[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5308-S5310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3537. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 in subtitle F of title X, insert
the following:
SEC. 10___. CUSTOMS ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Creating Uniform Security and Transit Over Migratory
Sectors Act'' or the ``CUSTOMS Act''.
(b) Port Modernization.--
(1) In general.--Section 411(o) of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(o)) is amended--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Transferring custody of all land ports of entry along
international borders of the united states to u.s. customs
and border protection.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
the enactment of the CUSTOMS Act, the Administrator of
General Services shall transfer custody of all land ports of
entry along United States international borders to the
Secretary.
``(B) Procedure for transferal.--
``(i) Submission of site information to secretary.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the
CUSTOMS Act, the Administrator of General Services shall
submit to the Secretary--
``(I) detailed information regarding the sites of each land
port of entry along any United States international border;
``(II) a current list of the Federal personnel who are
stationed at the sites referred to in subclause (I),
disaggregated by site and Federal department or agency;
``(III) a current list of the General Services
Administration personnel and Federal contractors assigned to
each General Services Administration Region containing a site
referred to in subclause (I);
``(IV) the performance evaluations of the personnel and
contractors referred to in subclause (III), to the extent
available, for most recent 3-year period;
``(V) any draft or executed memoranda of understanding with
other Federal departments or agencies regarding the
maintenance of the sites referred to in subclause (I), or
portions of such sites;
``(VI) any draft or executed lease contract and offers of
the sites referred to in subclause (I), or portions of such
sites; and
``(VII) any planned or ongoing maintenance projects for
each site referred to in subclause (I), including the
timelines, budgets, memoranda of understanding, scoping
documents, technical specifications, contracting actions, and
review materials for such projects.
``(ii) Site transferal timeline.--
``(I) Submission to congress.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of the CUSTOMS Act, the
Administrator of General Services and the Secretary shall
jointly submit, to the appropriate congressional committees--
``(aa) a timeline for the transferal of each site referred
to in clause (i)(I); and
``(bb) the information described in subclauses (II) through
(VI) of clause (i).
``(II) Publication in federal register.--Not later than 3
days after the submission referred to in subclause (I), the
Secretary shall publish the timeline referred to in item (aa)
of such subclause in the Federal Register.
``(iii) Joint custody of sites.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of the CUSTOMS Act, the
Administrator of General Services and the Secretary shall--
``(I) assume joint custody of the sites referred to in
clause (i)(I); and
``(II) jointly publish notice of such joint custody in the
Federal Register.
``(iv) Interim management.--During the period beginning on
the date on which notice is published pursuant to clause
(iii)(II) and ending on the date on which the Secretary
assumes full custody of all of the sites referred to in
clause (i)(I)--
``(I) the Secretary shall have the primary jurisdiction to
manage such sites; and
``(II) the Administrator of General Services shall serve as
an advisor in the management of such sites for the pendency
of the transferal described in this paragraph.
``(v) Procedures; management.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of the CUSTOMS Act, the Secretary,
in consultation with the Administrator of General Services,
shall--
``(I) establish procedures for assuming custody and
managing each site referred to in clause (i)(I) to the
current standard of the General Services Administration or
the industry to prevent U.S. Customs and Border Protection
from incurring additional expenses upon transfer of custody;
``(II) establish dispute resolution procedures for any
conflict regarding the management of space or personnel at a
site referred to in clause (i)(I) in which 2 or more Federal
departments or agencies occupy space as tenants;
``(III) establish an office within U.S. Customs and Border
Protection for managing relationships and serving as a
liaison with any Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial,
or international entity with whom the Administrator of
General Services previously interacted in carrying out the
Administrator's management duties of the sites referred to in
clause (i)(I);
``(IV) establish an office within U.S. Customs and Border
Protection for managing contracting actions, leasing
execution, and title acquisitions regarding such sites,
including maintenance and modernization projects; and
``(V) establish interagency agreements with occupying
agencies to reimburse U.S. Customs and Border Protection for
any direct costs incurred for such occupying agency's
presence at land ports of entry that are under the custody
and control of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
``(vi) Duties of the administrator of general services.--
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
the CUSTOMS Act, the Administrator of General Services
shall--
``(I) at each port of entry being transferred from the
Administrator to the Secretary, develop a list of--
``(aa) the existing environmental contamination at each
port of entry, if applicable;
``(bb) the deferred maintenance projects at each port of
entry, if applicable;
``(cc) the ongoing land acquisition actions at each port of
entry, if applicable;
``(dd) the ongoing construction projects at each port of
entry, if applicable;
``(ee) any donation under the Port of Entry donation
authority described in section 482 of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 301a) that the Administrator had been
evaluating based on the criteria described in such section;
``(ff) any other item that could delay the transfer of each
port of entry from the Administrator to the Secretary; and
``(gg) all rent charges collected for existing fiscal year
as outlined on the GSA rent bill, to include an ongoing
modernization funds and reimbursable work authorizations in
progress; and
``(II) provide the list developed pursuant to subclause (I)
to the Secretary and to the appropriate congressional
committees.
