I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3719 

To amend the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 

to reauthorize the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2019 

Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. CUELLAR, and Mr. BUCHANAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Security and Accountability for Every Port 

Act of 2006 to reauthorize the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program, 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 ‘‘CTPAT Reauthoriza5 tion Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CUSTOMS TRADE PARTNERSHIP AGAINST TER2 RORISM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of the Secu4 rity and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 (6 

5 U.S.C. 961 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘Subtitle B—Customs Trade 

7 Partnership Against Terrorism 

8 ‘‘SEC. 211. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CUSTOMS TRADE 

9 PARTNERSHIP AGAINST TERRORISM PRO10 GRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within U.S. 

12 Customs and Border Protection a voluntary government13 private sector partnership program to be known as the 

14 Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT). 

15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the CTPAT pro16 gram are to— 

17 ‘‘(1) strengthen and improve the overall secu18 rity of the international supply chain and United 

19 States border security; 

20 ‘‘(2) facilitate the movement of secure cargo 

21 through the international supply chain; 

22 ‘‘(3) ensure compliance with applicable law; and 

23 ‘‘(4) serve as the Authorized Economic Oper24 ator program for the United States. 

25 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR.—There shall be at the head of the 

26 CTPAT program a Director, who shall report to the ExecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719

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1 utive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Oper2 ations (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘Executive Assist3 ant Commissioner’) of U.S. Customs and Border Protec4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Director of the CTPAT program 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) oversee the activities of the CTPAT pro8 gram, including certification of CTPAT participants; 

9 ‘‘(2) evaluate and make revisions to security 

10 criteria pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of sec11 tion 213; 

12 ‘‘(3) ensure that participants receive a tangible 

13 and measurable benefit for participation; and 

14 ‘‘(4) carry out other duties and powers pre15 scribed by the Executive Assistant Commissioner. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 212. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND NOTICE OF BENEFITS. 

17 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Importers, exporters, cus19 toms brokers, forwarders, air, sea, and land carriers, 

20 contract logistics providers, and other entities in the 

21 international supply chain and intermodal transpor22 tation system are eligible to apply for participation 

23 in the CTPAT program. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXPANSION.—The Commissioner may ex25 pand the list of entities eligible to apply for CTPAT 


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1 participation only in accordance with the purpose of 

2 the CTPAT program. 

3 ‘‘(b) TIERED PARTICIPATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Applicants specified in sub5 section (a) may be eligible to participate as Tier 1 

6 or Tier 2 participants. 

7 ‘‘(2) IMPORTERS.—Importers may be eligible to 

8 participate as Tier 3 participants. 

9 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—The Commissioner may ex10 tend Tier 3 participation to other entity types, if ap11 propriate, and to specific Tier 2 CTPAT program 

12 participants in accordance with section 217(b). 

13 ‘‘(c) NOTICE OF BENEFITS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall 

15 publish, on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

16 website and through other appropriate online publi17 cation, information about benefits available under 

18 each tier of the CTPAT program. 

19 ‘‘(2) CHANGES.—The Commissioner shall pub20 lish, on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

21 website and through other appropriate online publi22 cation, notice of any changes to benefits available 

23 under each tier of the CTPAT program not later 

24 than 30 days before any such changes take effect. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 213. PARTICIPATION ELIGIBILITY. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Assistant Com3 missioner shall review all documentation submitted by an 

4 applicant pursuant to subsection (b)(2), conduct a back5 ground investigation of such applicant, and vet such appli6 cant. 

7 ‘‘(b) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for 

8 participation in the CTPAT program, an entity shall, at 

9 a minimum— 

10 ‘‘(1) have a designated company employee au11 thorized to bind such entity who is a direct company 

12 employee and will serve as the primary point of con13 tact responsible for participation of such entity in 

14 the CTPAT program; 

15 ‘‘(2) at the time of initial application and annu16 ally thereafter, including in advance of any recertifi17 cation or revalidation, submit an international sup18 ply chain security profile, which shall identify how 

19 such entity meets the minimum security criteria of 

20 the CTPAT program established by the Commis21 sioner and how such entity will maintain and en22 hance internal policies, procedures, and practices re23 lated to international supply chain security; and 

24 ‘‘(3) meet any specific requirements for eligible 

25 entities, as established by the Commissioner. 


