What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to review and update policies and manuals regularly. These updates must address how border officials inspect people and goods at ports of entry (official border crossings where people and goods enter the country).
Who It Affects
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency and the committees in Congress that oversee homeland security matters.
Key Provisions
• The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection must review and update policies and manuals at least once every three years (Sec. 2(a))
• These updates must cover the Office of Field Operations and how inspections happen at ports of entry (Sec. 2(a))
• The updates must respond to new technological and methodological changes designed to hide illegal activity, including drug smuggling and human smuggling (Sec. 2(a))
• After each update, the Commissioner must send a report to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland Security that explains what policy and manual changes were made (Sec. 2(b))
What Changes
If this becomes law, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will be required to review its inspection policies and manuals every three years instead of on whatever schedule it currently uses. The agency will also need to report these changes to Congress.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1401
To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to
regularly review and update policies and manuals related to inspections
at ports of entry.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 7, 2023
Mr. GUEST (for himself, Mr. TRONE, Mr. EZELL, Ms. CRAIG, Mrs. CHAVEZ-
DEREMER, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, and Ms.
TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to regularly review and update policies and
manuals related to inspections at ports of entry.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eradicating Narcotic
4
Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address
5
National Yearly Losses of life Act’’ or the ‘‘END
6
FENTANYL Act’’.
7
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:11 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1401.IH
H1401
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•HR 1401 IH
SEC. 2. ENSURING TIMELY UPDATES TO U.S. CUSTOMS AND
1
BORDER PROTECTION FIELD MANUALS.
2
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than tri-
3
ennially, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
4
Protection shall review and update, as necessary, the cur-
5
rent policies and manuals of the Office of Field Operations
6
related to inspections at ports of entry to ensure the uni-
7
form implementation of inspection practices that will ef-
8
fectively respond to technological and methodological
9
changes designed to disguise illegal activity, such as the
10
smuggling of drugs and humans, along the border.
11
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Shortly after each
12
update required under subsection (a), the Commissioner
13
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a re-
14
port to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
15
mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home-
16
land Security of the House of Representatives that sum-
17
marizes the policy and manual changes implemented by
18
such update.
19
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
02:11 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1401.IH
H1401
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS