[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4062 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 678
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4062
[Report No. 118-275]
To establish a pilot program to assess the use of technology to speed
up and enhance the cargo inspection process at land ports of entry
along the border.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 22, 2024
Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
December 9, 2024
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program to assess the use of technology to speed
up and enhance the cargo inspection process at land ports of entry
along the border.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Contraband Awareness
Technology Catches Harmful Fentanyl Act'' or the ``CATCH Fentanyl
Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In this Act:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Artificial intelligence; ai.--The terms
``artificial intelligence'' and ``AI'' have the meaning given
the term ``artificial intelligence'' in section 238(g) of the
John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. 4061 note).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) CBP innovation team.--The term ``CBP
Innovation Team'' means the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Innovation Team within the Office of the
Commissioner.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Nonintrusive inspection technology; nii
technology.--The terms ``nonintrusive inspection technology''
and ``NII technology'' means technical equipment and machines,
such as X-ray or gamma-ray imaging equipment, that allow cargo
inspections without the need to open the means of transport and
unload the cargo.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Pilot projects.--The term ``pilot projects''
means the projects required under section 3(a) for testing and
assessing the use of technologies to improve the inspection
process at land ports of entry.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. PILOT PROJECTS ALLOWING ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY
PROVIDERS TO PARTICIPATE IN INSPECTING CARS, TRUCKS, AND
CARGO CONTAINERS AT CERTAIN PORTS OF ENTRY.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Establishment.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, acting through CBP Innovation Team, and in
coordination with the Office of Field Operations, shall begin
the implementation of pilot projects for testing and assessing
the use of technologies or technology enhancements to improve
the process for inspecting, including by increasing
efficiencies of such inspections, any conveyance or mode of
transportation at land ports of entry along the borders of the
United States. The technologies or technology enhancements
tested and assessed under the pilot projects shall be for the
purpose of assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection
personnel to detect contraband, illegal drugs, illegal weapons,
and threats on inbound and outbound traffic, in conjunction
with the use of imaging equipment, radiation portal monitors,
and chemical detectors.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Requirements.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--In implementing the pilot
projects at ports of entry, the CBP Innovation Team
shall test and collect data regarding not fewer than 5
types of nonintrusive inspection technology
enhancements that can be deployed at land ports of
entry. The CBP Innovation Team shall test technology
enhancements from not fewer than 1 of the following
categories:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) Artificial
intelligence.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Machine learning.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) High-performance
computing.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) Quantum information sciences,
including quantum sensing.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) Other emerging
technology.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Identification of effective
enhancements.--The pilot projects shall identify the
most effective types of technology enhancements to
improve the capabilities of nonintrusive inspection
systems and other inspection systems used at land ports
of entry based on--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the technology enhancement's
ability to assist U.S. Customs and Border
Protection accurately detect contraband,
illegal drugs, illegal weapons, or threats in
inbound and outbound traffic;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the technology enhancement's
ability to increase efficiencies of inspections
to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection
address long wait times;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) the technology enhancement's
ability to improve capabilities of aging
detection equipment and infrastructure at land
ports of entry;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) the technology enhancement's
safety relative to As Low As Reasonably
Achievable (ALARA) standard
practices;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) the expected cost of
implementing the new technology;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vi) the ability to integrate the
new technology into the existing workflow and
infrastructure;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vii) the technology enhancement's
ability to incorporate automatic threat
recognition technology using standard formats
and open architecture;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (viii) the mobility of technology
enhancements; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ix) other performance measures
identified by the CBP Innovation
Team.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) Private sector involvement.--The CBP
Innovation Team may solicit input from representatives
of the private sector regarding commercially viable
technologies.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Nonintrusive inspection systems program.--The
CBP Innovation Team shall work with existing nonintrusive
inspection systems programs within U.S. Customs and Border
Protection when planning and developing the pilot projects
required under paragraph (1).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Termination.--The pilot projects shall terminate on
the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Reports Required.--Not later than 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and 180 days after the termination
of the pilot projects pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall submit a report to the appropriate
congressional committees that contains--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) an analysis of the effectiveness of technology
enhancements tested based on the requirements described in
subsection (a)(2);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) any recommendations from the testing and
analysis concerning the ability to utilize such technologies at
all land ports of entry;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) a plan to utilize new technologies that meet
the performance goals of the pilot projects across all U.S.
Customs and Border Protection land ports of entry at the
border, including total costs and a breakdown of the costs of
such plan, including any infrastructure improvements that may
be required to accommodate recommended technology enhancements;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) the analysis described in subsection
(d).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Areas of Analysis.--The report required under
subsection (c) shall include an analysis containing--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) quantitative measurements of performance based
on the requirements described in subsection (a)(2) of each
technology tested compared with the status quo to reveal a
broad picture of the performance of technologies and technology
enhancements, such as--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the probability of detection, false
alarm rate, and throughput; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) an analysis determining whether such
observed performance represents a significant increase,
decrease, or no change compared with current
systems;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) an assessment of the relative merits of each
such technology;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) any descriptive trends and patterns observed;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) performance measures for--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the technology enhancement's ability
to assist with the detection of contraband on inbound
and outbound traffic through automated (primary)
inspection by measuring and reporting the probability
of detection and false alarm rate for each NII system
under operational conditions;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the throughput of cargo through each
NII system with a technology enhancement, including a
breakdown of the time needed for U.S. Customs and
Border Protection--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) to complete the image review
process and clear low-risk shipments;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) to complete additional
inspections of high-risk items;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) changes in U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officer time commitments and personnel needs
to sustain high volume NII scanning operations when
technology enhancements are utilized; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) operational costs, including--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) estimated implementation costs
for each NII system with technology
enhancements; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) estimated cost savings due to
improved efficiency due to technology
enhancements, if applicable.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Contraband Awareness Technology
Catches Harmful Fentanyl Act'' or the ``CATCH Fentanyl Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives.
(2) Artificial intelligence; ai.--The terms ``artificial
intelligence'' and ``AI'' have the meaning given the term
``artificial intelligence'' in section 238(g) of the John S.
McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019
(Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. 4061 note).
(3) CBP innovation team.--The term ``CBP Innovation Team''
means the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Innovation Team
within the Office of the Commissioner.
(4) Nonintrusive inspection technology; nii technology.--
The terms ``nonintrusive inspection technology'' and ``NII
technology'' means technical equipment and machines, such as X-
ray or gamma-ray imaging equipment, that allow cargo
inspections without the need to open the means of transport and
unload the cargo.
(5) Pilot projects.--The term ``pilot projects'' means the
projects required under section 3(a) for testing and assessing
the use of technologies to improve the inspection process at
land ports of entry.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROJECTS ALLOWING ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS TO
PARTICIPATE IN INSPECTING CARS, TRUCKS, AND CARGO
CONTAINERS AT CERTAIN PORTS OF ENTRY.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
acting through CBP Innovation Team, and in coordination with
the Office of Field Operations and the Department of Homeland
Security Science and Technology Directorate, shall begin the
implementation of pilot projects for testing and assessing the
use of technologies or technology enhancements to improve the
process for inspecting, including by increasing efficiencies of
such inspections, any conveyance or mode of transportation at
land ports of entry along the borders of the United States. The
technologies or technology enhancements tested and assessed
under the pilot projects shall be for the purpose of assisting
U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to detect
contraband, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, human smuggling,
and threats on inbound and outbound traffic, in conjunction
with the use of imaging equipment, radiation portal monitors,
and chemical detectors.
(2) Requirements.--
(A) In general.--In implementing the pilot projects
at ports of entry, the CBP Innovation Team, in
coordination with the Department of Homeland Security
Science and Technology Directorate, shall test and
collect data regarding not fewer than 5 types of
nonintrusive inspection technology enhancements that
can be deployed at land ports of entry. The CBP
Innovation Team shall test technology enhancements from
not fewer than 1 of the following categories:
(i) Artificial intelligence.
(ii) Machine learning.
(iii) High-performance computing.
(iv) Quantum information sciences,
including quantum sensing.
(v) Other emerging technologies.
(B) Identification of effective enhancements.--The
pilot projects shall identify the most effective types
of technology enhancements to improve the capabilities
of nonintrusive inspection systems and other inspection
systems used at land ports of entry based on--
(i) the technology enhancement's ability to
assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection
accurately detect contraband, illegal drugs,
illegal weapons, human smuggling, or threats in
inbound and outbound traffic;
(ii) the technology enhancement's ability
to increase efficiencies of inspections to
assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection
address long wait times;
(iii) the technology enhancement's ability
to improve capabilities of aging detection
equipment and infrastructure at land ports of
entry;
(iv) the technology enhancement's safety
relative to As Low As Reasonably Achievable
(ALARA) standard practices;
(v) the ability to integrate the new
technology into the existing workflow and
infrastructure;
(vi) the technology enhancement's ability
to incorporate automatic threat recognition
technology using standard formats and open
architecture;
(vii) the mobility of technology
enhancements; and
(viii) other performance measures
identified by the CBP Innovation Team.
(C) Private sector involvement.--The CBP Innovation
Team may solicit input from representatives of the
private sector regarding commercially viable
technologies.
(D) Cost effectiveness requirement.--In identifying