CTPAT Reauthorization Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3719 To amend the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 to reauthorize the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Pro- gram, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 11, 2019 Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. ROGERS of Ala- bama, Mr. CUELLAR, and Mr. BUCHANAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security A BILL To amend the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 to reauthorize the Customs Trade Partner- ship Against Terrorism Program, and for other purposes. 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 TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘CTPAT Reauthoriza- 4 tion Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3719 IH SEC. 2. CUSTOMS TRADE PARTNERSHIP AGAINST TER- 1 RORISM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of the Secu- 3 rity and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 (6 4 U.S.C. 961 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘Subtitle B—Customs Trade 6 Partnership Against Terrorism 7 ‘‘SEC. 211. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CUSTOMS TRADE 8 PARTNERSHIP AGAINST TERRORISM PRO- 9 GRAM. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within U.S. 11 Customs and Border Protection a voluntary government- 12 private sector partnership program to be known as the 13 Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT). 14 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the CTPAT pro- 15 gram are to— 16 ‘‘(1) strengthen and improve the overall secu- 17 rity of the international supply chain and United 18 States border security; 19 ‘‘(2) facilitate the movement of secure cargo 20 through the international supply chain; 21 ‘‘(3) ensure compliance with applicable law; and 22 ‘‘(4) serve as the Authorized Economic Oper- 23 ator program for the United States. 24 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR.—There shall be at the head of the 25 CTPAT program a Director, who shall report to the Exec- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3719 IH utive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Oper- 1 ations (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘Executive Assist- 2 ant Commissioner’) of U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 3 tion. 4 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Director of the CTPAT program 5 shall— 6 ‘‘(1) oversee the activities of the CTPAT pro- 7 gram, including certification of CTPAT participants; 8 ‘‘(2) evaluate and make revisions to security 9 criteria pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of sec- 10 tion 213; 11 ‘‘(3) ensure that participants receive a tangible 12 and measurable benefit for participation; and 13 ‘‘(4) carry out other duties and powers pre- 14 scribed by the Executive Assistant Commissioner. 15 ‘‘SEC. 212. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND NOTICE OF BENEFITS. 16 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Importers, exporters, cus- 18 toms brokers, forwarders, air, sea, and land carriers, 19 contract logistics providers, and other entities in the 20 international supply chain and intermodal transpor- 21 tation system are eligible to apply for participation 22 in the CTPAT program. 23 ‘‘(2) EXPANSION.—The Commissioner may ex- 24 pand the list of entities eligible to apply for CTPAT 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3719 IH participation only in accordance with the purpose of 1 the CTPAT program. 2 ‘‘(b) TIERED PARTICIPATION.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Applicants specified in sub- 4 section (a) may be eligible to participate as Tier 1 5 or Tier 2 participants. 6 ‘‘(2) IMPORTERS.—Importers may be eligible to 7 participate as Tier 3 participants. 8 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—The Commissioner may ex- 9 tend Tier 3 participation to other entity types, if ap- 10 propriate, and to specific Tier 2 CTPAT program 11 participants in accordance with section 217(b). 12 ‘‘(c) NOTICE OF BENEFITS.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall 14 publish, on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 15 website and through other appropriate online publi- 16 cation, information about benefits available under 17 each tier of the CTPAT program. 18 ‘‘(2) CHANGES.—The Commissioner shall pub- 19 lish, on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 20 website and through other appropriate online publi- 21 cation, notice of any changes to benefits available 22 under each tier of the CTPAT program not later 23 than 30 days before any such changes take effect. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3719 IH ‘‘SEC. 213. PARTICIPATION ELIGIBILITY. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Assistant Com- 2 missioner shall review all documentation submitted by an 3 applicant pursuant to subsection (b)(2), conduct a back- 4 ground investigation of such applicant, and vet such appli- 5 cant. 6 ‘‘(b) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for 7 participation in the CTPAT program, an entity shall, at 8 a minimum— 9 ‘‘(1) have a designated company employee au- 10 thorized to bind such entity who is a direct company 11 employee and will serve as the primary point of con- 12 tact responsible for participation of such entity in 13 the CTPAT program; 14 ‘‘(2) at the time of initial application and annu- 15 ally thereafter, including in advance of any recertifi- 16 cation or revalidation, submit an international sup- 17 ply chain security profile, which shall identify how 18 such entity meets the minimum security criteria of 19 the CTPAT program established by the Commis- 20 sioner and how such entity will maintain and en- 21 hance internal policies, procedures, and practices re- 22 lated to international supply chain security; and 23 ‘‘(3) meet any specific requirements for eligible 24 entities, as established by the Commissioner. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3719 IH ‘‘(c) MINIMUM SECURITY CRITERIA.—The Commis- 1 sioner shall establish minimum security criteria for par- 2 ticipants in the CTPAT program, review such minimum 3 security criteria not less than once every two years, and 4 update such minimum security criteria as necessary. Such 5 minimum security criteria shall seek to address security 6 vulnerabilities in the international supply chain. 7 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL AND UPDATED CRITERIA.—The 8 Commissioner may establish additional and updated secu- 9 rity criteria for individual CTPAT program participants, 10 categories of CTPAT program participants, or particular 11 entity types to meet in order to address a security vulner- 12 ability in the international supply chain. 13 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—When establishing or updat- 14 ing security criteria in accordance with subsection (c), and 15 when establishing new or updated security criteria in ac- 16 cordance subsection (d), the Commissioner shall consult 17 with CTPAT program participants and other interested 18 parties, and shall— 19 ‘‘(1) conduct a cost benefit analysis of such pro- 20 posed new or updated security criteria, as the case 21 may be, in consultation with the Commercial Cus- 22 toms Operations Advisory Committee established 23 under section 109 of the Trade Facilitation and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3719 IH Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 114– 1 125; 19 U.S.C. 4316); 2 ‘‘(2) determine operational feasibility and, 3 where appropriate, provide best practices for meet- 4 ing such new or updated security criteria to CTPAT 5 program participants specific to their entity type; 6 ‘‘(3) conduct a phased implementation of such 7 proposed new or updated security criteria; and 8 ‘‘(4) provide CTPAT program participants and 9 other interested parties a 90-day comment period to 10 review and comment on such proposed new or up- 11 dated security criteria. 12 ‘‘(f) WAIVER.—The Commissioner may waive the re- 13 quirements of subsection (e) if the Commissioner deter- 14 mines there is a significant and imminent risk to the na- 15 tional security of the United States and such a waiver is 16 necessary to protect such national security. Not later than 17 120 days after the issuance of any such waiver, the Com- 18 missioner shall announce on the U.S. Customs and Border 19 Protection website and through other appropriate online 20 publication the Commissioner’s intent to either withdraw 21 such waiver or maintain such waiver while commencing 22 efforts to establish new or updated security criteria in ac- 23 cordance with subsection (c) or (d), respectively. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3719 IH ‘‘SEC. 214. BENEFITS FOR CTPAT PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Assistant Com- 2 missioner shall extend certain benefits to each CTPAT 3 program participant. Minimum benefits for each such par- 4 ticipant shall include the following: 5 ‘‘(1) Assignment of a U.S. Customs and Border 6 Protection Supply Chain Security Specialist. 7 ‘‘(2) Access to the CTPAT program’s web- 8 based Portal system, training materials, and a mech- 9 anism by which to verify other CTPAT program 10 participants’ CTPAT status. 