I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1417 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a comprehensive 
strategy to gain and maintain operational control of the international 
borders of the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 9, 2013 
Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and 
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop 
a comprehensive strategy to gain and maintain oper-
ational control of the international borders of the United 
States, 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 ‘‘Border Security Re-
sults Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. REPORTS ON CURRENT BORDER SECURITY STATUS. 
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and every 180 days thereafter, the Sec-
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retary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a report that assesses and 
describes, as of such date, the state of operational control 
of the international borders of the United States. 
SEC. 3. STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL CONTROL 
OF THE BORDER. 
(a) STRATEGY TO SECURE THE BORDER.—Not later 
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive 
strategy for gaining and maintaining operational control 
of high traffic areas of the international borders of the 
United States by the date that is not later than two years 
after the date of the submission of the implementation 
plan required under subsection (b). The strategy shall in-
clude, at a minimum, a consideration of the following: 
(1) An assessment of principal border security 
threats. 
(2) Efforts to analyze and disseminate border 
security and border threat information between De-
partment of Homeland Security border security com-
ponents. 
(3) Efforts to increase situational awareness. 
(4) A comprehensive border security technology 
plan for detection technology capabilities, including a 
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documented justification and rationale for tech-
nology choices, deployment locations, fixed versus 
mobile assets, and a timetable for procurement and 
deployment. 
(5) Surveillance capabilities developed or uti-
lized by the Department of Defense, including any 
technology determined to be excess by the Depart-
ment of Defense. 
(6) Use of manned aircraft and unmanned aer-
ial systems, including the camera and sensor tech-
nology deployed on such assets. 
(7) Technology required to enhance security at 
ports of entry, including the installation of nonintru-
sive detection equipment, radiation portal monitors, 
biometric technology, and other sensors and tech-
nology that the Secretary determines necessary. 
(8) Operational coordination of Department of 
Homeland Security border security components. 
(9) Cooperative agreements with State, local, 
tribal, and other Federal law enforcement agencies 
that have jurisdiction on the northern border, south-
ern border, and in the maritime environment. 
(10) Agreements with foreign governments that 
support the border security efforts of the United 
States. 
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(11) Staffing requirements for all border secu-
rity functions. 
(12) Metrics required under subsections (e), (f), 
and (g). 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the submission of the strategy under subsection (a), 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees an imple-
mentation plan for each of the Department of 
Homeland Security border security components to 
carry out such strategy. 
(2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE-
VIEW.— 
(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary 
of 
Homeland Security shall make available to the 
Government Accountability Office the imple-
mentation plan required under paragraph (1). 
(B) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 
after receiving the implementation plan in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (A), the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on such plan. 
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(c) SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.—Not later than two 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall achieve situational 
awareness of the international borders of the United 
States. 
(d) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Not later than 180 days 
after the submission of each Quadrennial Homeland Secu-
rity Review required under section 707 of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 347) beginning with the 
first such Review that is due after the implementation 
plan is submitted under subsection (b), the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees an updated— 
(1) strategy under subsection (a); and 
(2) implementation plan under subsection (b). 
(e) METRICS FOR SECURING THE BORDER BETWEEN 
PORTS OF ENTRY.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall implement metrics to measure the effective-
ness of security between ports of entry, which shall in-
clude, at a minimum, the following: 
(1) An effectiveness rate which measures the 
number of illegal border crossers who are turned 
back, and the amount of narcotics seized, against 
the total estimated number of illegal border crossers 
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and amount of narcotics the Department of Home-
land Security’s border security components fail to 
apprehend or seize, as the case may be. 
(2) Estimates, using alternate methodologies, 
including recidivism and survey data, of total at-
tempted illegal border crossings, the rate of appre-
hension of attempted illegal border crossings, and 
the inflow into the United States of illegal border 
crossers who evade apprehension. 
(3) Estimates of the impacts of the Border Pa-
trol’s Consequence Delivery System on the rate of 
recidivism of illegal border crossers. 
(4) An understanding of the current level of sit-
uational awareness. 
(5) Amount of narcotics seized between ports of 
entry. 
(f) METRICS FOR SECURING THE BORDER AT PORTS 
OF ENTRY.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall implement metrics to measure the effectiveness of se-
curity at ports of entry, which shall include, at a min-
imum, the following: 
(1) An effectiveness rate which measures the 
number of illegal border crossers who are turned 
back, and the amount of narcotics seized, against 
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the total estimated number of illegal border crossers 
and amount of narcotics the Department of Home-
land Security’s border security components fail to 
apprehend or seize, as the case may be. 
(2) The number of infractions related to per-
sonnel and cargo committed by major violators who 
are apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection at such ports of entry. 
(3) The estimated number of such infractions 
committed by major violators who are not so appre-
hended. 
