the deployment of technology or equip5 ment; or 

6 (D) operations and maintenance; or 

7 (2) subject to chapter 33 of title 40, United 

8 States Code, transfer such property or services be9 tween the Commissioner and the Administrator for 

10 activities described in paragraph (1) that are related 

11 to a new or existing port of entry under the jurisdic12 tion, custody, and control of the relevant agency. 

13 (c) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (A) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCEDURES.— 

16 The Commissioner, in consultation with the Ad17 ministrator and consistent with section 559 of 

18 the Department of Homeland Security Appro19 priations Act, 2014 (division F of Public Law 

20 113–76; 6 U.S.C. 211 note), shall issue proce21 dures for evaluating a proposal submitted by a 

22 person for an agreement authorized under sub23 section (a). 

24 (B) AVAILABILITY.—The procedures 

25 issued under subparagraph (A) shall be made 


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1 available to the public through the Department 

2 of Homeland Security website. 

3 (2) SPECIFICATION.—In making a donation 

4 under subsection (a)(2), a person may— 

5 (A) designate the land port of entry facility 

6 or facilities that the donation is intended to 

7 support; and 

8 (B) specify the period during which the 

9 contributed property or nonpersonal services 

10 shall be used. 

11 (3) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.—Any property, 

12 including monetary donations and nonpersonal serv13 ices donated pursuant to subsection (a) may be used 

14 in addition to any other funds, including appro15 priated funds, property, or services made available 

16 for the same purpose. 

17 (4) RETURN OF DONATION.— 

18 (A) RETURN REQUIRED.—If the Commis19 sioner or the Administrator does not use the 

20 property or services donated pursuant to sub21 section (a) for the specific facility or facilities 

22 designated under paragraph (2)(A) or during 

23 the period specified under paragraph (2)(B), 

24 such donated property or services shall be re25 turned to the person that made the donation. 


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1 (B) INTEREST PROHIBITED.—No interest 

2 may be owed on any donation returned to a 

3 person pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

4 (5) DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

6 after receiving a proposal pursuant to sub7 section (a) with respect to the construction or 

8 maintenance of a facility or other infrastructure 

9 at a land border port of entry, the Commis10 sioner or the Administrator shall— 

11 (i) make a determination with respect 

12 to whether or not to approve the proposal; 

13 and 

14 (ii) notify the person that submitted 

15 the proposal of— 

16 (I) the determination; and 

17 (II) if the Administrator did not 

18 approve the proposal, the reasons for 

19 such determination. 

20 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making the de21 termination under subparagraph (A)(i), the 

22 Commissioner or the Administrator shall con23 sider— 


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1 (i) the impact of the proposal on re2 ducing wait times at that port of entry and 

3 other ports of entry on the same border; 

4 (ii) the potential of the proposal to in5 crease trade and travel efficiency through 

6 added capacity; and 

7 (iii) the potential of the proposal to 

8 enhance the security of the port of entry. 

9 (d) ANNUAL REPORT AND NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

10 The Commissioner, in collaboration with the Adminis11 trator, shall— 

12 (1) submit an annual report to the relevant 

13 committees of Congress on the agreements entered 

14 into under subsection (a); and 

15 (2) not less than 3 days before entering into an 

16 agreement with a person under subsection (a), notify 

17 the members of Congress that represent the State or 

18 district in which the affected facility is located. 

Æ 


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