11 ‘‘(3) Timely supply chain threat alerts cat- 12 egorized by CTPAT program participant entity type, 13 and an annual and unclassified update made avail- 14 able in such web-based Portal system regarding re- 15 gional and other relevant threats to the international 16 supply chain. 17 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Assistant 19 Commissioner shall conduct, on an annual basis, an 20 assessment of the benefits conferred to CTPAT pro- 21 gram participants by tier and entity type. The Exec- 22 utive Assistant Commissioner shall determine a 23 process to carry out such assessments, including 24 projected milestones and completion dates for ad- 25 dressing data reliability issues and, as necessary, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3719 IH correcting data weaknesses, in order that U.S. Cus- 1 toms and Border Protection can produce accurate 2 and reliable annual assessments that can be com- 3 pared year-to-year. 4 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each annual assessment 5 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall at a min- 6 imum include the following: 7 ‘‘(A) The average reduced security exam 8 rate by CTPAT program participant tier and 9 entity type. 10 ‘‘(B) The average reduction in penalties 11 for CTPAT program participants by tier and 12 entity type. 13 ‘‘(C) The average reduction in risk assess- 14 ment for CTPAT program participants by tier 15 and entity type. 16 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Executive 17 Assistant Commissioner shall make each annual as- 18 sessment publicly available on the CTPAT portal for 19 at least one year. 20 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—When assessing benefits in ac- 21 cordance with subsection (b), the Executive Assistant 22 Commissioner shall consult with the Commercial Customs 23 Operations Advisory Committee established under section 24 109 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3719 IH of 2015 (Public Law 114–125; 19 U.S.C. 4316) and the 1 National Maritime Security Advisory Committee estab- 2 lished under section 70112 of title 46, United States Code. 3 ‘‘SEC. 215. TIER 1 PARTICIPANTS. 4 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION.—The Executive Assistant 5 Commissioner shall certify the security measures and 6 international supply chain security practices of all appli- 7 cants to and participants in the CTPAT program in ac- 8 cordance with section 213(b)(2) and the guidelines re- 9 ferred to in subsection (c) of this section. Certified partici- 10 pants shall be Tier 1 participants. 11 ‘‘(b) BENEFITS FOR TIER 1 PARTICIPANTS.—Upon 12 completion of the certification under subsection (a), a 13 CTPAT program participant shall be certified as a Tier 14 1 participant. The Executive Assistant Commissioner shall 15 extend limited benefits to a Tier 1 participant. 16 ‘‘(c) CRITERIA.—Not later than 180 days after the 17 date of the enactment of this subtitle, the Commissioner 18 shall update the criteria for certifying a CTPAT program 19 participant’s security measures and supply chain security 20 practices under this section. Such criteria shall include a 21 background investigation and review of appropriate docu- 22 mentation, as determined by the Commissioner. 23 ‘‘(d) TIMEFRAME.—To the extent practicable, the 24 Executive Assistant Commissioner shall conclude the Tier 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3719 IH 1 certification process within 90 days of receipt of a com- 1 pleted application for participation in the CTPAT pro- 2 gram. 3 ‘‘SEC. 216. TIER 2 PARTICIPANTS. 4 ‘‘(a) VALIDATION.—The Executive Assistant Com- 5 missioner shall validate the security measures and inter- 6 national supply chain security practices of a Tier 1 7 CTPAT program participant in accordance with the 8 guidelines referred to in subsection (c) to validate such 9 participant as a Tier 2 participant. Such validation shall 10 include on-site assessments at appropriate foreign and do- 11 mestic locations utilized by such Tier 1 participant in its 12 international supply chain. 13 ‘‘(b) BENEFITS FOR TIER 2 PARTICIPANTS.—The 14 Executive Assistant Commissioner, shall extend benefits 15 to each CTPAT participant that has been validated as a 16 Tier 2 participant under this section. Such benefits may 17 include the following: 18 ‘‘(1) Reduced scores in U.S. Customs and Bor- 19 der Protection’s Automated Targeting System or 20 successor system. 21 ‘‘(2) Reduced number of security examinations 22 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 23 ‘‘(3) Penalty mitigation opportunities. 24 ‘‘(4) Priority examinations of cargo. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3719.IH H3719 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3719 IH ‘‘(5) Access to the Free [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]