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1 ‘‘(c) MINIMUM SECURITY CRITERIA.—The Commis2 sioner shall establish minimum security criteria for par3 ticipants in the CTPAT program, review such minimum 

4 security criteria not less than once every two years, and 

5 update such minimum security criteria as necessary. Such 

6 minimum security criteria shall seek to address security 

7 vulnerabilities in the international supply chain. 

8 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL AND UPDATED CRITERIA.—The 

9 Commissioner may establish additional and updated secu10 rity criteria for individual CTPAT program participants, 

11 categories of CTPAT program participants, or particular 

12 entity types to meet in order to address a security vulner13 ability in the international supply chain. 

14 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—When establishing or updat15 ing security criteria in accordance with subsection (c), and 

16 when establishing new or updated security criteria in ac17 cordance subsection (d), the Commissioner shall consult 

18 with CTPAT program participants and other interested 

19 parties, and shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) conduct a cost benefit analysis of such pro21 posed new or updated security criteria, as the case 

22 may be, in consultation with the Commercial Cus23 toms Operations Advisory Committee established 

24 under section 109 of the Trade Facilitation and 


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1 Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 114– 

2 125; 19 U.S.C. 4316); 

3 ‘‘(2) determine operational feasibility and, 

4 where appropriate, provide best practices for meet5 ing such new or updated security criteria to CTPAT 

6 program participants specific to their entity type; 

7 ‘‘(3) conduct a phased implementation of such 

8 proposed new or updated security criteria; and 

9 ‘‘(4) provide CTPAT program participants and 

10 other interested parties a 90-day comment period to 

11 review and comment on such proposed new or up12 dated security criteria. 

13 ‘‘(f) WAIVER.—The Commissioner may waive the re14 quirements of subsection (e) if the Commissioner deter15 mines there is a significant and imminent risk to the na16 tional security of the United States and such a waiver is 

17 necessary to protect such national security. Not later than 

18 120 days after the issuance of any such waiver, the Com19 missioner shall announce on the U.S. Customs and Border 

20 Protection website and through other appropriate online 

21 publication the Commissioner’s intent to either withdraw 

22 such waiver or maintain such waiver while commencing 

23 efforts to establish new or updated security criteria in ac24 cordance with subsection (c) or (d), respectively. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 214. BENEFITS FOR CTPAT PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Assistant Com3 missioner shall extend certain benefits to each CTPAT 

4 program participant. Minimum benefits for each such par5 ticipant shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) Assignment of a U.S. Customs and Border 

7 Protection Supply Chain Security Specialist. 

8 ‘‘(2) Access to the CTPAT program’s web9 based Portal system, training materials, and a mech10 anism by which to verify other CTPAT program 

11 participants’ CTPAT status. 

12 ‘‘(3) Timely supply chain threat alerts cat13 egorized by CTPAT program participant entity type, 

14 and an annual and unclassified update made avail15 able in such web-based Portal system regarding re16 gional and other relevant threats to the international 

17 supply chain. 

18 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Assistant 

20 Commissioner shall conduct, on an annual basis, an 

21 assessment of the benefits conferred to CTPAT pro22 gram participants by tier and entity type. The Exec23 utive Assistant Commissioner shall determine a 

24 process to carry out such assessments, including 

25 projected milestones and completion dates for ad26 dressing data reliability issues and, as necessary, 


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1 correcting data weaknesses, in order that U.S. Cus2 toms and Border Protection can produce accurate 

3 and reliable annual assessments that can be com4 pared year-to-year. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each annual assessment 

6 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall at a min7 imum include the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The average reduced security exam 

9 rate by CTPAT program participant tier and 

10 entity type. 

11 ‘‘(B) The average reduction in penalties 

12 for CTPAT program participants by tier and 

13 entity type. 

14 ‘‘(C) The average reduction in risk assess15 ment for CTPAT program participants by tier 

16 and entity type. 

17 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Executive 

18 Assistant Commissioner shall make each annual as19 sessment publicly available on the CTPAT portal for 

20 at least one year. 

21 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—When assessing benefits in ac22 cordance with subsection (b), the Executive Assistant 

23 Commissioner shall consult with the Commercial Customs 

24 Operations Advisory Committee established under section 

25 109 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act 


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1 of 2015 (Public Law 114–125; 19 U.S.C. 4316) and the 

2 National Maritime Security Advisory Committee estab3 lished under section 70112 of title 46, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 215. TIER 1 PARTICIPANTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION.—The Executive Assistant 

6 Commissioner shall certify the security measures and 

7 international supply chain security practices of all appli8 cants to and participants in the CTPAT program in ac9 cordance with section 213(b)(2) and the guidelines re10 ferred to in subsection (c) of this section. Certified partici11 pants shall be Tier 1 participants. 

12 ‘‘(b) BENEFITS FOR TIER 1 PARTICIPANTS.—Upon 

13 completion of the certification under subsection (a), a 

14 CTPAT program participant shall be certified as a Tier 

15 1 participant. The Executive Assistant Commissioner shall 

16 extend limited benefits to a Tier 1 participant. 

17 ‘‘(c) CRITERIA.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this subtitle, the Commissioner 

19 shall update the criteria for certifying a CTPAT program 

20 participant’s security measures and supply chain security 

21 practices under this section. Such criteria shall include a 

22 background investigation and review of appropriate docu23 mentation, as determined by the Commissioner. 

24 ‘‘(d) TIMEFRAME.—To the extent practicable, the 

25 Executive Assistant Commissioner shall conclude the Tier 


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1 1 certification process within 90 days of receipt of a com2 pleted application for participation in the CTPAT pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 216. TIER 2 PARTICIPANTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) VALIDATION.—The Executive Assistant Com6 missioner shall validate the security measures and inter7 national supply chain security practices of a Tier 1 

8 CTPAT program participant in accordance with the 

9 guidelines referred to in subsection (c) to validate such 

10 participant as a Tier 2 participant. Such validation shall 

11 include on-site assessments at appropriate foreign and do12 mestic locations utilized by such Tier 1 participant in its 

13 international supply chain. 

14 ‘‘(b) BENEFITS FOR TIER 2 PARTICIPANTS.—The 

15 Executive Assistant Commissioner, shall extend benefits 

16 to each CTPAT participant that has been validated as a 

17 Tier 2 participant under this section. Such benefits may 

18 include the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Reduced scores in U.S. Customs and Bor20 der Protection’s Automated Targeting System or 

21 successor system. 

22 ‘‘(2) Reduced number of security examinations 

23 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

24 ‘‘(3) Penalty mitigation opportunities. 

25 ‘‘(4) Priority examinations of cargo. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Access to the Free and Secure Trade 

2 (FAST) Lanes at United States ports of entry. 

3 ‘‘(6) Confirmation of CTPAT status to foreign 

4 customs administrations that have signed Mutual 

5 Recognition Arrangements with U.S. Customs and 

6 Border Protection. 

7 ‘‘(7) In the case of importers, eligibility to par8 ticipate in the Importer Self-Assessment Program 

9 (ISA) or successor compliance program. 

10 ‘‘(8) In the case of sea carriers, eligibility to 

11 participate in the Advance Qualified Unlading Ap12 proval (AQUA) Lane process. 

13 ‘‘(c) CRITERIA.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this subtitle, the Commissioner 

15 shall develop a schedule and update the criteria for vali16 dating a CTPAT participant’s security measures and sup17 ply chain security practices under this section. 

18 ‘‘(d) TIMEFRAME.—To the extent practicable, the 

19 Executive Assistant Commissioner shall complete the Tier 

20 2 validation process for a CTPAT program participant 

21 under this section within one year after certification of 

22 such participant as a Tier 1 participant. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 217. TIER 3 PARTICIPANTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall estab25 lish a third tier of CTPAT program participation that ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719

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1 fers additional benefits to CTPAT program participants 

2 that are importers or other entity types, in accordance 

3 with section 212(b), that demonstrate a sustained commit4 ment to maintaining security measures and international 

5 supply chain security practices that exceed the guidelines 

6 established for validation as a Tier 2 participant in the 

7 CTPAT program under section 216. 

8 ‘‘(b) BEST PRACTICES.—The Commissioner shall 

9 provide a best practices framework to Tier 2 participants 

10 interested in Tier 3 status and may designate a Tier 2 

11 CTPAT program participant as a Tier 3 participant based 

12 on a review of best practices in such participant’s inter13 national supply chain that reflect a continued approach 

14 to enhanced international supply chain security, includ15 ing— 

16 ‘‘(1) compliance with any new or updated cri17 teria established by the Commissioner under section 

18 213(d) that exceed the guidelines established pursu19 ant to section 216 for validating a CTPAT program 

20 participant as a Tier 2 participant; and 

21 ‘‘(2) any other factors that the Commissioner 

22 determines appropriate that are provided in such 

23 best practices framework. 

24 ‘‘(c) BENEFITS FOR TIER 3 PARTICIPANTS.—The 

25 Executive Assistant Commissioner shall extend benefits to 


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1 each CTPAT program participant that has been validated 

2 as a Tier 3 participant under this section, which, in addi3 tion to benefits for Tier 2 participation, may include the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Further reduction in the number of exami6 nations by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

7 ‘‘(2) Front of the line inspections and examina8 tions. 

9 ‘‘(3) Exemption from Stratified Exams. 

10 ‘‘(4) Shorter wait times at United States ports 

11 of entry. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 218. CONSEQUENCES FOR LACK OF COMPLIANCE. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If at any time the Executive As14 sistant Commissioner determines that a CTPAT program 

15 participant’s security measures or international supply 

16 chain security practices fail to meet applicable require17 ments under this subtitle, the Executive Assistant Com18 missioner may deny such participant benefits otherwise 

19 made available pursuant to this subtitle, either in whole 

20 or in part. The Executive Assistant Commissioner shall 

21 develop procedures, in consultation with Commercial Cus22 toms Operations Advisory Committee established under 

23 section 109 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforce24 ment Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–125; 19 U.S.C. 4316), 

25 that provide appropriate protections to CTPAT program 


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1 participants, including advance notice and an opportunity 

2 for such participants to provide additional information to 

3 U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding any such 

4 alleged failure, before any of such benefits are withheld. 

5 Such procedures may not limit the ability of the Executive 

6 Assistant Commissioner to take actions to protect the na7 tional security of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(b) FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION; LACK OF

9 COMPLIANCE WITH LAW.—If a CTPAT program partici10 pant knowingly provides false or misleading information 

11 to the Commissioner, the Executive Assistant Commis12 sioner, Director, or any other officers or officials of the 

13 United States Government, or if at any time the Executive 

14 Assistant Commissioner determines that a CTPAT pro15 gram participant has committed a serious violation of 

16 Federal law or customs regulations, or if a CTPAT pro17 gram participant has committed a criminal violation relat18 ing to the economic activity of such participant, the Exec19 utive Assistant Commissioner may suspend or remove 

20 such participant from the CTPAT program for an appro21 priate period of time. The Executive Assistant Commis22 sioner, after the completion of the process described in 

23 subsection (d), may publish in the Federal Register a list 

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1 moved from the CTPAT program pursuant to this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL SECURITY.—If at any time the Exec4 utive Assistant Commissioner determines that a CTPAT 

5 program participant poses a significant and imminent risk 

6 to the national security of the United States, the Execu7 tive Assistant Commissioner may suspend or remove such 

8 participant from the CTPAT program for an appropriate 

9 period of time. The Executive Assistant Commissioner, 

10 after the completion of the process described in subsection 

11 (d), may publish in the Federal Register a list of CTPAT 

12 program participants that have been so removed from the 

13 CTPAT program pursuant to this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(d) RIGHT OF APPEAL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall es16 tablish a process for a CTPAT program participant 

17 to appeal a decision of the Executive Assistant Com18 missioner under subsection (a). Such appeal shall be 

19 filed with the Commissioner not later than 90 days 

20 after the date of such decision, and the Commis21 sioner shall issue a determination not later than 90 

22 days after such appeal is filed. 