``(vii) Monthly status reports.--Beginning on the date that
is 30 days after the date on which the procedures and offices
have been established pursuant to clause (v), the Secretary
and the Administrator of General Services shall jointly
provide monthly status reports to the appropriate
congressional committees regarding the implementation of such
procedures and the operations of such offices.
``(viii) Notices.--During the period beginning on the date
that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of the
CUSTOMS Act and ending on the date that is 5 years after such
date of enactment, the Secretary shall
[[Page S5309]]
notify the appropriate congressional committees whenever the
Secretary assumes sole custody of a site referred to in
clause (i)(I) and publish such notice in the Federal
Register.
``(ix) Complete transferal.--Not later than 5 years after
the date of the enactment of the CUSTOMS Act, the Secretary
shall assume sole custody of every site referred to in clause
(i)(I).
``(C) Personnel actions.--
``(i) Direct hire authority.--Subject to clause (ii),
during the pendency of the period described in subparagraph
(B) and for the following 3 fiscal years, the Secretary, or
his or her designee, without regard to the provisions of
subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code
(other than sections 3303 and 3328 of such chapter), may
appoint qualified candidates to any position required--
``(I) to carry out this paragraph; and
``(II) to manage the sites referred to in subparagraph
(B)(i)(I).
``(ii) Conditions on use of direct hire authority.--
``(I) In general.--Before using the direct hire authority
described in clause (i), the Secretary, or a designee of the
Secretary, shall review and consider existing personnel of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection to address staffing
requirements prior to exercising the direct hire authority.
If gaps still exist, the process shall include interviewing
each individual included in the list required under
subparagraph (B)(i)(III) who received a pass or exemplary
performance review during the period described in such
subparagraph.
``(II) Appropriations.--The Administrator of General
Services may transfer funds appropriated for the General
Services Administration to U.S. Customs and Border Protection
for salaries and expenses of personnel and contractors of the
General Services Administration considered for direct hire
authority by the Secretary under this subparagraph.
``(D) Expedited contracting.--The Secretary shall establish
a streamlined approval process for expediting contracts and
interagency agreements to carry out this paragraph.
``(E) Assumption of custody by u.s. customs and border
protection.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the
enactment of the CUSTOMS Act, upon completion of the elements
described in subparagraph (B), all sites referred to in
subparagraph (B)(i)(I) shall be under the sole authority of
the Secretary.
``(F) Modifications to land ports of entry regarding aliens
seeking asylum.--
``(i) In general.--Upon completion of the transferal
required under subparagraph (B) and the assumption of custody
described in subparagraph (E), the Secretary shall--
``(I) develop a list that includes not fewer than--
``(aa) 15 land ports of entry along the international
border between the United States and Mexico at which a high
proportion of aliens are seeking asylum; and
``(bb) 15 land ports of entry along the international
border between the United States and Canada at which a high
proportion of aliens are seeking asylum;
``(II) to the extent practicable, establish not fewer than
1 dedicated pedestrian lanes and other appropriate facilities
at each land port of entry described in clause (i) for the
processing of aliens who are seeking asylum in the United
States; and
``(III) enter into a memorandum of agreement with the
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to
detail an appropriate number of asylum officers to each land
port of entry described in subclause (I).
``(ii) Memorandum described.--The memorandum of agreement
required under clause (i)(III)--
``(I) should base the number of asylum officers at each
land port of entry on the relative number of aliens seeking
asylum at such land port of entry; and
``(II) shall allow for changes in the number of asylum
officers to be detailed to a particular land port of entry
based on new information gathered regarding the migratory
flow of aliens seeking asylum.
``(G) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph may
be construed to affect the availability of funding from--
``(i) the Federal Buildings Fund established under section
592(a) of title 40, United States Code; or
``(ii) any other applicable statutory authority or
appropriation available to implement this paragraph.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 411(r) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211(r)) is amended by striking
``section, the terms'' and inserting the following:
"section--
``(1) the term `appropriate congressional committee'
means--
``(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
``(B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate;
``(C) the Subcommittee on Homeland Security and the
Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
``(D) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the
House of Representatives;
``(E) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives; and
``(F) the Subcommittee on Homeland Security and the
Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
``(2) the terms''.
