Title: Securing the Border and Making Drug Cartels Pay for it Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Securing the Border and Making Drug Cartels Pay for it Act
This bill establishes various ways for funding border security enhancements, and increases the government's burden of proof in civil forfeiture cases.
The bill establishes the Secure America Financing Corporation, which shall be authorized to issue Secure America Bonds. The proceeds from such bonds shall be available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol for security measures, including physical barriers, along the southwest border. Such funds may also be used for data analytics that may lead to increased drug seizures near the border.
Forfeited funds related to a felony conviction for a continuing enterprise involved in the intentional distribution of an imported controlled substance shall be used for security measures, including physical barriers, along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bill also requires the government, when bringing an action for the civil forfeiture of property, to establish its case by clear and convincing evidence, where it is currently only required to meet the lower preponderance of the evidence standard.
Seized property may be released pending trial in certain situations, but the bill establishes that currency or contraband likely to belong to or used to support a foreign illegal trafficking organization shall not be released.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 293 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 293

To enhance border security to reduce drug trafficking and related money 
                              laundering.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2019

  Mr. Cassidy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enhance border security to reduce drug trafficking and related money 
                              laundering.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing the Border and Making Drug 
Cartels Pay for it Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to authorize the use of illicit drug 
trafficking proceeds to pay for physical barriers, tactical 
infrastructure, and technology in the vicinity of the United States 
border, which will--
            (1) achieve situational awareness and operational control 
        of the border;
            (2) increase the interdiction of illicit drugs entering the 
        United States; and
            (3) reduce bulk cash smuggling and trade-based money 
        laundering along the border.

SEC. 3. SECURE AMERICA FINANCING CORPORATION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established, as a special purpose, 
public corporate entity, the Secure America Financing Corporation 
(referred to in this section as the ``Corporation''), which shall 
operate as an independent instrumentality of the Federal Government.
    (b) Board.--
            (1) Composition.--The Corporation shall be overseen by a 
        Board, consisting of the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
        Secretary of the Treasury, or their respective designees, as 
        appointed by the President.
            (2) Terms.--Members of the Board shall serve, at the 
        pleasure of the President, for 4-year terms, or until a 
        successor is appointed by the President. Members of the Board 
        may be appointed to 1 additional 4-year term.
            (3) Compensation.--Members of the Board shall serve without 
        additional compensation.
            (4) Chairperson.--The Board shall annually elect a 
        Chairperson from among its members.
            (5) Meetings.--The Board shall meet not less frequently 
        than annually.
    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of the Corporation shall be--
            (1) to issue Secure America Bonds, in accordance with 
        subsection (d);
            (2) to make the proceeds of such bonds available to 
        Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration and 
        Customs Enforcement and to U.S. Border Patrol to enhance 
        technological capacity; and
            (3) to use unobligated balances available under the 
        Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund to redeem such bonds.
    (d) Bonds.--
            (1) Issuance authorized.--The Corporation may issue bonds 
        (referred to in this Act as ``Secure America Bonds'') in such 
        amounts and for such terms as the Board shall authorize to 
        provide the necessary funding for the technological capacity 
        and security enhancements that the Homeland Security 
        Investigations directorate determines appropriate.
            (2) Redemption.--Secure America Bonds may only be paid from 
        funds managed by the Corporation, including--
                    (A) unobligated balances available under the 
                Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund;
                    (B) proceeds of the sales of any such bonds;
                    (C) earnings on funds invested by the Corporation 
                or the indenture trustee;
                    (D) income generated by the activities of the 
                Corporation; and
                    (E) such other funds as may become available.
            (3) Bankruptcy prohibited.--The Corporation may not file 
        for bankruptcy protection while any Secure America Bonds remain 
        outstanding.
            (4) Limitation.--Secure America Bonds--
                    (A) are not a debt or obligation of the Federal 
                Government; and
                    (B) are not backed by the full faith and credit of 
                the Federal Government.
    (e) Staffing.--
            (1) In general.--Employees of the Department of Homeland 
        Security and employees of the Department of the Treasury may 
        provide administrative support to the Corporation.
            (2) Professional services.--The Attorney General, or his or 
        her designee, may serve as counsel to the Corporation and may 
        employee or retain such other attorneys as necessary. The 
        Corporation may employ or retain any other professionals, 
        consultants, agents, financial advisors, and accountants as may 
        be necessary to carry out the purposes set forth in subsection 
        (c). The Board may determine the duties and compensation of 
        those employed or retained under this paragraph.
    (f) Financial Management.--
            (1) Authority.--The Corporation is authorized to sell and 
        convey any of the assets of the Corporation, subject to the 
        approval of the Board.
            (2) Exemption from taxation.--The Corporation shall be 
        exempt from any taxation, fees, assessments, or similar charges 
        based on the real property or assets of the Corporation.
    (g) Effect of Dissolution.--Upon the dissolution of the 
Corporation, title to all assets and properties of the Corporation 
shall vest in and become the property of the United States Treasury and 
shall be deposited into and credited to the Department of Treasury 
Forfeiture Fund.

