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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6456 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6456

 To render the amounts authorized to be appropriated for U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 
fiscal years 2018 through 2021 contingent upon the amount appropriated 
 for the Executive Office for Immigration Review for fiscal year 2017.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 7, 2016

  Mr. Veasey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on 
  Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, 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 render the amounts authorized to be appropriated for U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 
fiscal years 2018 through 2021 contingent upon the amount appropriated 
 for the Executive Office for Immigration Review for fiscal year 2017.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``End the Backlog Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Over the last decade, the Department of Homeland 
        Security's immigration enforcement resources have increased 
        drastically.
            (2) Combined spending for U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
        increased 105 percent from fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 
        2016, from $9,100,000,000 to approximately $20,100,000,000.
            (3) Over the last decade, the Executive Office for 
        Immigration Review's resources have not increased at the same 
        rate as the rates for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 
        U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
            (4) Immigration court spending for the Executive Office of 
        Immigration Review increased 74 percent from fiscal year 2003 
        to fiscal year 2015, from $199,000,000 to $347,200,000.
            (5) In comparison to other Federal judges with similar 
        responsibilities, immigration judges are expected to process 
        100 percent more cases with their current resources.
            (6) Immigration judges processed and adjudicated over 1,400 
        cases on average in fiscal year 2014 in comparison to 1998, 
        during which immigration judges processed 641 cases.
            (7) In comparison, Federal judges averaged 566 cases in 
        2011 and Social Security administrative law judges processed 
        544 cases and hearings in 2007.
            (8) As more immigration cases are filed than processed, 
        immigration court backlogs have more than doubled since 2002, 
        with 166,000 cases processed during that fiscal year.
            (9) The Executive Office for Immigration Review reported 
        521,676 pending immigration cases as of November 2016.
            (10) The average removal case as of April 2015 had been 
        pending for 604 days.
            (11) In July 2016, the Executive Office for Immigration 
        Review announced plans for an increase of 122 immigration 
        judges, bringing the total from 277 to 399.
            (12) A total of 524 judges is required to eliminate the 
        current backlog and adjudicate incoming cases in a timely 
        manner.

SEC. 3. RENDERING AMOUNTS AUTHORIZED FOR CBP AND ICE FOR CONTINGENT ON 
              AMOUNT APPROPRIATED FOR EOIR.

    If, for fiscal year 2017, the total amount appropriated for the 
Executive Office for Immigration Review does not exceed 485,300,000, 
then, for fiscal year 2018 and each of the 3 succeeding fiscal years, 
the total amount authorized to be appropriated for--
            (1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection is $13,219,051; and
            (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is $6,151,579.
                                 <all>
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