Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 96 (Wednesday, June 5, 2024)

[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 5, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3999-S4002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

NORTHERN BORDER COORDINATION ACT

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 257, S. 2291.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

A bill (S. 2291) to establish the Northern Border
Coordination Center, and for other purposes.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, with an amendment to strike all after the
enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Border Coordination
Act''.

[[Page S4000]]

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the Northern Border
Coordination Center established pursuant to section 3.
(2) C-UAS.--The term ``C-UAS'' means counter-unmanned
aircraft systems.
(3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Homeland Security.
(4) Northern border.--The term ``northern border'' means
the international border between the United States and
Canada.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Homeland Security.
(6) Unmanned aircraft; unmanned aircraft systems.--The
terms ``unmanned aircraft'' and ``unmanned aircraft system''
have the meanings given such terms in section 44801 of title
49, United States Code.

SEC. 3. NORTHERN BORDER COORDINATION CENTER.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the
Northern Border Coordination Center.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Center shall be to serve
as the Department's forward deployed centralized coordination
center for operations, domain awareness, information sharing,
intelligence, training, and stakeholder engagement with
Federal, State, tribal, local, and international government
partners along the northern border of the United States at a
location that is collocated with an existing U.S. Border
Patrol sector headquarters, the U.S. Border Patrol Northern
Border Coordination Center, an Air and Marine Operations
branch, and a United States Coast Guard air station.
(c) Components.--
(1) In general.--The Center shall collocate personnel and
activities of--
(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including U.S.
Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations;
(B) the United States Coast Guard;
(C) Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers;
(D) the Science and Technology Directorate;
(E) other components and offices of the Department that the
Secretary determines to be necessary; and
(F) additional Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international government partners, as the Secretary
determines to be necessary and appropriate to support
operations described in this Act.
(d) Functions.--The Center shall perform the functions
described in this subsection in addition to any other
functions assigned by the Secretary.
(1) Northern border security strategy.--The Center, in
collaboration with relevant offices and components of the
Department, shall--
(A) serve as a coordination mechanism for operational
components for the implementation, evaluation, and updating
of the Northern Border Security Strategy and any successor
strategy; and
(B) support the development of best practices and policies
for personnel at the northern border to support such
implementation.
(2) Training.--The Center shall serve as a training
location to support the delivery of training or exercises for
Department personnel and Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international government partners.
(3) Metrics.--The Center, in collaboration with relevant
offices and components of the Department, shall coordinate
the development and tracking of border security metrics for
the northern border.
(4) Resource and technological needs and challenges.--The
Center, in collaboration with relevant offices and components
of the Department, shall--
(A) identify resource and technological needs or challenges
affecting security along the northern border;
(B) serve as a testing ground and demonstration location
for the testing of border security technology, including
determining such technology's suitability and performance in
the northern border and maritime environments; and
(C) develop and test new technological capabilities to
respond to the increased use of unmanned aircraft systems,
including to specifically improve domain awareness along the
northern border.
(5) Air and marine operations.--
(A) Quick reaction capabilities.--In support of the Center,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine
Operations--
(i) shall establish and maintain capability that is
collocated with the Center and available for quick deployment
in support of the northern border missions of the Center,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department,
specifically missions in the Great Lakes region; and
(ii) in coordination with the Center and relevant offices
and components of the Department, shall evaluate requirements
and make recommendations to support the operations of large
unmanned aircraft systems based at the Center.
(B) Northern border domain awareness.--In order to
coordinate with the Center and support its operations, the
Air and Marine Operations Center shall establish a unit at
the Center to provide the Center the capability--
(i) to support air and maritime domain awareness and
information sharing efforts along the northern border;
(ii) to provide dedicated monitoring of northern border
systems; and
(iii) to lead, in coordination with other U.S. Customs and
Border Protection components, Federal, State, tribal, local,
and international governments, and private sector partners,
the Center's efforts to track and monitor legitimate cross-
border traffic involving unmanned aircraft and unmanned
aircraft systems.
(6) Counter-unmanned aircraft systems.--The Center shall
support counter-unmanned aircraft systems operations along
the northern border to respond to the increased use of
unmanned aircraft systems.
(7) Privacy and civil rights.--The Center, in collaboration
with the Chief Privacy Officer and the Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department, shall ensure
that operations and practices of the Center comply with the
privacy and civil rights policies of the Department and its
components.
(e) Annual Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after the
establishment of the Center, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary 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 activities of the Center
during the most recently concluded fiscal year, including--
(1) personnel levels;
(2) additional resources that are needed to support the
operations of the Center and northern border operations of
the Department; and
(3) any additional assets or authorities that are needed to
increase security and domain awareness along the northern
border.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Border Coordination
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the Northern Border
Coordination Center established pursuant to section 3.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Homeland Security.
(3) Northern border.--The term ``northern border'' means
the international border between the United States and
Canada.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. NORTHERN BORDER COORDINATION CENTER.

[[Page S4001]]

(B) Northern border domain awareness.--In order to
coordinate with the Center and support its operations, the
Air and Marine Operations Center shall collocate personnel
and resources with the Center to enhance the Department's
capabilities to--
(i) support air and maritime domain awareness and
information sharing efforts along the northern border;
(ii) provide dedicated monitoring of northern border
systems; and
(iii) lead, in coordination with other U.S. Customs and
Border Protection components, Federal, State, tribal, local,
and international governments, and private sector partners,
the Center's efforts to track and monitor legitimate cross-
border traffic involving unmanned aircraft and unmanned
aircraft systems.
(6) Counter-unmanned aircraft systems.--Pursuant to
policies established by the Secretary, the Center shall
support counter-unmanned aircraft systems operations along
the northern border to respond to the increased use of
unmanned aircraft systems. Such support may involve
development, testing, and evaluation of technologies.
(7) Privacy and civil rights.--The Center, in collaboration
with the Chief Privacy Officer and the Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department, shall ensure
that operations and practices of the Center comply with the
privacy and civil rights policies of the Department and its
components.
(e) Annual Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after the
establishment of the Center, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary 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 activities of the Center
during the most recently concluded fiscal year, including--
(1) personnel levels;
(2) additional resources that are needed to support the
operations of the Center and northern border operations of
the Department; and
(3) any additional assets or authorities that are needed to
increase security and domain awareness along the northern
border.
(f) Temporary Duty Assignments.--The Secretary shall submit
a quarterly report to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives regarding
temporary duty assignments of U.S. Border Patrol agents
during the reporting period, including--
(1) the number of agents on temporary duty assignment;
(2) the duration of the temporary duty assignment; and
(3) the sectors from which the agents were assigned.
(g) Rule of Construction.--The Center established pursuant
to subsection (a) shall be established separate and distinct
from the Secretary's authorities under section 708 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 348).
Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported
substitute amendment be withdrawn; that the Peters substitute
amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the
bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that
the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was
withdrawn.
The amendment (No. 2073) was agreed to as follows:

(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Border Coordination
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the Northern Border
Coordination Center established pursuant to section 3.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Homeland Security.
(3) Northern border.--The term ``northern border'' means--
(A) the international border between the United States and
Canada; and
(B) the maritime border between Alaska and the Russian
Federation.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. NORTHERN BORDER COORDINATION CENTER.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the
Northern Border Coordination Center.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Center shall be to serve
as the Department's forward deployed centralized coordination
center for operations, domain awareness, information sharing,
intelligence, training, and stakeholder engagement with
Federal, State, tribal, local, and international government
partners along the northern border of the United States. The
Center shall be placed along the northern border at a
location that is collocated with an existing U.S. Border
Patrol sector headquarters, an Air and Marine Operations
branch, and a United States Coast Guard air station, and
other existing Department activities.
(c) Components.--
(1) In general.--The Center shall collocate personnel and
activities of--
(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including U.S.
Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations;
(B) the United States Coast Guard;
(C) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland
Security Investigations;
(D) other components and offices of the Department that the
Secretary determines to be necessary, including to support
the training, technology testing, and development described
in subsection (d); and
(E) additional Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international government partners, as the Secretary
determines to be necessary and appropriate to support the
coordination of operations described in this Act.
(d) Functions.--The Center shall perform the functions
described in this subsection in addition to any other
functions assigned by the Secretary.
(1) Northern border strategy.--The Center, in collaboration
with relevant offices and components of the Department,
shall--
(A) serve as a coordination mechanism for operational
components for the implementation, evaluation, and updating
of the Northern Border Strategy and any successor strategy;
and
(B) support the development of best practices and policies
for personnel at the northern border to support such
implementation.
(2) Training.--The Center shall serve as a training
location to support the delivery of training or exercises for
Department personnel and Federal, State, tribal, local, and
international government partners.
(3) Metrics.--The Center, in collaboration with relevant
offices and components of the Department, shall coordinate
the development and tracking of border security metrics for
the northern border.
(4) Resource and technological needs and challenges.--The
Center, in collaboration with relevant offices and components
of the Department, shall--
(A) identify resource and technological needs or challenges
affecting security along the northern border; and
(B) serve as a testing ground and demonstration location
for the testing of border security technology, including
determining such technology's suitability and performance in
the northern border and maritime environments.
(5) Air and marine operations.--
(A) Quick reaction capabilities.--In support of the Center,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine
Operations--
(i) shall establish and maintain capability that is
collocated with the Center and available for quick deployment
in support of the northern border missions, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, and the Department, including missions in
the Great Lakes region; and
(ii) in coordination with the Center and relevant offices
and components of the Department, shall evaluate requirements
and make recommendations to support the operations of large
unmanned aircraft systems based at the Center.
(B) Northern border domain awareness.--In order to
coordinate with the Center and support its operations, the
Air and Marine Operations Center shall collocate personnel
and resources with the Center to enhance the Department's
capabilities to--
(i) support air and maritime domain awareness and
information sharing efforts along the northern border;
(ii) provide dedicated monitoring of northern border
systems; and
(iii) lead, in coordination with other U.S. Customs and
Border Protection components, Federal, State, tribal, local,
and international governments, and private sector partners,
the Center's efforts to track and monitor legitimate cross-
border traffic involving unmanned aircraft and unmanned
aircraft systems.
(6) Counter-unmanned aircraft systems.--
(A) In general.--Pursuant to policies established by the
Secretary, consistent with section 210G of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124n), the Center shall
support counter-unmanned aircraft systems operations along
the northern border to respond to the increased use of
unmanned aircraft systems. Such support may involve
development, testing, and evaluation of technologies.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act may be
construed to provide additional authority related to
detection, mitigation, research, development, or testing of
unmanned aircraft systems or counter-unmanned aircraft
systems.
(7) Privacy and civil rights.--The Center, in collaboration
with the Chief Privacy Officer and the Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department, shall ensure
that operations and practices of the Center comply with the
privacy and civil rights policies of the Department and its
components.
(8) Noncontiguous northern border.--The Center, in
collaboration with relevant offices and components of the
Department, shall--
(A) identify the specific challenges that exist along the
noncontiguous international land border with Canada and the
maritime border with Russia, including resource,
technological challenges, and domain awareness;
(B) ensure that dedicated personnel, including reachback
support, are working to evaluate and address the challenges
identified pursuant to subparagraph (A); and

[[Page S4002]]

(C) determine the feasibility of establishing a satellite
facility of the Center to address the specific challenges
identified pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(e) Annual Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after the
establishment of the Center, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives, and the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that
describes the activities of the Center during the most
recently concluded fiscal year, including--
(1) personnel levels;
(2) additional resources that are needed to support the
operations of the Center and northern border operations of
the Department; and
(3) any additional assets or authorities that are needed to
increase security and domain awareness along the northern
border.
(f) Temporary Duty Assignments.--The Secretary shall submit
a quarterly report to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives regarding temporary
duty assignments of U.S. Border Patrol agents during the
reporting period, including--
(1) the number of agents on temporary duty assignment;
(2) the duration of the temporary duty assignment; and
(3) the sectors from which the agents were assigned.
(g) Rule of Construction.--The Center established pursuant
to subsection (a) shall be established separate and distinct
from the Secretary's authorities under section 708 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 348).
(h) Sunset.--This Act shall cease to be effective on the
date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
The bill (No. 2291), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

____________________