23 ‘‘(2) APPEALS OF OTHER DECISIONS.—The 

24 Commissioner shall establish a process for a CTPAT 

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1 ecutive Assistant Commissioner under subsections 

2 (b) and (c). Such appeal shall be filed with the Com3 missioner not later than 30 days after the date of 

4 such decision, and the Commissioner shall issue a 

5 determination not later than 90 days after such ap6 peal is filed. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 219. VALIDATIONS BY OTHER DHS COMPONENTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner may recog9 nize regulatory inspections of entities conducted by other 

10 components of the Department of Homeland Security as 

11 sufficient to constitute validation for CTPAT program 

12 participation in cases in which any such component’s in13 spection regime is harmonized with validation criteria for 

14 the CTPAT program. Such regulatory inspections shall 

15 not limit the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protec16 tion to conduct a CTPAT program validation. 

17 ‘‘(b) REVALIDATION.—Nothing in this section may 

18 limit the Commissioner’s ability to require a revalidation 

19 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

20 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—Nothing in this section may 

21 be construed to authorize certifications of CTPAT appli22 cants to be performed by any party other than U.S. Cus23 toms and Border Protection. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 220. RECERTIFICATION AND REVALIDATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) RECERTIFICATION.—The Commissioner shall 

3 implement a recertification process for all CTPAT pro4 gram participants. Such process shall occur annually, and 

5 shall require— 

6 ‘‘(1) a review of the security profile and sup7 porting documentation to ensure adherence to the 

8 minimum security criteria under section 213; and 

9 ‘‘(2) background checks and vetting. 

10 ‘‘(b) REVALIDATION.—The Commissioner shall im11 plement a revalidation process for all Tier 2 and Tier 3 

12 CTPAT program participants. Such process shall re13 quire— 

14 ‘‘(1) a framework based upon objective, risk15 based criteria for identifying participants for peri16 odic revalidation at least once every four years after 

17 the initial validation of such participants; 

18 ‘‘(2) on-site assessments at appropriate foreign 

19 and domestic locations utilized by such a participant 

20 in its international supply chain; and 

21 ‘‘(3) an annual plan for revalidation that in22 cludes— 

23 ‘‘(A) performance measures; 

24 ‘‘(B) an assessment of the personnel need25 ed to perform such revalidations; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the number of participants that will 

2 be revalidated during the following year. 

3 ‘‘(c) REVALIDATION UNDER A MUTUAL RECOGNI4 TION ARRANGEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request from the 

6 Commissioner, all Tier 2 and Tier 3 CTPAT pro7 gram participants shall provide any revalidation re8 port conducted by a foreign government under a 

9 Mutual Recognition Arrangement. 

10 ‘‘(2) RECOGNITION.—The Commissioner may 

11 recognize revalidations of entities conducted by for12 eign governments under a Mutual Recognition Ar13 rangement as sufficient to constitute a revalidation 

14 for CTPAT program participation under subsection 

15 (b). 

16 ‘‘(3) NO LIMITATION.—Nothing in this sub17 section may be construed to limit the Commis18 sioner’s ability to require a revalidation by U.S. Cus19 toms and Border Protection. 

20 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATED COMPANY EMPLOYEES.—Only 

21 designated company employees of a CTPAT program par22 ticipant under section 213(b)(1) are authorized to respond 

23 to a revalidation report. Third-party entities are not au24 thorized to respond to a revalidation report. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 221. NONCONTAINERIZED CARGO AND THIRD-PARTY 

2 LOGISTICS PROVIDERS. 

3 ‘‘The Commissioner shall consider the potential for 

4 participation in the CTPAT program by importers of non5 containerized cargoes and non-asset-based third-party lo6 gistics providers that otherwise meet the requirements 

7 under this subtitle. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 222. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall estab10 lish sufficient internal quality controls and record manage11 ment, including recordkeeping (including maintenance of 

12 a record management system in accordance with sub13 section (b)) and monitoring staff hours, to support the 

14 management systems of the CTPAT program. In man15 aging the CTPAT program, the Commissioner shall en16 sure that the CTPAT program includes the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) A five-year plan to identify outcome-based 

18 goals and performance measures of the CTPAT pro19 gram. 

20 ‘‘(2) An annual plan for each fiscal year de21 signed to match available resources to the projected 

22 workload. 

23 ‘‘(3) A standardized work program to be used 

24 by agency personnel to carry out the certifications, 

25 validations, recertifications, and revalidations of 

26 CTPAT program participants. 


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1 ‘‘(4) In accordance with subsection (e), a stand2 ardized process for the Executive Assistant Commis3 sioner to receive reports of suspicious activity, in4 cluding reports regarding potentially compromised 

5 cargo or other national security concerns. 

6 ‘‘(b) DOCUMENTATION OF REVIEWS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall 

8 maintain a record management system to document 

9 determinations on the reviews of each CTPAT pro10 gram participant, including certifications, valida11 tions, recertifications, and revalidations. 

12 ‘‘(2) STANDARDIZED PROCEDURES.—To ensure 

13 accuracy and consistency within the record manage14 ment system required under this subsection, the 

15 Commissioner shall develop, disseminate, and re16 quire utilization of standardized procedures for 

17 agency personnel carrying out certifications, valida18 tions, recertifications, and revalidations to report 

19 and track information regarding the status of each 

20 CTPAT program participant. 

21 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SAFEGUARDS.— 

22 In consultation with the Commercial Customs Operations 

23 Advisory Committee established under section 109 of the 

24 Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 

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1 sioner shall develop and implement procedures to ensure 

2 the protection of confidential data collected, stored, or 

3 shared with government agencies or as part of the applica4 tion, certification, validation, recertification, and revalida5 tion processes. 

6 ‘‘(d) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT STAFFING PLAN.— 

7 The Commissioner shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) develop a staffing plan to recruit and train 

9 staff (including a formalized training program) to 

10 meet the objectives identified in the five-year stra11 tegic plan under subsection (a)(1); and 

12 ‘‘(2) provide cross-training in post incident 

13 trade resumption for the CTPAT Director and other 

14 relevant personnel who administer the CTPAT pro15 gram. 

16 ‘‘(e) ENGAGEMENT.—In carrying out the standard17 ized process required under subsection (a)(4), the Com18 missioner shall engage with and provide guidance to 

19 CTPAT program participants and other appropriate 

20 stakeholders on submitting reports described in such sub21 section. 

22 ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—In connection with the 

23 President’s annual budget submission for the Department 

24 of Homeland Security, the Commissioner shall report to 

25 the appropriate congressional committees on the progress 


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1 made by the Commissioner to certify, validate, recertify, 

2 and revalidate CTPAT program participants. Each such 

3 report shall be due on the same date that the President’s 

4 budget is submitted to Congress.’’. 

5 (b) SAVING CLAUSE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

7 this Act shall take effect and apply beginning on the 

8 date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act with respect to applicants for participa10 tion in the CTPAT program. 

11 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

12 apply in case of CTPAT program participants who 

13 are such participants as of the date specified in such 

14 paragraph. Such participants shall be subject to the 

15 amendments made by this Act upon revalidation of 

16 such participants to participate in such program. 

17 Until such time, such participants shall be subject to 

18 the requirements of the CTPAT program as in exist19 ence on the day before the date of the enactment of 

20 this Act. 

21 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 The Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 

23 2006 is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (4) of section 2 (6 U.S.C. 

25 901), by striking ‘‘Commissioner responsible for the 


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1 United States Customs and Border Protection’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Bor3 der Protection’’; and 

4 (2) in paragraph (2) of section 202(c) (6 

5 U.S.C. 942(c)), by striking ‘‘C–TPAT’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘CTPAT’’. 

7 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

8 in section 1(b) of the Security and Accountability for 

9 Every Port Act of 2006 is amended by striking the items 

10 relating to subtitle B of title II and inserting the following 

11 new items: 

‘‘Subtitle B—Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism 

‘‘Sec. 211. Establishment of the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism 

program. 

‘‘Sec. 212. Eligible entities and notice of benefits. 

‘‘Sec. 213. Participation eligibility. 

‘‘Sec. 214. Benefits for CTPAT program participants. 

‘‘Sec. 215. Tier 1 participants. 

‘‘Sec. 216. Tier 2 participants. 

‘‘Sec. 217. Tier 3 participants. 

‘‘Sec. 218. Consequences for lack of compliance. 

‘‘Sec. 219. Validations by other dhs components. 

‘‘Sec. 220. Recertification and revalidation. 

‘‘Sec. 221. Noncontainerized cargo and third-party logistics providers. 

‘‘Sec. 222. Program management.’’. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS