[House Report 116-394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      116-394

======================================================================



 
                      SECURING AMERICA'S PORTS ACT

                                _______
                                

February 6, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

      Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland
                   Security, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5273]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 5273) to require the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to develop a plan to increase to 100 percent the rates 
of scanning of commercial and passenger vehicles entering the 
United States at land ports of entry along the border using 
large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems to enhance border 
security, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 
the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     1
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     5
Committee Votes..................................................     8
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     8
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     8
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     8
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     8
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     8
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     9
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     9

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Securing America's Ports Act''.

SEC. 2. LARGE-SCALE NON-INTRUSIVE INSPECTION SCANNING PLAN.

  (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a plan to increase to 100 percent the rates of expeditious 
scanning of commercial and passenger vehicles entering the United 
States at land ports of entry along the border using large-scale non-
intrusive inspection systems or similar technology to enhance border 
security.
  (b) Baseline Information.--At a minimum, the plan required under 
subsection (a) shall include the following information regarding large-
scale non-intrusive inspection systems or similar technology operated 
by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at land ports of entry as of the 
date of the enactment of this Act:
          (1) An inventory of large-scale non-intrusive inspection 
        systems or similar technology in use at each land port of 
        entry.
          (2) For each system or technology identified in the inventory 
        required under paragraph (1), the following information:
                  (A) The scanning method of such system or technology.
                  (B) The location of such system or technology at each 
                land port of entry that specifies whether in use in 
                pre-primary, primary, or secondary inspection area, or 
                some combination thereof.
                  (C) The percentage of commercial and passenger 
                vehicles scanned by such system or technology.
                  (D) Seizure data directly attributed to scanned 
                commercial and passenger vehicles.
  (c) Elements.--The plan required under subsection (a) shall include 
the following information:
          (1) Benchmarks for achieving incremental progress towards 100 
        percent expeditious scanning of commercial and passenger 
        vehicles entering the United States at land ports of entry 
        along the border with corresponding projected incremental 
        improvements in scanning rates by fiscal year and rationales 
        for the specified timeframes for each land port of entry.
          (2) Estimated costs, together with an acquisition plan, for 
        achieving the 100 expeditious percent scanning rate within the 
        timeframes specified in paragraph (1), including acquisition, 
        operations, and maintenance costs for large-scale non-intrusive 
        inspection systems or similar technology, as well as associated 
        costs for any necessary infrastructure enhancements or 
        configuration changes at each port of entry. To the extent 
        practicable, such acquisition plan shall promote opportunities 
        for entities that qualify as small business concerns (as such 
        term is described under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632).
          (3) Any projected impacts, as identified by the Commissioner 
        of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on the total number of 
        commercial and passenger vehicles entering at land ports of 
        entry where such systems are in use, and average wait times at 
        peak and non-peak travel times, by lane type if applicable, as 
        scanning rates are increased.
          (4) Any projected impacts, as identified by the Commissioner 
        of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on land ports of entry 
        border security operations as a result of implementation 
        actions, including any changes to the number of U.S. Customs 
        and Border Protection officers or their duties and assignments.
  (d) Research and Development.--In furtherance of the plan required 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 
through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, shall conduct 
research and development, in coordination with the Commissioner of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, to enhance large-scale non-intrusive 
inspections systems or similar technology and refine the operational 
use or configuration of such systems or technology in pre-primary, 
primary, and secondary inspection areas of land ports of entry. Such 
research and development shall include consideration of emerging large-
