[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 30 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1186-S1188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2041. Mr. CASSIDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA
continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. USING ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING PROCEEDS FOR BORDER
SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to authorize
the use of illicit drug trafficking proceeds to pay for
physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and technology in
the vicinity of the United States border, which will achieve
situational awareness and operational control of the border,
and increase the interdiction of illicit drugs entering the
United States and reduce bulk cash smuggling and trade-based
money laundering along the border.
(b) Secure America Financing Corporation.--
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(1) Establishment.--There is established , as a special
purpose, public corporate entity, the Secure America
Financing Corporation (referred to in this subsection as the
``Corporation''), which shall operate as an independent
instrumentality of the Federal Government.
(2) Board.--
(A) Composition.--The Corporation shall be overseen by a
Board, consisting of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, or their
respective designees, as appointed by the President.
(B) Terms.--Members of the Board shall serve, at the
pleasure of the President, for 4-year terms, or until a
successor is appointed by the President. Members of the Board
may be appointed to 1 additional 4-year term.
(C) Compensation.--Members of the Board shall serve without
additional compensation.
(D) Chairperson.--The Board shall annually elect a
Chairperson from among its members.
(E) Meetings.--The Board shall meet not less frequently
than annually.
(3) Purposes.--The purposes of the Corporation shall be--
(A) to issue Secure America Bonds, in accordance with
paragraph (4);
(B) to make the proceeds of such bonds available to the
Homeland Security Investigations directorate of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to U.S. Border Patrol
to enhance technological capacity; and
(C) to manage surplus Asset Forfeiture Funds to redeem such
bonds.
(4) Bonds.--
(A) Issuance authorized.--The Corporation may issue bonds
(referred to in this section as ``Secure America Bonds'') in
such amounts and for such terms as the Board shall authorize
to provide the necessary funding for the technological
capacity enhancements that the Homeland Security
Investigations directorate determines appropriate.
(B) Redemption.--Bonds issued pursuant to subparagraph (A)
may only be paid from funds managed by the Corporation,
including--
(i) surplus amounts from the Asset Forfeiture Fund;
(ii) proceeds of the sales of any such bonds;
(iii) earnings on funds invested by the Corporation or the
indenture trustee;
(iv) income generated by the activities of the Corporation;
and
(v) such other funds as may become available.
(C) Bankruptcy prohibited.--The Corporation may not file
for bankruptcy protection while any of the bonds issued by
the Corporation remain outstanding.
(D) Limitation.--Bonds issued pursuant to subparagraph
(A)--
(i) are not a debt or obligation of the Federal Government;
and
(ii) are not backed by the full faith and credit of the
Federal Government.
(5) Staffing.--
(A) In general.--Employees of the Department of Homeland
Security and employees of the Department of the Treasury may
provide administrative support to the Corporation.
(B) Professional services.--The Attorney General, or
designee, may serve as counsel to the Corporation and may
employee or retain such other attorneys as necessary. The
Corporation may employ or retain any other professionals,
consultants, agents, financial advisors, and accountants as
may be necessary to carry out the purposes set forth in
paragraph (3). The Board may determine the duties and
compensation of those employed or retained under this
subparagraph.
(6) Financial management.--
(A) Authority.--The Corporation is authorized to sell and
convey any of the assets of the Corporation, subject to the
approval of the Board.
(B) Exemption from taxation.--The Corporation shall be
exempt from any taxation, fees, assessments, or similar
charges based on the real property or assets of the
Corporation.
(7) Effect of dissolution.--Upon the dissolution of the
Corporation, title to all assets and properties of the
Corporation shall vest in and become the property of the
United States Treasury and shall be deposited into and
credited to the Asset Forfeiture Fund.
(c) Use of Certain Forfeited Criminal Proceeds for Border
Security Measures.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any funds that are criminally forfeited to the United
States pursuant to an order relating to a sentence of a
felony conviction by a district court of the United States of
an individual engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise
involving knowingly and intentionally distributing a
controlled substance, intending and knowing that such
substance would be unlawfully imported into the United States
from a place outside of the United States shall be used for
security measures along the international border between the
United States and Mexico, including the construction,
installation, deployment, operation, and maintenance of
physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and technology in
the vicinity of such border, for the purpose of stemming the
flow of illegal narcotics into the United States and
furthering the security of the United States.
(d) Reservation of Portion of Forfeits in the Department of
Justice Civil Asset Forfeiture Fund for Building a Physical
Barrier or Advanced Technology to Prevent Illegal Entry
Across the Southern Border.--
(1) In general.--Section 524(c) of title 28, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, except as provided
in paragraph (12),'' before ``be available to the Attorney
General'';
(B) in paragraph (8)(E), in the first sentence, by
inserting ``the construction, installation, deployment,
operation, and maintenance of physical barriers, tactical
infrastructure, and technology in the vicinity of the United
States border,'' after ``law enforcement,''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(12)(A) Not later than on December 1 of each year, the
Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the
total of any amount in the Fund as of October 1 that are
derived from Mexican cartels.
``(B) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this paragraph, and occasionally thereafter, the Attorney
General shall submit to Congress a report on the amount in
the Fund that has historically been derived from Mexican
cartels.
``(C) Of the amount described in subparagraph (A), 50
percent shall be made available without fiscal year
limitation to install additional physical barriers and roads
(including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal
entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to
deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into
the United States.''.
(2) Limitation on release of property.--Section 983(f)(8)
of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) is currency or contraband likely to belong to or used
in support of a foreign, illegal trafficking organization.''.
(e) Use of Bond Proceeds.--
(1) Improving data analytics.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Executive Associate
Director for Homeland Security Investigations and the Chief,
U.S. Border Patrol, may use proceeds from Secure America
Bonds--
(A) to improve the use of data and advanced analytics to
target drugs entering the United States, bulk cash smugglers,
and trade-based money laundering;
(B) to prioritize the use of ``big data'' to enhance the
analysis of information that may lead to an increase in drug
seizures near the border, the interdiction of smuggled bulk
cash, and the identification of invoice misrepresentation
that leads to trade-based money laundering;
(C) to increase the technological capacity to gather and
develop information about persons, events, and cargo of
interest;
(D) to integrate data with analytical tools capable of--
(i) detecting trends, patterns, and emerging threats; and
(ii) identifying nonobvious relationships between persons,
events, and cargo to generate the necessary tools to increase
seizures; and
(E) to procure technology for advanced analytics to target
drugs coming into the United States, bulk cash smuggling, and
trade-based money laundering.
(2) Physical barriers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security,
in consultation with the Chief, U.S. Border Patrol, may use
proceeds from Secure America Bonds--
(A) to achieve situational awareness and operational
control of the southwest border using terrain, barriers, and
technological and human resources to force smugglers to use
certain routes and border crossings;
(B) to construct, install, deploy, operate, and permanently
maintain physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and
technology in the vicinity of the southwest border.
(3) Staffing.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Executive Associate Director for
Homeland Security Investigations, may use proceeds from
Secure America Bonds to employ the necessary analysts to
carry out the data analytics described in paragraph (1).
(f) Rules of Civil Forfeiture.--
(1) Civil forfeiture.--Section 983(b) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) In any law enforcement action in which assets may be
seized under this subsection, the law enforcement officer may
not barter with or otherwise pressure the owner of the assets
to be seized to waive any rights relating to the recovery of
such assets.''.
(2) General rules for civil forfeiture proceedings.--
Section 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a preponderance of the
evidence'' and inserting ``clear and convincing evidence'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``a preponderance of the
evidence'' and inserting ``clear and convincing evidence'';
and
(C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, by clear and
convincing evidence,'' after ``establish''.
(3) Reporting requirement.--The Attorney General shall
submit an annual report to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives that includes a
detailed record, for the reporting period, of all civil and
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criminal asset seizures and forfeitures authorized under
chapter 46 of title 18, United States Code, including--
(A) the specific assets seized, including the quantity and
value of such assets;
(B) the alleged criminal conduct giving rise to the seizure
or forfeiture;
(C) whether anyone was arrested or convicted of the alleged
criminal conduct;
(D) whether the forfeiture action was challenged by the
owner of the assets;
(E) the final disposition of the assets; and
(F) if the assets were sold, how the proceeds of the assets
were used.
(g) Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.--Section
9705 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end the
following:
``(K) Payment to enhance border security.''; and
(2) in subsection (g)(4)(B), by inserting ``, including the
construction, installation, deployment, operation, and
maintenance of physical barriers, tactical infrastructure,
and technology in the vicinity of such border,'' after ``law
enforcement activities''.
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