(c) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term
``appropriate congressional committees'' has the meaning
given such term in section 411(r)(1) of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002, as added by subsection (b)(2).
(2) Annual report land ports of entry report.--Not later
than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to
the appropriate congressional committees that includes--
(A) an inventory of all of the land ports of entry that are
under the custody of the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(B) the Federal departments and agencies that have
personnel stationed at any of the sites referred to in
section 411(o)(3)(B)(i)(I) of the Homeland Security Act of
2002, as added by subsection (b)(1);
(C) a description of any planned or ongoing maintenance
projects at such sites, including the timelines, budgets,
memoranda of understanding (if applicable), scoping
documents, technical specifications, contracting actions, and
review materials of such projects;
(D) the personnel actions taken pursuant to section
411(o)(3)(C) of such Act, as added by subsection (b)(1); and
(E) the contracting actions taken in accordance with the
streamlined process established pursuant to section
411(o)(3)(D) of such Act, as added by subsection (b)(1).
(3) Implementation report.--Not later than 5 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner for
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services shall jointly submit a
report to the appropriate congressional committees that
includes--
(A) a list of the land ports of entry described in section
411(o)(3)(F)(i)(I) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as
added by subsection (b)(1);
(B) the number of pedestrian lanes for asylum seekers at
each land port of entry included in the list required under
subparagraph (A);
(C) the memorandum of understanding described in section
411(o)(3)(F)(ii) of such Act, as added by subsection (b)(1);
(D) any recommended modifications to any facility located
at a land port of entry included in the list required under
subparagraph (A) including--
(i) modifications needed to improve the management aliens
seeking asylum at such facility;
(ii) any additional personnel that may be needed to manage
the flow of aliens seeking asylum at such facility; and
(iii) any technological upgrades that may be needed to
manage the flow of aliens seeking asylum at such facility;
and
(E) the projected cost for each element described in
subparagraph (D).
(4) Biannual port of entry donation report.--Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
biannually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall--
(A) conduct a review of each project for which the
Secretary of Homeland Security accepted a donation authorized
under section 482 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 301a); and
(B) submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that includes, with respect to the reporting
period--
(i) a description of each donation described in
subparagraph (A);
(ii) the source of each such donation;
(iii) an estimate of any savings to the Federal Government
resulting from each such donation;
(iv) an estimate of any costs incurred by the Federal
Government resulting from each such donation; and
(v) any waste, fraud, corruption, or abuse within the
Federal Government resulting from each such donation.
(d) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Savings provision.--Section 422(a) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 232(a)) is amended by
inserting ``section 411(o)(3),'' after ``Administrator
under''.
(2) Port of entry donation authority.--Section 482 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 301a) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``, in consultation with the
Administrator of General Services,'';
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``, and the Administrator of General
Services, as applicable,'';
(ii) by striking paragraph (3);
(iii) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3); and
(iv) in paragraph (3)(B), as redesignated, by striking ``or
the General Services Administration'';
(C) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (2)--
(I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``, in consultation with the Administrator of General
Services,'';
(II) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``, the General
Services Administration,''; and
(III) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``, and the General
Services Administration, as applicable,'';
(ii) in paragraph (3)--
[[Page S5310]]
(I) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by striking ``, in consultation with the Administrator
of General Services, as applicable,'';
(II) in subparagraph (B)(ix), by striking ``or
Administrator''; and
(III) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ``, with the
concurrence of the Administrator of General Services, as
applicable,'';
(iii) by striking paragraph (4);
(iv) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), as
paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively;
(v) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by striking ``, or
the Administrator of General Services, as applicable,'';
(vi) in paragraph (5), as redesignated--
(I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and the
Administrator of General Services, as applicable,''; and
(II) in subparagraph (B), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by inserting an em dash after ``that''; and
(vii) in paragraph (6), as redesignated, by striking ``, in
collaboration with the Administrator of General Services, as
applicable,''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Consultation With GSA.--Any requirement under this
section to consult or collaborate with the Administrator of
General Services applies only to donations with respect to
land ports of entry within the Administrator's custody and
control, and such requirements cease upon transfer of sole
custody to the Secretary.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date on which the Secretary of
Homeland Security assumes sole custody of each Government-
owned land port of entry along any United States
international border in accordance with section
411(o)(3)(B)(ix) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as
amended by subsection (b)(1).
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