Securing America's Borders Act of 2019

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II Calendar No. 615 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2162 [Report No. 116–312] To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to annually hire at least 600 new Border Patrol agents, to report quarterly to Congress on the status of the Border Patrol workforce, and to conduct a comprehensive staffing analysis. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 18, 2019 Mr. JOHNSON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs DECEMBER 14, 2020 Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to annually hire at least 600 new Border Patrol agents, to report quarterly to Congress on the status of the Border Patrol workforce, and to conduct a comprehensive staffing analysis. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2162 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing America’s 2 Borders Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL BORDER PATROL PERSONNEL. 4 (a) AGENTS.—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs 5 and Border Protection shall hire, train, and assign not 6 fewer than 600 new Border Patrol agents, compared to 7 the current attrition level, during every fiscal year until 8 the total number of Border Patrol agents equals and sus- 9 tains the requirements identified in Executive Order 10 13767 (82 Fed. Reg. 8793). 11 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Commissioner is author- 12 ized to hire, train, and assign support staff to perform 13 non-law enforcement administrative functions to support 14 the new Border Patrol agents hired pursuant to subsection 15 (a). 16 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later that 90 days 17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 18 days thereafter, the Commissioner shall submit a report 19 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern- 20 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home- 21 land Security of the House of Representatives that de- 22 scribes the status of the Border Patrol workforce, includ- 23 ing— 24 (1) the total number of Border Patrol agents; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2162 RS (2) the total number of Border Patrol support 1 staff; 2 (3) the number of Border Patrol agents and 3 support staff hired during the reporting period; 4 (4) the number of Border Patrol agents and 5 support staff lost to attrition, broken down by port 6 of entry; and 7 (5) any hiring authorities, incentive pay, or 8 other special pay incentives utilized during the re- 9 porting period. 10 SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE STAFFING ANALYSIS. 11 The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 12 tection shall— 13 (1) not later than 60 days after the date of the 14 enactment of this Act, amend the comprehensive 15 staffing analysis required under section 2(e) of the 16 Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 (Pub- 17 lic Law 113–277) based on any changes to workload 18 demands since the date of the enactment of such 19 Act; and 20 (2) not later than 90 days after the date of the 21 enactment of this Act, submit a report to the Comp- 22 troller General of the United States that includes 23 the results of a comprehensive staffing analysis, as 24 required under section 2(e) of the Border Patrol 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2162 RS Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 1 277). 2 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 There are authorized to be appropriated, for each of 4 the fiscal years 2020 through 2026, such sums as may 5 be necessary to carry out this Act. 6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Se- 8 curing America’s Borders Act of 2019’’. 9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 10 this Act is as follows: 11 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Hiring additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel. Sec. 3. Border Patrol processing coordinators. Sec. 4. Medical training for border patrol agents. Sec. 5. Workforce staffing model. Sec. 6. Promoting flexibility in employment authorities for rural or remote areas. Sec. 7. CBP Hiring and Retention Innovation Council. Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. HIRING ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER 12 PROTECTION PERSONNEL. 13 (a) AGENTS.—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 14 Border Protection shall hire, train, and assign not fewer 15 than 600 new Border Patrol agents above the current attri- 16 tion level during every fiscal year until the total number 17 of Border Patrol agents equals 26,370 full-time equivalent 18 agents. 19 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Commissioner is author- 20 ized to hire, train, and assign support staff to perform non- 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2162 RS law enforcement administrative functions to support the 1 new Border Patrol agents hired pursuant to subsection (a). 2 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 4 days thereafter, the Commissioner shall submit a report to 5 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 6 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Se- 7 curity of the House of Representatives that describes the sta- 8 tus of the Border Patrol workforce, including— 9 (1) the total number of Border Patrol agents; 10 (2) the total number of Border Patrol support 11 staff, including Border Patrol processing coordina- 12 tors; 13 (3) the number of Border Patrol agents and sup- 14 port staff hired during the reporting period, broken 15 down by Border Patrol duty location; 16 (4) the number of Border Patrol agents and sup- 17 port staff lost to attrition, broken down by Border Pa- 18 trol duty location; 19 (5) any hiring authorities, incentive pay, or 20 other special pay incentives utilized during the re- 21 porting period; and 22 (6) an analysis of the overall effectiveness of the 23 hiring authorities, incentive pay, and other special 24 pay incentives utilized during the reporting period. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2162 RS SEC. 3. BORDER PATROL PROCESSING COORDINATORS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411(e) of the Homeland Se- 2 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(e)) is amended by adding 3 at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(4) BORDER PATROL PROCESSING COORDINA- 5 TORS.— 6 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Chief of the 7 U.S. Border Patrol is authorized to hire Border 8 Patrol processing coordinators, who shall be sta- 9 tioned at Border Patrol facilities. 