II 

Calendar No. 196 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1603 

[Report No. 114–116] 

To actively recruit members of the Armed Forces who are separating from 

military service to serve as Customs and Border Protection Officers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2015 

Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. VITTER, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

LANKFORD, and Mr. TOOMEY) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To actively recruit members of the Armed Forces who are 

separating from military service to serve as Customs 

and Border Protection Officers. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Jobs for Vet3 erans Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Customs and Border Protection Officers at 

7 United States ports of entry carry out critical law 

8 enforcement duties associated with screening foreign 

9 visitors, returning United States citizens, and im10 ported cargo entering the United States. 

11 (2) It is in the national interest for United 

12 States ports of entry to be adequately staffed with 

13 Customs and Border Protection Officers in a timely 

14 fashion, including meeting the congressionally fund15 ed staffing target of 23,775 officers for fiscal year 

16 2015. 

17 (3) An estimated 250,000 to 300,000 members 

18 of the Armed Forces separate from military service 

19 every year. 

20 (4) Recruiting efforts and expedited hiring pro21 cedures should be undertaken to ensure that individ22 uals separating from military service are aware of, 

23 and partake in, opportunities to fill vacant Customs 

24 and Border Protection Officer positions. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXPEDITED HIRING OF APPROPRIATE SEPARATING 

2 SERVICEMEMBERS. 

3 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF TRANSFERABLE QUALIFICA4 TIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the en5 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

6 in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, shall jointly 

7 identify Military Occupational Specialty Codes, Air Force 

8 Specialty Codes, Naval Enlisted Classifications and Offi9 cer Designators, and Coast Guard Competencies that are 

10 transferable to the requirements, qualifications, and duties 

11 assigned to Customs and Border Protection Officers. 

12 (b) HIRING.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 shall consider hiring qualified candidates with the Military 

14 Occupational Specialty Codes, Air Force Specialty Codes, 

15 Naval Enlisted Classifications and Officer Designators, 

16 and Coast Guard Competencies identified as transferable 

17 under subsection (a) who are eligible for veterans recruit18 ment appointment authorized under section 4214 of title 

19 38, United States Code. 

20 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM FOR RECRUITING 

21 SERVICEMEMBERS SEPARATING FROM MILI22 TARY SERVICE FOR CUSTOMS AND BORDER 

23 PROTECTION OFFICER VACANCIES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home26 land Security, in conjunction with the Secretary of DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Aug 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1603.RS S1603

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1 fense, shall establish a program to actively recruit mem2 bers of the Armed Forces who are separating from mili3 tary service to serve as Customs and Border Protection 

4 Officers. 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The program established under 

6 subsection (a) shall— 

7 (1) include Customs and Border Protection Of8 ficer opportunities in relevant job assistance efforts 

9 under the Transition Assistance Program; 

10 (2) place U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

11 officials or other relevant Department of Homeland 

12 Security officials at recruiting events and jobs fairs 

13 involving members of the Armed Forces who are 

14 separating from military service; 

15 (3) provide opportunities for local U.S. Customs 

16 and Border Protection field offices to partner with 

17 military bases in the region; 

18 (4) conduct outreach efforts to educate mem19 bers of the Armed Forces with Military Occupational 

20 Specialty Codes, Air Force Specialty Codes, and 

21 Naval Enlisted Classifications and Officer Designa22 tors that are transferable to the requirements, quali23 fications, and duties assigned to Customs and Bor24 der Protection Officers; 


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1 (5) require the Secretary of Defense and the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security to work coopera3 tively to identify shared activities and opportunities 

4 for reciprocity related to steps in hiring U.S. Cus5 toms and Border Patrol officers with the goal of 

6 minimizing the time required to hire qualified appli7 cants; 

8 (6) require the Secretary of Defense and the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security to work coopera10 tively to ensure the streamlined interagency transfer 

11 of relevant background investigations and security 

12 clearances; and 

13 (7) include such other elements as may be nec14 essary to ensure that members of the Armed Forces 

15 who are separating from military service are aware 

16 of opportunities to fill vacant Customs and Border 

17 Protection Officer positions. 

18 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, and by December 31 

21 of each year thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly submit a 

23 report to the appropriate congressional committees that 

24 includes a description and assessment of the program es25 tablished under section 4. 


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1 (b) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection 

2 (a) shall include— 

3 (1) a detailed description of the program estab4 lished under section 4, including— 

5 (A) programmatic elements; 

6 (B) goals associated with those elements; 

7 and 

8 (C) a description of how the elements and 

9 goals will assist in meeting statutorily man10 dated staffing levels and agency hiring bench11 marks; 

12 (2) a detailed description of the program ele13 ments that have been implemented under section 4; 

14 (3) a detailed summary of the actions taken 

15 under section 4 to implement such program ele16 ments; 

17 (4) the number of separating servicemembers 

18 made aware of Customs and Border Protection Offi19 cer vacancies; 

20 (5) the Military Occupational Specialty Codes, 

21 Air Force Specialty Codes, Naval Enlisted Classi22 fications and Officer Designators, and Coast Guard 

23 Competencies identified as transferable under sec24 tion 3(a) and a rationale for such identifications; 


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1 (6) the number of Customs and Border Protec2 tion Officer vacancies filled with separating 

3 servicemembers; 

4 (7) the number of Customs and Border Protec5 tion Officer vacancies filled with separating 

6 servicemembers under veterans recruitment appoint7 ment authorized under section 4214 of title 38, 

8 United States Code; and 

9 (8) the results of any evaluations or consider10 ations of additional elements included or not in11 cluded in the program established under section 4. 

12 SEC. 6. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

13 Nothing in this Act may be construed— 

14 (a) as superseding, altering, or amending existing 

15 Federal veterans’ hiring preferences or Federal hiring au16 thorities; or 

17 (b) as authorizing the appropriation of additional 

18 amounts to carry out this Act. 

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Jobs for Veterans 

21 Act of 2015’’. 

22 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

23 Congress finds the following: 

24 (1) Customs and Border Protection Officers at 

25 United States ports of entry carry out critical law enVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Aug 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1603.RS S1603

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1 forcement duties associated with screening foreign 

2 visitors, returning United States citizens, and im3 ported cargo entering the United States. 

4 (2) It is in the national interest for United 

5 States ports of entry to be adequately staffed with 

6 Customs and Border Protection Officers in a timely 

7 fashion, including meeting the congressionally funded 

8 staffing target of 23,775 officers for fiscal year 2015. 

9 (3) An estimated 250,000 to 300,000 members of 

10 the Armed Forces separate from military service every 

11 year. 

12 (4) Recruiting efforts and expedited hiring pro13 cedures should be undertaken to ensure that qualified 

14 individuals separating from military service are 

15 aware of, and partake in, opportunities to fill vacant 

16 Customs and Border Protection Officer positions. 

17 SEC. 3. EXPEDITED HIRING OF APPROPRIATE SEPARATING 

18 SERVICE MEMBERS. 

19 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF TRANSFERABLE QUALIFICA20 TIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

22 conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, shall jointly 

23 identify Military Occupational Specialty Codes, Air Force 

24 Specialty Codes, Naval Enlisted Classifications and Officer 

25 Designators, and Coast Guard Competencies that are transVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Aug 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1603.RS S1603

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1 ferable to the requirements, qualifications, and duties as2 signed to Customs and Border Protection Officers. 

