[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2463 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2463

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 8, 2011

 Mr. Hall (for himself, Mr. Quayle, Mr. Wu, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Smith of 
   Texas, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Benishek, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mr. 
 Hultgren, Mr. Neugebauer, and Mrs. Biggert) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Science, Space, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Border Security Technology 
Innovation Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. SOURCE OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Appropriations for carrying out this Act and the amendments made by 
this Act shall be derived from authorizations of appropriations under 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.).

SEC. 3. 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 entered into by the Under Secretary 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. 4. 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, 2014''.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON BASIC RESEARCH NEEDS FOR BORDER/MARITIME SECURITY.

    (a) Assessment.--The Comptroller General shall assess the basic 
science research needs in the border and maritime security domain. The 
assessment shall include consideration of the need for research on--
            (1) detection, tracking, and identification technologies 
        for cargo and people;
            (2) personal protective equipment;
            (3) document security and authentication technologies;
            (4) nonradiological advanced screening technologies at 
        ports of entry; and
            (5) technologies for real time tactical scene awareness.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report on the assessment under subsection (a).

SEC. 6. INCORPORATING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES INTO BORDER/MARITIME 
              AIRSPACE.

    (a) Research and Development.--Using amounts made available under 
section 307 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 187), the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the Joint Planning 
and Development Office shall continue to research and develop 
technologies to permit routine operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, 
including autonomously piloted drones, 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 acting through the 
Director of the Joint Planning and Development Office to enter into 
pilot projects in designated test ranges in sparsely populated, low-
density air traffic airspace to conduct research, experiments, and data 
collection in order to accelerate the safe integration of unmanned 
aircraft systems into the national airspace system as part of research 
activities of the Joint Planning and Development Office.

SEC. 7. RESEARCH PROGRAM IN TUNNEL DETECTION.

    (a) Research and Development.--Using amounts made available under 
section 307 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 187), the 
Under Secretary shall continue to 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 the United States Geological Survey, 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. 8. RESEARCH IN ANTICOUNTERFEIT TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Research and Development.--Using amounts made available under 
section 307 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 187), the 
Under Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, shall continue 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) Consultation.--In carrying out the program in subsection (a), 
the Under Secretary or his designee shall consult 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, Space, 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.

SEC. 9. STUDY OF MOBILE BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGIES AT THE BORDER.

    (a) In General.--Using amounts made available under section 307 of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 187), the Under Secretary, 
in coordination with the Commissioner of United States Customs and 
Border Protection, shall continue research on the use of mobile 
biometric technology at the Nation's borders between the ports of 
entry, including--
            (1) conducting an analysis of existing mobile biometric 
        technologies and the extent to which they can be deployed in 
        Border Patrol agents' vehicles and used at the border, in terms 
        of operability, reliability, cost, and overall benefit to 
        border operations;
            (2) undertaking an examination of the potential end-user 
        requirements of mobile biometric technology by the Border 
        Patrol and other relevant end-users;
            (3) developing recommendations for addressing capability 
        gaps in mobile biometric technologies; and
            (4) examining the feasibility of implementing a pilot 
        program for use of mobile biometric technologies at the border.
    (b) Consultation.--In conducting the research program under 
subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall consult the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, other appropriate Federal 
agencies, and appropriate Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
officials.
    (c) Coordination.--The Secretary shall ensure that the research 
program is coordinated with other biometric identification programs 
within the Department of Homeland Security.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Under Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on 
the findings of the research program conducted under this section.
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