[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8992 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8992
Making appropriations to improve border security, imposing new
reporting requirements relating to border security, and enhancing
criminal penalties for destroying or evading border controls.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2024
Mr. Vasquez (for himself, Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, and Mr. Sorensen)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Appropriations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
Making appropriations to improve border security, imposing new
reporting requirements relating to border security, and enhancing
criminal penalties for destroying or evading border controls.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act''.
SEC. 2. FUNDING.
(a) Enhancing Law Enforcement Capabilities at the Border.--There is
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2025, $3,409,000,000, to remain available
until September 30, 2027, to support and enhance law enforcement
capabilities at land borders of the United States, of which--
(1) $300,000,000 shall be for additional civilian U.S.
Border Patrol processing coordinators;
(2) $1,750,000,000 shall be for additional U.S. Customs and
Border Protection officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and
mission support staff within the Office of Field Operations and
U.S. Border Patrol;
(3) $950,000,000 shall be for hiring bonuses, retention
bonuses, and retention-focused support services, including
mental health services, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection
officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, U.S. Border Patrol
processing coordinators, and any other U.S. Customs and Border
Protection staff whose work supports operations at the land
borders of the United States; and
(4) $409,000,000 shall be for ``U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services-Operations and Support'' to contribute to
improved operations along the land borders of the United
States.
(b) Increasing Fentanyl Interdiction and Enhancing Processing
Capabilities at the Border.--There is appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025,
$1,090,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2027, to
increase drug interdiction and processing capabilities at land borders
of the United States, of which--
(1) $960,000,000 shall be for technology improvements and
upgrades, which may include--
(A) the procurement and deployment of large-scale,
small-scale, and handheld non-intrusive inspection
scanning systems at ports of entry along the land
borders of the United States; and
(B) upgrades to the information technology
infrastructure upon which these systems and associated
software are operated;
(2) $30,000,000 shall be for technological and procedural
improvements to the process of analyzing and adjudicating
images from non-intrusive inspection scanning technology at
land ports of entry, which may include support for the
continued development of anomaly detection algorithms to
enhance detection of illegal drugs at land ports of entry; and
(3) $100,000,000 shall be for other technology and
infrastructure upgrades that the Commissioner for U.S. Customs
and Border Protection deems necessary for the agency's drug
interdiction work.
(c) Disrupting the Outbound Flow of Firearms and Currency From the
United States.--There is appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, $285,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2027, for increasing outbound inspection
capabilities, including disrupting the flow of firearms and currency
out of the United States, of which--
(1) $10,000,000 shall be for supporting the creation of a
structured outbound inspection program within the Office of
Field Operations that includes a comprehensive outbound
inspection policy and performance metrics to measure the impact
of outbound inspections; and
(2) $275,000,000 shall be for outbound inspections
infrastructure projects at the land borders of the United
States, including--
(A) technology and connectivity improvements at
rural ports of entry; and
(B) safety and technology upgrades to outbound
inspection lanes at ports of entry.
(d) Disrupting Transnational Fentanyl Networks.--There is
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025--
(1) $223,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2027, to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand
efforts to interdict fentanyl and other illegal drugs, and
disrupt networks operated by transnational criminal
organizations within the United States, of which--
(A) $113,000,000 shall be for additional Homeland
Security Investigations special agents;
(B) $80,000,000 shall be for the implementation of
Homeland Security Investigations' Strategy for
Combating Illicit Opioids; and
(C) $30,000,000 shall be for joint surge operations
along the land borders of the United States by Homeland
Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection;
(2) $128,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2027, to the Drug Enforcement Administration, of which--
(A) $68,000,000 shall be for salaries and expenses
relating to increased law enforcement activities along
the land borders of the United States; and
(B) $60,000,000 shall be for the High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Areas Program;
(3) $110,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2027, to the Department of Justice for the Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Forces; and
(4) $50,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2027, to the U.S. Marshals Service for salaries and expenses
relating to increased law enforcement activities along the land
borders of the United States.
SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Report on U.S. Border Patrol Processing Coordinators.--Not
later than March 31, 2028, the Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection shall submit a report to Congress that--
(1) details the impacts of Border Patrol Processing
Coordinator positions; and
(2) describes how such positions are supporting the mission
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(b) Report on New Outbound Inspections Program.--Not later than
March 31, 2028, the Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of
Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a
report to Congress that details the equipment that would be needed to
establish a permanent outbound inspections program to increase the rate
of scanning of motor vehicles departing the United States.
(c) Report on Existing and Planned Scanning Technology.--Not later
than March 31, 2028, the Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office
of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit
a report to Congress that details, for each United States land port of
entry--
(1) a summary of the non-intrusive inspection technology
that is in use or is being built out; and
(2) the major factors to consider regarding the future
procurement and deployment of large-scale, non-intrusive
inspection machines at the port of entry, including--
(A) existing limitations, including--
(i) the footprint of the port of entry;
(ii) land that is available for use by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection at the port of
entry; and
(iii) any geological or environmental
factors that would affect construction
timelines or costs;
(B) the volume and modes of traffic at the port of
entry, and an estimate of the potential impacts of
additional large-scale, non-intrusive inspection
systems being deployed, in terms of additional seizures
and impacts on transit times; and
(C) an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of
deploying additional large-scale non-intrusive
inspection systems at the port of entry.
SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR HINDERING IMMIGRATION, BORDER, AND CUSTOMS
CONTROLS.
(a) Personnel and Structures.--Chapter 8 of title II of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 274D the following:
``SEC. 274E. DESTROYING OR EVADING BORDER CONTROLS.
``(a) In General.--It shall be unlawful to knowingly and without
lawful authorization--
``(1)(A) destroy or significantly damage any fence,
barrier, sensor, camera, or other physical or electronic device
deployed by the Federal Government to control an international
border of, or a port of entry to, the United States; or
``(B) otherwise construct, excavate, or make any structure
intended to defeat, circumvent or evade such a fence, barrier,
sensor camera, or other physical or electronic device deployed
by the Federal Government to control an international border
of, or a port of entry to, the United States; and
``(2) in carrying out an act described in paragraph (1),
have the intent to knowingly and willfully--
``(A) secure a financial gain;
``(B) further the objectives of a criminal
organization; and
``(C) violate--
``(i) section 274(a)(1)(A)(i);
``(ii) the customs and trade laws of the
United States (as defined in section 2(4) of
the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement
Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4301(4)));
``(iii) any other Federal law relating to
transporting controlled substances,
agriculture, or monetary instruments into the
United States; or
``(iv) any Federal law relating to border
control measures of the United States.
``(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be
fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than
5 years, or both.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 274D the following:
``Sec. 274E. Destroying or evading border controls.''.
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