scale non-intrusive inspection systems or similar technology and 
modeling the use of such systems or technology that takes into account 
the variations in infrastructure, configurations, and sizes of land 
ports of entry.
  (e) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the submission of 
the plan required under subsection (a) and annually thereafter until 
such time as U.S. Customs and Border Protection has achieved 100 
percent expeditious scanning of commercial and passenger vehicles 
entering the United States at land ports of entry along the border 
using large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems or similar 
technology in accordance with such plan, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall report to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate on progress implementing the plan. 
Each such report at a minimum shall include the following information:
          (1) An inventory of large-scale non-intrusive inspection 
        systems or similar technology operated by U.S. Customs and 
        Border Protection at each land port of entry.
          (2) For each system or technology identified in the inventory 
        required under paragraph (1), the following information:
                  (A) The scanning method of such system or technology.
                  (B) The location of such system or technology at each 
                land port of entry that specifies whether in use in 
                pre-primary, primary, or secondary inspection area, or 
                some combination thereof.
                  (C) The percentage of commercial and passenger 
                vehicles scanned by such system or technology.
                  (D) Seizure data directly attributed to scanned 
                commercial and passenger vehicles.
          (3) The total number of commercial and passenger vehicles 
        entering at each land port of entry where each system or 
        technology is in use, and information on average wait times at 
        peak and non-peak travel times, by lane type if applicable.
          (4) Progress with respect to the benchmarks specified in 
        subsection (c)(1), and an explanation if any of such benchmarks 
        are not achieved as planned.
          (5) A comparison of actual costs (including information on 
        any awards of associated contracts) to estimated costs set 
        forth in subsection (c)(2).
          (6) Any realized impacts, as identified by the Commissioner 
        of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on land ports of entry 
        operations as a result of implementation actions, including any 
        changes to the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        officers or their duties and assignments.
          (7) Any proposed changes to the plan and an explanation for 
        such changes, including changes made in response to any 
        Department of Homeland Security research and development 
        findings, including findings resulting from the research and 
        development conducted pursuant to subsection (d), or changes in 
        terrorist or transnational criminal organizations tactics, 
        techniques, or procedures.
          (8) Any challenges to implementing the plan or meeting the 
        benchmarks, and plans to mitigate any such challenges.
  (f) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Large-scale non-intrusive inspection system.--The term 
        ``large-scale non-intrusive inspection system'' means a 
        technology, including x-ray and gamma-ray imaging systems, 
        capable of producing an image of the contents of a commercial 
        or passenger vehicle in one pass of such vehicle.
          (2) Scanning.--The term ``scanning'' means utilizing 
        technology to produce an image of the contents of a commercial 
        or passenger vehicle without engaging in a physical inspection 
        of such vehicle.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 5273, the ``Securing America's Ports Act'' was 
introduced to improve border security at land ports of entry by 
increasing the inspection rate of commercial and passenger 
vehicles entering the U.S. with non-intrusive inspection (NII) 
systems or similar technology. The bill requires the Secretary 
of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to develop a plan with 
incremental timeframes, cost estimates, and projected impacts 
of increasing expeditious scanning rates of vehicles to 100 
percent at each land port of entry. The measure also directs 
the Department of Homeland Security (the Department or DHS) to 
conduct research and development of NII systems and refine 
their operational use in furtherance of the plan. The Secretary 
must also report annually to Congress on the Department's 
progress implementing its plan until it has achieved 100 
percent scanning of commercial and passenger vehicles.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses NII systems 
to detect contraband while facilitating legal trade and travel. 
These systems allow CBP officers to inspect the contents of 
commercial trucks, passenger vehicles, and other cargo for 
contraband, such as guns and drugs, without physically opening 
or unloading them. Between October 1, 2003 and April 30, 2018, 
CBP reported conducting more than 87 million NII examinations 
that resulted in more than 20,000 narcotics seizures and more 
than $79.2 million in currency seizures.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Kevin K. McAleenan, Commissioner, CBP, Testimony for a hearing 
entitled ``Trade and Commerce at U.S. Ports of Entry,'' Subcommittee on 
International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, Committee on 
Finance, U.S. Senate, July 18, 2019, https://www.finance.senate.gov/