3 (b) HIRING.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

4 shall consider hiring qualified candidates with the Military 

5 Occupational Specialty Codes, Air Force Specialty Codes, 

6 Naval Enlisted Classifications and Officer Designators, and 

7 Coast Guard Competencies identified as transferable under 

8 subsection (a) who are eligible for veterans recruitment ap9 pointment authorized under section 4214 of title 38, United 

10 States Code. 

11 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM FOR RECRUITING SERV12 ICE MEMBERS SEPARATING FROM MILITARY 

13 SERVICE FOR CUSTOMS AND BORDER PRO14 TECTION OFFICER VACANCIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, shall 

18 establish a program to actively recruit members of the 

19 Armed Forces who are separating from military service to 

20 serve as Customs and Border Protection Officers. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.—The program established under sub22 section (a) shall— 

23 (1) include Customs and Border Protection Offi24 cer opportunities in relevant job assistance efforts 

25 under the Transition Assistance Program; 


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1 (2) place U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

2 officials or other relevant Department of Homeland 

3 Security officials at recruiting events and jobs fairs 

4 involving members of the Armed Forces who are sepa5 rating from military service; 

6 (3) provide opportunities for local U.S. Customs 

7 and Border Protection field offices to partner with 

8 military bases in the region; 

9 (4) conduct outreach efforts to educate members 

10 of the Armed Forces with Military Occupational Spe11 cialty Codes, Air Force Specialty Codes, Naval En12 listed Classifications and Officer Designators, and 

13 Coast Guard Competencies that are transferable to the 

14 requirements, qualifications, and duties assigned to 

15 Customs and Border Protection Officers of available 

16 hiring opportunities to become Customs and Border 

17 Protection Officers; 

18 (5) require the Secretary of Defense and the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security to work cooperatively to 

20 identify shared activities and opportunities for reci21 procity related to steps in hiring U.S. Customs and 

22 Border Patrol officers with the goal of minimizing the 

23 time required to hire qualified applicants; 

24 (6) require the Secretary of Defense and the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security to work cooperatively to 


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1 ensure the streamlined interagency transfer of rel2 evant background investigations and security clear3 ances; and 

4 (7) include such other elements as may be nec5 essary to ensure that members of the Armed Forces 

6 who are separating from military service are aware 

7 of opportunities to fill vacant Customs and Border 

8 Protection Officer positions. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than Decem12 ber 31 of each of the 3 successive years, the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall joint14 ly submit a report to the appropriate congressional commit15 tees that includes a description and assessment of the pro16 gram established under section 4. 

17 (b) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection 

18 (a) shall include— 

19 (1) a detailed description of the program estab20 lished under section 4, including— 

21 (A) programmatic elements; 

22 (B) goals associated with those elements; 

23 and 


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1 (C) a description of how the elements and 

2 goals will assist in meeting statutorily mandated 

3 staffing levels and agency hiring benchmarks; 

4 (2) a detailed description of the program ele5 ments that have been implemented under section 4; 

6 (3) a detailed summary of the actions taken 

7 under section 4 to implement such program elements; 

8 (4) the number of separating service members 

9 made aware of Customs and Border Protection Officer 

10 vacancies; 

11 (5) the Military Occupational Specialty Codes, 

12 Air Force Specialty Codes, Naval Enlisted Classifica13 tions and Officer Designators, and Coast Guard Com14 petencies identified as transferable under section 3(a) 

15 and a rationale for such identifications; 

16 (6) the number of Customs and Border Protec17 tion Officer vacancies filled with separating service 

18 members; 

19 (7) the number of Customs and Border Protec20 tion Officer vacancies filled with separating service 

21 members under veterans recruitment appointment au22 thorized under the section 4214 of title 38, United 

23 States Code; and 


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1 (8) the results of any evaluations or consider2 ations of additional elements included or not included 

3 in the program established under section 4. 

4 SEC. 6. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

5 Nothing in this Act may be construed— 

6 (a) as superseding, altering, or amending existing Fed7 eral veterans’ hiring preferences or Federal hiring authori8 ties; or 

9 (b) as authorizing the appropriation of additional 

10 amounts to carry out this Act. 


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Calendar No. 196 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1603 

[Report No. 114–116] 

A BILL 

To actively recruit members of the Armed Forces 

as Customs and Border Protection Officers. who are separating from military service to serve 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Reported with an amendment 


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