[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3916 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3916

  To provide for the next generation of border and maritime security 
                             technologies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 22, 2007

Mr. Hall of Texas (for himself, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Bilbray, 
    Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Feeney, Mr. 
Gingrey, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Sam 
Johnson of Texas, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. 
   Sensenbrenner, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Wu, Mrs. 
  Biggert, and Mr. Lampson) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the 
 Committee on Science and Technology, 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 provide for the next generation of border and maritime security 
                             technologies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ENSURING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
              SECURITY INCLUDE APPROPRIATE CONCEPTS OF OPERATION.

    The Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of 
Homeland Security (in this Act referred to as the ``Under Secretary'') 
shall ensure that any Federal Government interagency or intra-agency 
agreement to develop and transition new technology explicitly 
characterizes the requirements, expected use, and concept of operations 
for that technology, including--
            (1) the manpower needed to effectively operate the 
        technology;
            (2) the expected training requirements; and
            (3) the expected operations and maintenance costs.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HOMELAND SECURITY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
              ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    Section 311(j) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
191(j)) is amended by striking ``on December 31, 2008'' and inserting 
``on December 31, 2012''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON BASIC RESEARCH NEEDS FOR BORDER/MARITIME SECURITY.

    Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Under Secretary shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
Research Council for an assessment of the basic science research needs 
in the border and maritime security domain. The assessment shall 
include consideration of--
            (1) detection, tracking, and identification technologies;
            (2) personal protective equipment;
            (3) anticounterfeit technologies; and
            (4) advanced screening technologies at ports of entry.

SEC. 4. INCORPORATING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES INTO BORDER/MARITIME 
              AIRSPACE.

    (a) Research and Development.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
and the Director of the Joint Planning and Development Office shall 
research and develop technologies to permit routine operation of 
unmanned aerial vehicles within the national airspace for border and 
maritime security missions without any degradation of existing levels 
of safety for all national airspace system users.
    (b) Pilot Projects.--The Secretary shall coordinate with the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to enter into 
pilot projects in sparsely populated, low-density Class G air traffic 
airspace to conduct experiments and collect data in order to accelerate 
the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national 
airspace system.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH PROGRAM IN TUNNEL DETECTION.

    (a) Research and Development.--The Under Secretary shall research 
and develop technologies to permit detection of near surface voids, 
such as tunnels, with an emphasis on technologies with real time 
capability.
    (b) Coordination.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
coordinate with other appropriate Federal agencies, including the 
Department of Defense, and ensure the integration of activities under 
subsection (a) with relevant efforts of such other agencies and the 
Department of Homeland Security's Centers of Excellence Program.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH IN ANTICOUNTERFEIT TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--The Under Secretary and the Director 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall establish a 
joint research and development program on anticounterfeit technologies 
and standards. The program may include development of counterfeit-
resistant documentation, counterfeit-resistant devices, document 
validation technologies, and document identification standards.
    (b) Coordination.--In carrying out the program in subsection (a), 
the Under Secretary or his designee shall coordinate with other Federal 
agencies engaged in similar activities, including Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, the Department of State, the Department of 
Defense, and the Department of Justice.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary and the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology shall provide to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Science and 
Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the Senate, a report 
detailing the actions taken by the Under Secretary and the Director 
under this section.
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