[House Report 105-257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-257
_______________________________________________________________________


 
       CHANGE IN CANADIAN BORDER BOAT LANDING PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

_______________________________________________________________________


 September 18, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 2027]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2027) to provide for the revision of the 
requirements for a Canadian border boat landing permit pursuant 
to section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and to 
require the Attorney General to report to the Congress on the 
impact of such revision, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                  

                                                                 Page
Purpose and Summary........................................           2
Background and Need for the Legislation....................           2
Hearings...................................................           3
Committee Consideration....................................           3
Vote of the Committee......................................           3
Committee Oversight Findings...............................           3
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight Findings......           3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures..................           3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate..................           3
Constitutional Authority Statement.........................           5
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion.................           5
Agency Views...............................................           5
Dissenting Views...........................................           7

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2027 provides that U.S. citizen passengers on small 
boats (who are neither owners nor operators) on short trips 
between the U.S. and Canada need not obtain Canadian Border 
Boat Landing Permit forms if carrying U.S. passports for the 
duration of their trips.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    Currently, American and Canadian small boat operators and 
passengers returning to the United States from Canadian waters 
must either enter through a port-of-entry or possess approved 
I-68 (Canadian Border Boat Landing Permit) forms issued by the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service for $16 and good for one 
year.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ 8 C.F.R. sec. 235.1(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While the I-68 form allows individuals on boats to enter 
the United States without being inspected at each docking, the 
persons are physically inspected and entered into INS records 
once a year when applying for the forms at INS offices.
    Boaters generally find the I-68 form a minor inconvenience. 
Tourists and houseguests of boaters who might spontaneously 
want to take boat trips to Canadian waters cannot do so (unless 
the boat returns to the U.S. through a port of entry) because 
they have not likely procured I-68 forms in advance.
    H.R. 2027 provides that in the case of a United States 
citizen traveling on small boat on a trip between the United 
States and Canada of not more than 72 hours duration, the 
citizen need not obtain a I-68 permit if the citizen is a 
passenger (and not the owner or operator) and carries a U.S. 
passport for the duration of the trip. Owners and operators of 
boats have advance notice of the need for I-68 forms, and can 
make plans for obtaining them.
    The Committee does not dismiss concerns that any I-68 
exemption might facilitate alien smuggling by allowing 
individuals to enter the U.S. without ever being inspected. For 
this reason, H.R. 2027 creates a pilot project of only a year 
and a half's duration. At the conclusion of the pilot, the INS 
will provide Congress a report indicating whether the pilot has 
had any impact on illegal immigration into the United States.
    In addition, the bill only allows the U.S. passport as a 
substitute for the I-68 form. The passport is the most secure 
identification document a U.S. citizen can have. Indeed, it is 
more difficult to counterfeit than is the I-68 itself. The 
Committee believes it is unlikely that allowance of the 
passport's use will facilitate alien smuggling.
    Finally, the owner and operator of any boat carrying 
passengers without I-68 forms will themselves have I-68 forms 
on file with the INS. This will facilitate any investigations 
carried out by the INS.
    The INS is currently installing a number of video phones at 
locations along the St. Lawrence River that boaters can use to 
call into the INS when arriving instead of having to go to 
ports-of-entry or possess I-68 forms. If at some point in the 
future sufficient numbers of these video phones are installed 
along the U.S. shores of the Great Lakes, this might provide an 
alternative solution to the problem addressed by H.R. 2027.

                                Hearings

    The Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held 
one day of hearings on H.R. 2027 on June 26, 1997. Testimony 
was received from Representative Steven LaTourette, Donna Kay 
Barnes, Chief Inspector, Division of Inspections, Immigration 
and Naturalization Service, Elaine Dickinson, Director, State 
Affairs, Boat Owners Association of the United States, and Rolf 
Ting, President, Greater Cleveland Boating Association.

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 15, 1997, the Subcommittee on Immigration and 
Claims met in open session and ordered reported the bill H.R. 
2027 by a voice vote, a quorum being present. On July 23, 1997, 
the Committee met in open session and ordered reported 
favorably the bill H.R. 2027 without amendment by voice vote, a 
quorum being present.

                         Vote of the Committee

    H.R. 2027 was ordered reported favorably by a voice vote.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports 
that the findings and recommendations of the Committee, based 
on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

         Committee on Government Reform and Oversight Findings

    No findings or recommendations of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in 
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 2(l)(3)(B) of House Rule XI is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets 
forth, with respect to the bill, H.R. 2027, the following 
estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 30, 1997.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2027, a bill to 
provide for the revision of the requirements for a Canadian 
border boat landing permit pursuant to section 235 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, and to require the Attorney 
General to report to the Congress on the impact of such 
revision.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,

                                           June E. O'Neill, Director.  
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2027--A bill to provide for the revision of the 
        requirements for a Canadian border boat landing permit 
        pursuant to section 235 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, and to require the Attorney General to 
        report to the Congress on the impact of such revision

    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. H.R. 2027 would 
affect direct spending, so pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply. However, we estimate that the amounts involved would be 
much less than $500,000 a year. This bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.
    Under current law, operators of small boats and their 
passengers returning to the United States from Canadian waters 
must possess permits to land anywhere other than an official 
port of entry. H.R. 2027 would remove this requirement for most 
passengers on trips lasting three or fewer days if they are 
United States citizens carrying passports. The bill's 
provisions would be effective through December 31, 1998.
    In fiscal year 1996, the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service (INS) issued roughly 1,000 landing permits and 
collected fees totaling about $34,000, which it spent (as 
direct spending) to recover the cost of administering the 
permit applications. Enacting the bill would reduce the amount 
of fees collected by INS but also would lower the related 
administrative costs. Thus, CBO estimates that H.R. 2027 would 
have little or no net budgetary impact.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, 
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by 
Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(l)(4) of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the 
Constitution.

                      Section-By-Section Analysis

Section 1. Change in Canadian Border Boat Landing Permit Requirements.
    Subsection (a) provides that the Attorney General is to 
issue revised regulations no later than 60 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act that will provide that in the case of 
a United States citizen traveling in a boat of not more than 65 
feet in length (including a boat used for commercial purposes) 
on a trip between the United States and Canada of not more than 
72 hours duration, the citizen need not obtain a Canadian 
Border Boat Landing Permit (or other permit required by section 
235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act) if the citizen 
meets two conditions. The two conditions are that (1) the 
citizen carries a United States passport for the duration of 
the trip, and (2) the citizen is neither an owner, nor an 
operator, of the boat.
    Of course, if a U.S. citizen passenger travels to a port-
of-entry upon return from Canada to be inspected by the INS, 
the passenger would need neither an I-68 form nor a passport. 
The I-68 form as available under current law and the provisions 
of H.R. 2027 are merely designed to provide certain individuals 
with alternatives to the necessity of going to ports-of-entry.
    Subsection (b) provides that the revised regulations shall 
cease to be effective on December 31, 1998, and the regulations 
in effect the day before the enactment of this Act shall resume 
to be effective.
    Subsection (c) provides that not later than March 1, 1999, 
the Attorney General shall report to Congress on the impact of 
the revised regulations on the number and nature of 
unauthorized entrances by individuals into the United States.

                              Agency Views

    The Committee received the following letter from Doris 
Meissner, Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, setting forth the INS's position on H.R. 2027:

                        U.S. Department of Justice,
                    Immigration and Naturalization Service,
                                                    Washington, DC.

Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: H.R. 2027 revises inspection 
requirements for persons entering the United States by boat 
along the Canadian border. The bill proposes to revise section 
235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act so that United 
States citizens entering the country on a boat smaller than 65 
feet in length are relieved from obtaining an I-68 permit if 
the citizen carries a U.S. passport and is not an owner or 
operator of the boat.
    While the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is 
sympathetic with the concerns of the bill's sponsors, it must 
oppose H.R. 2027. The INS has already developed a new process 
which simplifies inspections procedures for citizens and 
others. H.R. 2027 likely will create confusion and problems 
since it aims at only a small portion of the boating 
population. The bill seeks to exempt from the INS form I-68 
only those U.S. citizens (on commercial or private vessels), 
who are not the owner nor the operator of the boat, whose trip 
will not exceed 72 hours, and who carry a U.S. passport for the 
duration of the excursion. It will create confusion because the 
same small population that the bill exempts from an INS form 
will still be subject to all U.S. Customs entry requirements, 
and all Canadian requirements for entry. It would also exempt 
some of this group from a requirement that didn't pertain to 
them in the past: persons on small commercial boats such as 
ferries never needed the INS form I-68 in the past. These 
persons all must undergo inspection on entry.
    In keeping with Congressional direction, the INS is already 
piloting a much simpler procedure for boaters than H.R. 2027 
seeks to implement. In early July, the INS installed video 
phones which are now operational at four locations along the 
St. Lawrence River so that boaters can call in to INS at a 
Port-of-Entry when they arrive. This procedure takes the place 
of obtaining a Form I-68, and Canadians as well as U.S. 
citizens can use it, along with owners and operators of boats, 
not just passengers. For the pilot, a call to the INS also 
serves as a Customs check, so no separate procedure is required 
to fulfill U.S. Customs requirements. The phone even self-dials 
the port, without the need for the caller to do anything but 
lift the receiver and talk to the inspector whom the caller can 
see on the answering end. This pilot is a lot simpler, 
friendlier, and potentially will provide an accommodation for 
many more boaters than H.R. 2027 seeks to accommodate.
    For these reasons, the INS opposes enactment of H.R. 2027. 
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there is 
no objection from the standpoint of the Administration's 
program to the presentation of this report.
            Sincerely,
                                            Doris Meissner,
                                                      Commissioner.
                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    H.R. 2027 relaxes certain INS pre-inspection requirements 
for U.S. citizens traveling by boat on the Great Lakes between 
the U.S. and Canada. Under current law, Great Lake boaters are 
pre-inspected by completing an I-68 application and receiving a 
``Canadian Border Boat Landing Permit.'' Boat Landing Permits 
entitle boat owners and passengers who are U.S. or Canadian 
citizens or legal permanent residents to travel between the 
U.S. and Canada for an entire summer without any additional 
inspection. Applicants wait about two weeks to receive their 
Boat Landing Permits, which cost $16 for individuals and $32 
for families. Boaters who do not have, or who do not qualify 
for, a Boat Landing Permit are expected to submit to a full-
fledged INS inspection upon arrival from Canada.
    H.R. 2027 would amend the law so that U.S. citizens with 
valid passports who are passengers in a boat would not be 
required to obtain a permit to enter the U.S. from Canada 
without inspection. The new law would not apply to boat owners, 
who would still be expected to receive a Boat Landing Permit or 
submit to INS inspection. The bill would sunset on December 31, 
1998 and would require the Attorney General to make a report to 
Congress on the impact the relaxed requirements had on the 
number and nature of unauthorized entrances into the U.S.
    While the bill might be considered an improvement over 
similar legislation which passed the House on the Suspension 
Calendar last year, there is no escaping the fact that the net 
effect of the bill to further relax border security on the 
Great Lakes. While we understand that the current system may be 
inconvenient to Great Lake boaters, we do not believe that such 
inconvenience justifies any further relaxation of the border 
along the Great Lakes, particularly at a time when the Congress 
and the Administration have increased efforts to secure all of 
America's borders against illegal immigration and drug 
smuggling.
    As the southwest border between the U.S. and Mexico becomes 
more secure, pressure is expected to increase along the 
northern border between the U.S. and Canada. There have already 
been numerous incidents of illegal immigrants and drugs being 
smuggled across the U.S.-Canadian border in upstate New York. 
Bootleggers now use the Great Lakes to smuggle cigarettes and 
alcohol into Canada to avoid Canadian excise taxes.
    Every American must share responsibility for securing our 
borders. That may mean longer waits at the U.S./Mexican border 
as inspection times increase. It may also mean that boaters on 
the Great Lakes must continue to submit to pre-inspection by 
the INS before enjoying the privilege of traveling between the 
U.S. and Canada without further inspection. We believe that is 
an inconvenience which is justified as part of our efforts to 
make the borders more secure.
                                                     Melvin L. Watt.   
                                                   Robert C. Scott.


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