CBP Hiring and Retention Innovation Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2813 To establish a CBP Hiring and Retention Innovation Council to develop ideas and initiatives to improve U.S. Customs and Border Protection hiring and retention efforts and capabilities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 7, 2019 Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish a CBP Hiring and Retention Innovation Council to develop ideas and initiatives to improve U.S. Customs and Border Protection hiring and retention efforts and capabilities, 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 ‘‘CBP Hiring and Re- 4 tention Innovation Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2813 IS SEC. 2. CBP HIRING AND RETENTION INNOVATION COUN- 1 CIL. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 4 Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Chief Human 5 Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, 6 shall establish a CBP Hiring and Retention Innovation 7 Council (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Council’’) to de- 8 velop ideas and initiatives to improve U.S. Customs and 9 Border Protection hiring and retention efforts and capa- 10 bilities. 11 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall include— 12 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the 13 Secretary’s designee, who shall serve as the Chair of 14 the Council; 15 (2) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 16 Border Protection, or the Commissioner’s designee; 17 (3) the Assistant Commissioner, Office of 18 Human Resources Management, Enterprise Services, 19 or the Assistant Commissioner’s designee; 20 (4) the Assistant Commissioner, Office of Fi- 21 nance, Enterprise Services, or the Assistant Com- 22 missioner’s designee; 23 (5) appropriate representatives from labor 24 groups representing U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 25 tection employees; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2813 IS (6) other members, selected by the Secretary, 1 who have the requisite knowledge or expertise to 2 help U.S. Customs and Border Protection develop 3 new hiring and retention strategies, initiatives, and 4 innovations, including— 5 (A) private sector human resource experts; 6 and 7 (B) chief human capital officers, or their 8 designees, from other Federal agencies; and 9 (7) U.S. Customs and Border Protection offi- 10 cials who have experience related to the hiring and 11 retention of employees, including at least 1 rep- 12 resentative from each of the following groups: 13 (A) Border Patrol officials with experience 14 along the Southwest Border of the United 15 States. 16 (B) Border Patrol officials with experience 17 working along the Northern Border of the 18 United States. 19 (C) Office of Field Operations officials 20 with experience along the Southwest Border of 21 the United States. 22 (D) Office of Field Operations officials 23 with experience along the Northern Border of 24 the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2813 IS (E) Air and Marine Operations officials 1 with experience along the land borders of the 2 United States. 3 (F) Air and Marine Operations officials 4 with experience along the marine borders of the 5 United States. 6 (G) Office of Field Operations officials 7 with experience at ports of entry in the interior 8 of the United States. 9 (H) U.S. Customs and Border Protection 10 officials with experience working along the mar- 11 itime borders in the southeastern region of the 12 United States. 13 SEC. 3. CBP HIRING AND RETENTION PILOT PROGRAMS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period begin- 15 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 16 retary of Homeland Security shall carry out pilot pro- 17 grams to develop improved strategies to improve U.S. Cus- 18 toms and Border Protection hiring and retention capabili- 19 ties and programs in order to meet its staffing needs. 20 (b) REQUIRED PILOT PROGRAMS.—Of the pilot pro- 21 grams carried out under subsection (a)— 22 (1) at least 1 pilot program shall focus on ports 23 of entry or other duty stations experiencing severe 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2813 IS workforce shortages, critical hiring needs, or reten- 1 tion challenges; and 2 (2) at least 1 pilot program shall focus on U.S. 3 Border Patrol duty locations experiencing severe 4 workforce shortages, critical hiring needs, or reten- 5 tion challenges. 6 (c) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out pilot 7 programs under this section, the Secretary shall— 8 (1) examine the findings of the Council to de- 9 termine which initiatives or strategies developed by 10 the Council should be tested in a pilot program; 11 (2) examine the data collected through the exit 12 survey given to all departing U.S. Customs and Bor- 13 der Protection employees to inform the development 14 of pilot programs; 15 (3) beginning not later than 180 days after the 16 establishment of the Council, commence at least 1 17 U.S. Customs and Border Protection hiring or re- 18 tention pilot program every fiscal year; and 19 (4) execute pilot programs in the locations that 20 the Secretary determines will provide the most accu- 21 rate assessment of the effectiveness of the pilot pro- 22 grams. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2813 IS (d) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary shall consider, 1 consistent with existing law, developing pilot programs 2 under this section that examine— 3 (1) the effectiveness of alternative or nontradi- 4 tional work schedules on hiring and retention; 5 (2) the impact on hiring and retention of pro- 6 viding employees transportation between their resi- 7 dences and their work sites; 8 (3) the use of existing pay authorities, including 9 recruitment and retention incentive pay, on hiring 10 and retention efforts; 11 (4) work to improve the morale of the overall 12 workforce or the workforce at specific U.S. Customs 13 and Border Protection locations; and 14 (5) the provision of additional training to em- 15 ployees to allow them to better execute changing job 16 requirements. 17 (e) OTHER MATTERS.—The Secretary is authorized 18 to implement pilot projects under this section in accord- 19 ance with section 4703 of title 5, United States Code. 20 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 21 the date on which the first pilot program is established 22 under this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 23 shall submit a report to the appropriate committees that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2813 IS (1) evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot pro- 1 grams established under this section; and 2 (2) analyzes how current or completed pilot 3 programs are expected to improve hiring and reten- 4 tion capabilities and programs at U.S. Customs and 5 Border Protection to meet its staffing needs. 6 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 7 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 8 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 9 SEC. 5. SUNSET. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 11 (b), this Act is repealed on the date that is 5 years after 12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 13 (b) REPORT.—Section 3(f) is repealed on the date on 14 which the first report is submitted under section 3(f) fol- 15 lowing the sunset date referred to in subsection (a). 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2813.IS S2813 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS