II 

Calendar No. 696 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1253 

[Report No. 118–290] 

To increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Customs 

and Border Protection officers and support staff and to require reports 

that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance 

security at ports of entry. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 20, 2023 

Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. 

OSSOFF, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 16, 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment and an amendment to the title 

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

A BILL 

To increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Customs and Border Protection officers and support 

staff and to require reports that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance security at 

ports of entry. 


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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 ‘‘Securing America’s 

5 Ports of Entry Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTEC7 TION PERSONNEL. 

8 (a) OFFICERS.—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

9 and Border Protection shall hire, train, and assign not 

10 fewer than 600 new U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

11 officers above the current attrition level during every fiscal 

12 year until the total number of U.S. Customs and Border 

13 Protection officers equals and sustains the requirements 

14 identified each year in the Workload Staffing Model. 

15 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Commissioner is author16 ized to hire, train, and assign support staff, including 

17 technicians and Enterprise Services mission support, to 

18 perform non-law enforcement administrative functions to 

19 support the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection offi20 cers hired pursuant to subsection (a). 

21 (c) TRAFFIC FORECASTS.—In calculating the number 

22 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers needed 

23 at each port of entry through the Workload Staffing 

24 Model, the Commissioner shall— 


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1 (1) rely on data collected regarding the inspec2 tions and other activities conducted at each such 

3 port of entry; 

4 (2) consider volume from seasonal surges, other 

5 projected changes in commercial and passenger vol6 umes, the most current commercial forecasts, and 

7 other relevant information; and 

8 (3) consider historical volume and forecasts 

9 prior to the COVID–19 pandemic and the impact on 

10 international travel. 

11 (d) GAO REPORT.—If the Commissioner does not 

12 hire the 600 additional U.S. Customs and Border Protec13 tion officers authorized under subsection (a) during fiscal 

14 year 2023, or during any subsequent fiscal year in which 

15 the hiring requirements set forth in the Workload Staffing 

16 Model have not been achieved, the Comptroller General 

17 of the United States shall— 

18 (1) conduct a review of U.S. Customs and Bor19 der Protection hiring practices to determine the rea20 sons that such requirements were not achieved and 

21 other issues related to hiring by U.S. Customs and 

22 Border Protection; and 

23 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Home24 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen25 ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 


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1 House of Representatives that describes the results 

2 of the review conducted under paragraph (1). 

3 SEC. 3. PORTS OF ENTRY INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCE4 MENT REPORT. 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 

7 Border Protection shall submit a report to the Committee 

8 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

10 House of Representatives that identifies— 

11 (1) infrastructure improvements at ports of 

12 entry that would enhance the ability of U.S. Cus13 toms and Border Protection officers to interdict 

14 opioids and other drugs that are being illegally 

15 transported into the United States, including a de16 scription of circumstances at specific ports of entry 

17 that prevent the deployment of technology used at 

18 other ports of entry; 

19 (2) detection equipment that would improve the 

20 ability of such officers to identify opioids, including 

21 precursors and derivatives, that are being illegally 

22 transported into the United States; and 

23 (3) safety equipment that would protect such 

24 officers from accidental exposure to such drugs or 


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1 other dangers associated with the inspection of po2 tential drug traffickers. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) TEMPORARY DUTY ASSIGNMENTS.— 

5 (1) QUARTERLY REPORT.—The Commissioner 

6 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit 

7 a quarterly report to the appropriate congressional 

8 committees that includes, for the reporting period— 

9 (A) the number of temporary duty assign10 ments; 

11 (B) the number of U.S. Customs and Bor12 der Protection employees required for each tem13 porary duty assignment; 

14 (C) the ports of entry from which such em15 ployees were reassigned; 

16 (D) the ports of entry to which such em17 ployees were reassigned; 

18 (E) the ports of entry at which reimburs19 able service agreements have been entered into 

20 that may be affected by temporary duty assign21 ments; 

22 (F) the duration of each temporary duty 

23 assignment; 

24 (G) the cost of each temporary duty as25 signment; and 


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1 (H) for each temporary duty assignment to 

2 the southwest border, a description of any ac3 tivities done in support of U.S. Border Patrol 

4 operations. 

5 (2) NOTICE.—Not later than 10 days before re6 deploying employees from 1 port of entry to another, 

7 absent emergency circumstances— 

8 (A) the Commissioner shall notify the di9 rector of the port of entry from which employ10 ees will be reassigned of the intended redeploy11 ments; and 

12 (B) the port director shall notify impacted 

13 facilities (including airports, seaports, and land 

14 ports) of the intended redeployments. 

15 (3) STAFF BRIEFING.—The Commissioner shall 

16 brief all affected U.S. Customs and Border Protec17 tion employees regarding plans to mitigate 

18 vulnerabilities created by any planned staffing re19 ductions at ports of entry. 

