Securing America's Ports of Entry Act of 2023

Subjects: Foreign Trade and International Finance, Aviation and airports, Border security and unlawful immigration, Congressional oversight, Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation, Customs enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, Drug trafficking and controlled substances, Employee hiring, Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management, Government information and archives, Government studies and investigations, Law enforcement officers, Navigation, waterways, harbors, Worker safety and health

Summary:  <p><b>Securing America's Ports of Entry Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to increase the number of CBP officers to specified levels. If CBP does not adequately increase personnel, the Government Accountability Office must report on CBP hiring practices.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1253 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1253

 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 and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

    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 ``Securing America's Ports of Entry 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION PERSONNEL.

    (a) Officers.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection shall hire, train, and assign not fewer than 600 new U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection officers above the current attrition 
level during every fiscal year until the total number of U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection officers equals and sustains the requirements 
identified each year in the Workload Staffing Model.
    (b) Support Staff.--The Commissioner is authorized to hire, train, 
and assign support staff, including technicians and Enterprise Services 
mission support, to perform non-law enforcement administrative 
functions to support the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
officers hired pursuant to subsection (a).
    (c) Traffic Forecasts.--In calculating the number of U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection officers needed at each port of entry through the 
Workload Staffing Model, the Commissioner shall--
            (1) rely on data collected regarding the inspections and 
        other activities conducted at each such port of entry;
            (2) consider volume from seasonal surges, other projected 
        changes in commercial and passenger volumes, the most current 
        commercial forecasts, and other relevant information; and
            (3) consider historical volume and forecasts prior to the 
        COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on international travel.
    (d) GAO Report.--If the Commissioner does not hire the 600 
additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers authorized under 
subsection (a) during fiscal year 2023, or during any subsequent fiscal 
year in which the hiring requirements set forth in the Workload 
Staffing Model have not been achieved, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall--
            (1) conduct a review of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        hiring practices to determine the reasons that such 
        requirements were not achieved and other issues related to 
        hiring by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and
            (2) submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security 
        and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that 
        describes the results of the review conducted under paragraph 
        (1).

SEC. 3. PORTS OF ENTRY INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENT REPORT.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a 
report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives that identifies--
            (1) infrastructure improvements at ports of entry that 
        would enhance the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        officers to interdict opioids and other drugs that are being 
        illegally transported into the United States, including a 
        description of circumstances at specific ports of entry that 
        prevent the deployment of technology used at other ports of 
        entry;
            (2) detection equipment that would improve the ability of 
        such officers to identify opioids, including precursors and 
        derivatives, that are being illegally transported into the 
        United States; and
            (3) safety equipment that would protect such officers from 
        accidental exposure to such drugs or other dangers associated 
        with the inspection of potential drug traffickers.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Temporary Duty Assignments.--
            (1) Quarterly report.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
        Border Protection shall submit a quarterly report to the 
        appropriate congressional committees that includes, for the 
        reporting period--
                    (A) the number of temporary duty assignments;
                    (B) the number of U.S. Customs and Border 
                Protection employees required for each temporary duty 
                assignment;
                    (C) the ports of entry from which such employees 
                were reassigned;
                    (D) the ports of entry to which such employees were 
                reassigned;
                    (E) the ports of entry at which reimbursable 
                service agreements have been entered into that may be 
                affected by temporary duty assignments;
                    (F) the duration of each temporary duty assignment;
                    (G) the cost of each temporary duty assignment; and
                    (H) for each temporary duty assignment to the 
                southwest border, a description of any activities done 
                in support of U.S. Border Patrol operations.
            (2) Notice.--Not later than 10 days before redeploying 
        employees from 1 port of entry to another, absent emergency 
        circumstances--
                    (A) the Commissioner shall notify the director of 
                the port of entry from which employees will be 
                reassigned of the intended redeployments; and
                    (B) the port director shall notify impacted 
                facilities (including airports, seaports, and land 
                ports) of the intended redeployments.
            (3) Staff briefing.--The Commissioner shall brief all 
        affected U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees regarding 
        plans to mitigate vulnerabilities created by any planned 
        staffing reductions at ports of entry.
    (b) Reports on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agreements.--
Section 907(a) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 
2015 (19 U.S.C. 4451(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and an assessment'' and 
        all that follows and inserting a period;
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (12) as 
        paragraphs (5) through (13), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) A description of the factors that were considered 
        before entering into the agreement, including an assessment of 
        how the agreement provides economic benefits and security 
        benefits (if applicable) at the port of entry to which the 
        agreement relates.''; and
            (4) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by 
        inserting after ``the report'' the following: ``, including the 
        locations of such services and the total hours of reimbursable 
        services under the agreement, if any''.
    (c) Annual Workload Staffing Model Report.--As part of the Annual 
Report on Staffing required under section 411(g)(5)(A) of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(g)(5)(A)), the Commissioner shall 
include--
            (1) information concerning the progress made toward meeting 
        the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and support 
        staff hiring targets set forth in section 2, while accounting 
        for attrition;
            (2) an update to the information provided in the Resource 
        Optimization at the Ports of Entry report, which was submitted 
        to Congress on September 12, 2017, pursuant to the Department 
        of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2017 (division F of 
        Public Law 115-31); and
            (3) a summary of the information included in the reports 
        required under subsection (a) and section 907(a) of the Trade 
        Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, as amended by 
        subsection (b).
    (d) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
            (1) $136,292,948 for fiscal year 2024; and
            (2) $156,918,590 for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 
        2029.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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