[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4819 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 4819

  To provide for the continuation of preclearance activities for air 
   transit passengers and enhanced inspectional services for vessel 
                  passengers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 13, 1998

   Mr. Shaw (for himself, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Hastings of 
 Florida, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Foley, 
 Mrs. Meek of Florida, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Wexler, Mr. McCollum, 
and Mr. Camp) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the continuation of preclearance activities for air 
   transit passengers and enhanced inspectional services for vessel 
                  passengers, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Passenger Services Enhancement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CUSTOMS USER FEES.

    (a) Additional Preclearance Activities.--Section 
13031(f)(3)(A)(iii) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(f)(3)(A)(iii)) is amended to read as 
follows:
            ``(iii) to the extent funds remain available after making 
        reimbursements under clause (ii), in providing salaries for up 
        to 50 full-time equivalent inspectional positions to provide 
        preclearance services.''.
    (b) Collection of Fees for Passengers Aboard Commercial Vessels.--
Section 13031 of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (5) to read as 
        follows:
            ``(5)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), for the arrival of 
        each passenger aboard a commercial vessel or commercial 
        aircraft from a place outside the United States (other than a 
        place referred to in subsection (b)(1)(A)(i) of this section), 
        $5.
            ``(B) For the arrival of each passenger aboard a commercial 
        vessel from a place referred to in subsection (b)(1)(A)(i) of 
        this section, $1.75''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ``(A) No fee'' and 
        inserting ``(A) Except as provided in subsection (a)(5)(B) of 
        this section, no fee''.
    (c) Use of Merchandise Processing Fees for Automated Commercial 
Systems.--Section 13031(f) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(f)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(6) Of the amounts collected in fiscal year 1999 under paragraphs 
(9) and (10) of subsection (a), $50,000,000 shall be available to the 
Customs Service, subject to appropriations Acts, for automated 
commercial systems. Amounts made available under this paragraph shall 
remain available until expended.''.
    (d) Advisory Committee.--Section 13031 of the Consolidated Omnibus 
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(k) Advisory Committee.--The Commissioner of Customs shall 
establish an advisory committee whose membership shall consist of 
representatives from the airline, cruise ship, and other transportation 
industries who may be subject to fees under subsection (a). The 
advisory committee shall not be subject to termination under section 14 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The advisory committee shall 
meet on a periodic basis and shall advise the Commissioner on issues 
related to the performance of the inspectional services of the United 
States Customs Service. Such advice shall include, but not be limited 
to, such issues as the time periods during which such services should 
be performed, the proper number and deployment of inspection officers, 
the level of fees, and the appropriateness of any proposed fee. The 
Commissioner shall give consideration to the views of the advisory 
committee in the exercise of his or her duties.''.
    (e) National Customs Automation Test Regarding Reconciliation.--
Section 505(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1505(c)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: ``For the period beginning on 
October 1, 1998, and ending on the date on which the `Revised National 
Customs Automation Test Regarding Reconciliation' of the Customs 
Service is terminated, or October 1, 2000, whichever occurs earlier, 
the Secretary may prescribe an alternative mid-point interest 
accounting methodology, which may be employed by the importer, based 
upon aggregate data in lieu of accounting for such interest from each 
deposit data provided in this subsection.''.
    (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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