20 (b) REPORTS ON U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PRO21 TECTION AGREEMENTS.—Section 907(a) of the Trade Fa22 cilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 

23 4451(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and an as2 sessment’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe3 riod; 

4 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

5 (12) as paragraphs (5) through (13), respectively; 

6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(4) A description of the factors that were con9 sidered before entering into the agreement, including 

10 an assessment of how the agreement provides eco11 nomic benefits and security benefits (if applicable) 

12 at the port of entry to which the agreement re13 lates.’’; and 

14 (4) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by para15 graph (2), by inserting after ‘‘the report’’ the fol16 lowing: ‘‘, including the locations of such services 

17 and the total hours of reimbursable services under 

18 the agreement, if any’’. 

19 (c) ANNUAL WORKLOAD STAFFING MODEL RE20 PORT.—As part of the Annual Report on Staffing required 

21 under section 411(g)(5)(A) of the Homeland Security Act 

22 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(g)(5)(A)), the Commissioner shall 

23 include— 

24 (1) information concerning the progress made 

25 toward meeting the U.S. Customs and Border ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Dec 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1253.RS S1253

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1 tection officer and support staff hiring targets set 

2 forth in section 2, while accounting for attrition; 

3 (2) an update to the information provided in 

4 the Resource Optimization at the Ports of Entry re5 port, which was submitted to Congress on Sep6 tember 12, 2017, pursuant to the Department of 

7 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2017 (divi8 sion F of Public Law 115–31); and 

9 (3) a summary of the information included in 

10 the reports required under subsection (a) and sec11 tion 907(a) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade En12 forcement Act of 2015, as amended by subsection 

13 (b). 

14 (d) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap15 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

16 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

17 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

18 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

19 Senate; 

20 (3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

21 House of Representatives; and 

22 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

23 House of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this Act— 

4 (1) $136,292,948 for fiscal year 2024; and 

5 (2) $156,918,590 for each of the fiscal years 

6 2025 through 2029. 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing America’s 

9 Ports of Entry Act of 2023’’. 

10 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTEC11 TION PERSONNEL. 

12 (a) OFFICERS.—Subject to appropriations, the Com13 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall hire, 

14 train, and assign not fewer than 600 new U.S. Customs 

15 and Border Protection officers above the current attrition 

16 level during every fiscal year until the total number of U.S. 

17 Customs and Border Protection officers equals and sustains 

18 the requirements identified each year in the Workload Staff19 ing Model. 

20 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Commissioner is author21 ized to hire, train, and assign support staff, including tech22 nicians and Enterprise Services mission support, to per23 form non-law enforcement administrative functions to sup24 port the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers 

25 hired pursuant to subsection (a). 


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1 (c) TRAFFIC FORECASTS.—In calculating the number 

2 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers needed at 

3 each port of entry through the Workload Staffing Model, 

4 the Commissioner shall— 

5 (1) rely on data collected regarding the inspec6 tions and other activities conducted at each such port 

7 of entry; 

8 (2) consider volume from seasonal surges, other 

9 projected changes in commercial and passenger vol10 umes, the most current commercial forecasts, and 

11 other relevant information; 

12 (3) consider historical volume and forecasts prior 

13 to the COVID–19 pandemic and the impact on inter14 national travel; and 

15 (4) incorporate personnel requirements for in16 creasing the rate of outbound inspection operations at 

17 land ports of entry. 

18 (d) GAO REPORT.—If the Commissioner does not hire 

19 the 600 additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection of20 ficers authorized under subsection (a) during fiscal year 

21 2024, or during any subsequent fiscal year in which the 

22 hiring requirements set forth in the Workload Staffing 

23 Model have not been achieved, the Comptroller General of 

24 the United States shall— 


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1 (1) conduct a review of U.S. Customs and Bor2 der Protection hiring practices to determine the rea3 sons that such requirements were not achieved and 

4 other issues related to hiring by U.S. Customs and 

5 Border Protection; and 

6 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Home7 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen8 ate, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, the 

9 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

10 Representatives, and the Committee on Ways and 

11 Means of the House of Representatives that describes 

12 the results of the review conducted pursuant to para13 graph (1). 

14 SEC. 3. PORTS OF ENTRY INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCE15 MENT REPORT. 

16 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 

18 Protection shall submit a report to the Committee on Home19 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 

20 Committee on Finance of the Senate, the Committee on 

21 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and 

22 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep23 resentatives that identifies— 

24 (1) infrastructure improvements at ports of 

25 entry that would enhance the ability of U.S. Customs 


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1 and Border Protection officers to interdict opioids 

2 and other drugs that are being illegally transported 

3 into the United States, including a description of cir4 cumstances at specific ports of entry that prevent the 

5 deployment of technology used at other ports of entry; 

6 (2) detection equipment that would improve the 

7 ability of such officers to identify opioids, including 

8 precursors and derivatives, that are being illegally 

9 transported into the United States; and 

10 (3) safety equipment that would protect such of11 ficers from accidental exposure to such drugs or other 

12 dangers associated with the inspection of potential 

13 drug traffickers. 

14 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

15 (a) TEMPORARY DUTY ASSIGNMENTS.— 

16 (1) QUARTERLY REPORT.—The Commissioner of 

17 U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a 

18 quarterly report to the appropriate congressional 

19 committees that includes, for the reporting period— 

20 (A) the number of temporary duty assign21 ments; 

22 (B) the number of U.S. Customs and Border 

23 Protection officers required for each temporary 

24 duty assignment; 


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1 (C) the ports of entry from which such offi2 cers were reassigned; 

3 (D) the ports of entry to which such officers 

4 were reassigned; 

5 (E) the ports of entry at which reimbursable 

6 service agreements have been entered into that 

7 may be affected by temporary duty assignments; 

8 (F) the duration of each temporary duty as9 signment; 

10 (G) the cost of each temporary duty assign11 ment; and 

12 (H) the extent to which the temporary duty 

13 assignments within the reporting period were in 

14 support of the other U.S. Customs and Border 

15 Protection activities or operations along the 

16 southern border of the United States, including 

17 the specific costs associated with such temporary 

18 duty assignments. 

19 (2) NOTICE.—Not later than 10 days before rede20 ploying employees from 1 port of entry to another, 

21 absent emergency circumstances— 

22 (A) the Commissioner shall notify the direc23 tor of the port of entry from which employees 

24 will be reassigned of the intended redeployments; 

25 and 


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1 (B) the port director shall notify impacted 

2 facilities (including airports, seaports, and land 

3 ports) of the intended redeployments. 

4 (3) STAFF BRIEFING.—The Commissioner shall 

5 brief all affected U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

6 employees regarding plans to mitigate vulnerabilities 

7 created by any planned staffing reductions at ports of 

8 entry. 

9 (b) REPORTS ON U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PRO10 TECTION AGREEMENTS.—Section 907(a) of the Trade Fa11 cilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 

12 4451(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and an as14 sessment’’ and all that follows and inserting a period; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (12) 

16 as paragraphs (5) through (13), respectively; 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(4) A description of the factors that were con20 sidered before entering into the agreement, including 

21 an assessment of how the agreement provides eco22 nomic benefits and security benefits (if applicable) at 

23 the port of entry to which the agreement relates.’’; and 

24 (4) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by para25 graph (2), by inserting after ‘‘the report’’ the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Dec 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1253.RS S1253

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1 lowing: ‘‘, including the locations of such services and 

2 the total hours of reimbursable services under the 

3 agreement, if any’’. 

4 (c) ANNUAL WORKLOAD STAFFING MODEL REPORT.— 

5 As part of the Annual Report on Staffing required under 

6 section 411(g)(5)(A) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

7 (6 U.S.C. 211(g)(5)(A)), the Commissioner shall include— 

8 (1) information concerning the progress made to9 ward meeting the U.S. Customs and Border Protec10 tion officer and support staff hiring targets set forth 

11 in section 2, while accounting for attrition; 

12 (2) an update to the information provided in the 

13 Resource Optimization at the Ports of Entry report, 

14 which was submitted to Congress on September 12, 

15 2017, pursuant to the Department of Homeland Secu16 rity Appropriations Act, 2017 (division F of Public 

17 Law 115–31); and 

18 (3) a summary of the information included in 

19 the reports required under subsection (a) and section 

20 907(a) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforce21 ment Act of 2015, as amended by subsection (b). 

22 (d) CBP ONE MOBILE APPLICATION.—During the 2- 

23 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec25 tion shall publish a monthly report on the use of the CBP 


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1 One mobile application, including, with respect to each re2 porting period— 

3 (1) the number of application registration at4 tempts made through CBP One pursuant to the Cir5 cumvention of Lawful Pathways final rule (88 Fed. 

6 Reg. 31314 (May 16, 2023) that resulted in a system 

7 error, disaggregated by error type; 

8 (2) the total number of noncitizens who success9 fully registered appointments through CBP One pur10 suant to such rule; 

11 (3) the total number of appointments made 

12 through CBP One pursuant to such rule that went 

13 unused; 

14 (4) the total number of individuals who have 

15 been granted parole with a Notice to Appear subse16 quent to appointments scheduled for such individuals 

17 through CBP One pursuant to such rule; and 

18 (5) the total number of noncitizens who have 

19 been issued a Notice to Appear and have been trans20 ferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

21 custody subsequent to appointments scheduled for 

22 such noncitizens through CBP One pursuant to such 

23 rule. 

24 (e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro25 priate congressional committees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

2 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

3 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen4 ate; 

5 (3) the Committee on Finance of the Senate; 

6 (4) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

7 House of Representatives 

8 (5) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

9 House of Representatives; and 

10 (6) the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

11 House of Representatives 

12 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this Act— 

15 (1) $136,292,948 for fiscal year 2024; and 

16 (2) $156,918,590 for each of the fiscal years 2025 

17 through 2029. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to increase the 

number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers 

and support staff and to require reports that identify 

staffing, infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance security at ports of entry.’’. 


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Calendar No. 696 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1253 

[Report No. 118–290] 

A BILL 

To increase the number of U.S. Customs and Borentry. ment needed to enhance security at ports of that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equip- officers and support staff and to require reports der Protection Customs and Border Protection 

DECEMBER 16, 2024 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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