[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3525 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3525
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Commissioner
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to establish uniform processes
for medical screening of individuals interdicted between ports of
entry, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2019
Ms. Underwood introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Commissioner
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to establish uniform processes
for medical screening of individuals interdicted between ports of
entry, 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 ``U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening
Standards Act''.
SEC. 2. UNIFORM PROCESSES FOR MEDICAL SCREENING OF INDIVIDUALS
INTERDICTED BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY.
(a) In General.--Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 437. MEDICAL SCREENING OF INDIVIDUALS INTERDICTED BETWEEN PORTS
OF ENTRY.
``(a) In General.--To improve border security and the processing of
individuals and families interdicted by the U.S. Border Patrol between
ports of entry, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer of the Department, shall
establish uniform processes and training to ensure consistent and
efficient medical screening of all individuals so interdicted within 12
hours of such interdiction.
``(b) Screening Process Components.--At a minimum, the uniform
processes and training established under subsection (a) shall include
the following:
``(1) Requirements for initial screening that includes
documentation of the following:
``(A) Current medical complaints and concerns.
``(B) A brief medical history to identify current
medications and any chronic or past illnesses.
``(C) Basic vital statistics.
``(2) Criteria for determining when to make a referral to
higher medical care and a process to execute such referral.
``(3) Recordkeeping requirements.
``(c) Dissemination and Training.--The uniform processes and
training shall be made available to appropriate personnel of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection and other Department components, offices,
and contractors, as appropriate.''.
(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 436 the following new item:
``Sec. 437. Medical screening of individuals interdicted between ports
of entry.''.
SEC. 3. RESEARCH REGARDING PROVISION OF MEDICAL SCREENING OF
INDIVIDUALS INTERDICTED BY U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER
PROTECTION BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting
through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the
Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Commissioner
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Chief Medical Officer of
the Department, shall research innovative approaches to address
capability gaps regarding the provision of medical screening of
individuals interdicted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection between
ports of entry and issue to the Secretary recommendations for any
necessary corrective actions.
(b) Consultation.--In carrying out the research required under
subsection (a), the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the
Department of Homeland Security shall consult with appropriate national
professional associations with expertise in emergency, nursing, and
other medical care, including expertise in pediatric care.
(c) Report.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 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
report containing the recommendations referred to in subsection (a),
together with information relating to what actions, if any, the
Secretary plans to take in response to such recommendations.
SEC. 4. ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS INTEROPERABILITY ASSESSMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
(a) Assessment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Chief Information Officer of the
Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the Secretary
of Homeland Security an assessment of the challenges to
achieving interoperability of electronic health records, with
appropriate privacy and other safeguards, within the
Department's information technology systems of individuals who
receive medical screening after being interdicted by U.S.
Customs and Border protection between ports of entry in
accordance with section 437 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (as added by section 2).
(2) Contents.--The assessment required under paragraph (1)
shall include information on programmatic, policy, and
operational options to overcome challenges described in such
assessment and a cost and benefit analyses for each such
option.
(b) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 120 days after receipt of
the assessment required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland
Security 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 an implementation plan, including
benchmarks and metrics, for achieving the interoperability described in
such subsection.
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