[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4958 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4958

 To increase the number of trained detection canines of the Department 
             of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2006

Mr. Rogers of Alabama (for himself, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. McCaul of 
Texas, and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in 
  addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To increase the number of trained detection canines of the Department 
             of Homeland Security, 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 ``Canine Detection Team Augmentation 
and Certification Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Canine detection teams, which consist of a canine and a 
        canine handler, are an important part of a layered homeland 
        security system to prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, 
        and prevent acts of terrorism.
            (2) Canine detection teams can be deployed quickly and can 
        move easily throughout a variety of areas, including mass 
        transit systems, airports, cargo areas, sea ports, the Nation's 
        borders, ports of entry, office buildings, and stadiums.
            (3) Canine detection teams can be trained to detect a 
        variety of items, such as explosives, narcotics, concealed 
        humans, cadavers, and chemical and biological materials.
            (4) Canine detection teams can be utilized in situations 
        where detection technologies are unavailable, immobile, or not 
        cost-effective.
            (5) There is a shortage of canine detection teams available 
        to assist Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel 
        as they put their lives at risk daily to protect the Nation.
            (6) The Congress has authorized 2,000 new Border Patrol 
        agents for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010 without a 
        corresponding increase in the number of detection canines 
        deployed with these Border Patrol agents.
            (7) Canine detection teams have been deployed to the 
        Nation's busiest airports. However, the Transportation Security 
        Administration must increase the capacity of its canine 
        training program in order to train and deploy canines to the 
        Nation's mass transit systems.
            (8) Urban search and rescue canines and cadaver detection 
        canines were used effectively in the Gulf Coast region to 
        respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
            (9) The Bureau of United States Customs and Border 
        Protection, the United States Secret Service, the Coast Guard, 
        and the Federal Protective Service regularly use canine 
        detection teams to secure National Special Security Events, 
        protect Federal buildings and their occupants, and protect the 
        Nation's sea ports.
            (10) State, local, and tribal agencies and the private 
        sector rely on canine detection teams for security purposes, 
        like the Federal Government. In the absence of national 
        training and certification standards, there have been a number 
        of fraudulent operations and the use of inadequately trained 
        canines and canine handlers. In one documented case, in 2003, a 
        Virginia man, Russell Lee Ebersole, supplied explosive 
        detection canine teams to several government agencies, 
        including the Federal Reserve Board, that failed explosives 
        detection tests on five different occasions.
            (11) The Subcommittee on Management, Integration, and 
        Oversight of the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives held a hearing on September 28, 2005, regarding 
        the use of canine detection teams in support of homeland 
        security activities. At the hearing, Subcommittee Members were 
        informed by several Federal agencies, a local transit police 
        department, a private canine security company, and a 
        university-based canine training center that--
                    (A) there is a shortage of trained canine detection 
                teams;
                    (B) there is a need for a national canine detection 
                team training standard, or multiple standards, in order 
                to strengthen the quality of canine detection teams and 
                their interchangeability among Federal, State, and 
                local agencies and the private sector; and
                    (C) there is a demonstrated need for Federal 
                leadership to ensure that certifying entities are 
                qualified and that they do not inappropriately certify 
                canine detection teams that may put homeland security 
                and public safety at risk.

SEC. 3. CANINE DETECTION TEAM AUGMENTATION AND CERTIFICATION.

    (a) Increasing the Number of Trained Canine Detection Teams.--
            (1) Increase.--In each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011, 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations for such purpose, increase the 
        number of trained canine detection teams of the Department over 
        the number of such teams deployed or available on the last day 
        of the preceding fiscal year as follows:
                    (A) Customs and border protection.--An increase of 
                not less than 25 percent the number of trained canine 
                detection teams deployed at and between the Nation's 
                ports of entry.
                    (B) Transportation security administration.--
                Increase by not less than 25 percent the number of 
                trained detection canines deployed at the Nation's 
                airports and mass transit systems.
                    (C) Coast guard, united states secret service, 
                federal protective service, and federal emergency 
                management agency.--Increase by not less than 25 
                percent the number of trained canine detection teams 
                available to Coast Guard stations, Secret Service 
                operations, and Federal Protective Service operations 
                across the country, and to the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency to ensure their availability as 
                needed in emergencies.
            (2) Notification of congress.--If the Secretary determines 
        that an agency referred to in subsection (a) is unable to 
        achieve the increase required under subsection (a) for such 
        reasons as cost or availability, the Secretary shall notify the 
        Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
        of the Senate, describing the reasons why the agency is unable 
        to achieve the increase.
    (b) Coordination, Enhancement, and Improvement of Canine Detection 
Teams.--
            (1) In general.--The Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:

                 ``TITLE XIX--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

                  ``Subtitle A--Canine Detection Teams

``SEC. 1901. COORDINATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF CANINE PROTECTION TEAM 
              TRAINING.

    ``The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) fully coordinate the canine training programs of the 
        Department that support the Department's counter-terrorism, 
        counter-smuggling, transportation security, and border security 
        missions and other missions of the Department, including, with 
        respect to the research and development of new canine training 
        methods, the optimum number and type of training aids, and 
        measurements for efficiency and effectiveness;
            ``(2) ensure that the Department is maximizing its use of 
        existing training facilities and resources to train canines 
        throughout the year; and
            ``(3) coordinate the use of detection canines trained by 
        other Federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, 
        and private training facilities in order to increase the number 
        of trained detection canines available to Federal, State, and 
        local law enforcement agencies.

``SEC. 1902. CANINE PROCUREMENT.

    ``The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) make it a priority to increase the number of 
        domestically bred canines used by the Department to assist in 
        its counter-terrorism mission, including the protection of 
        ports of entry and along the United States border;
            ``(2) increase the utilization of domestically bred canines 
        from universities and private and nonprofit sources in the 
        United States; and
            ``(3) consult with other Federal, State, and local 
        agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and private 
        entities that use detection canines, such as those 
        participating in the Scientific Working Group on Dog and 
        Orthogonal Detectors (popularly known as `SWGDOG'), as well as 
        the Office of Management and Budget, to encourage domestic 
        breeding of canines and consolidate canine procurement, where 
        possible, across the Federal Government to reduce the cost of 
        purchasing canines.

``SEC. 1903. DOMESTIC CANINE BREEDING GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary shall establish a 
competitive grant program for domestic breeders of canines. The purpose 
of the grant program shall be to encourage the development and growth 
of canine breeds that are best suited for detection training purposes 
within the United States.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2007 through 2011.

``SEC. 1904. HOMELAND SECURITY CANINE DETECTION ACCREDITATION BOARD.

    ``(a) Establishment of Accreditation Board.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        on which the national voluntary consensus standards referred to 
        in subsection (b)(1) are issued, the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the 
        Attorney General, shall establish a Homeland Security Canine 
        Detection Accreditation Board to develop and implement a 
        process for certifying compliance with such standards.
            ``(2) Membership.--The membership of the Accreditation 
        Board shall consist of experts in the fields of canine training 
        and explosives detection from Federal and State agencies, 
        universities, other research institutions, and the private 
        sector, such as those represented on the Executive Board of 
        SWGDOG.
    ``(b) Accreditation Process.--The Accreditation Board shall 
establish and implement a voluntary accreditation process to--
            ``(1) certify that persons conducting certification of 
        canine detection teams appropriately ensure that the canine 
        detection teams meet the national voluntary consensus standards 
        developed by SWGDOG;
            ``(2) ensure that canine detection teams do not put public 
        safety and the safety of law enforcement personnel at risk due 
        to fraud or weaknesses in the initial or maintenance training 
        curriculum; and
            ``(3) maintain and update a public list of entities 
        accredited by the Department to certify canine detection teams.
    ``(c) Compliance With Standards.--Beginning not later than the date 
that is 180 days after the date on which the standards referred to in 
subsection (b)(1) are issued, the Secretary shall require that grant 
funds administered by the Department may not be used to acquire a 
canine detection team unless--
            ``(1) the canine detection team is certified under the 
        process established under subsection (b); or
            ``(2) the Secretary determines that the applicant has shown 
        special circumstances that justify the acquisition of canines 
        that are not certified under the process established under 
        subsection (b).

``SEC. 1905. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subtitle:
            ``(1) Canine detection team.--The term `canine detection 
        team' means a canine and a canine handler.
            ``(2) Certifying entity.--The term `certifying entity' 
        means an entity that oversees the processes and procedures used 
        to train and test canine detection teams.
            ``(3) SWGDOG.--The term `SWGDOG' means the Scientific 
        Working Group of Dog and Orthogonal Detectors.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections in section 
        1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following:

                 ``TITLE XIX--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

                  ``Subtitle A--Canine Detection Teams

``Sec. 1901. Coordination and enhancement of canine protection team 
                            training.
``Sec. 1902. Canine procurement.
``Sec. 1903. Domestic canine breeding grant program.
``Sec. 1904. Homeland Security Canine Detection Accreditation Board.
``Sec. 1905. Definitions.''.
            (3) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        report to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate on the plan of the Secretary 
        to coordinate and consolidate the canine training and related 
        programs of the Department of Homeland Security in accordance 
        with section 1901 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 
        added by subsection (a).
                                 <all>