10 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—Border Patrol processing 11 coordinators— 12 ‘‘(i) shall assist Border Patrol agents 13 to efficiently and expeditiously intake and 14 process apprehended persons; 15 ‘‘(ii) shall perform necessary technical 16 and clerical tasks related to the duties set 17 forth in paragraph (3); 18 ‘‘(iii) shall be classified as non-law en- 19 forcement personnel; and 20 ‘‘(iv) may not be authorized or des- 21 ignated to exercise powers conferred under 22 section 287(a) of the Immigration and Na- 23 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(a)).’’. 24 (b) TRAINING.—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs 25 and Border Protection, in coordination with the Chief of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2162 RS U.S. Border Patrol and in consultation with the Director 1 of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, shall de- 2 velop tailored training for Border Patrol processing coordi- 3 nators hired pursuant to section 411(e)(4) of the Homeland 4 Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a). 5 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly 7 for the following 2 years, the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 8 rity shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland 9 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 10 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep- 11 resentatives regarding each U.S. Border Patrol sector that 12 includes information regarding the number of U.S. Border 13 Patrol agents who returned to field operations as a result 14 of increased hiring of U.S. Border Patrol processing coordi- 15 nators. 16 SEC. 4. MEDICAL TRAINING FOR BORDER PATROL AGENTS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411(l) of the Homeland Se- 18 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(l)) is amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘The Commissioner’’ and insert- 20 ing the following: 21 ‘‘(1) CONTINUING EDUCATION.—The Commis- 22 sioner’’; and 23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2162 RS ‘‘(2) MEDICAL TRAINING FOR BORDER PATROL 1 AGENTS.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 3 ‘‘(i) AVAILABILITY.—Beginning not 4 later than 6 months after the date of the en- 5 actment of this paragraph, the Commis- 6 sioner, in his or her sole and exclusive dis- 7 cretion, shall make available in each U.S. 8 Border Patrol sector, at no cost to U.S. Bor- 9 der Patrol agents selected for such training, 10 emergency medical technician (referred to 11 in this paragraph as ‘EMT’) and para- 12 medic training, including pediatric medical 13 training, which shall utilize nationally rec- 14 ognized pediatric training curricula that 15 includes emergency pediatric care, and 16 training identifying and treating individ- 17 uals experiencing medical distress. 18 ‘‘(ii) USE OF OFFICIAL DUTY TIME.— 19 A U.S. Border Patrol agent shall be credited 20 with work time for any EMT or paramedic 21 training provided to such agent under 22 clause (i) in order to achieve or maintain 23 an EMT or paramedic certification. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2162 RS ‘‘(iii) LODGING AND PER DIEM.—Lodg- 1 ing and per diem shall be made available to 2 U.S. Border Patrol agents attending train- 3 ing described in clause (ii) if such training 4 is not available at a location within com- 5 muting distance of the agent’s residence or 6 worksite. 7 ‘‘(iv) SERVICE COMMITMENT.—Any 8 U.S. Border Patrol agent who completes a 9 certification preparation program pursuant 10 to clause (i) shall— 11 ‘‘(I) complete 1 year of service as 12 a U.S. Border Patrol agent following 13 the completion of EMT training; 14 ‘‘(II) complete 3 years of service 15 as a U.S. Border Patrol agent fol- 16 lowing the completion of paramedic 17 training; or 18 ‘‘(III) reimburse U.S. Customs 19 and Border Protection in an amount 20 equal to the product of— 21 ‘‘(aa) the cost of providing 22 such training to such agent; mul- 23 tiplied by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2162 RS ‘‘(bb) the percentage of the 1 service required under subclauses 2 (I) and (II) that the agent failed 3 to complete. 4 ‘‘(v) OBLIGATED OVERTIME.—For any 5 debt of obligated overtime hours that the 6 agent may have incurred, pursuant to sec- 7 tion 5550(b) of title 5, United States Code, 8 in order to achieve or maintain an EMT or 9 paramedic certification, the agent shall se- 10 lect, not later than 1 pay period before the 11 commencement of the EMT or paramedic 12 training 13 ‘‘(I) to satisfy the debt of obligated 14 overtime hours; or 15 ‘‘(II) to receive a reduction of pay 16 commensurate to what the agent would 17 have received for performance of the 18 overtime hours. 19 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF MEDICALLY TRAINED 20 BORDER PATROL AGENTS.—Not later than 6 21 months after the date of the enactment of this 22 paragraph, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 23 and Border Protection shall undertake an agen- 24 cy-wide effort— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2162 RS ‘‘(i) to encourage, promote, and ensure, 1 to the greatest extent possible, that— 2 ‘‘(I) U.S. Border Patrol agents 3 with current EMT or paramedic cer- 4 tifications are stationed at each U.S. 5 Border Patrol sector and remote sta- 6 tion along the southern border of the 7 United States to the greatest extent 8 possible; and 9 ‘‘(II) 10 percent of all Border Pa- 10 trol agents have EMT certifications 11 and comprise not fewer than 10 per- 12 cent of all Border Patrol agents as- 13 signed to each U.S. Border Patrol sec- 14 tor; and 15 ‘‘(ii) in determining the assigned posts 16 of Border Patrol agents who have received 17 training under subparagraph (A)(i), to give 18 priority to remote stations and forward op- 19 erating bases. 20 ‘‘(C) MEDICAL SUPPLIES.— 21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 22 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 23 shall provide minimum medical supplies to 24 each Border Patrol agent with an EMT or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2162.RS S2162 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2162 RS paramedic certification and to each U.S. 1 Border Patrol sector, including all remote 2 stations and forward operating bases, for 3 use while on patrol. Such supplies shall in- 4 clude— 5 ‘‘(I) supplies designed for chil- 6 dren; 7 ‘‘(II) first aid kits; and 8 ‘‘(III) oral hydration, such as 9 water. 10 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—In developing 11 the minimum list of medical supplies re- 12 quired under clause (i), the Commissioner 13 shall consult national organizations with 14 expertise in emergency medical care, includ- 15 ing emergency medical care of children, at 16 no cost to the Government. 17 ‘‘(D) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 18 after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, 19 the Comptroller General of the United States 20 shall— 21 ‘‘(i) review the success of the U.S. Cus- 22 toms and Border Protection’s efforts to 23 reach the goal of 10 percent of all U.S. Bor- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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