[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3401 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3401

  To apply counterinsurgency tactics under a coordinated and targeted 
    strategy to combat the terrorist insurgency in Mexico waged by 
     transnational criminal organizations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 10, 2011

   Mr. Mack introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on 
 Homeland Security and the Judiciary, 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 apply counterinsurgency tactics under a coordinated and targeted 
    strategy to combat the terrorist insurgency in Mexico waged by 
     transnational criminal organizations, 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 ``Enhanced Border Security Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to protect United States citizens 
from external threats by establishing and applying appropriate 
counterinsurgency tactics under a coordinated and targeted strategy to 
combat the terrorist insurgency in Mexico waged by transnational 
criminal organizations by utilizing cross-agency capabilities to--
            (1) secure the United States-Mexico border through a secure 
        border area;
            (2) curtail the ability of such organizations to finance 
        their operations with United States funds in cities throughout 
        the United States; and
            (3) increase the ability of the Government of Mexico to--
                    (A) reduce violence;
                    (B) diminish corruption;
                    (C) improve cooperation between military and law 
                enforcement;
                    (D) stabilize communities; and
                    (E) fortify functioning government institutions.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Mexican drug cartels have evolved into transnational 
        criminal organizations and diversified and expanded their 
        illicit activities, including human smuggling, trafficking in 
        stolen oil, weapons smuggling, extortion, kidnapping, and 
        cybercrime.
            (2) Mexican drug cartels have increased their profits 
        through various illicit activities and have become more 
        resilient and dangerous organizations. Rough estimates of 
        stolen oil proceeds range between $2 billion and $4 billion 
        each year. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and 
        Crime (UNODC), approximately $6.6 billion annually is generated 
        from human smuggling from Latin America to the United States.
            (3) A July 2011 White House report found that transnational 
        criminal organizations have expanded and matured, threatening 
        the security of citizens and the stability of governments 
        throughout the region, with direct security implications for 
        the United States.
            (4) An August 2011 Department of Justice National Drug 
        Threat Assessment found that Mexican-based transnational 
        criminal organizations were operating in more than 1,000 United 
        States cities during 2009 and 2010.
            (5) On October 11, 2011, a foiled terrorist assassination 
        plot of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador by members of the Iranian 
        Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps demonstrated the 
        internationally recognized threat posed by Mexican drug cartel 
        members at the United States-Mexico border.
            (6) The Merida Initiative, led by the Department of State, 
        has failed to address the evolution of the drug trafficking 
        organizations into transnational criminal organizations, the 
        diversification of their illicit activities, and the systematic 
        implementation of insurgency tactics that undermines the 
        Mexican state and seeks to control the political space.
            (7) The Merida Initiative has faced implementation 
        challenges and programmatic delays. A July 2010 Government 
        Accountability Office report highlighted Merida Initiative 
        delays associated with equipment deliveries as well as a lack 
        of clear benchmarks for programmatic success.
            (8) The utilization of counterinsurgency tactics will focus 
        on isolating Mexican transnational criminal organizations from 
        their sources of power, such as drugs, money, human resources, 
        and weapons, while addressing both military and non-military 
        conditions and border conditions sustaining the insurgency, 
        including corruption, infighting, financing, and human support.
            (9) The end goal of the coordinated and targeted strategy 
        is to protect United States citizens from external threats 
        through the empowering of a friendly and competent government 
        that operates within international laws and regulations and is 
        able to secure itself from internal threats.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Terrorist insurgency.--The term ``terrorist 
        insurgency'' means the protracted use of irregular warfare, 
        including extreme displays of public violence utilized by 
        transnational criminal organizations to influence public 
        opinion and to undermine government control and rule of law in 
        order to increase the control and influence of the 
        organizations.
            (2) Transnational criminal organization or organization.--
        The term ``transnational criminal organization'' or 
        ``organization'' means a self-perpetuating association of 
        individuals who--
                    (A) operate transnationally for the purpose of 
                obtaining power, influence, monetary gain, or 
                commercial gain wholly or in part by illegal means; and
                    (B) protect their activities--
                            (i) through a pattern of corruption or 
                        violence; or
                            (ii) through a transnational organizational 
                        structure and the exploitation of transnational 
                        commerce or communication mechanisms.

SEC. 5. COUNTERINSURGENCY STRATEGY AND CONDITIONALITY.

    (a) Counterinsurgency Strategy.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, with the 
concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the 
Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate a counterinsurgency strategy that--
            (1) defines and outlines the transnational criminal 
        organizations in Mexico, their leaders, goals, objectives, 
        evolution, key elements, and areas of influence;
            (2) provides an assessment of the terrain, population, 
        ports, financial centers, and income-generating activities 
        utilized by transnational criminal organizations;
            (3) assesses the capabilities of Mexico's federal law 
        enforcement, military forces, state and local government 
        institutions, and other critical elements, such as 
        nongovernmental organizations that may organize to counter the 
        threat posed by transnational criminal organizations;
            (4) describes operations of, or on behalf of, transnational 
        criminal organizations within the United States, including 
        information on trafficking activities, financial networks, and 
        safe havens;
            (5) describes operations of transnational criminal 
        organizations at the United States-Mexico border, the Mexico-
        Guatemala border, and other international borders, including 
        operations relating to contraband, human support networks, 
        financial support, and technological advancements;
            (6) utilizes information obtained under paragraphs (1) 
        through (5) to coordinate with relevant United States agencies 
        to address the operations of transnational criminal 
        organizations within the United States, at the United States-
        Mexico border, and within Mexico to isolate such organizations 
        from their sources of power in order to successfully combat the 
        terrorist insurgency in Mexico;
            (7) includes--
                    (A) within the United States, a plan to combat the 
                operations, financial networks, and money laundering 
                techniques of transnational criminal organizations, 
                including--
                            (i) a dramatic increase of the number of 
                        Mexican and Central American drug traffickers 
                        on the Specially Designated Nationals list;
                            (ii) a report by the Office of Foreign 
                        Assets Control of the Department of the 
                        Treasury detailing the progress of designating 
                        Mexican and Central American individuals and 
                        entities supporting such organization on the 
                        Specially Designated Nationals list, as well as 
                        providing suggestions to help identify areas to 
                        further impact the financial networks of such 
                        organizations;
                            (iii) increasing cooperation between the 
                        Department of Justice and State and local 
                        agencies responsible for firearms law 
                        enforcement; and
                            (iv) development of a thorough, strict, and 
                        standardized accounting procedure for keeping 
                        track of Federal grant assistance provided to 
                        State and local law enforcement agencies for 
                        border security purposes;
                    (B) at the United States-Mexico border, in 
                coordination with the Government of Mexico and the 
                Department of Homeland Security, a plan to address 
                resources, technology, and infrastructure required to 
                create a secure border area that establishes border 
                security as a top priority of the Government of the 
                United States, including--
                            (i) doubling the number of Border Patrol 
                        agents over the number in existence as of the 
                        date of the enactment of this Act, or as 
                        determined by the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security, in a comprehensive report on the best 
                        use of resources, technology, and 
                        infrastructure to secure the border;
                            (ii) development of a plan to build 
                        additional infrastructure to support Border 
                        Patrol activities along the border that would 
                        enhance security in hard-to-enforce areas, such 
                        as roads and tactical double layered fencing as 
                        determined by the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security;
                            (iii) determining technology required to 
                        support Border Patrol activities in reducing 
                        unlawful movement of goods and people at the 
                        border, including cameras, radars, sensors, and 
                        unmanned aerial vehicles;
                            (iv) a report by the Attorney General that 
                        provides a policy that standardizes the 
                        threshold for prosecution of border-related 
                        offenses by the United States Attorney's 
                        Office;
                            (v) a plan to develop a joint United 
                        States-Mexico program to increase intelligence 
                        gathering utilizing classified technologies; 
                        and
                            (vi) increased use of Border Patrol Special 
                        Response Teams that concentrate on high-
                        priority threats, including weapons and bulk 
                        cash smuggling, and high-potency, high-cash-
                        value drugs along the border; and
                    (C) within Mexico, in coordination with the 
                Government of Mexico, the development of a multi-agency 
                action plan, including--
                            (i) development of strong rule-of-law 
                        institutions to provide security for people and 
                        businesses in Mexico by--
                                    (I) increasing coordination among 
                                military and law enforcement agencies 
                                focused on establishing and expanding 
                                secure areas around key population 
                                centers;
                                    (II) increasing knowledge of best 
                                practices for combating such 
                                organizations, incorporating United 
                                States military and law enforcement 
                                lessons learned, worldwide 
                                counterinsurgency experts in training 
                                programs, and as appropriate, training 
                                carried out by international law 
                                enforcement academies; and
                                    (III) securing the environment, as 
                                recommended in separate reports by the 
                                Secretary of Defense and the Director 
                                of National Intelligence;
                            (ii) diminish support for transnational 
                        criminal organizations by--
                                    (I) instituting programs to 
                                strengthen governance and rule of law, 
                                such as promoting a culture of 
                                lawfulness and providing incentives to 
                                United States businesses operating in 
                                Mexico that promote and support culture 
                                of lawfulness efforts;
                                    (II) developing safe communities 
                                for families and youth by enhancing and 
                                recreating successful youth programs 
                                and anti-drug coalitions, enhancing 
                                public education regarding the 
                                activities of such organizations, and 
                                promoting economic development; and
                                    (III) promoting the creation and 
                                enhancement of the institutions of good 
                                local governance; and
                            (iii) neutralize transnational criminal 
                        organizations by--
                                    (I) re-evaluating threats within 
                                Mexican regions in order to assign a 
                                specialized task force to key regions 
                                designed to concentrate on high-
                                priority targets and separate such 
                                organizations from their sources of 
                                support;
                                    (II) requesting the support of 
                                United States military advisors to 
                                assist the Mexican regional task 
                                forces; and
                                    (III) supporting Mexican federal 
                                law enforcement operations that provide 
                                services to the population while 
                                gathering raw intelligence and 
                                providing such intelligence to regional 
                                task forces; and
            (8) includes a report on Mexican and Central American 
        extradition requests and extraditions carried out.
    (b) Updates.--
            (1) Office of foreign assets control.--The Office of 
        Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury shall 
        submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection 
        (a) updates on a quarterly basis of the information required to 
        be included in the counterinsurgency strategy under subsection 
        (a)(7)(A)(ii).
            (2) Secretary of state.--The Secretary of States shall 
        submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection 
        (a) updates on a quarterly basis of the information required to 
        be included in the counterinsurgency strategy under subsection 
        (a)(8).
    (c) Withholding of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, if the Secretary of State does not submit the counterinsurgency 
strategy required under subsection (a) in accordance with such 
subsection, then 20 percent of the amounts otherwise made available to 
the Department of State for fiscal year 2012 shall be withheld from 
obligation and expenditure until such time as the strategy is submitted 
in accordance with such subsection.

SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COUNTERINSURGENCY 
              STRATEGY.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made available to 
the Department of State for the Merida Initiative are authorized to be 
made available to develop and implement the counterinsurgency strategy 
required under section 5(a).
                                 <all>