DHS Illicit Cross-Border Tunnel Defense Act

IB Union Calendar No. 378 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5828 [Report No. 116–471] To support remediation of illicit cross-border tunnels, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 10, 2020 Mrs. LESKO (for herself, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, and Mrs. HARTZLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Homeland Security AUGUST 7, 2020 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 10, 2020] VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H5828.RH H5828 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5828 RH A BILL To support remediation of illicit cross-border tunnels, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H5828.RH H5828 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5828 RH 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 ‘‘DHS Illicit Cross-Bor- 4 der Tunnel Defense Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. COUNTER ILLICIT CROSS-BORDER TUNNEL OPER- 6 ATIONS. 7 (a) REPORT ON OPERATIONS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 9 the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 10 thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 11 Border Protection shall submit to the Committee on 12 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 13 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- 14 ernmental Affairs of the Senate a report on oper- 15 ations carried out to identify, breach, assess, and re- 16 mediate illicit cross-border tunnels, including per- 17 formance measures. 18 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Com- 20 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 21 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to 22 carry out remediation operations of illicit cross-bor- 23 der tunnels. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5828.RH H5828 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5828 RH (b) COUNTER ILLICIT CROSS-BORDER TUNNEL OPER- 1 ATIONS STRATEGIC PLAN.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis- 4 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall 5 develop a strategic plan to address the following: 6 (A) Risk-based criteria to be used to 7 prioritize the identification, breach, assessment, 8 and remediation of illicit cross-border tunnels. 9 (B) Promote the use of innovative tech- 10 nologies to identify, breach, assess, and remediate 11 illicit cross-border tunnels in a manner that, 12 among other considerations, reduces the impact 13 of such activities on surrounding communities. 14 (C) Processes to share relevant illicit cross- 15 border tunnel location, operations, and technical 16 information. 17 (D) Indicators of specific types of illicit 18 cross-border tunnels found in each U.S. Border 19 Patrol sector identified through operations to be 20 periodically disseminated to U.S. Border Patrol 21 sector chiefs to educate field personnel. 22 (E) A counter illicit cross-border tunnel op- 23 erations resource needs assessment that includes 24 consideration of the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5828.RH H5828 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5828 RH (i) Technology needs. 1 (ii) Staffing needs, including the fol- 2 lowing: 3 (I) A position description for 4 counter illicit cross-border tunnel oper- 5 ations personnel. 6 (II) Any specialized skills re- 7 quired of such personnel. 8 (III) The number of such full time 9 personnel, disaggregated by U.S. Bor- 10 der Patrol sector. 11 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON STRATEGIC 12 PLAN.—Not later than one year after the issuance of 13 the strategic plan required under paragraph (1), the 14 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 15 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security 16 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 17 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 18 Senate a report on the implementation of paragraph 19 (1). 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5828.RH H5828 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 378 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5828 [Report No. 116–471] A BILL To support remediation of illicit cross-border tunnels, and for other purposes. AUGUST 7, 2020 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H5828.RH H5828 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS