Border Security Results Act of 2013

Bill: 113-hr-1417
Sponsor: Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]
Introduced: 2013-04-09 in the House
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Border security and unlawful immigration
Congressional oversight
Department of Homeland Security
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Intergovernmental relations
Law enforcement officers
Performance measurement

Summary:
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: 
Border Security Results Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) report, every 180 days, on the state of operational control of the international borders of the United States; and (2) achieve situational awareness of such borders within two years. 
 
Requires the Secretary to submit: (1) a comprehensive strategy for gaining and maintaining operational control of high traffic areas of such borders within a two-year period, (2) an implementation plan for each DHS border security component to carry out such strategy, and (3) an updated strategy and implementation plan after submission of each Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. Requires such strategy to include: (1) an assessment of principal border security threats, (2) efforts to analyze and disseminate border security and threat information between DHS border security components, (3) a comprehensive border security technology plan, (4) Department of Defense (DOD) surveillance capabilities, (5) the use of manned aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, (6) agreements with foreign governments that support U.S. border security efforts, (7) staffing requirements for all border security functions, and (8) specified metrics. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review and report on such implementation plan.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) implement metrics to measure the effectiveness of security between ports of entry, at ports of entry, and in the maritime environment; (2) request the head of a national laboratory within the DHS laboratory network with prior expertise in border security to provide an independent assessment of, and ensure statistical validity of, such metrics; and (3) make such assessment and the metrics data and methodology available to GAO for a report to Congress.
 
Directs: (1) the Secretary to submit a certification to Congress and the Comptroller General upon determining that operational control of such borders has been achieved, and (2) the Comptroller General to verify the accuracy of such certification. 
 
Directs the Comptroller General to submit a report addressing areas of overlap in responsibilities within DHS's border security functions.
 
Directs the Secretary to report annually on: (1) a resource allocation model for current and future year staffing requirements for optimal staffing levels at all land, air, and sea ports of entry; (2) detailed information on the level of manpower available at and between such ports of entry; and (3) detailed information describing the difference between such optimal and actual levels.

action_date: 2013-05-20
text: 
Border Security Results Act of 2013 - (Sec. 2) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to report to the appropriate congressional committees and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) at specified intervals on the state of situational awareness and operational control of U.S. borders, including an identification of the high traffic areas and the illegal border crossing effectiveness rate for each sector along the northern and southern borders that are within the responsibility of the Border Patrol. Requires the Comptroller General to report on the verification of the data and methodology used to determine such areas and rate.
 
Defines: (1) "operational control" as a condition in which there is a not lower than 90% illegal border crossing effectiveness rate, informed by situational awareness, and in which a significant reduction in the movement of illicit drugs and other contraband through such areas is being achieved; and (2) "situational awareness" as knowledge and an understanding of current illicit cross-border activity, including cross-border threats and trends concerning illicit trafficking and unlawful crossings along the borders and in the maritime environment, and the ability to forecast future shifts in such threats and trends.
 
(Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to submit to such committees a comprehensive strategy for gaining and maintaining: (1) situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas within two years, and (2) operational control along the southwest border of the United States within five years. Requires such strategy to include a consideration of: 
 
 
an assessment of principal border security threats; 
 
efforts to analyze and disseminate border security and threat information between DHS border security components and with other federal agencies with missions associated with the border; 
 
efforts to increase situational awareness, in accordance with privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights protections; 
 
efforts to detect and prevent terrorists and instruments of terrorism from entering the United States; 
 
efforts to ensure that any new border security technology can be operationally integrated with existing technologies in use by DHS; 
 
an assessment of existing efforts and technologies used for border security and the effect on civil rights, private property rights, privacy rights, and civil liberties; 
 
technology required to maintain, support, and enhance security and facilitate trade at ports of entry; 
 
operational coordination of DHS border security components; 
 
lessons learned from Operation Jumpstart and Operation Phalanx; 
 
