II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 461 

To provide for alternative financing arrangements for the provision of certain 

services and the construction and maintenance of infrastructure at land 

border ports of entry, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2015 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To provide for alternative financing arrangements for the 

provision of certain services and the construction and 

maintenance of infrastructure at land border ports of 

entry, 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 ‘‘Cross-Border Trade 

5 Enhancement Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR; ADMINISTRATION.—The 

2 terms ‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘Administration’’ mean 

3 the Administrator of General Services and the Gen4 eral Services Administration, respectively. 

5 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis6 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

7 and Border Protection. 

8 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 

9 (A) an individual; or 

10 (B) a corporation, partnership, trust, asso11 ciation, or any other public or private entity, in12 cluding a State or local government. 

13 (4) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

14 The term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’ 

15 means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Environment and 

17 Public Works of the Senate; 

18 (B) the Committee on Finance of the Sen19 ate; 

20 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 

21 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

22 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

23 Senate; 

24 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

2 House of Representatives; and 

3 (G) the Committee on Transportation and 

4 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

5 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS FOR THE 

6 PROVISION OF CERTAIN SERVICES AT LAND 

7 BORDER PORTS OF ENTRY. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 451 

10 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1451), and 

11 consistent with section 560 of the Department of 

12 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2013 (divi13 sion D of Public Law 113–6; 127 Stat. 378) and 

14 section 559 of the Department of Homeland Secu15 rity Appropriations Act, 2014 (division F of Public 

16 Law 113–76; 6 U.S.C. 211 note) the Commissioner 

17 may, during the 10-year period beginning on the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act and upon the re19 quest of any person, enter into an agreement with 

20 that person under which— 

21 (A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

22 will provide the services described in paragraph 

23 (2) at a land border port of entry; and 

24 (B) that person will pay the fee described 

25 in subsection (b) to reimburse U.S. Customs 


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1 and Border Protection for the costs incurred in 

2 providing such services. 

3 (2) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—Services described 

4 in this paragraph are any services related to cus5 toms, agricultural processing, border security, or in6 spection-related immigration matters provided by an 

7 employee or contractor of U.S. Customs and Border 

8 Protection at land border ports of entry. 

9 (3) LIMITATION.—The Commissioner may not 

10 modify existing requirements or reimbursement fee 

11 agreements in effect as of the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act unless the relevant person requests a 

13 modification to include services described in this sec14 tion. 

15 (4) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this para16 graph may be construed to reduce the responsibil17 ities or duties of U.S. Customs and Border Protec18 tion to provide services at land border ports of entry 

19 that have been authorized or mandated by law and 

20 are funded in any appropriation Act or from any ac21 counts in the Treasury of the United States derived 

22 by the collection of fees. 

23 (b) FEE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person requesting U.S. 

25 Customs and Border Protection services shall pay a 


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1 fee pursuant to an agreement under subsection (a) 

2 in an amount equal to the sum of— 

3 (A) a proportionate share of the salaries 

4 and expenses of the individuals employed by 

5 U.S. Customs and Border Protection who pro6 vided such services; and 

7 (B) other costs incurred by U.S. Customs 

8 and Border Protection relating to such services, 

9 such as temporary placement or permanent re10 location of such individuals. 

11 (2) OVERSIGHT OF FEES.—The Commissioner 

12 shall develop a process to oversee the activities reim13 bursed by the fees authorized under paragraph (1) 

14 that includes— 

15 (A) a determination and report on the full 

16 cost of providing services, including direct and 

17 indirect costs; 

18 (B) a process for increasing such fees, as 

19 necessary; 

20 (C) the establishment of a monthly remit21 tance schedule to reimburse appropriations; and 

22 (D) the identification of overtime costs to 

23 be reimbursed by such fees. 

24 (3) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS.—Amounts collected in 

25 fees under paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) shall be deposited as an offsetting col2 lection; 

3 (B) shall remain available until expended, 

4 without fiscal year limitation; and 

5 (C) shall directly reimburse each appro6 priation account for the amount paid out of 

7 such account for— 

8 (i) any expenses incurred for pro9 viding U.S. Customs and Border Protec10 tion services to the person paying such fee; 

11 and 

12 (ii) any other costs incurred by the 

13 U.S. Customs and Border Protection relat14 ing to such services. 

15 (4) TERMINATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

17 shall terminate the services provided pursuant 

18 to an agreement with a private sector or gov19 ernment entity under subsection (a) upon re20 ceiving notice from the Commissioner that such 

21 entity failed to pay the fee imposed under para22 graph (1) in a timely manner. 

23 (B) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—At the 

24 time services are terminated pursuant to sub25 paragraph (A), all costs incurred by U.S. CusVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Feb 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S461.IS S461

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1 toms and Border Protection to provide services 

2 to the entity described in subparagraph (A), 

3 which have not been reimbursed by the entity, 

4 will become immediately due and payable. 

5 (C) INTEREST.—Interest on unpaid fees 

6 will accrue from the date of termination based 

7 on current Treasury borrowing rates. 

