[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3479 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3479

          To improve border security, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2017

   Mr. Hurd (for himself, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Knight, Mr. 
 Pearce, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Rothfus, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, and Mr. 
    Katko) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, 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 improve border 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 ``Secure Miles with All Resources and 
Technology Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the 
        Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
            (2) High traffic areas.--The term ``high traffic areas'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 102(e)(1) of the 
        Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 
        1996, as amended by section 102 of this Act.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security.
            (4) Situational awareness.--The term ``situational 
        awareness'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        1092(a)(7) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
        Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328).

                 TITLE I--INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT

SEC. 101. STRENGTHENING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BORDER SECURITY TECHNOLOGY 
              ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER.

    Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996 (Division C of Public Law 104-208; 8 U.S.C. 
1103 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and border technology'' before 
                ``in the vicinity of''; and
                    (B) by striking ``illegal crossings in areas of 
                high illegal entry into the United Sates'' and 
                inserting ``, impede, and detect illegal activity in 
                high traffic areas'';
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``and, pursuant to 
        subsection (d), the installation, operation, and maintenance of 
        technology'' after ``barriers and roads''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(d) Installation, Operation, and Maintenance of Technology.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than January 20, 2021, the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, in carrying out subsection (a), 
        shall deploy the most practical and effective technology 
        available along the United States border for achieving 
        situational awareness and operational control of the border.
            ``(2) Technology defined.--In this subparagraph, the term 
        `technology' includes border surveillance and detection 
        technology, including--
                    ``(A) radar surveillance systems;
                    ``(B) Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radars 
                (VADER);
                    ``(C) 3-dimensional, seismic acoustic detection and 
                ranging border tunneling detection technology;
                    ``(D) sensors;
                    ``(E) unmanned cameras;
                    ``(F) man-portable and mobile vehicle-mounted 
                unmanned aerial vehicles; and
                    ``(G) any other devices, tools, or systems found to 
                be more effective or advanced than those specified in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (F).
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) High traffic areas.--The term `high traffic areas' 
        means sectors along the northern, southern, or coastal border 
        that--
                    ``(A) are within the responsibility of U.S. Customs 
                and Border Protection; and
                    ``(B) have significant unlawful cross-border 
                activity.
            ``(2) Situational awareness defined.--The term `situational 
        awareness' has the meaning given the term in section 1092(a)(7) 
        of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 
        (Public Law 114-328).''.

SEC. 102. COMPREHENSIVE SOUTHERN BORDER STRATEGY.

    (a) Comprehensive Strategy.--
            (1) Requirement.--Not later than 12 months after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
        of the Senate a comprehensive Southern border strategy.
            (2) Contents.--The strategy submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) a list of known physical barriers, 
                technologies, tools, and other devices that can be used 
                to achieve and maintain situational awareness and 
                operational control (as such term is defined in section 
                2(b) of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (8 U.S.C. 1701 
                note; Public Law 109-367)) along the southern border;
                    (B) a projected per mile cost estimate for each 
                physical barrier, technology, tool, and other device 
                included on the list required under paragraph (1);
                    (C) a detailed account of which type of physical 
                barrier, technology, tool, or other device the 
                Department believes is necessary to achieve and 
                maintain situational awareness and operational control 
                for each liner mile of the southern border;
                    (D) an explanation for why such physical barrier, 
                technology, tool, or other device was chosen to achieve 
                and maintain situational awareness and operational 
                control for each linear mile of the southern border, 
                including--
                            (i) the methodology used to determine which 
                        type of physical barrier, technology, tool, or 
                        other device was chosen for such linear mile;
                            (ii) an examination of existing manmade and 
                        natural barriers for each linear mile of the 
                        southern border; and
                            (iii) the information collected and 
                        evaluated from--
                                    (I) the appropriate U.S. Customs 
                                and Border Protection Sector Chief;
                                    (II) the Joint Task Force 
                                Commander;
                                    (III) the appropriate State 
                                Governor;
                                    (IV) local law enforcement 
                                officials;
                                    (V) private property owners; and
                                    (VI) other affected stakeholders;
                    (E) a per mile cost calculation for each linear 
                mile of the southern border given the type of physical 
                barrier, technology, tool, or other device chosen to 
                achieve and maintain operational control for each 
                linear mile; and
                    (F) a cost justification for each time a more 
                expensive physical barrier, technology, tool, or other 
                device is chosen over a less expensive option, as 
                established by the per mile cost estimates required in 
                subparagraph (B).

SEC. 103. ERADICATION OF CARRIZO CANE AND SALT CEDAR.

    Not later than January 20, 2019, the Secretary, after coordinating 
with the heads of relevant Federal, State, and local agencies, shall 
begin eradicating the carrizo cane plant and any salt cedar along the 
Rio Grande River.

                            TITLE II--GRANTS

SEC. 201. OPERATION STONEGARDEN.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of title XX of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 2009. OPERATION STONEGARDEN.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department a 
program, which shall be known as `Operation Stonegarden', under which 
the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, shall make grants to 
eligible law enforcement agencies, through the State administrative 
agency, to enhance border security in accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Eligible Recipients.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, a law enforcement agency--
            ``(1) shall be located in--
                    ``(A) a State bordering Canada or Mexico; or
                    ``(B) a State or territory with a maritime border; 
                and
            ``(2) shall be involved in an active, ongoing, U.S. Customs 
        and Border Protection operation coordinated through a sector 
        office.
    ``(c) Permitted Uses.--The recipient of a grant under this section 
may use such grant for--
            ``(1) equipment, including maintenance and sustainment 
        costs;
            ``(2) personnel, including overtime and backfill, in 
        support of enhanced border law enforcement activities;
            ``(3) any activity permitted for Operation Stonegarden 
        under the Department of Homeland Security's Fiscal Year 2017 
        Homeland Security Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity; 
        and
            ``(4) any other appropriate activity, as determined by the 
        Administrator, in consultation with the Commissioner of U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection.
    ``(d) Period of Performance.--The Secretary shall award grants 
under this section to grant recipients for a period of not less than 36 
months.
    ``(e) Report.--For each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2022, the 
Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives a report that contains 
information on the expenditure of grants made under this section by 
each grant recipient.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $110,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022 
for grants under this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (a) of section 2002 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 603) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary, through the Administrator, 
may award grants under sections 2003, 2004, and 2009 to State, local, 
and tribal governments, as appropriate.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 2008 the following new item:

``Sec. 2009. Operation Stonegarden.''.

SEC. 202. SOUTHERN BORDER REGION EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS GRANT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Governors 
of the States located on the southern border, shall establish a two-
year grant program to improve emergency communications in the southern 
border region.
    (b) Eligibility for Grants.--An individual is eligible for a grant 
under this section if the individual demonstrates that the individual--
            (1) regularly resides or works in a State on the southern 
        border; and
            (2) is at greater risk of border violence due to a lack of 
        cellular and LTE network service at the individual's residence 
        or business and the individual's proximity to the southern 
        border.
    (c) Use of Grants.--Grants awarded under this section may be used 
to purchase satellite telephone communications systems and services 
that--
            (1) can provide access to 9-1-1 service; and
            (2) are equipped with receivers for the Global Positioning 
        System.
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