[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1609 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1609

 To amend the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 to authorize certain 
          polygraph waiver authority, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2019

 Mr. Crenshaw (for himself, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, and Mr. Higgins of 
  Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 to authorize certain 
          polygraph waiver authority, 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 ``Anti-Border Corruption Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. HIRING FLEXIBILITY.

    Section 3 of the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 (Public Law 
111-376; 6 U.S.C. 221) is amended by striking subsection (b) and 
inserting the following new subsections:
    ``(b) Waiver Authority.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection may waive the application of subsection (a)(1) in the 
following circumstances:
            ``(1) In the case of a current, full-time law enforcement 
        officer employed by a State or local law enforcement agency, if 
        such officer--
                    ``(A) has served as a law enforcement officer for 
                not fewer than three years with no break in service;
                    ``(B) is authorized by law to engage in or 
                supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or 
                prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, 
                any violation of law, and has statutory powers for 
                arrest or apprehension;
                    ``(C) is not currently under investigation, has not 
                been found to have engaged in criminal activity or 
                serious misconduct, has not resigned from a law 
                enforcement officer position under investigation or in 
                lieu of termination, and has not been dismissed from a 
                law enforcement officer position; and
                    ``(D) has, within the past ten years, successfully 
                completed a polygraph examination, described in 
                subsection (c), as a condition of employment with such 
                officer's current law enforcement agency.
            ``(2) In the case of a current, full-time law enforcement 
        officer employed by a Federal law enforcement agency, if such 
        officer--
                    ``(A) has served as a law enforcement officer for 
                not fewer than three years with no break in service;
                    ``(B) has authority to make arrests, conduct 
                investigations, conduct searches, make seizures, carry 
                firearms, and serve orders, warrants, and other 
                processes;
                    ``(C) is not currently under investigation, has not 
                been found to have engaged in criminal activity or 
                serious misconduct, has not resigned from a law 
                enforcement officer position under investigation or in 
                lieu of termination, and has not been dismissed from a 
                law enforcement officer position; and
                    ``(D) holds a current background investigation to 
                the level required for service as a law enforcement 
                officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
            ``(3) In the case of an individual who is a member of the 
        Armed Forces (or a reserve component thereof) or a veteran, if 
        such individual--
                    ``(A) has served in the Armed Forces for not fewer 
                than three years;
                    ``(B) holds, or has held within the past five 
                years, a Secret, Top Secret, or Top Secret/Sensitive 
                Compartmented Information clearance;
                    ``(C) holds or has undergone and passed a 
                background investigation to the level required for 
                service as a law enforcement officer with U.S. Customs 
                and Border Protection;
                    ``(D) received, or is eligible to receive, an 
                honorable discharge from service in the Armed Forces 
                and has not engaged in criminal activity or committed a 
                serious military or civil offense under the Uniform 
                Code of Military Justice; and
                    ``(E) was not granted any waivers to obtain the 
                clearance referred to subparagraph (B).
    ``(c) Certain Polygraph Examination.--A polygraph examination 
described in this subsection is a polygraph examination that satisfies 
requirements established by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Director of National Intelligence.
    ``(d) Termination of Waiver Authority.--The authority to issue a 
waiver under subsection (b) shall terminate on the date that is five 
years after the date of the enactment of the Anti-Border Corruption 
Reauthorization Act of 2019.''.

SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY AND DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Supplemental Commissioner Authority.--Section 4 of the Anti-
Border Corruption Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-376) is amended to read 
as follows:

``SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) Non-Exemption.--An individual who receives a waiver under 
subsection (b) of section 3 shall not be exempt from other hiring 
requirements relating to suitability for employment and eligibility to 
hold a national security designated position, as determined by the 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
    ``(b) Background Investigations.--Any individual who receives a 
waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 who holds a current background 
investigation may be subject to further background investigation to the 
level required for service as a law enforcement officer with U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection.
    ``(c) Continuous Evaluation.--Any individual who receives a waiver 
under subsection (b) of section 3 shall not be exempt from any 
requirement relating to continuous evaluation established by the 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
    ``(d) Administration of Polygraph Examination.--The Commissioner of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is authorized to administer a 
polygraph examination to an applicant or employee who is eligible for 
or receives a waiver under subsection (b) of section 3 if information 
is discovered prior to the completion of a background investigation 
that results in a determination that a polygraph examination is 
necessary to make a final determination regarding suitability for 
employment or continued employment, as the case may be.''.
    (b) Report.--The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 5. REPORTING.

    ``Not later than on year after the date of the enactment of this 
section and every year for the next four years thereafter, the 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall provide the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 
information on the number, disaggregated with respect to each of 
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b) of section 3, of waivers 
requested, granted, and denied, and the reasons for any such denial, 
and the final outcome of the application for employment at issue. Such 
information shall also include the number of instances a polygraph 
examination was administered under the conditions described in 
subsection (d) of section 4, the result of such examination, and the 
final outcome of the application for employment at issue.''.
    (c) Definitions.--The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010, as 
amended by subsection (b) of this section, is further amended by adding 
at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this Act:
            ``(1) Law enforcement officer.--The term `law enforcement 
        officer' has the meaning given such term in sections 8331(20) 
        and 8401(17) of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(2) Veteran.--The term `veteran' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 101(2) of title 38, United States Code.
            ``(3) Serious military or civil offense.--The term `serious 
        military or civil offense' means an offense for which--
                    ``(A) a member of the Armed Forces may be 
                discharged or separated from service in the Armed 
                Forces; and
                    ``(B) a punitive discharge is, or would be, 
                authorized for the same or a closely related offense 
                under the Manual for Court-Martial, as pursuant to Army 
                Regulation 635-200 chapter 14-12.''.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Paragraph (15) of section 411(c) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(c)) is amended by striking ``section 3(1)'' and 
inserting ``section 3''.
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