[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1233 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1233

  To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a fund for 
              private landowners, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2019

 Mrs. Demings (for herself and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
  Security, and in addition to the Committee on 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 amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a fund for 
              private landowners, 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 ``Borderland Takings Defense Fund 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFENSE FUND FOR PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 890B. DEFENSE FUND FOR PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a fund to 
        assist eligible property owners whose property the Federal 
        Government seeks to condemn or acquire for the purpose of 
        constructing or installing additional physical barriers or 
        roads between ports of entry along the land border with Mexico.
            ``(2) Administration.--
                    ``(A) Appointment.--The Officer for Civil Rights 
                and Civil Liberties of the Department shall appoint an 
                individual to serve as the administrator of the fund 
                established pursuant to paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Qualifications.--The individual appointed 
                under subparagraph (A) to serve as the administrator of 
                the fund shall be an individual who--
                            ``(i) has at least three years of relevant 
                        experience in pro bono legal assistance; and
                            ``(ii) to the maximum extent practicable, 
                        has a demonstrated record of advocacy on behalf 
                        of litigants in actions brought by or against 
                        the Federal Government.
    ``(b) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding section 102 of the Illegal 
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 
1103 note), the Secretary may not take such actions, such as the 
removal of obstacles, to construct or install additional physical 
barriers or roads between ports of entry along the land border with 
Mexico until--
            ``(1) the fund described in subsection (a) is established 
        and made available to eligible property described in such 
        subsection; and
            ``(2) such property owners are provided information on how 
        to access legal support through such fund.
    ``(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible for assistance through the fund 
referred to in subsection (a), a property owner shall--
            ``(1) own property along the land border with Mexico that--
                    ``(A) is subject to the condemnation or acquisition 
                referred to in such subsection; or
                    ``(B) is determined by the Administrator to be at 
                risk of such action; and
            ``(2)(A) be the head of a low-income household; or
            ``(B) if such property owner is not the head of a low-
        income household, be determined by the administrator of the 
        fund to be in need of such assistance but lacking adequate 
        resources to secure representation against the Federal 
        Government.
    ``(d) Outreach.--The Secretary, acting through the administrator of 
the fund, shall--
            ``(1) implement a targeted outreach strategy to identify 
        and communicate with eligible property owners whose property 
        the Federal Government seeks to condemn or acquire for the 
        purpose of constructing or installing additional physical 
        barriers or roads between ports of entry along the land border 
        with Mexico; and
            ``(2) 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 copy of such targeted 
        outreach strategy.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Low-income household.--The term `low-income 
        household' means a household--
                    ``(A) in which one or more individuals are 
                receiving--
                            ``(i) assistance under a State program 
                        funded under part A of title IV of the Social 
                        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
                            ``(ii) supplemental security income 
                        payments under title XVI of the Social Security 
                        Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.);
                            ``(iii) supplemental nutrition assistance 
                        program benefits under the Food and Nutrition 
                        Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or
                            ``(iv) payments under--
                                    ``(I) section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 
                                1542 of title 38, United States Code; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) section 306 of the Veterans' 
                                and Survivors' Pension Improvement Act 
                                of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note; Public 
                                Law 95-588); or
                    ``(B) that has an income that, as determined by the 
                State in which such household is located, does not 
                exceed the greater of--
                            ``(i) an amount equal to 150 percent of the 
                        poverty level for such State; and
                            ``(ii) an amount equal to 60 percent of the 
                        median income for such State.
            ``(2) Property.--The term `property' means land, including 
        an estate or interest in land, including an easement or right 
        of way in land.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to any amounts 
otherwise authorized to be appropriated for such purpose, there is 
authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 
through 2025 to carry out this section.''.
    (b) 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 890A the following new item:

``Sec. 890B. Defense fund for private landowners.''.
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