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 Mis-
sissippi, 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] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct 
the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion to establish uniform processes for medical screening 
of individuals interdicted between ports of entry, and 
for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S. Border Patrol Med-
ical Screening Standards Act’’. 
SEC. 2. UNIFORM PROCESSES FOR MEDICAL SCREENING OF 
INDIVIDUALS INTERDICTED BETWEEN PORTS 
OF ENTRY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the Home-
land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 437. MEDICAL SCREENING OF INDIVIDUALS INTER-
DICTED BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To improve border security and 
the processing of individuals and families interdicted by the 
U.S. Border Patrol between ports of entry, the Commis-
sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in coordina-
tion with the Chief Medical Officer of the Department, shall, 
not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this section, establish uniform processes and training to en-
sure consistent and efficient medical screening of all indi-
viduals, with priority given to children who have not yet 
attained the age of 18, so interdicted before transfer from 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody, but in no case 
longer than 12 hours after such interdiction, or 6 hours in 
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the case of a high priority individual. Such screening 
should be conducted by a medical professional and should 
be developed in collaboration with non-governmental ex-
perts in the delivery of health care in humanitarian crises 
and in the delivery of health care to children. 
‘‘(b) SCREENING PROCESS COMPONENTS.—At a min-
imum, the uniform processes and training established under 
subsection (a) shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) Requirements for initial in-person screening 
that includes documentation of the following: 
‘‘(A) Visual assessment of overall physical 
and behavioral state, including any possible dis-
ability. 
‘‘(B) A brief medical history, including de-
mographic information, current medications (in-
cluding a list of confiscated medications and 
whether such have been replaced), and any 
chronic or past illnesses. 
‘‘(C) Any current medical complaints. 
‘‘(D) A physical examination that includes 
the screening of vital signs such as body tem-
perature, pulse rate, and blood pressure. 
‘‘(2) Criteria for determining when to make a re-
ferral to higher medical care and a process to execute 
such referral. 
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‘‘(3) Recordkeeping requirements regarding how 
information is to be recorded for each initial screen-
ing under paragraph (1), including information on 
the use of interpretation services. 
‘‘(4) Review by a medical professional of any 
prescribed medication that is in the detainee’s posses-
sion or that was confiscated upon arrival to deter-
mine if such medication may be kept by such detainee 
for use during detention, properly stored with appro-
priate access for use during detention, or maintained 
with a detainee’s personal property. 
‘‘(5) Chaperones for the physical examination of 
minors, including, as appropriate, the parent, legal 
guardian, or the such minors’ closest present adult 
relative, or a U.S. Border Patrol agent of the same 
gender. 
‘‘(c) PEDIATRIC EXPERTISE.—A pediatric medical ex-
pert shall be on site in every U.S. Border Patrol sector, 
including at U.S. Border Patrol processing centers and at 
U.S. Border Patrol facilities at which 20 percent or more 
of detained individuals over the immediately preceding six 
month period are minors. The Chief of the U.S. Border Pa-
trol shall prepare a plan to deploy in-person or technology- 
facilitated medical consultation with a licensed medical 
professional to U.S. Border Patrol facilities that experience 
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an increase in apprehensions of children greater than 10 
percent over the preceding 60 days. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘high pri-
ority individual’ means an individual who self-identifies 
as having a medical condition needing prompt attention, 
exhibits signs of acute illness, is pregnant, is a child, or 
is elderly. 
‘‘(e) TRAINING.—Not later than 60 days after the 
issuance of the uniform processes and training established 
under subsection (a), the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection shall ensure that any individual car-
rying out medical screening under this section at a U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection facility of individuals 
interdicted by the U.S. Border Patrol between ports of entry 
shall complete training on such uniform processes.’’. 
(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 
or the amendment made by this section may be construed 
as authorizing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to de-
tain individuals for longer than 72 hours. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 
section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 436 
the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 437. Medical screening of individuals interdicted between ports of entry.’’. 
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SEC. 3. RESEARCH REGARDING PROVISION OF MEDICAL 
SCREENING OF INDIVIDUALS INTERDICTED 
BY U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION 
BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Science 
and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, 
in coordination with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection and the Chief Medical Officer of the 
Department, shall research innovative approaches to ad-
dress capability gaps regarding the provision of comprehen-
sive medical screening of individuals, particularly children, 
pregnant women, the elderly, and other vulnerable popu-
lations, interdicted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
between ports of entry and issue to the Secretary rec-
ommendations for any necessary corrective actions. 
(b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the research re-
quired under subsection (a), the Under Secretary for 
Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity shall consult with appropriate national professional 
associations with expertise and non-governmental experts 
in emergency, nursing, and other medical care, including 
pediatric care. 
(c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
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House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report 
containing the recommendations referred to in subsection 
(a), together with information relating to what actions, if 
any, the Secretary plans to take in response to such rec-
ommendations. 
SEC. 4. ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS IMPLEMENTATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Of-
ficer of the Department of Homeland Security, in coordina-
tion with the Chief Medical Officer of the Department, shall 
establish within the Department an electronic health record 
system that can be accessed by all departmental components 
operating along the borders of the United States for individ-
uals in the custody of such components. 
(b) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 120 days after the 
implementation of the electronic health records system, the 
Chief Information Officer, in coordination with the Chief 
Medical Officer, shall conduct an assessment of such system 
to determine system capacity for improvement and inter-
operability. 
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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 
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. 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:47 Sep 18, 2019
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