IB
Union Calendar No. 307
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3809
[Report No. 105–541]
To authorize appropriations for the United States Customs Service for fiscal
years 1999 and 2000, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 7, 1998
Mr. CRANE (for himself, Mr. SHAW, and Mr. HASTERT) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
MAY 18, 1998
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 May 7, 1998]
A BILL
To authorize appropriations for the United States Customs
Service for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, 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 ‘‘Drug Free Borders Act
of 1998’’.
TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF AP-
PROPRIATIONS FOR UNITED
STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE
SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) DRUG ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER NONCOMMER-
CIAL OPERATIONS.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section
301(b)(1) of the Customs Procedural Reform and Sim-
plification Act of 1978 (19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(1)(A) and (B))
are amended to read as follows:
‘‘(A) $964,587,584 for fiscal year 1999.
‘‘(B) $1,072,928,328 for fiscal year 2000.’’.
(b) COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS.—Clauses (i) and (ii)
of 
section 
301(b)(2)(A) 
of 
such 
Act 
(19 
U.S.C.
2075(b)(2)(A)(i) and (ii)) are amended to read as follows:
‘‘(i) $970,838,000 for fiscal year 1999.
‘‘(ii) $999,963,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.
(c) AIR INTERDICTION.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B)
of section 301(b)(3) of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(3)(A)
and (B)) are amended to read as follows:
‘‘(A) $98,488,000 for fiscal year 1999.
‘‘(B) $101,443,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.
(d) SUBMISSION
OF OUT-YEAR BUDGET PROJEC-
TIONS.—Section 301(a) of such Act (19 U.S.C. 2075(a)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) By no later than the date on which the President
submits to the Congress the budget of the United States Gov-
ernment for a fiscal year, the Commissioner of Customs
shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance
of the Senate the projected amount of funds for the succeed-
ing fiscal year that will be necessary for the operations of
the Customs Service as provided for in subsection (b).’’.
SEC. 102. NARCOTICS DETECTION EQUIPMENT FOR THE
UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER, UNITED
STATES-CANADA BORDER, AND FLORIDA AND
THE GULF COAST SEAPORTS.
(a) FISCAL YEAR 1999.—Of the amounts made avail-
able for fiscal year 1999 under section 301(b)(1)(A) of the
Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978
(19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(1)(A)), as amended by section 101(a)
of this Act, $90,244,000 shall be available until expended
for acquisition and other expenses associated with imple-
mentation and deployment of narcotics detection equipment
along the United States-Mexico border, the United States-
Canada border, and Florida and the Gulf Coast seaports,
as follows:
(1) UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER.—For the
United States-Mexico border, the following:
(A) $6,000,000 for 8 Vehicle and Container
Inspection Systems (VACIS).
(B) $11,000,000 for 5 mobile truck x-rays
with transmission and backscatter imaging.
(C) $12,000,000 for the upgrade of 8 fixed-
site truck x-rays from the present energy level of
450,000 electron volts to 1,000,000 electron volts
(1–MeV).
(D) $7,200,000 for 8 1–MeV pallet x-rays.
(E) $1,000,000 for 200 portable contraband
detectors (busters) to be distributed among ports
where the current allocations are inadequate.
(F) $600,000 for 50 contraband detection
kits to be distributed among all southwest border
ports based on traffic volume.
(G) $500,000 for 25 ultrasonic container in-
spection units to be distributed among all ports
receiving liquid-filled cargo and to ports with a
hazardous material inspection facility.
(H) $2,450,000 for 7 automated targeting
systems.
(I) $360,000 for 30 rapid tire deflator sys-
tems to be distributed to those ports where port
runners are a threat.
(J) $480,000 for 20 portable Treasury En-
forcement Communications Systems (TECS) ter-
minals to be moved among ports as needed.
(K) $1,000,000 for 20 remote watch surveil-
lance camera systems at ports where there are
suspicious activities at loading docks, vehicle
queues, secondary inspection lanes, or areas
where visual surveillance or observation is ob-
scured.
(L) $1,254,000 for 57 weigh-in-motion sen-
sors to be distributed among the ports with the
greatest volume of outbound traffic.
