[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 915 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]

                  In the Senate of the United States,

                    September 22 (legislative day, September 21), 2012.
    Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 
915) entitled ``An Act to establish a Border Enforcement Security Task 
Force program to enhance border security by fostering coordinated 
efforts among Federal, State, and local border and law enforcement 
officials to protect United States border cities and communities from 
trans-national crime, including violence associated with drug 
trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien trafficking and smuggling, 
violence, and kidnapping along and across the international borders of 
the United States, and for other purposes.'', do pass with the 
following

                               AMENDMENT:

            Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement 
Security Task Force Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) overriding 
        mission is to lead a unified national effort to protect the 
        United States. United States Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative agency within 
        DHS and is charged with enforcing a wide array of laws, 
        including laws related to securing the border and combating 
        criminal smuggling.
            (2) Mexico's northern border with the United States has 
        experienced a dramatic surge in border crime and violence in 
        recent years due to intense competition between Mexican drug 
        cartels and criminal smuggling organizations that employ 
        predatory tactics to realize their profits.
            (3) Law enforcement agencies at the United States northern 
        border also face challenges from transnational smuggling 
        organizations.
            (4) In response, DHS has partnered with Federal, State, 
        local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement counterparts to 
        create the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) 
        initiative as a comprehensive approach to addressing border 
        security threats. These multi-agency teams are designed to 
        increase information-sharing and collaboration among the 
        participating law enforcement agencies.
            (5) BEST teams incorporate personnel from ICE, United 
        States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug 
        Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, 
        Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE), the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation (FBI), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and 
        the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO), along with other key 
        Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies.
            (6) Foreign law enforcement agencies participating in BEST 
        include Mexico's Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP), the 
        Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Ontario Provincial 
        Police (OPP), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

SEC. 3. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 432. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department a 
program to be known as the Border Enforcement Security Task Force 
(referred to in this section as `BEST').
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of BEST is to establish units to 
enhance border security by addressing and reducing border security 
threats and violence by--
            ``(1) facilitating collaboration among Federal, State, 
        local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies to execute 
        coordinated activities in furtherance of border security, and 
        homeland security; and
            ``(2) enhancing information-sharing, including the 
        dissemination of homeland security information among such 
        agencies.
    ``(c) Composition and Establishment of Units.--
            ``(1) Composition.--BEST units may be comprised of 
        personnel from--
                    ``(A) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
                    ``(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
                    ``(C) the United States Coast Guard;
                    ``(D) other Department personnel, as appropriate
                    ``(E) other Federal agencies, as appropriate;
                    ``(F) appropriate State law enforcement agencies;
                    ``(G) foreign law enforcement agencies, as 
                appropriate;
                    ``(H) local law enforcement agencies from affected 
                border cities and communities; and
                    ``(I) appropriate tribal law enforcement agencies.
            ``(2) Establishment of units.--The Secretary is authorized 
        to establish BEST units in jurisdictions in which such units 
        can contribute to BEST missions, as appropriate. Before 
        establishing a BEST unit, the Secretary shall consider--
                    ``(A) whether the area in which the BEST unit would 
                be established is significantly impacted by cross-
                border threats;
                    ``(B) the availability of Federal, State, local, 
                tribal, and foreign law enforcement resources to 
                participate in the BEST unit;
                    ``(C) the extent to which border security threats 
                are having a significant harmful impact in the 
                jurisdiction in which the BEST unit is to be 
                established, and other jurisdictions in the country; 
                and
                    ``(D) whether or not an Integrated Border 
                Enforcement Team already exists in the area in which 
                the BEST unit would be established.
            ``(3) Duplication of efforts.--In determining whether to 
        establish a new BEST unit or to expand an existing BEST unit in 
        a given jurisdiction, the Secretary shall ensure that the BEST 
        unit under consideration does not duplicate the efforts of 
        other existing interagency task forces or centers within that 
        jurisdiction.
    ``(d) Operation.--After determining the jurisdictions in which to 
establish BEST units under subsection (c)(2), and in order to provide 
Federal assistance to such jurisdictions, the Secretary may--
            ``(1) direct the assignment of Federal personnel to BEST, 
        subject to the approval of the head of the department or agency 
        that employs such personnel; and
            ``(2) take other actions to assist Federal, State, local, 
        and tribal entities to participate in BEST, including providing 
        financial assistance, as appropriate, for operational, 
        administrative, and technological costs associated with the 
        participation of Federal, State, local, and tribal law 
        enforcement agencies in BEST.
    ``(e) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which BEST 
is established under this section, and annually thereafter for the 
following 5 years, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that 
describes the effectiveness of BEST in enhancing border security and 
reducing the drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien 
trafficking and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across 
the international borders of the United States, as measured by crime 
statistics, including violent deaths, incidents of violence, and drug-
related arrests.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents under section 1(b) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(b)) is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 431 the following:

``Sec. 432. Border Enforcement Security Task Force.''.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
112th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                H.R. 915

_______________________________________________________________________

                               AMENDMENT