Title: Securing Our Borders and Wilderness Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Securing Our Borders and Wilderness Act
This bill amends the Wilderness Act to allow the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to conduct the following activities within a wilderness area for the purpose of securing the international land borders of the United States:
Any such activity shall be carried out in a manner that protects the wilderness character of the area.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 612 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 612

   To amend the Wilderness Act to authorize U.S. Customs and Border 
 Protection to conduct certain activities to secure the international 
       land borders of the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2019

   Mr. Johnson of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
    Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Wilderness Act to authorize U.S. Customs and Border 
 Protection to conduct certain activities to secure the international 
       land borders of the United States, and for other purposes.

    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 Our Borders and Wilderness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION ACCESS TO WILDERNESS AREAS.

    Section 4(d) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) U.S. customs and border protection access.--
                    ``(A) Permissible activities.--Notwithstanding any 
                other provision of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. 
                Customs and Border Protection may conduct the following 
                activities within a wilderness area for the purpose of 
                securing the international land borders of the United 
                States:
                            ``(i) Access structures, installations, and 
                        roads.
                            ``(ii) Execute search and rescue 
                        operations.
                            ``(iii) Use motor vehicles, motorboats, and 
                        motorized equipment.
                            ``(iv) Conduct patrols on foot and on 
                        horseback.
                            ``(v) Notwithstanding any other law or 
                        regulation relating specifically to use of 
                        aircraft in a wilderness area or in the 
                        airspace above a wilderness area, use aircraft, 
                        including approach, landing, and takeoff.
                            ``(vi) Deploy tactical infrastructure and 
                        technology.
                            ``(vii) Construct and maintain roads and 
                        physical barriers.
                    ``(B) Protection of wilderness character.--Any 
                activity conducted by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 
                and Border Protection under subparagraph (A) shall be 
                carried out in a manner that, to the greatest extent 
                possible, protects the wilderness character of the 
                area.''.
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