SEC. 4. USE OF CERTAIN FORFEITED CRIMINAL PROCEEDS FOR BORDER SECURITY 
              MEASURES.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any funds that are 
criminally forfeited to the United States pursuant to an order relating 
to a sentence of a felony conviction by a district court of the United 
States of an individual engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise 
involving knowingly and intentionally distributing a controlled 
substance, intending and knowing that such substance would be 
unlawfully imported into the United States from a place outside of the 
United States shall be used for security measures along the 
international border between the United States and Mexico, including 
the construction, installation, deployment, operation, and maintenance 
of physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and technology in the 
vicinity of such border, for the purpose of stemming the flow of 
illegal narcotics into the United States and furthering the security of 
the United States.

SEC. 5. RESERVATION OF PORTION OF FORFEITS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              TREASURY FORFEITURE FUND FOR BUILDING A PHYSICAL BARRIER 
              OR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO PREVENT ILLEGAL ENTRY ACROSS 
              THE SOUTHERN BORDER.

    Section 9705 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end the 
        following:
            ``(K) Payments for border security enhancements.'';
            (2) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``, not later than February 1 of each year'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by inserting ``not later than February 1 
                        of each year,'' before ``a report''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by inserting ``not later than February 1 
                        of each year,'' before ``a report''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (I)(ii), by striking 
                        the period at the end and inserting a 
                        semicolon; and
                    (D) by inserting before the undesignated matter at 
                the end the following:
            ``(3) not later than December 1 of each year, a report that 
        identifies, as of October 1 of such year, the total of amount 
        in the Fund that was derived from Mexican cartels; and
            ``(4) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
        of the Securing the Border and Making Drug Cartels Pay for it 
        Act, and occasionally thereafter, a report that identifies the 
        amount in the Fund that has historically been derived from 
        Mexican cartels.''; and
            (3) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ``, including 
                the construction, installation, deployment, operation, 
                and maintenance of physical barriers, tactical 
                infrastructure, and technology in the vicinity of such 
                border,'' after ``law enforcement activities'' after 
                ``law enforcement activities''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Of the amount identified pursuant to subsection 
        (f)(3), 50 percent shall be made available without fiscal year 
        limitation to install additional physical barriers and roads 
        (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal 
        entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter 
        illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the 
        United States.''.

SEC. 6. USE OF BOND PROCEEDS.

    (a) Improving Data Analytics.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, 
in consultation with the Executive Associate Director for Homeland 
Security Investigations and the Chief, U.S. Border Patrol, may use 
proceeds from Secure America Bonds--
            (1) to improve the use of data and advanced analytics to 
        target drugs entering the United States, bulk cash smugglers, 
        and trade-based money laundering;
            (2) to prioritize the use of ``big data'' to enhance the 
        analysis of information that may lead to an increase in drug 
        seizures near the border, the interdiction of smuggled bulk 
        cash, and the identification of invoice misrepresentation that 
        leads to trade-based money laundering;
            (3) to increase the technological capacity to gather and 
        develop information about persons, events, and cargo of 
        interest;
            (4) to integrate data with analytical tools capable of--
                    (A) detecting trends, patterns, and emerging 
                threats; and
                    (B) identifying non-obvious relationships between 
                persons, events, and cargo to generate the necessary 
                tools to increase seizures; and
            (5) to procure technology for advanced analytics to target 
        drugs coming into the United States, bulk cash smuggling, and 
        trade-based money laundering.
    (b) Physical Barriers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Chief, U.S. Border Patrol, may use proceeds from 
Secure America Bonds--
            (1) to achieve situational awareness and operational 
        control of the southwest border by using terrain, barriers, and 
        technological and human resources to force smugglers to use 
        certain routes and border crossings; and
            (2) to construct, install, deploy, operate, and permanently 
        maintain physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and 
        technology in the vicinity of the southwest border.
    (c) Staffing.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 
with the Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security 
Investigations, may use proceeds from Secure America Bonds to employ 
the necessary analysts to carry out the data analytics described in 
subsection (a).

SEC. 7. RULES OF CIVIL FORFEITURE.

    (a) Civil Forfeiture.--Section 983(a) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(5) In any law enforcement action in which assets may be seized 
under this subsection, the law enforcement officer may not barter with 
or otherwise pressure the owner of the assets to be seized to waive any 
rights relating to the recovery of such assets.''.
    (b) Burden of Proof in Civil Forfeiture Proceedings.--Section 
983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a preponderance of the 
        evidence'' and inserting ``clear and convincing evidence'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``a preponderance of the 
        evidence'' and inserting ``clear and convincing evidence''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, by clear and 
        convincing evidence,'' after ``establish''.
    (c) Limitation on Release of Property.--Section 983(f)(8) of title 
18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) is currency or contraband likely to belong to 
                or used in support of a foreign, illegal trafficking 
                organization.''.
    (d) Reporting Requirement.--The Attorney General shall submit an 
annual report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, 
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that 
includes a detailed record, for the reporting period, of all civil and 
criminal asset seizures and forfeitures authorized under chapter 46 of 
title 18, United States Code, including--
            (1) the specific assets seized, including the quantity and 
        value of such assets;
            (2) the alleged criminal conduct giving rise to the seizure 
        or forfeiture;
            (3) whether anyone was arrested or convicted of the alleged 
        criminal conduct;
            (4) whether the forfeiture action was challenged by the 
        owner of the assets;
            (5) the final disposition of the assets; and
            (6) if the assets were sold, how the proceeds of the assets 
        were used.
                                 <all>