IB 

Union Calendar No. 167 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3525 

[Report No. 116–211] 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Commissioner 

of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to establish uniform processes 

for medical screening of individuals interdicted between ports of entry, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2019 

Ms. UNDERWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. 

BEATTY, Mr. EVANS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. KELLY

of Illinois, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 

FUDGE, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

RUSH, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. WELCH

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 27, 2019] 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 3525 RH

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct 

the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to establish uniform processes for medical screening 

of individuals interdicted between ports of entry, and 

for other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 3525 RH

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 ‘‘U.S. Border Patrol Med5 ical Screening Standards Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. UNIFORM PROCESSES FOR MEDICAL SCREENING OF 

7 INDIVIDUALS INTERDICTED BETWEEN PORTS 

8 OF ENTRY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the Home10 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 437. MEDICAL SCREENING OF INDIVIDUALS INTER13 DICTED BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To improve border security and 

15 the processing of individuals and families interdicted by the 

16 U.S. Border Patrol between ports of entry, the Commis17 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in coordina18 tion with the Chief Medical Officer of the Department, shall, 

19 not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 

20 this section, establish uniform processes and training to en21 sure consistent and efficient medical screening of all indi22 viduals, with priority given to children who have not yet 

23 attained the age of 18, so interdicted before transfer from 

24 U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody, but in no case 

25 longer than 12 hours after such interdiction, or 6 hours in 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 3525 RH

1 the case of a high priority individual. Such screening 

2 should be conducted by a medical professional and should 

3 be developed in collaboration with non-governmental ex4 perts in the delivery of health care in humanitarian crises 

5 and in the delivery of health care to children. 

6 ‘‘(b) SCREENING PROCESS COMPONENTS.—At a min7 imum, the uniform processes and training established under 

8 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) Requirements for initial in-person screening 

10 that includes documentation of the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) Visual assessment of overall physical 

12 and behavioral state, including any possible dis13 ability. 

14 ‘‘(B) A brief medical history, including de15 mographic information, current medications (in16 cluding a list of confiscated medications and 

17 whether such have been replaced), and any 

18 chronic or past illnesses. 

19 ‘‘(C) Any current medical complaints. 

20 ‘‘(D) A physical examination that includes 

21 the screening of vital signs such as body tem22 perature, pulse rate, and blood pressure. 

23 ‘‘(2) Criteria for determining when to make a re24 ferral to higher medical care and a process to execute 

25 such referral. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 3525 RH

1 ‘‘(3) Recordkeeping requirements regarding how 

2 information is to be recorded for each initial screen3 ing under paragraph (1), including information on 

4 the use of interpretation services. 

5 ‘‘(4) Review by a medical professional of any 

6 prescribed medication that is in the detainee’s posses7 sion or that was confiscated upon arrival to deter8 mine if such medication may be kept by such detainee 

9 for use during detention, properly stored with appro10 priate access for use during detention, or maintained 

11 with a detainee’s personal property. 

12 ‘‘(5) Chaperones for the physical examination of 

13 minors, including, as appropriate, the parent, legal 

14 guardian, or the such minors’ closest present adult 

15 relative, or a U.S. Border Patrol agent of the same 

16 gender. 

17 ‘‘(c) PEDIATRIC EXPERTISE.—A pediatric medical ex18 pert shall be on site in every U.S. Border Patrol sector, 

19 including at U.S. Border Patrol processing centers and at 

20 U.S. Border Patrol facilities at which 20 percent or more 

21 of detained individuals over the immediately preceding six 

22 month period are minors. The Chief of the U.S. Border Pa23 trol shall prepare a plan to deploy in-person or technology24 facilitated medical consultation with a licensed medical 

25 professional to U.S. Border Patrol facilities that experience 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 3525 RH

1 an increase in apprehensions of children greater than 10 

2 percent over the preceding 60 days. 

3 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘high pri4 ority individual’ means an individual who self-identifies 

5 as having a medical condition needing prompt attention, 

6 exhibits signs of acute illness, is pregnant, is a child, or 

7 is elderly. 

8 ‘‘(e) TRAINING.—Not later than 60 days after the 

9 issuance of the uniform processes and training established 

10 under subsection (a), the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

11 and Border Protection shall ensure that any individual car12 rying out medical screening under this section at a U.S. 

13 Customs and Border Protection facility of individuals 

14 interdicted by the U.S. Border Patrol between ports of entry 

15 shall complete training on such uniform processes.’’. 

16 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

17 or the amendment made by this section may be construed 

18 as authorizing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to de19 tain individuals for longer than 72 hours. 

20 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

21 section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

22 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 436 

23 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 437. Medical screening of individuals interdicted between ports of entry.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 3525 RH

1 SEC. 3. RESEARCH REGARDING PROVISION OF MEDICAL 

2 SCREENING OF INDIVIDUALS INTERDICTED 

3 BY U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION 

4 BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

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

7 Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Science 

8 and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, 

9 in coordination with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

10 and Border Protection and the Chief Medical Officer of the 

11 Department, shall research innovative approaches to ad12 dress capability gaps regarding the provision of comprehen13 sive medical screening of individuals, particularly children, 

14 pregnant women, the elderly, and other vulnerable popu15 lations, interdicted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

16 between ports of entry and issue to the Secretary rec17 ommendations for any necessary corrective actions. 

18 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the research re19 quired under subsection (a), the Under Secretary for 

20 Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Se21 curity shall consult with appropriate national professional 

22 associations with expertise and non-governmental experts 

23 in emergency, nursing, and other medical care, including 

24 pediatric care. 

25 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

26 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 3525 RH

1 House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

2 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report 

3 containing the recommendations referred to in subsection 

4 (a), together with information relating to what actions, if 

5 any, the Secretary plans to take in response to such rec6 ommendations. 

7 SEC. 4. ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS IMPLEMENTATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Of10 ficer of the Department of Homeland Security, in coordina11 tion with the Chief Medical Officer of the Department, shall 

12 establish within the Department an electronic health record 

13 system that can be accessed by all departmental components 

14 operating along the borders of the United States for individ15 uals in the custody of such components. 

16 (b) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 120 days after the 

17 implementation of the electronic health records system, the 

18 Chief Information Officer, in coordination with the Chief 

19 Medical Officer, shall conduct an assessment of such system 

20 to determine system capacity for improvement and inter21 operability. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 167 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3525 

[Report No. 116–211] 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

between ports of entry, and for other purposes. for medical screening of individuals interdicted Border Protection to establish uniform processes direct the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS