(5) on January 16, 2008, ATF announced that 
it will add 25 special agents and 15 inspectors to 
their Project Gunrunner along the Southwest Border. 
And, the ATF budget request for fiscal year 2009 in-
cludes funding for another 12 inspectors; and 
(6) an effective strategy to combat these illegal 
arms flows is a critical part of a United States con-
tribution to a jointly executed anti-narcotics strategy 
with Mexico. 
(b) PROJECT GUNRUNNER INITIATIVE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
dedicate and expand the resources provided for the 
Project Gunrunner initiative (hereafter in this sub-
section referred to as the ‘‘initiative’’) of the Bureau 
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to iden-
tify, investigate, and prosecute individuals involved 
in the trafficking of firearms across the United 
States-Mexico border. 
(2) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this subsection, 
the Attorney General shall— 
(A) assign additional agents of the Bureau 
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to 
the area of the United States adjacent to the 
United States-Mexico border to support the ex-
pansion of the initiative; 
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(B) establish not fewer than 1 initiative 
team in each State along the United States-Mex-
ico border; and 
(C) coordinate with the heads of other rel-
evant federal law enforcement agencies and State 
and local law enforcement agencies to address 
firearms trafficking in a comprehensive manner. 
(3) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Attorney General 
may hire additional persons to be Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents for, and 
may use such other resources as may be necessary to 
adequately support, the initiative. 
(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this subsection, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General $15,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010. 
(c) ENHANCED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in co-
operation with the Secretary of State, shall— 
(A) assign agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the United 
States mission in Mexico, specifically in areas 
adjacent to the United States-Mexico border, to 
work with Mexican law enforcement agencies in 
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conducting investigations relating to firearms 
trafficking and other criminal enterprises; 
(B) provide the equipment and technological 
resources necessary to support investigations and 
to trace firearms recovered in Mexico; and 
(C) support the training of vetted Mexican 
law enforcement officers in serial number res-
toration techniques and canine explosive detec-
tion. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this subsection, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General $9,500,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010. 
SEC. 403. REDUCTION OF SOUTHBOUND FLOW OF ILLEGAL 
PRECURSOR 
CHEMICALS 
AND 
BULK-CASH 
TRANSFERS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) a significant quantity of precursor chemicals 
used in the production of illegal narcotics flows south 
from the United States to Mexico; 
(2) the Government of Mexico has identified re-
duction of southbound flows from the United States of 
precursor chemicals and bulk-cash transfers as a crit-
ical component of its anti-narcotics strategy; and 
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(3) an effective strategy to combat these illegal 
flows is a critical part of a United States contribu-
tion to a jointly executed anti-narcotics strategy with 
Mexico. 
SEC. 404. REPORT. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the President shall transmit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on the measures taken to 
combat the southbound flow of illegal precursor chemicals 
and bulk cash transfers into Mexico. 
TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 501. COORDINATOR OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 
ACTIVITIES TO IMPLEMENT THE MERIDA INI-
TIATIVE. 
(a) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—Congress declares that 
the Merida Initiative is a Department of State-led initia-
tive which combines programs of numerous United States 
Government departments and agencies and therefore re-
quires a single coordinator to manage and track all Merida- 
related efforts government-wide to ensure accountability 
and avoid duplication. 
(b) DESIGNATION OF HIGH-LEVEL COORDINATOR.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall designate, 
within the Department of State, a Coordinator of 
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United States Government Activities to Implement 
the Merida Initiative (hereafter in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Coordinator’’) who shall be respon-
sible for— 
(A) designing an overall strategy to advance 
the purposes of this Act; 
(B) ensuring program and policy coordina-
tion among agencies of the United States Gov-
ernment in carrying out the policies set forth in 
this Act; 
(C) ensuring that efforts of the United 
States Government under this Act are in full 
consonance with the efforts of the Government of 
Mexico and the governments of Central America 
in implementing the Merida Initiative; 
(D) tracking all United States Government 
assistance which fulfills the goals of the Merida 
Initiative or is closely related to the goals of the 
Merida Initiative, including information re-
quired under section 620J of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d) with respect 
to Mexico and the countries of Central America; 
(E) coordinating among agencies of the 
United States Government on all United States 
assistance to Mexico and the countries of Central 
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America, including assistance from other rel-
evant government agencies, which fulfills the 
goals of the Merida Initiative to avoid duplica-
tion or conflict among programs; and 
(F) coordinating with federal, State, and 
local law enforcement authorities in the United 
States that are responsible for law enforcement 
activities along the United States-Mexico border. 
(2) RANK AND STATUS OF THE COORDINATOR.— 
The Coordinator shall have the rank and status of 
ambassador. 
SEC. 502. METRICS AND OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 
that— 
(1) to successfully support building the capacity 
of recipient countries’ civilian security institutions, 
enhance the rule of law in recipient countries, and 
ensure the protection of human rights, the President 
should establish metrics and oversight mechanisms to 
track the effectiveness of activities undertaken pursu-
ant to this Act; 
(2) long-term solutions to Mexico and Central 
America’s security problems depend on strengthening 
and holding accountable civilian institutions; 
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(3) it is difficult to assess the impact of United 
States assistance towards these goals absent specific 
oversight and monitoring mechanisms; and 
(4) the President, in developing metrics, should 
consult with Congress as well as the Government of 
Mexico and the Central American Integration System 
(SICA). 
(b) REQUIREMENT.—The President shall develop 
metrics to identify, track, and manage the progress of ac-
tivities authorized pursuant to this Act and use these 
metrics to determine the allocation of resources for 
counternarcotics- and organized crime-related efforts. 
(c) INITIAL REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 
shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report that specifies metrics of achievement 
for each activity to be undertaken under this Act. 
(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report shall be 
divided into two sections, the first addressing those 
activities undertaken pursuant to subtitle A of title I 
and subtitle A of title II, and the second addressing 
those activities undertaken pursuant to subtitle B of 
title I and subtitle B of title II. Metrics may include 
the following: 
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(A) Indicators on long-term effectiveness of 
the equipment and training provided to Mexican 
and Central American security institutions. 
(B) Statistics of counter narcotics-related 
arrests. 
(C) Number of interdictions of drug ship-
ments. 
(D) Specific progress on police reform. 
(E) Counternarcotics-related arrests. 
(F) Quantification of reduction of supply of 
illicit narcotics into the United States. 
(G) Cross-utilization, if any, of equipment 
among the armed forces and law enforcement en-
tities. 
(H) Increased school attendance rates. 
(I) Attendance in primary prevention pro-
grams. 
(J) The level of cooperation among United 
States, Mexican, and Central American law en-
forcement agencies. 
SEC. 503. REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall transmit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report concerning 
the programs and activities carried out under this Act dur-
ing the preceding fiscal year. The first report shall be trans-
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mitted not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and subsequent reports shall be transmitted 
not later than October 31 of each year thereafter. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report required 
under subsection (a) shall include the following: 
(1) METRICS.—A general description of the 
progress in stabilizing the security situation in each 
recipient country as well as combating trafficking 
and building its capacity based on the metrics devel-
oped under section 502. 
(2) COORDINATION.—Efforts of the United States 
Government to coordinate its activities pursuant to 
section 501, including— 
(A) a description of all counternarcotics 
and organized crime assistance provided to re-
cipient countries in the previous fiscal year; 
(B) an assessment of how such assistance 
was coordinated; and 
(C) recommendations for improving coordi-
nation. 
(3) TRANSFER OF EQUIPMENT.—A description of 
the transfer of equipment, including— 
(A) a description of the progress of each re-
cipient country toward the transfer of equip-
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ment, if any, from its armed forces to law en-
forcement agencies; 
(B) a list of organizations that have used 
the air assets provided to the government of each 
recipient country, and, to the extent possible, a 
detailed description of those agencies that have 
utilized the air assets, including a breakdown of 
the percentage of use by each agency; and 
(C) a description of training of law enforce-
ment agencies to operate equipment, including 
air assets. 
(4) HUMAN
RIGHTS.—Consistent with sections 
116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) and 2304(b)) and section 
504 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2464), an 
assessment of the human rights impact of the equip-
ment and training provided under this Act, includ-
ing— 
(A) a list of accusations of serious human 
rights abuses committed by the armed forces and 
law enforcement agencies of recipient countries 
from the date of enactment of this Act; and 
(B) a description of efforts by the govern-
ment of recipient countries to investigate and 
prosecute allegations of abuses of human rights 
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committed by any agency of the recipient coun-
tries. 
(5) EFFECTIVENESS OF EQUIPMENT.—An assess-
ment on the long-term effectiveness of the equipment 
and maintenance packages and training provided to 
each recipient country’s security institutions. 
(6) MEXICO PUBLIC SECURITY STRATEGY.—A de-
scription of Mexico’s development of a public security 
strategy, including— 
(A) an update on the effectiveness of the 
Mexican federal Registry of Police Personnel to 
vet police recruiting at the National, state, and 
municipal levels to prevent rehiring from one 
force to the next after dismissal for corruption 
and other reasons; and 
(B) an assessment of how the Merida Initia-
tive complements and supports the Mexican Gov-
ernment’s own public security strategy. 
(7) FLOW OF ILLEGAL ARMS.—A description of 
efforts to reduce the southbound flow of illegal arms. 
(8) USE OF CONTRACTORS.—A detailed descrip-
tion of contracts awarded to private companies to 
carry out provisions of this Act, including— 
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(A) a description of the number of United 
States and foreign national civilian contractors 
awarded contracts; 
(B) a list of the total dollar value of the 
contracts; and 
(C) the purposes of the contracts. 
(9) CENTRAL
AMERICAN
REGIONAL
SECURITY 
PLAN.—A description of implementation by the coun-
tries of Central America of the Central American Re-
gional Security Plan, including an assessment of how 
the Merida Initiative complements and supports the 
Central American Regional Security Plan. 
(10) PHASE OUT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVI-
TIES.—A description of the progress of phasing out 
law enforcement activities of the armed forces of each 
recipient country. 
(11) DISPLACEMENT AND DIVERSION OF DRUG 
TRAFFICKING PATTERNS.—A description of any dis-
placement effect and diversion of drug trafficking pat-
terns from Mexico and the countries of Central Amer-
ica to other routes, including through potentially vul-
nerable Caribbean countries. 
(12) IMPACT ON BORDER VIOLENCE AND SECU-
RITY.—A description of the impact that activities au-
thorized under this Act have had on violence against 
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Union Calendar No. 445 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6028 
[Report No. 110–673, Part I] 
A BILL 
To authorize law enforcement and security assist-
ance, and assistance to enhance the rule of law 
and strengthen civilian institutions, for Mexico 
and the countries of Central America, and for 
other purposes. 
JUNE 6, 2008 
Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the 
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union and ordered to be printed 
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