(M) $180,000 for 36 AM traffic information
radio stations, with 1 station to be located at
each border crossing.
(N) $1,040,000 for 260 inbound vehicle
counters to be installed at every inbound vehicle
lane.
(O) $950,000 for 38 spotter camera systems
to counter the surveillance of customs inspection
activities by persons outside the boundaries of
ports where such surveillance activities are oc-
curring.
(P) $390,000 for 60 inbound commercial
truck transponders to be distributed to all ports
of entry.
(Q) $1,600,000 for 40 narcotics vapor and
particle detectors to be distributed to each border
crossing.
(R) $400,000 for license plate reader auto-
matic targeting software to be installed at each
port to target inbound vehicles.
(S) $1,000,000 for a demonstration site for
a high-energy relocatable rail car inspection sys-
tem with an x-ray source switchable from
2,000,000 electron volts (2–MeV) to 6,000,000
electron volts (6–MeV) at a shared Department of
Defense testing facility for a two-month testing
period.
(2) UNITED STATES-CANADA BORDER.—For the
United States-Canada border, the following:
(A) $3,000,000 for 4 Vehicle and Container
Inspection Systems (VACIS).
(B) $8,800,000 for 4 mobile truck x-rays
with transmission and backscatter imaging.
(C) $3,600,000 for 4 1–MeV pallet x-rays.
(D) $250,000 for 50 portable contraband de-
tectors (busters) to be distributed among ports
where the current allocations are inadequate.
(E) $300,000 for 25 contraband detection
kits to be distributed among ports based on traf-
fic volume.
(F) $240,000 for 10 portable Treasury En-
forcement Communications Systems (TECS) ter-
minals to be moved among ports as needed.
(G) $400,000 for 10 narcotics vapor and
particle detectors to be distributed to each border
crossing based on traffic volume.
(3) FLORIDA AND GULF COAST SEAPORTS.—For
Florida and the Gulf Coast seaports, the following:
(A) $4,500,000 for 6 Vehicle and Container
Inspection Systems (VACIS).
(B) $11,800,000 for 5 mobile truck x-rays
with transmission and backscatter imaging.
(C) $7,200,000 for 8 1–MeV pallet x-rays.
(D) $250,000 for 50 portable contraband de-
tectors (busters) to be distributed among ports
where the current allocations are inadequate.
(E) $300,000 for 25 contraband detection
kits to be distributed among ports based on traf-
fic volume.
(b) FISCAL YEAR 2000.—Of the amounts made avail-
able for fiscal year 2000 under section 301(b)(1)(B) of the
Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978
(19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(1)(B)), as amended by section 101(a)
of this Act, $8,924,500 shall be for the maintenance and
support of the equipment and training of personnel to
maintain and support the equipment described in sub-
section (a).
(c) ACQUISITION
OF TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR
EQUIPMENT; TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Customs
may use amounts made available for fiscal year 1999
under section 301(b)(1)(A) of the Customs Procedural
Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 (19 U.S.C.
2075(b)(1)(A)), as amended by section 101(a) of this
Act, for the acquisition of equipment other than the
equipment described in subsection (a) if such other
equipment—
(A)(i) is technologically superior to the
equipment described in subsection (a); and
(ii) will achieve at least the same results at
a cost that is the same or less than the equip-
ment described in subsection (a); or
(B) can be obtained at a lower cost than the
equipment described in subsection (a).
(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, the Commissioner of
Customs may reallocate an amount not to exceed 10
percent of—
(A) the amount specified in any of subpara-
graphs (A) through (R) of subsection (a)(1) for
equipment specified in any other of such sub-
paragraphs (A) through (R);
(B) the amount specified in any of subpara-
graphs (A) through (G) of subsection (a)(2) for
equipment specified in any other of such sub-
paragraphs (A) through (G); and
(C) the amount specified in any of subpara-
graphs (A) through (E) of subsection (a)(3) for
equipment specified in any other of such sub-
paragraphs (A) through (E).
SEC. 103. PEAK HOURS AND INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCE EN-
HANCEMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES-MEX-
ICO AND UNITED STATES-CANADA BORDERS.
Of the amounts made available for fiscal years 1999
and 2000 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section
301(b)(1) of the Customs Procedural Reform and Sim-
plification Act of 1978 (19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(1)(A) and (B)),
as amended by section 101(a) of this Act, $117,644,584 for
fiscal year 1999 and $184,110,928 for fiscal year 2000 shall
be available for the following:
(1) A net increase of 535 inspectors, 120 special
agents, and 10 intelligence analysts for the United
States-Mexico border and 375 inspectors for the
United States-Canada border, in order to open all
primary lanes on such borders during peak hours and
enhance investigative resources.
(2) A net increase of 285 inspectors and canine
enforcement officers to be distributed at large cargo
facilities as needed to process and screen cargo (in-
cluding rail cargo) and reduce commercial waiting
times on the United States-Mexico border.
(3) A net increase of 40 inspectors at sea ports
in southeast Florida to process and screen cargo.
(4) A net increase of 300 special agents, 30 intel-
ligence analysts, and additional resources to be dis-
tributed among offices that have jurisdiction over
major metropolitan drug or narcotics distribution
and transportation centers for intensification of ef-
forts against drug smuggling and money-laundering
organizations.
(5) A net increase of 50 positions and additional
resources to the Office of Internal Affairs to enhance
investigative resources for anticorruption efforts.
(6) The costs incurred as a result of the increase
in personnel hired pursuant to this section.
SEC. 104. COMPLIANCE WITH PERFORMANCE PLAN RE-
QUIREMENTS.
As part of the annual performance plan for each of
the fiscal years 1999 and 2000 covering each program activ-
ity set forth in the budget of the United States Customs
Service, as required under section 1115 of title 31, United
States Code, the Commissioner of the Customs Service shall
establish performance goals, performance indicators, and
comply with all other requirements contained in para-
graphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a) of such section with
respect to each of the activities to be carried out pursuant
to sections 102 and 103 of this Act.
TITLE II—OVERTIME AND PRE-
MIUM PAY OF OFFICERS OF
THE 
UNITED 
STATES 
CUS-
TOMS SERVICE; MISCELLANE-
OUS PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Overtime Pay and Pre-
mium Pay of Officers of the
United States Customs Service
SEC. 201. CORRECTION RELATING TO FISCAL YEAR CAP.
Section 5(c)(1) of the Act of February 13, 1911 (19
U.S.C. 267(c)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) FISCAL YEAR CAP.—The aggregate of over-
time pay under subsection (a) (including commuting
compensation under subsection (a)(2)(B)) that a cus-
toms officer may be paid in any fiscal year may not
exceed $30,000, except that—
‘‘(A) the Commissioner of Customs or his or
her designee may waive this limitation in indi-
vidual cases in order to prevent excessive costs or
to meet emergency requirements of the Customs
Service; and
‘‘(B) upon certification by the Commis-
sioner of Customs to the Chairmen of the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate that the Customs Service has in operation
a system that provides accurate and reliable
data on a daily basis on overtime and premium
pay that is being paid to customs officers, the
Commissioner is authorized to pay any customs
officer for one work assignment that would result
in the overtime pay of that officer exceeding the
$30,000 limitation imposed by this paragraph,
in addition to any overtime pay that may be re-
ceived pursuant to a waiver under subparagraph
(A).’’.
pay plus premium pay amounting to 15 percent
of that basic rate.
‘‘(B) MIDNIGHT TO 6 A.M.—If any hours of
regularly scheduled work of a customs officer
occur during the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.,
the officer is entitled to pay for such hours of
work (except for work to which paragraph (2) or
(3) applies) at the officer’s hourly rate of basic
pay plus premium pay amounting to 20 percent
of that basic rate.
‘‘(C) MIDNIGHT TO 8 A.M.—If the regularly
scheduled work assignment of a customs officer is
12 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., the officer is entitled to pay
for work during such period (except for work to
which paragraph (2) or (3) applies) at the offi-
cer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay
amounting to 20 percent of that basic rate.’’.
