[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 124 (Wednesday, July 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3407-S3409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 954. Mr. LANKFORD (for himself and Ms. Sinema) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
Subtitle A--Border Patrol Pay and Training Enhancements
SEC. ___1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Border Patrol
Enhancement Act''.
SEC. ___2. AUTHORIZED STAFFING LEVEL FOR THE UNITED STATES
BORDER PATROL.
(a) Definitions.--In this subtitle:
(1) Qualified research entity.--The term ``qualified
research entity'' means an independent, not-for-profit,
federally funded research entity with appropriate expertise
and analytical capability to analyze and validate the
personnel requirements determination model.
(2) Validated personnel requirements determination model.--
The term ``validated personnel requirements determination
model'' means a determination of the number of United States
Border Patrol agents needed to meet the critical mission
requirements of the United States Border Patrol to maintain
an orderly process for migrants entering the United States,
that has been validated by a qualified research entity
pursuant to subsection (c).
(b) United States Border Patrol Personnel Requirements
Determination Model.--
(1) Completion; notice.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall
complete a personnel requirements determination model for
United States Border Patrol that builds on the 5-year United
States Border Patrol staffing and deployment plan referred to
on page 33 of House of Representatives Report 112-91 (May 26,
2011) and submit a notice of completion to--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and
(D) the Comptroller General of the United States.
(2) Certification.--Not later than 30 days after the
completion of the personnel requirements determination model
described in paragraph (1), the Commissioner shall submit a
copy of such model, an explanation of its development, and a
strategy for obtaining independent verification of such
model, to--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives;
[[Page S3408]]
(C) the Office of Personnel Management; and
(D) the Comptroller General of the United States.
(c) Independent Study of Personnel Requirements
Determination Model.--
(1) Requirement for study.--Not later than 90 days after
the completion of the personnel requirements determination
model pursuant to subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall select a qualified research entity
that is technically, managerially, and financially
independent from the Department of Homeland Security to
conduct an independent verification and validation of the
model.
(2) Reports.--
(A) To secretary.--Not later than 1 year after the
completion of the personnel requirements determination model
under subsection (b)(1), the entity performing the
independent verification and validation of the model shall
submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security that
includes--
(i) the results of the study conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1); and
(ii) any recommendations regarding the model that such
entity considers to be appropriate.
(B) To congress.--Not later than 30 days after receiving
the report described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall submit such report, along with any
additional views or recommendations regarding the personnel
requirements determination model, to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.
(d) Authority To Hire Additional Personnel.--Beginning on
the date that is 180 days after receiving a report from a
qualified research entity pursuant to subsection (c)(2) that
validates the personnel requirements determination model and
after implementing any recommendations to improve or update
such model, the Secretary of Homeland Security may hire,
train, and assign 600 or more United States Border Patrol
agents above the attrition level during every fiscal year
until the number of active agents meets the level recommended
by the validated personnel requirements determination model,
provided that such model has been validated by the qualified
research entity.
SEC. ___3. ESTABLISHMENT OF HIGHER RATES OF REGULARLY
SCHEDULED OVERTIME PAY FOR UNITED STATES BORDER
PATROL AGENTS CLASSIFIED AT GS-12.
Section 5550 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(h) Special Overtime Pay for GS-12 Border Patrol
Agents.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraphs (1)(F),
(2)(C), and (3)(C) of subsection (b), a border patrol agent
encumbering a position at grade GS-12 shall receive a special
overtime payment under this subsection for hours of regularly
scheduled work described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) or
(3)(A)(ii) of subsection (b), as applicable, that are
credited to the agent through actual performance of work,
crediting under rules for canine agents under subsection
(b)(1)(F), or substitution of overtime hours in the same work
period under subsection (f)(2)(A), except that no such
payment may be made for periods of absence resulting in an
hours obligation under paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection
(f).
``(2) Computation.--The special overtime payment authorized
under paragraph (1) shall be computed by multiplying the
credited hours by 50 percent of the border patrol agent's
hourly rate of basic pay, rounded to the nearest cent.
``(3) Limitations.--The special overtime payment authorized
under paragraph (1)--
``(A) is not considered basic pay for retirement under
section 8331(3) or 8401(4) or for any other purpose;
``(B) is not payable during periods of paid leave or other
paid time off; and
``(C) is not considered in computing an agent's lump-sum
annual leave payment under sections 5551 and 5552.''.
SEC. ___4. GAO ASSESSMENT OF RECRUITING EFFORTS, HIRING
REQUIREMENTS, AND RETENTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
PERSONNEL.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) conduct an assessment of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection's--
(A) efforts to recruit law enforcement personnel;
(B) hiring process and job requirements relating to such
recruitment; and
(C) retention of law enforcement personnel, including the
impact of employee compensation on such retention efforts;
and
(2) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, submit a report containing the results of such
assessment to--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. ___5. CONTINUING TRAINING.
(a) In General.--The Commissioner shall require all United
States Border Patrol agents and other employees or contracted
employees designated by the Commissioner, to participate in
annual continuing training to maintain and update their
understanding of--
(1) Department of Homeland Security policies, procedures,
and guidelines;
(2) the fundamentals of law, ethics, and professional
conduct;
(3) applicable Federal law and regulations;
(4) precedential legal rulings, including Federal Circuit
Court and United States Supreme Court opinions relating to
the duty of care and treatment of persons in the custody of
the United States Border Patrol that the Commissioner
determines are relevant to active duty agents;
(5) applicable migration trends that the Commissioner
determines are relevant;
(6) best practices for coordinating with community
stakeholders; and
(7) any other information that the Commissioner determines
to be relevant to active duty agents.
(b) Training Subjects.--Continuing training under this
subsection shall include training regarding--
(1) non-lethal use of force policies available to United
States Border Patrol agents and de-escalation strategies and
methods;
(2) identifying, screening, and responding to vulnerable
populations, such as children, persons with diminished mental
capacity, victims of human trafficking, pregnant mothers,
victims of gender-based violence, victims of torture or
abuse, and the acutely ill;
(3) trends in transnational criminal organization
activities that impact border security and migration;
(4) policies, strategies, and programs--
(A) to protect due process, the civil, human, and privacy
rights of individuals, and the private property rights of
land owners;
(B) to reduce the number of migrant and agent deaths; and
(C) to improve the safety of agents on patrol;
(5) personal resilience;
(6) anti-corruption and officer ethics training;
(7) current migration trends, including updated cultural
and societal issues of nations that are a significant source
of migrants who are--
(A) arriving at a United States port of entry to seek
humanitarian protection; or
(B) encountered at a United States international boundary
while attempting to enter without inspection;
(8) the impact of border security operations on natural
resources and the environment, including strategies to limit
the impact of border security operations on natural resources
and the environment;
(9) relevant cultural, societal, racial, and religious
training, including cross-cultural communication skills;
(10) training authorized under the Prison Rape Elimination
Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 15601 et seq.);
(11) risk management and safety training that includes
agency protocols for ensuring public safety, personal safety,
and the safety of persons in the custody of the Department of
Homeland Security;
(12) non-lethal, self-defense training; and
(13) any other training that meets the requirements to
maintain and update the subjects identified in subsection
(a).
(c) Course Requirements.--Courses offered under this
section--
(1) shall be administered by the United States Border
Patrol, in consultation with the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center; and
(2) shall be approved in advance by the Commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that such
courses satisfy the requirements for training under this
section.
(d) Assessment.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States 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 assesses the training and education
provided pursuant to this section, including continuing
education.
(e) Frequency Requirements.--Training offered as part of
continuing education under this section shall include--
(1) annual courses focusing on the curriculum described in
paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (b); and
(2) biannual courses focusing on curriculum described in
paragraphs (7) through (12) of subsection (b).
SEC. ___6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Recruitment and Retention Report.--The Comptroller
General of the United States shall--
(1) conduct a study of the recruitment and retention of
female agents in the United States Border Patrol that
examines--
(A) the recruitment, application processes, training,
promotion, and other aspects of employment for women in the
United States Border Patrol;
(B) the training, complaints system, and redress for sexual
harassment and assault; and
(C) additional issues related to recruitment and retention
of female Border Patrol agents; and
(2) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, submit a report containing the results of such
study and recommendations for addressing any identified
deficiencies or opportunities for improvement to--
(A) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate; and
(C) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.
[[Page S3409]]
(b) Implementation Report.--Not later than 90 days after
receiving the recruitment and retention report required under
subsection (a), the Commissioner 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 status of the
Commissioner's efforts to implement any recommendations
included in recruitment and retention report.
______