[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 73 (Monday, April 29, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2689-H2691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              EXTENDING LIMITS OF U.S. CUSTOMS WATERS ACT

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 
1137, I call up the bill (H.R. 529) to extend the customs waters of the 
United States from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles from the 
baselines of the United States, consistent with Presidential 
Proclamation 7219, and ask for its immediate consideration in the 
House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1137, the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
Ways and Means, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as 
amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 529

       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 ``Extending Limits of U.S. 
     Customs Waters Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF CUSTOMS WATERS.

       (a) Tariff Act of 1930.--Section 401(j) of the Tariff Act 
     of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(j)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``means, in the case'' and inserting the 
     following: ``means--
       ``(1) in the case'';
       (2) by striking ``of the coast of the United States'' the 
     first place it appears and inserting ``from the baselines of 
     the United States, determined in accordance with 
     international law,'';
       (3) by striking ``and, in the case'' and inserting the 
     following: ``; and
       ``(2) in the case''; and
       (4) by striking ``the waters within four leagues of the 
     coast of the United States.'' and inserting the following: 
     ``the waters within--
       ``(A) the territorial sea of the United States, to the 
     limits permitted by international law in accordance with 
     Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988; and
       ``(B) the contiguous zone of the United States, to the 
     limits permitted by international law in accordance with 
     Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2, 1999.''.
       (b) Anti-Smuggling Act.--Section 401(c) of the Anti-
     Smuggling Act (19 U.S.C. 1709(c)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``means, in the case'' and inserting the 
     following: ``means--
       ``(1) in the case'';
       (2) by striking ``of the coast of the United States'' the 
     first place it appears and inserting ``from the baselines of 
     the United States, determined in accordance with 
     international law,'';
       (3) by striking ``and, in the case'' and inserting the 
     following: ``; and
       ``(2) in the case''; and
       (4) by striking ``the waters within four leagues of the 
     coast of the United States.'' and inserting the following: 
     ``the waters within--
       ``(A) the territorial sea of the United States, to the 
     limits permitted by international law in accordance with 
     Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988; and

[[Page H2690]]

       ``(B) the contiguous zone of the United States, to the 
     limits permitted by international law in accordance with 
     Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2, 1999.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the day after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 
1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective 
designees.
  The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Panetta) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Extending Limits of U.S. 
Customs Waters Act, introduced by my good friend, Representative  Mike 
Waltz. This bill would double the current distance that Customs and 
Border Patrol can enforce U.S. laws from 12 to 24 nautical miles off 
the coast of the United States. Congress should pass this legislation 
to protect America's national security and economic interests.
  CBP is responsible for enforcing America's trade laws. With this 
expanded area of operations, the agency can better protect intellectual 
property, fight illegal dumping of products, and ensure America is paid 
the customs revenues we are owed.
  Other law enforcement agencies, like the Coast Guard, already operate 
at the 24-nautical-mile-limit. CBP must be empowered fully to carry out 
its responsibilities, protect our national security, and enforce our 
trade laws.
  Currently, CBP must rely on Presidential proclamations for legal 
authority to pursue or board vessels more than 12 nautical miles off 
our coast. In some cases, courts have created uncertainty by 
questioning the validity of this authority. Congress can use its 
legislative power to give the agency more certainty and the ability to 
operate more effectively in the future.
  Making this change will also help keep American families safer. 
International crime rings smuggle drugs through our sea and airports. 
In fiscal year 2022, the Air and Marine Operations division of CBP 
captured hundreds of thousands of pounds of illegal drugs, including 
over 200,000 pounds of cocaine and 146 pounds of the deadly fentanyl 
poisoning Americans. More than 80 percent of those drugs were seized on 
the water.
  This bill makes it easier to stop illegal drugs from reaching our 
border and entering our communities. This bill also makes it easier for 
us to end the abuses of human trafficking.
  It is not just drugs that are smuggled into the United States. Humans 
are also being trafficked, and oftentimes by sea. By expanding in law 
the area in which they can operate, CBP agents will have more 
flexibility to capture and arrest criminals smuggling drugs and people 
into our country.
  This bill won bipartisan approval in the Ways and Means Committee 
last year because it is a commonsense approach to stopping 
international crime rings from breaking our laws and harming our 
communities. It is a change Customs and Border Patrol has asked us for 
and of which the Biden White House has previously supported.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for that argument. I also rise in 
support of the Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act. H.R. 529, 
authored and introduced by my good friend  Mike Waltz, would extend the 
customs waters of the United States from 12 to 24 nautical miles, a 
change that would expand the coastal area in which Customs and Border 
Patrol's Air and Marine Operations can exercise their law enforcement 
authority to combat smuggling of illegal narcotics; to stem the flow of 
human trafficking; and, yes, to secure our borders.
  CBP's Air and Marine Operations, or as I will refer to them, AMO, 
plays an important role in preventing the unlawful entry by sea of 
goods and people into our Nation, as Chairman Smith indicated. Our 
coastal domain is over 95,000 miles long. It is an area that is more 
open and maneuverable than air and land, and thus, it is more 
vulnerable to being penetrated by transnational criminal organizations.
  The issue, though, is that the current law prevents AMO from stopping 
those smugglers or exercising its law enforcement authorities more than 
12 nautical miles from shore, even though, as you heard, the contiguous 
waters of the United States extend out to 24 nautical miles.
  What we have seen is that the transnational criminal organizations 
are taking advantage of that situation, taking advantage of this 
limitation, which is demonstrated by the numbers, including that in 
2022, 82 percent of drug seizures by AMO, including 702 pounds of 
fentanyl, occurred in the maritime environment.
  Now, beyond stopping illegal narcotics, AMO has the authority to 
intercept vessels that are smuggling people on the sea which, 
unfortunately, as we have seen, has become one of the most dangerous 
ways to enter into any country. AMO does its best and has a duty to 
prevent the loss of life and discouraging this deadly form of migration 
by rescuing those trapped aboard dangerous vessels.
  Many of the vessels used to smuggle people these days are often not 
built for the waters they are on, nor are they equipped for the long 
journey or bouts of bad weather. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that just 
about every vessel they encounter is constructed haphazardly with 
improvised materials and with absolutely no concern for the people on 
board.
  Moreover, Mr. Speaker, smugglers often overload their vessels to 
maximize profits, which risks capsizing and the loss of life. When AMO 
encounters migrants on suspicious vehicles, these operations often turn 
into rescues, with many on board being sick, severely dehydrated, 
injured, or even overboard in the water.

  Fortunately, AMO doesn't just stop vessels. AMO personnel are trained 
and equipped to care for the people on board and rescue those who are 
overboard. Many AMO personnel are trained as emergency medical 
technicians, EMTs, and all of the agents are trained first responders. 
Moreover, AMO vessels are equipped with specialized trauma and first 
aid kits and ladders to help rescue people from the water.
  Mr. Speaker, by increasing the customs waters from 12 nautical miles 
to 24, we are giving AMO more opportunity to rescue people, to save 
lives, to respond to suspected vehicles, and, yes, even set up 
interdictions farther away from shore and safely away from law-abiding 
boaters.
  The expansion of the area that AMO operates in will help them better 
do their job to stop vessels that are trafficking drugs and humans and 
protect the people that are on board those vessels. That is why I 
support this legislation that passed unanimously out of the Ways and 
Means Committee back in November.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same because by supporting 
this legislation, we would not only help support the mission of AMO to 
stop illegal narcotics and human trafficking, but we would be helping 
secure our Nation's borders. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, 
and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, in closing, as you have heard, this 
legislation has full bipartisan support of the Ways and Means Committee 
and beyond, and support from CBP's Air and Marine Operations.
  It is critical that we give AMO the authorities it needs to 
effectively combat transnational criminal organizations. Extending 
customs waters to 24 nautical miles would allow AMO to exercise its law 
enforcement authority and both protect human life and our communities 
by helping AMO secure our borders.

[[Page H2691]]

  Mr. Speaker, I once again encourage my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time to close.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill helps give Customs and Border Protection the 
certainty to know that they can enforce U.S. trade laws without fear of 
their authority being challenged in court.
  Allowing our Customs agents the authority to go out 24 miles off the 
coast is consistent with what both Republican and Democratic Presidents 
have supported. This bill helps CBP protect the livelihoods of American 
workers. When foreigners cheat our U.S. trade system and avoid paying 
the rightful duties they owe, it is American workers and small 
businesses that suffer.

                              {time}  1930

  Improved trade enforcement not only helps our economy, but it will 
also help save American lives. Too many families know the pain of 
losing a loved one from a drug like fentanyl that should have never 
come into our country.
  Customs and Border Protection needs the certainty and operational 
flexibility to catch smugglers before their deadly drugs reach our 
shore. We need to end the current inconsistency by which Congress has 
fully authorized the Coast Guard to pursue and board suspicious vessels 
up to 24 miles off of our coast but has not done the same for CBP.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 1137, the previous question is ordered 
on the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question 
will be postponed.

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