SEC. 204. USE OF SAVINGS FROM PAYMENT OF OVERTIME
AND PREMIUM PAY FOR ADDITIONAL OVER-
TIME ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES OF THE
CUSTOMS SERVICE.
Section 5 of the Act of February 13, 1911 (19 U.S.C.
267), is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection
(f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(e) USE OF SAVINGS FROM PAYMENT OF OVERTIME
AND PREMIUM PAY FOR ADDITIONAL OVERTIME ENFORCE-
MENT ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) USE OF AMOUNTS.—For fiscal year 1999
and each subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary of the
Treasury—
‘‘(A) shall determine under paragraph (2)
the amount of savings from the payment of over-
time and premium pay to customs officers; and
‘‘(B) shall use an amount from the Customs
User Fee Account equal to such amount deter-
mined under paragraph (2) for additional over-
time enforcement activities of the Customs Serv-
ice.
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF SAVINGS AMOUNT.—For
each fiscal year, the Secretary shall calculate an
amount equal to the difference between—
‘‘(A) the estimated cost for overtime and
premium pay that would have been incurred
during that fiscal year if this section, as in effect
on the day before the date of the enactment of
sections 202 and 203 of the Drug Free Borders
Act of 1998, had governed such costs; and
‘‘(B) the actual cost for overtime and pre-
mium pay that is incurred during that fiscal
year under this section, as amended by sections
202 and 203 of the Drug Free Borders Act of
1998.’’.
SEC. 205. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This subtitle, and the amendments made by this sub-
title, shall apply with respect to pay periods beginning on
or after 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Subtitle B—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 211. ROTATION OF DUTY STATIONS AND TEMPORARY
DUTY ASSIGNMENTS OF OFFICERS OF THE
UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE TO PRO-
MOTE INTEGRITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Act of February
13, 1911 (19 U.S.C. 267), as amended by this Act, is further
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection
(g); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
‘‘(f) ROTATION OF DUTY STATIONS AND TEMPORARY
DUTY ASSIGNMENTS OF CUSTOMS OFFICERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, bargaining agreement, or Executive
order, in order to ensure the integrity of the United
States Customs Service, the Secretary of the Treas-
ury—
‘‘(A) may transfer up to 5 percent of the
customs officers employed as of the beginning of
each fiscal year to new duty stations in that fis-
cal year on a permanent basis; and
‘‘(B) may transfer customs officers to tem-
porary duty assignments for not more than 90
days.
‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY
AND
OTHER
TRANSFERS.—A
transfer of a customs officer to a new duty station or
a temporary duty assignment under paragraph (1) is
in addition to any voluntary transfer or transfer for
other reasons.
‘‘(3) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—The require-
ments of this subsection, including any regulations es-
tablished by the Secretary to carry out this sub-
section, are not subject to collective bargaining.
‘‘(4) 
AVAILABILITY
OF
AMOUNTS.—Of 
the
amounts made available for fiscal year 2000 under
section 301(b)(1)(B) of the Customs Procedural Re-
form and Simplification Act of 1978 (19 U.S.C.
2075(b)(1)(B)), not more than $25,000,000 for such
fiscal year shall be available to carry out this sub-
section. Amounts made available under the preceding
sentence are authorized to remain available until ex-
pended.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 5(f) of the Act of Feb-
ruary 13, 1911, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect
on October 1, 1999.
SEC. 212. EFFECT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE-
MENTS ON ABILITY OF UNITED STATES CUS-
TOMS SERVICE TO INTERDICT CONTRABAND.
Section 5 of the Act of February 13, 1911 (19 U.S.C.
267), as amended by this Act, is further amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection
(h); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
‘‘(g) EFFECT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE-
MENTS ON ABILITY OF CUSTOMS SERVICE TO INTERDICT
CONTRABAND.—
‘‘(1) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense
of the Congress that collective bargaining agreements
should not have any adverse impact on the ability of
the United States Customs Service to interdict contra-
band, including controlled substances.
‘‘(2) PROVISIONS CAUSING ADVERSE IMPACT TO
INTERDICT CONTRABAND.—