[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5273 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.5273
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty
An Act
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan to
increase to 100 percent the rates of scanning of commercial and
passenger vehicles and freight rail entering the United States at land
ports of entry along the border using large-scale, non-intrusive
inspection systems to enhance 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 ``Securing America's Ports Act''.
SEC. 2. LARGE-SCALE NON-INTRUSIVE INSPECTION SCANNING PLAN.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Large-scale non-intrusive inspection system.--The term
``large-scale, non-intrusive inspection system'' means a
technology, including x-ray, gamma-ray, and passive imaging
systems, capable of producing an image of the contents of a
commercial or passenger vehicle or freight rail car in 1 pass of
such vehicle or car.
(2) Scanning.--The term ``scanning'' means utilizing
nonintrusive imaging equipment, radiation detection equipment, or
both, to capture data, including images of a commercial or
passenger vehicle or freight rail car.
(b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit
a plan to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives for increasing to 100 percent the rate of high-
throughput scanning of commercial and passenger vehicles and freight
rail traffic entering the United States at land ports of entry and
rail-border crossings along the border using large-scale non-intrusive
inspection systems or similar technology to enhance border security.
(c) Baseline Information.--The plan under subsection (b) shall
include, at a minimum, the following information regarding large-scale
non-intrusive inspection systems or similar technology operated by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection at land ports of entry and rail-border
crossings as of the date of the enactment of this Act:
(1) An inventory of large-scale non-intrusive inspection
systems or similar technology in use at each land port of entry.
(2) For each system or technology identified in the inventory
under paragraph (1)--
(A) the scanning method of such system or technology;
(B) the location of such system or technology at each land
port of entry that specifies whether in use in pre-primary,
primary, or secondary inspection area, or some combination of
such areas;
(C) the percentage of commercial and passenger vehicles and
freight rail traffic scanned by such system or technology;
(D) seizure data directly attributed to scanned commercial
and passenger vehicles and freight rail traffic; and
(E) the number of personnel required to operate each system
or technology.
(3) Information regarding the continued use of other technology
and tactics used for scanning, such as canines and human
intelligence in conjunction with large scale, nonintrusive
inspection systems.
(d) Elements.--The plan under subsection (b) shall include the
following information:
(1) Benchmarks for achieving incremental progress towards 100
percent high-throughput scanning within the next 6 years of
commercial and passenger vehicles and freight rail traffic entering
the United States at land ports of entry and rail-border crossings
along the border with corresponding projected incremental
improvements in scanning rates by fiscal year and rationales for
the specified timeframes for each land port of entry.
(2) Estimated costs, together with an acquisition plan, for
achieving the 100 percent high-throughput scanning rate within the
timeframes specified in paragraph (1), including acquisition,
operations, and maintenance costs for large-scale, nonintrusive
inspection systems or similar technology, and associated costs for
any necessary infrastructure enhancements or configuration changes
at each port of entry. Such acquisition plan shall promote, to the
extent practicable, opportunities for entities that qualify as
small business concerns (as defined under section 3(a) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)).
(3) Any projected impacts, as identified by the Commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on the total number of
commercial and passenger vehicles and freight rail traffic entering
at land ports of entry and rail-border crossings where such systems
are in use, and average wait times at peak and non-peak travel
times, by lane type if applicable, as scanning rates are increased.
(4) Any projected impacts, as identified by the Commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on land ports of entry and
rail-border crossings border security operations as a result of
implementation actions, including any changes to the number of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection officers or their duties and
assignments.
(e) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the submission of
the plan under subsection (b), and biennially thereafter for the
following 6 years, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a
report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives that describes the progress implementing the plan and
includes--
(1) an inventory of large-scale, nonintrusive inspection
systems or similar technology operated by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection at each land port of entry;
(2) for each system or technology identified in the inventory
required under paragraph (1)--
(A) the scanning method of such system or technology;
(B) the location of such system or technology at each land
port of entry that specifies whether in use in pre-primary,
primary, or secondary inspection area, or some combination of
such areas;
(C) the percentage of commercial and passenger vehicles and
freight rail traffic scanned by such system or technology; and
(D) seizure data directly attributed to scanned commercial
and passenger vehicles and freight rail traffic;
(3) the total number of commercial and passenger vehicles and
freight rail traffic entering at each land port of entry at which
each system or technology is in use, and information on average
wait times at peak and non-peak travel times, by lane type if
applicable;
(4) a description of the progress towards reaching the
benchmarks referred to in subsection (d)(1), and an explanation if
any of such benchmarks are not achieved as planned;
(5) a comparison of actual costs (including information on any
awards of associated contracts) to estimated costs set forth in
subsection (d)(2);
(6) any realized impacts, as identified by the Commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on land ports of entry and
rail-border crossings operations as a result of implementation
actions, including any changes to the number of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection officers or their duties and assignments;
(7) any proposed changes to the plan and an explanation for
such changes, including changes made in response to any Department
of Homeland Security research and development findings or changes
in terrorist or transnational criminal organizations tactics,
techniques, or procedures; and
(8) any challenges to implementing the plan or meeting the
benchmarks, and plans to mitigate any such challenges.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.