cooperative agreements and information sharing with state, local, tribal, territorial, and other federal law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction on the northern or southern borders or in the maritime environment; 
 
border security information received from consultation with such law enforcement agencies and from border community stakeholders; 
 
agreements with foreign governments that support U.S. border security efforts; 
 
staffing requirements for all border security functions; 
 
a prioritized list of research and development objectives to enhance the security of U.S. land and maritime borders; 
 
an assessment of training programs; 
 
local crime indices of municipalities and counties along the southern border; 
 
an assessment of how border security operations affect crossing times; and 
 
metrics required for measuring the effectiveness of efforts to secure the borders. 

 
Directs the Secretary to submit to such committees and GAO an implementation plan for each DHS border security component to carry out such strategy, which: (1) specifies what protections will be put in place to ensure that staffing and resources necessary for the maintenance of operations at ports of entry are not diverted to operations between ports of entry, and (2) includes an integrated master schedule and cost estimate for activities and a comprehensive border security technology plan to improve surveillance capabilities. Requires the Comptroller General to report to such committees on such plan.
 
Requires the Secretary, not later than 180 days after the submission of each Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, to submit an updated strategy and implementation plan.
 
Directs the Secretary to implement specified metrics, informed by situational awareness, to measure the effectiveness of security: (1) between ports of entry, including an illegal border crossing effectiveness rate, an illicit drugs seizure rate, a cocaine seizure effectiveness rate, and estimates of total attempted illegal border crossings and of the impact of the Border Patrol's Consequence Delivery System on the rate of recidivism; (2) at ports of entry, including an inadmissible border crossing rate, illicit drugs and cocaine seizure rates, estimates of total attempted inadmissible border crossers and of infractions related to personnel and cargo committed by major violators, and a measurement of how border security operations affect crossing times; and (3) in the maritime environment, including an undocumented migrant interdiction rate and an estimate of the total number of undocumented migrants DHS's maritime security components fail to interdict
, 
illicit drugs and cocaine removal rates inside out outside transit zones, and a rate that measures DHS's ability to respond to and resolve known maritime threats by placing assets on-scene. Requires the Secretary to make the data and methodology used to develop such metrics available to GAO for a report to Congress. 
 
Directs the Secretary to submit to such committees and the Comptroller General: (1) a certification if the Secretary determines that situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas have been achieved by not later than two years after the date of submission of the implementation plan and that operational control along the southwest border has been achieved by not later than five years after such submission date (with annual recertifications); or (2) a report that describes why situational awareness or operational control, or both, were not achieved, including impediments incurred, potential remedies, and recommendations. 
 
Directs the Comptroller General to report to such committees on: (1) such certifications; (2) areas of overlap in responsibilities within the border security functions of DHS; and (3) the relative cost effectiveness of border security strategies, including deployment of additional personnel and technology and construction of virtual and physical barriers.
 
Requires the Secretary to submit annual reports to such committees on: (1) a resource allocation model for current and future year staffing requirements; (2) the level of manpower available at all land, air, and sea ports of entry and between ports of entry; (3) the difference between the staffing the model suggests and the actual staffing at and between the ports of entry; and (4) the security and competitive impacts of entering into a reimbursement agreement with foreign governments for CBP preclearance facilities.
 
(Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to submit to such committees: (1) a plan to implement immediately a biometric exit capability at ports of entry under the US-VISIT program; or (2) upon determining that development of such a system is not feasible, an alternative program to provide the same level of security.
 
(Sec. 5) Prohibits the Secretary from conducting any study relating to the imposition of a border crossing fee for pedestrians or passenger vehicles at land ports of entry along the southern border or the northern border of the United States.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-20
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 62.
action_date: 2013-05-20
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 113-87.
action_date: 2013-05-20
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 113-87.
action_date: 2013-05-15
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2013-05-15
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2013-04-24
text: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
action_date: 2013-04-24
text: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2013-04-15
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: Introduced in House