Southwest Border Security Technology Improvement Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7944 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess technology needs along the Southern border and develop a strategy for bridging such gaps. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 4, 2020 Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico (for herself, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. SLOTKIN, and Mr. CLOUD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security A BILL To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess technology needs along the Southern border and develop a strategy for bridging such gaps. 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 ‘‘Southwest Border Se- 4 curity Technology Improvement Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7944 IH (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 4 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 5 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 6 of the House of Representatives. 7 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 8 means the Department of Homeland Security. 9 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 11 (4) SOUTHWEST BORDER.—The term ‘‘South- 12 west border’’ means the international land border 13 between the United States and Mexico, including the 14 ports of entry along such border. 15 SEC. 3. SOUTHERN BORDER TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ANAL- 16 YSIS AND UPDATES. 17 (a) TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ANALYSIS.—Not later than 18 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 19 Secretary shall submit, to the appropriate congressional 20 committees, a technology needs analysis for border secu- 21 rity technology along the Southwest border. 22 (b) CONTENTS.—The analysis required under sub- 23 section (a) shall include an assessment of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7944 IH (1) the technology needs and gaps along the 1 Southwest border— 2 (A) to prevent terrorists and instruments 3 of terror from entering the United States; 4 (B) to combat and reduce cross-border 5 criminal activity, including, but not limited to— 6 (i) the transport of illegal goods, such 7 as illicit drugs; and 8 (ii) human smuggling and human 9 trafficking; and 10 (C) to facilitate the flow of legal trade 11 across the Southwest border; 12 (2) recent technological advancements in— 13 (A) manned aircraft sensor, communica- 14 tion, and common operating picture technology; 15 (B) unmanned aerial systems and related 16 technology, including counter-unmanned aerial 17 system technology; 18 (C) surveillance technology, including— 19 (i) mobile surveillance vehicles; 20 (ii) associated electronics, including 21 cameras, sensor technology, and radar; 22 (iii) tower-based surveillance tech- 23 nology; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7944 IH (iv) advanced unattended surveillance 1 sensors; and 2 (v) deployable, lighter-than-air, 3 ground surveillance equipment; 4 (D) nonintrusive inspection technology, in- 5 cluding non-X-ray devices utilizing muon to- 6 mography and other advanced detection tech- 7 nology; 8 (E) tunnel detection technology; and 9 (F) communications equipment, includ- 10 ing— 11 (i) radios; 12 (ii) long-term evolution broadband; 13 and 14 (iii) miniature satellites; 15 (3) any other technological advancements that 16 the Secretary determines to be critical to the De- 17 partment’s mission along the Southwest border; 18 (4) whether the use of the technological ad- 19 vances described in paragraphs (2) and (3) will— 20 (A) improve border security; 21 (B) improve the capability of the Depart- 22 ment to accomplish its mission along the South- 23 west border; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7944 IH (C) reduce technology gaps along the 1 Southwest border; and 2 (D) enhance the safety of any officer or 3 agent of the Department or any other Federal 4 agency; 5 (5) the Department’s ongoing border security 6 technology development efforts, including efforts 7 by— 8 (A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 9 (B) the Science and Technology Direc- 10 torate; and 11 (C) the technology assessment office of any 12 other operational component; 13 (6) the technology needs for improving border 14 security, such as— 15 (A) information technology or other com- 16 puter or computing systems data capture; 17 (B) biometrics; 18 (C) cloud storage; and 19 (D) intelligence data sharing capabilities 20 among agencies within the Department; 21 (7) any other technological needs or factors, in- 22 cluding border security infrastructure, such as phys- 23 ical barriers or dual-purpose infrastructure, that the 24 Secretary determines should be considered; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7944 IH (8) currently deployed technology or new tech- 1 nology that would improve the Department’s abil- 2 ity— 3 (A) to reasonably achieve operational con- 4 trol and situational awareness along the South- 5 west border; and 6 (B) to collect metrics for securing the bor- 7 der at and between ports of entry, as required 8 under subsections (b) and (c) of section 1092 of 9 division A of the National Defense Authoriza- 10 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (6 U.S.C. 223). 11 (c) UPDATES.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 13 the submission of the analysis required under sub- 14 section (a), and biannually thereafter for the fol- 15 lowing 4 years, the Secretary shall submit an update 16 to such analysis to the appropriate congressional 17 committees. 18 (2) CONTENTS.—Each update required under 19 paragraph (1) shall include a plan for utilizing the 20 resources of the Department to meet the border se- 21 curity technology needs and gaps identified pursuant 22 to subsection (b), including developing or acquiring 23 technologies not currently in use by the Department 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7944 IH that would allow the Department to bridge existing 1 border technology gaps along the Southwest border. 2 (d) ITEMS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In compiling the 3 technology needs analysis and updates required under this 4 section, the Secretary shall consider and examine— 5 (1) technology that is deployed and is sufficient 6 for the Department’s use along the Southwest bor- 7 der; 8 (2) technology that is deployed, but is insuffi- 9 cient for the Department’s use along the Southwest 10 border; 11 (3) technology that is not deployed, but is nec- 12 essary for the Department’s use along the Southwest 13 border; 14 (4) current formal departmental requirements 15 documentation examining current border security 16 threats and challenges faced by any component of 17 the Department; 18 (5) trends and forecasts regarding migration 19 across the Southwest border; 20 (6) the impact on projected staffing and deploy- 21 ment needs for the Department, including staffing 22 needs that may be fulfilled through the use of tech- 23 nology; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7944 IH (7) the needs and challenges faced by employees 1 of the Department who are deployed along the 2 Southwest border; 3 (8) the need to improve cooperation among 4 Federal, State, Tribal, local, and Mexican law en- 5 forcement entities to enhance security along the 6 Southwest border; 7 (9) the privacy implications of existing tech- 8 nology and the acquisition and deployment of new 9 technologies and supporting infrastructure, with an 10 emphasis on how privacy risks might be mitigated 11 through the use of technology, training, and policy; 12 (10) the impact of any ongoing public health 13 emergency that impacts Department operations 14 along the Southwest border; and 15 (11) the ability of, and the needs for, the De- 16 partment to assist with search and rescue efforts for 17 individuals or groups that may be in physical danger 18 or in need of medical assistance. 19 (e) CLASSIFIED FORM.—To the extent possible, the 20 Secretary shall submit the technology needs analysis and 21 updates required under this section in unclassified form, 22 but may submit such documents, or portions of such docu- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7944 IH ments, in classified form if the Secretary determines that 1 such action is appropriate. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7944.IH H7944 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS