[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4283 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4283

  To require the Comptroller General to conduct a review of the basic 
  training provided by United States Customs and Border Protection to 
Border Patrol agents to ensure that this training is being conducted as 
             efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 9, 2005

Mr. Rogers of Alabama (for himself, Mr. Meek of Florida, and Mr. McCaul 
  of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Comptroller General to conduct a review of the basic 
  training provided by United States Customs and Border Protection to 
Border Patrol agents to ensure that this training is being conducted as 
             efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

    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 ``Review to Ensure High Quality Cost-
Effective Training for Border Patrol Agents Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     Congress finds the following:
            (1) United States Customs and Border Protection within the 
        Department of Homeland Security is authorized to hire and train 
        2,000 new Border Patrol agents for each of the next five years 
        in order to strengthen security along United States borders.
            (2) Congress has requested United States Customs and Border 
        Protection to provide information regarding the funding and 
        resource needs of the Department to meet this goal. To date, 
        Congress has not received a satisfactory explanation of the 
        costs to train new Border Patrol agents.
            (3) It is critical to United States security that the 
        Border Patrol has a sufficient number of trained agents on 
        active duty to secure United States borders.
            (4) It is also critical to the national economy that Border 
        Patrol training and other Federal training programs be as cost-
        effective as possible.

SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall conduct a review of the basic training provided by United States 
Customs and Border Protection to Border Patrol agents to ensure that 
this training is being conducted as efficiently and cost-effectively as 
possible.
    (b) Contents of Review.--The review shall include the following:
            (1) An evaluation of the appropriateness of the length and 
        content of the basic training curriculum provided by the 
        Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to new Border Patrol 
        agents.
            (2) An evaluation of the appropriateness and a detailed 
        breakdown of the costs incurred by United States Customs and 
        Border Protection and the Federal Law Enforcement Training 
        Center to train one new Border Patrol agent.
            (3) A cost and effectiveness of training comparison with 
        other similar law enforcement training programs provided by 
        State and local agencies, non-profit organizations, 
        universities, and the private sector.
            (4) Recommendations to increase the number of Border Patrol 
        agents trained per year, and to reduce the per-agent costs of 
        basic training--
                    (A) through utilization of comparable training 
                programs sponsored by State and local agencies, non-
                profit organizations, universities, and the private 
                sector;
                    (B) by allowing Border Patrol agents to take 
                proficiency tests, enroll in long distance learning 
                programs, and waive such courses as Spanish language 
                instruction or physical fitness; or
                    (C) by any other means the Comptroller General 
                considers appropriate.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the completion of the 
review required under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 
submit to Congress a report containing the findings and recommendations 
of the review.
                                 <all>