(4) Estimates, using alternate methodologies, 
including recidivism and survey data, of total at-
tempted illegal border crossings, the rate of appre-
hension of attempted illegal border crossings, and 
the inflow into the United States of illegal border 
crossers who evade apprehension. 
(g) METRICS FOR SECURING THE MARITIME BOR-
DER.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
implement metrics to measure the effectiveness of security 
in the maritime environment, which shall include, at a 
minimum, the following: 
(1) An effectiveness rate which measures the 
number of migrants apprehended, the number of mi-
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grants turned back, and the amount of narcotics 
seized, against the total estimated numbers of mi-
grants and amount of narcotics the Department of 
Homeland Security’s maritime security components 
fail to apprehend or seize, as the case may be. 
(2) An understanding of the current level of sit-
uational awareness. 
(3) A response rate which measures the Depart-
ment’s ability to respond to known maritime threats 
by placing assets on-scene, compared to the total 
number of events with respect to which the Depart-
ment has known threat information. 
(4) Partnerships with international, State, local, 
tribal, and other Federal law enforcement agencies. 
(h) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT
BY
A NATIONAL 
LABORATORY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
SECURITY LABORATORY NETWORK.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall request the head of a national 
laboratory within the Department of Homeland Security 
laboratory network with prior expertise in border security 
to— 
(1) provide an independent assessment of the 
metrics implemented in accordance with subsections 
(e), (f), and (g) to ensure each such metric’s suit-
ability and statistical validity; and 
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(2) make recommendations for other suitable 
metrics that may be used to measure the effective-
ness of border security. 
(i) EVALUATION BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT-
ABILITY OFFICE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall make available to the Government Ac-
countability Office the data and methodology used to 
develop the metrics implemented under subsections 
(e), (f), and (g) and the independent assessment de-
scribed under subsection (h). 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after re-
ceiving the data and methodology described in para-
graph (1), the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the suitability and statistical 
validity of such data and methodology. 
(j) CERTIFICATIONS RELATING
TO OPERATIONAL 
CONTROL.— 
(1) BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECU-
RITY.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security deter-
mines that operational control of the international 
borders of the United States has been achieved, the 
Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congres-
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sional committees and the Comptroller General of 
the United States a certification that so attests. 
(2) BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 
(A) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall review the certification 
of the Secretary of Homeland Security under 
paragraph (1) to verify if such certification is 
accurate. 
(B) VERIFICATION
AND
SUBMISSION.—If 
the Comptroller General of the United States 
verifies the accuracy of the certification of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security under para-
graph (1), the Comptroller General shall, not 
later than 120 days after such verification, sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a certification that so attests. 
(k) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 
ON BORDER SECURITY DUPLICATION.—Not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report ad-
dressing areas of overlap in responsibilities within the bor-
der security functions of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity. 
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(l) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the appro-
priate congressional committee a report on the following: 
(1) A resource allocation model for current and 
future year staffing requirements that includes opti-
mal staffing levels at all land, air, and sea ports of 
entry, and an explanation of U.S. Customs and Bor-
der Protection methodology for aligning staffing lev-
els and workload to threats and vulnerabilities 
across all mission areas. 
(2) Detailed information on the level of man-
power available at all land, air, and sea ports of 
entry and between ports of entry, including the num-
ber of canine and agricultural officers assigned to 
each such port of entry. 
(3) Detailed information that describes the dif-
ference between the staffing the model suggests and 
the actual staffing at each port of entry and between 
the ports of entry. 
(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity of the House of Representatives and the Com-
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mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate. 
(2) HIGH
TRAFFIC
AREAS.—The term ‘‘high 
traffic areas’’ means locations identified through sit-
uational awareness that are within close proximity of 
the northern and southern borders of the United 
States that have the most illicit cross-border activity. 
(3) MAJOR VIOLATOR.—The term ‘‘major viola-
tor’’ means a person or entity that has engaged in 
serious criminal activities at any land, air, or sea 
port of entry, including possession of narcotics, 
smuggling of prohibited products, human smuggling, 
weapons possession, use of fraudulent United States 
documents, or other offenses serious enough to re-
sult in arrest. 
(4) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—The term ‘‘oper-
ational control’’ means a condition in which there is 
a 90 percent probability that illegal border crossers 
are apprehended and narcotics and other contraband 
are seized in high traffic areas. 
(5) SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.—The term ‘‘sit-
uational awareness’’ means knowledge and an under-
standing of current illicit cross-border activity, in-
cluding cross-border threats and trends concerning 
illicit trafficking and unlawful crossings along the 
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international borders of the United States and in the 
maritime environment, and the ability to predict fu-
ture shifts in such threats and trends. 
Æ 
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