BOUND Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2444 To establish a minimum staffing level of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers along the northern border, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mrs. SHA- HEEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish a minimum staffing level of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers along the northern border, 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 TITLES. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Officers Utili- 4 zation for National Defense Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘BOUND 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Sep 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2444.IS S2444 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2444 IS SEC. 2. MINIMUM U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION 1 STAFFING ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the en- 3 actment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 4 and Border Protection shall ensure that not fewer than 5 the maximum number of U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 6 tection officers deployed along the international border be- 7 tween the United States and Canada (referred to in this 8 Act as the ‘‘northern border’’) at any time between Janu- 9 ary 1, 2016 and the date of the enactment of this Act 10 are always deployed along the northern border, including 11 ports of entry along the northern border. 12 (b) LIMITATION ON TRANSFERS.—The Commissioner 13 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may not transfer 14 any U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer away 15 from an assignment along the northern border if such 16 transfer would reduce the number of such officers as- 17 signed to the northern border below the level required 18 under subsection (a). 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Sep 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2444.IS S2444 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS