Border Protection Fund Act

Bill: 115-hr-3526
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Rothfus, Keith J. [R-PA-12]
Introduced: 2017-07-28
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Border security and unlawful immigration

Drug trafficking and controlled substances

Drug, alcohol, tobacco use

Government trust funds

Health programs administration and funding

Law enforcement administration and funding

Smuggling and trafficking
Latest action: action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-07-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Border Protection Fund Act</b></p> <p>This bill amends the federal judicial code to direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deposit certain unobligated balances from the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund into a special subfund&#8212;the Border Protection Fund&#8212;to provide money: (1) to construct and maintain physical barriers and other measures along the U.S. border, and (2) to combat drug addiction through federal treatment and recovery programs and initiatives.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3526 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 28, 2017 Mr. Rothfus (for himself and Mr. Peterson ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 28, United States Code, to allow the use of the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund to finance United States border security measures, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Border Protection Fund Act . 2. Department of Justice asset forfeiture fund Section 524(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection the Attorney General shall by rule provide for the following: (A) The Attorney General will deposit any unobligated balance of forfeited cash, monetary instruments, or commodity money derived from civil forfeitures, or criminal judgements, relating to the illicit trafficking of weapons, persons, or narcotics, from the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund in to a special subfund, to be known as the Border Protection Fund and hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the BP Fund. Half of any deposit into the BP Fund shall be allocated to the agencies listed in subparagraph (B). The remaining half shall be allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services as listed in subparagraph (C). (B) Upon request by the head of the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Attorney General may provide money from the BP fund for any of the following purposes: (i) Construction and maintenance of physical barriers along the United States border. (ii) Construction and maintenance of virtual fencing measures along the border as cited in the Secure Fence Act as amended. (iii) Purchase, maintenance, and operation of unmanned aircraft systems to monitor national boundaries. (iv) Compensation to Federal law enforcement for any overtime work conducted during the course of their work. (v) Compensation to foreign governments for any expenses incurred while assisting the United States during joint border protection endeavors. (C) Upon request by the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General may provide money from the BP fund for purposes of combating drug addiction through Federal treatment and recovery programs and initiatives. (D) The presiding Federal trial court judge, in their discretion, of any criminal case relating to the illicit trafficking of weapons, persons, or narcotics, may order that any fines imposed during sentencing be directed to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the BP Fund. (E) Notwithstanding subsections 524(c)(12)(B)(iv) and (v), funds released from the BP Fund may not be used for reimbursement purposes. .