I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1609 
To amend the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 to authorize certain 
polygraph waiver authority, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 7, 2019 
Mr. CRENSHAW (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, and Mr. HIGGINS of 
Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 to author-
ize certain polygraph waiver authority, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Anti-Border Corrup-
tion Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. HIRING FLEXIBILITY. 
Section 3 of the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 
(Public Law 111–376; 6 U.S.C. 221) is amended by strik-
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ing subsection (b) and inserting the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Commissioner of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection may waive the appli-
cation of subsection (a)(1) in the following circumstances: 
‘‘(1) In the case of a current, full-time law en-
forcement officer employed by a State or local law 
enforcement agency, if such officer— 
‘‘(A) has served as a law enforcement offi-
cer for not fewer than three years with no 
break in service; 
‘‘(B) is authorized by law to engage in or 
supervise the prevention, detection, investiga-
tion, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of 
any person for, any violation of law, and has 
statutory powers for arrest or apprehension; 
‘‘(C) is not currently under investigation, 
has not been found to have engaged in criminal 
activity or serious misconduct, has not resigned 
from a law enforcement officer position under 
investigation or in lieu of termination, and has 
not been dismissed from a law enforcement offi-
cer position; and 
‘‘(D) has, within the past ten years, suc-
cessfully completed a polygraph examination, 
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described in subsection (c), as a condition of 
employment with such officer’s current law en-
forcement agency. 
‘‘(2) In the case of a current, full-time law en-
forcement officer employed by a Federal law enforce-
ment agency, if such officer— 
‘‘(A) has served as a law enforcement offi-
cer for not fewer than three years with no 
break in service; 
‘‘(B) has authority to make arrests, con-
duct investigations, conduct searches, make sei-
zures, carry firearms, and serve orders, war-
rants, and other processes; 
‘‘(C) is not currently under investigation, 
has not been found to have engaged in criminal 
activity or serious misconduct, has not resigned 
from a law enforcement officer position under 
investigation or in lieu of termination, and has 
not been dismissed from a law enforcement offi-
cer position; and 
‘‘(D) holds a current background investiga-
tion to the level required for service as a law 
enforcement officer with U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection. 
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‘‘(3) In the case of an individual who is a mem-
ber of the Armed Forces (or a reserve component 
thereof) or a veteran, if such individual— 
‘‘(A) has served in the Armed Forces for 
not fewer than three years; 
‘‘(B) holds, or has held within the past five 
years, a Secret, Top Secret, or Top Secret/Sen-
sitive Compartmented Information clearance; 
‘‘(C) holds or has undergone and passed a 
background investigation to the level required 
for service as a law enforcement officer with 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 
‘‘(D) received, or is eligible to receive, an 
honorable discharge from service in the Armed 
Forces and has not engaged in criminal activity 
or committed a serious military or civil offense 
under the Uniform Code of Military Justice; 
and 
‘‘(E) was not granted any waivers to ob-
tain the clearance referred to subparagraph 
(B). 
‘‘(c) CERTAIN POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION.—A poly-
graph examination described in this subsection is a poly-
graph examination that satisfies requirements established 
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by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 
with the Director of National Intelligence. 
‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 
authority to issue a waiver under subsection (b) shall ter-
minate on the date that is five years after the date of the 
enactment of the Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization 
Act of 2019.’’. 
SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY AND 
DEFINITIONS. 
(a) SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY.— 
Section 4 of the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 
(Public Law 111–376) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY. 
‘‘(a) NON-EXEMPTION.—An individual who receives 
a waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 shall not be 
exempt from other hiring requirements relating to suit-
ability for employment and eligibility to hold a national 
security designated position, as determined by the Com-
missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
‘‘(b) BACKGROUND
INVESTIGATIONS.—Any indi-
vidual who receives a waiver under subsection (b) of sec-
tion 3 who holds a current background investigation may 
be subject to further background investigation to the level 
required for service as a law enforcement officer with U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection. 
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‘‘(c) CONTINUOUS
EVALUATION.—Any individual 
who receives a waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 
shall not be exempt from any requirement relating to con-
tinuous evaluation established by the Commissioner of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION
OF POLYGRAPH EXAMINA-
TION.—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection is authorized to administer a polygraph exam-
ination to an applicant or employee who is eligible for or 
receives a waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 if infor-
mation is discovered prior to the completion of a back-
ground investigation that results in a determination that 
a polygraph examination is necessary to make a final de-
termination regarding suitability for employment or con-
tinued employment, as the case may be.’’. 
(b) REPORT.—The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 
2010 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 5. REPORTING. 
‘‘Not later than on year after the date of the enact-
ment of this section and every year for the next four years 
thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection shall provide the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
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Senate information on the number, disaggregated with re-
spect to each of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection 
(b) of section 3, of waivers requested, granted, and denied, 
and the reasons for any such denial, and the final outcome 
of the application for employment at issue. Such informa-
tion shall also include the number of instances a polygraph 
examination was administered under the conditions de-
scribed in subsection (d) of section 4, the result of such 
examination, and the final outcome of the application for 
employment at issue.’’. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—The Anti-Border Corruption Act 
of 2010, as amended by subsection (b) of this section, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this Act: 
‘‘(1) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 
‘law enforcement officer’ has the meaning given such 
term in sections 8331(20) and 8401(17) of title 5, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(2) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(2) of title 
38, United States Code. 
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‘‘(3) SERIOUS MILITARY OR CIVIL OFFENSE.— 
The term ‘serious military or civil offense’ means an 
offense for which— 
‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces may 
be discharged or separated from service in the 
Armed Forces; and 
‘‘(B) a punitive discharge is, or would be, 
authorized for the same or a closely related of-
fense under the Manual for Court-Martial, as 
pursuant to Army Regulation 635–200 chapter 
14–12.’’. 
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 
Paragraph (15) of section 411(c) of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(c)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘section 3(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 
Æ 
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