8 (D) PENALTIES.—Any private sector or 

9 government entity that fails to pay any fee in10 curred under paragraph (1) in a timely manner, 

11 after notice and demand for payment, shall be 

12 liable for a penalty or liquidated damage equal 

13 to 2 times the amount of such fee. 

14 (5) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 3 days be15 fore entering into an agreement under this section, 

16 the Commissioner shall notify— 

17 (A) the relevant committees of Congress; 

18 and 

19 (B) the members of Congress who rep20 resent the State or district in which the facility 

21 at which services will be provided under the 

22 agreement. 


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1 SEC. 4. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE FINANCING AR2 RANGEMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND 

3 MAINTENANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AT 

4 LAND BORDER PORTS OF ENTRY. 

5 (a) AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.—Consistent with 

6 section 559 of the Department of Homeland Security Ap7 propriations Act, 2014 (division F of Public Law 113– 

8 76; 6 U.S.C. 211 note), during the 10-year period begin9 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis10 sioner and the Administrator may, for purposes of facili11 tating the construction, alteration, operation, or mainte12 nance of a new or existing facility or other infrastructure 

13 at a port of entry under the jurisdiction, custody, and con14 trol of the Commissioner or the Administrator— 

15 (1) enter into cost-sharing or reimbursement 

16 agreements with any person; or 

17 (2) accept donations from any person of— 

18 (A) real or personal property (including 

19 monetary donations); or 

20 (B) nonpersonal services. 

21 (b) ALLOWABLE USES OF AGREEMENTS.—The Com22 missioner and the Administrator, with respect to an agree23 ment authorized under subsection (a), may— 

24 (1) use such agreements for activities related to 

25 an existing or new port of entry, including expenses 

26 related to— 


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1 (A) land acquisition, design, construction, 

2 repair, or alternation; 

3 (B) furniture, fixtures, or equipment; 

4 (C) the deployment of technology or equip5 ment; or 

6 (D) operations and maintenance; or 

7 (2) subject to chapter 33 of title 40, United 

8 States Code, transfer such property or services be9 tween the Commissioner and the Administrator for 

10 activities described in paragraph (1) that are related 

11 to a new or existing port of entry under the jurisdic12 tion, custody, and control of the relevant agency. 

13 (c) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (A) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCEDURES.— 

16 The Commissioner, in consultation with the Ad17 ministrator and consistent with section 559 of 

18 the Department of Homeland Security Appro19 priations Act, 2014 (division F of Public Law 

20 113–76; 6 U.S.C. 211 note), shall issue proce21 dures for evaluating a proposal submitted by a 

22 person for an agreement authorized under sub23 section (a). 

24 (B) AVAILABILITY.—The procedures 

25 issued under subparagraph (A) shall be made 


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1 available to the public through the Department 

2 of Homeland Security website. 

3 (2) SPECIFICATION.—In making a donation 

4 under subsection (a)(2), a person may— 

5 (A) designate the land port of entry facility 

6 or facilities that the donation is intended to 

7 support; and 

8 (B) specify the period during which the 

9 contributed property or nonpersonal services 

10 shall be used. 

11 (3) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.—Any property, 

12 including monetary donations and nonpersonal serv13 ices donated pursuant to subsection (a) may be used 

14 in addition to any other funds, including appro15 priated funds, property, or services made available 

16 for the same purpose. 

17 (4) RETURN OF DONATION.— 

18 (A) RETURN REQUIRED.—If the Commis19 sioner or the Administrator does not use the 

20 property or services donated pursuant to sub21 section (a) for the specific facility or facilities 

22 designated under paragraph (2)(A) or during 

23 the period specified under paragraph (2)(B), 

24 such donated property or services shall be re25 turned to the person that made the donation. 


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1 (B) INTEREST PROHIBITED.—No interest 

2 may be owed on any donation returned to a 

3 person pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

4 (5) DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

6 after receiving a proposal pursuant to sub7 section (a) with respect to the construction or 

8 maintenance of a facility or other infrastructure 

9 at a land border port of entry, the Commis10 sioner or the Administrator shall— 

11 (i) make a determination with respect 

12 to whether or not to approve the proposal; 

13 and 

14 (ii) notify the person that submitted 

15 the proposal of— 

16 (I) the determination; and 

17 (II) if the Administrator did not 

18 approve the proposal, the reasons for 

19 such determination. 

20 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making the de21 termination under subparagraph (A)(i), the 

22 Commissioner or the Administrator shall con23 sider— 


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1 (i) the impact of the proposal on re2 ducing wait times at that port of entry and 

3 other ports of entry on the same border; 

4 (ii) the potential of the proposal to in5 crease trade and travel efficiency through 

6 added capacity; and 

7 (iii) the potential of the proposal to 

8 enhance the security of the port of entry. 

9 (d) ANNUAL REPORT AND NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

10 The Commissioner, in collaboration with the Adminis11 trator, shall— 

12 (1) submit an annual report to the relevant 

13 committees of Congress on the agreements entered 

14 into under subsection (a); and 

15 (2) not less than 3 days before entering into an 

16 agreement with a person under subsection (a), notify 

17 the members of Congress that represent the State or 

18 district in which the affected facility is located. 

Æ 


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