[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8992 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8992

    Making appropriations to improve border security, imposing new 
   reporting requirements relating to border security, and enhancing 
     criminal penalties for destroying or evading border controls.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2024

   Mr. Vasquez (for himself, Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, and Mr. Sorensen) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    Making appropriations to improve border security, imposing new 
   reporting requirements relating to border security, and enhancing 
     criminal penalties for destroying or evading border controls.

    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 ``Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING.

    (a) Enhancing Law Enforcement Capabilities at the Border.--There is 
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated, for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2025, $3,409,000,000, to remain available 
until September 30, 2027, to support and enhance law enforcement 
capabilities at land borders of the United States, of which--
            (1) $300,000,000 shall be for additional civilian U.S. 
        Border Patrol processing coordinators;
            (2) $1,750,000,000 shall be for additional U.S. Customs and 
        Border Protection officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and 
        mission support staff within the Office of Field Operations and 
        U.S. Border Patrol;
            (3) $950,000,000 shall be for hiring bonuses, retention 
        bonuses, and retention-focused support services, including 
        mental health services, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, U.S. Border Patrol 
        processing coordinators, and any other U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection staff whose work supports operations at the land 
        borders of the United States; and
            (4) $409,000,000 shall be for ``U.S. Citizenship and 
        Immigration Services-Operations and Support'' to contribute to 
        improved operations along the land borders of the United 
        States.
    (b) Increasing Fentanyl Interdiction and Enhancing Processing 
Capabilities at the Border.--There is appropriated, out of any money in 
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, 
$1,090,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2027, to 
increase drug interdiction and processing capabilities at land borders 
of the United States, of which--
            (1) $960,000,000 shall be for technology improvements and 
        upgrades, which may include--
                    (A) the procurement and deployment of large-scale, 
                small-scale, and handheld non-intrusive inspection 
                scanning systems at ports of entry along the land 
                borders of the United States; and
                    (B) upgrades to the information technology 
                infrastructure upon which these systems and associated 
                software are operated;
            (2) $30,000,000 shall be for technological and procedural 
        improvements to the process of analyzing and adjudicating 
        images from non-intrusive inspection scanning technology at 
        land ports of entry, which may include support for the 
        continued development of anomaly detection algorithms to 
        enhance detection of illegal drugs at land ports of entry; and
            (3) $100,000,000 shall be for other technology and 
        infrastructure upgrades that the Commissioner for U.S. Customs 
        and Border Protection deems necessary for the agency's drug 
        interdiction work.
    (c) Disrupting the Outbound Flow of Firearms and Currency From the 
United States.--There is appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for 
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, $285,000,000, to remain 
available until September 30, 2027, for increasing outbound inspection 
capabilities, including disrupting the flow of firearms and currency 
out of the United States, of which--
            (1) $10,000,000 shall be for supporting the creation of a 
        structured outbound inspection program within the Office of 
        Field Operations that includes a comprehensive outbound 
        inspection policy and performance metrics to measure the impact 
        of outbound inspections; and
            (2) $275,000,000 shall be for outbound inspections 
        infrastructure projects at the land borders of the United 
        States, including--
                    (A) technology and connectivity improvements at 
                rural ports of entry; and
                    (B) safety and technology upgrades to outbound 
                inspection lanes at ports of entry.
    (d) Disrupting Transnational Fentanyl Networks.--There is 
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025--
            (1) $223,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 
        2027, to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand 
        efforts to interdict fentanyl and other illegal drugs, and 
        disrupt networks operated by transnational criminal 
        organizations within the United States, of which--
                    (A) $113,000,000 shall be for additional Homeland 
                Security Investigations special agents;
                    (B) $80,000,000 shall be for the implementation of 
                Homeland Security Investigations' Strategy for 
                Combating Illicit Opioids; and
                    (C) $30,000,000 shall be for joint surge operations 
                along the land borders of the United States by Homeland 
                Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border 
                Protection;
            (2) $128,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 
        2027, to the Drug Enforcement Administration, of which--
                    (A) $68,000,000 shall be for salaries and expenses 
                relating to increased law enforcement activities along 
                the land borders of the United States; and
                    (B) $60,000,000 shall be for the High Intensity 
                Drug Trafficking Areas Program;
            (3) $110,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 
        2027, to the Department of Justice for the Organized Crime Drug 
        Enforcement Task Forces; and
            (4) $50,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 
        2027, to the U.S. Marshals Service for salaries and expenses 
        relating to increased law enforcement activities along the land 
        borders of the United States.

SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report on U.S. Border Patrol Processing Coordinators.--Not 
later than March 31, 2028, the Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection shall submit a report to Congress that--
            (1) details the impacts of Border Patrol Processing 
        Coordinator positions; and
            (2) describes how such positions are supporting the mission 
        of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
    (b) Report on New Outbound Inspections Program.--Not later than 
March 31, 2028, the Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of 
Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a 
report to Congress that details the equipment that would be needed to 
establish a permanent outbound inspections program to increase the rate 
of scanning of motor vehicles departing the United States.
    (c) Report on Existing and Planned Scanning Technology.--Not later 
than March 31, 2028, the Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office 
of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit 
a report to Congress that details, for each United States land port of 
entry--
            (1) a summary of the non-intrusive inspection technology 
        that is in use or is being built out; and
            (2) the major factors to consider regarding the future 
        procurement and deployment of large-scale, non-intrusive 
        inspection machines at the port of entry, including--
                    (A) existing limitations, including--
                            (i) the footprint of the port of entry;
                            (ii) land that is available for use by U.S. 
                        Customs and Border Protection at the port of 
                        entry; and
                            (iii) any geological or environmental 
                        factors that would affect construction 
                        timelines or costs;
                    (B) the volume and modes of traffic at the port of 
                entry, and an estimate of the potential impacts of 
                additional large-scale, non-intrusive inspection 
                systems being deployed, in terms of additional seizures 
                and impacts on transit times; and
                    (C) an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of 
                deploying additional large-scale non-intrusive 
                inspection systems at the port of entry.

SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR HINDERING IMMIGRATION, BORDER, AND CUSTOMS 
              CONTROLS.

    (a) Personnel and Structures.--Chapter 8 of title II of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 274D the following:

``SEC. 274E. DESTROYING OR EVADING BORDER CONTROLS.

    ``(a) In General.--It shall be unlawful to knowingly and without 
lawful authorization--
            ``(1)(A) destroy or significantly damage any fence, 
        barrier, sensor, camera, or other physical or electronic device 
        deployed by the Federal Government to control an international 
        border of, or a port of entry to, the United States; or
            ``(B) otherwise construct, excavate, or make any structure 
        intended to defeat, circumvent or evade such a fence, barrier, 
        sensor camera, or other physical or electronic device deployed 
        by the Federal Government to control an international border 
        of, or a port of entry to, the United States; and
            ``(2) in carrying out an act described in paragraph (1), 
        have the intent to knowingly and willfully--
                    ``(A) secure a financial gain;
                    ``(B) further the objectives of a criminal 
                organization; and
                    ``(C) violate--
                            ``(i) section 274(a)(1)(A)(i);
                            ``(ii) the customs and trade laws of the 
                        United States (as defined in section 2(4) of 
                        the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement 
                        Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4301(4)));
                            ``(iii) any other Federal law relating to 
                        transporting controlled substances, 
                        agriculture, or monetary instruments into the 
                        United States; or
                            ``(iv) any Federal law relating to border 
                        control measures of the United States.
    ``(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be 
fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 
5 years, or both.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 274D the following:

``Sec. 274E. Destroying or evading border controls.''.
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