imo/media/doc/18JUL2018McAleenanSTMNT.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Today, CBP scans only 15 percent of commercial trucks and 
one percent of passenger vehicles entering the U.S.\2\ This is 
concerning to the Committee since the majority of drugs seized 
by CBP have been at the ports of entry.\3\ This includes 
illegal fentanyl, which in 2016, surpassed prescription opioids 
as the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the 
U.S.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\CBP Fiscal Year 2020 Congressional Budget Justification, Dept. 
of Homeland Security, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/
publications/19_0318_MGMT_CBJ-Customs-Border-Protection_0.pdf (accessed 
Jan. 27, 2020).
    \3\Kristin Finklea, Illicit Drug Flows and Seizures in the United 
States: What Do We [Not] Know? Congressional Research Service, July 3, 
2019, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45812.pdf.
    \4\National Institute on Drug Abuse, https://www.drugabuse.gov/
related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/fentanyl-other-synthetic-
opioids-drug-overdose-deaths (accessed Jan. 27, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Congress appropriated $570 million in fiscal year 2019 for 
CBP to deploy additional NII systems along the southwest 
border.\5\ CBP officials conveyed to the Committee that the 
additional funding will be used to procure technology to 
increase the scanning rate of commercial trucks to 72 percent 
and passenger vehicles to 40 percent by fiscal year 2024. 
Though CBP has not identified where and when the additional 
systems will be deployed. H.R. 5273 requires DHS to outline its 
plans for deploying the additional systems and further 
increasing the NII scanning rate to 100 percent. By scanning 
all commercial and passenger vehicles that enter the U.S., CBP 
can better guard against transnational criminal organizations 
shifting their smuggling operations from one port of entry with 
deployed NII technology to another one without it. 
Additionally, leveraging NII technology to examine all vehicles 
would help CBP officers to better detect contraband while 
facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 116-6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res 6. of the 
116th Congress, the following hearings were used to develop 
H.R. 5273:
           On December 2, 2019, the Committee held a 
        field hearing entitled ``Promoting Safe and Efficient 
        Travel and Trade at America's Land Ports of Entry,'' at 
        the New Mexico Border Authority in Santa Teresa, New 
        Mexico. The Committee received testimony from Hector A. 
        Mancha Jr., El Paso Director of Field Operations, U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection; Marco Grajeda, Director, 
        New Mexico Border Authority, State of New Mexico; Jerry 
        Pacheco, President, Border Industrial Association; and 
        Felipe Otero, Logistics Manager, TPI Composites.
           On May 9, 2019, the Committee held a hearing 
        entitled ``A Review of the FY 2020 Budget Request for 
        U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration 
        and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and 
        Immigration Services.'' The Committee received 
        testimony from Robert E. Perez, Deputy Commissioner, 
        U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Matthew T. Albence, 
        Acting Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement; and Tracy Renaud, Acting Deputy Director, 
        U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
           On March 6, 2019, the Committee held a 
        hearing entitled ``The Way Forward on Border 
        Security.'' The Committee received testimony from 
        Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security about 
        border security inspections operations.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on January 29, 2020, with a quorum being 
present, to consider H.R. 5273 and ordered the measure to be 
reported to the House with a favorable recommendation, as 
amended, by unanimous consent.
    The following amendment was offered and agreed to by 
unanimous consent:
    An amendment offered by Ms. Torres Small.
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing America's Ports 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LARGE-SCALE NON-INTRUSIVE INSPECTION SCANNING PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a plan to increase to 100 
percent the rates of expeditious scanning of commercial and 
passenger vehicles entering the United States at land ports of 
entry along the border using large-scale non-intrusive 
inspection systems or similar technology to enhance border 
security.
    (b) Baseline Information.--At a minimum, the plan required 
under subsection (a) shall include the following information 
regarding large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems or 
similar technology operated by U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection at land ports of entry as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act:
          (1) An inventory of large-scale non-intrusive 
        inspection systems or similar technology in use at each 
        land port of entry.
          (2) For each system or technology identified in the 
        inventory required under paragraph (1), the following 
        information:
                  (A) The scanning method of such system or 
                technology.
                  (B) The location of such system or technology 
                at each land port of entry that specifies 
                whether in use in pre-primary, primary, or 
                secondary inspection area, or some combination 
                thereof.
                  (C) The percentage of commercial and 
                passenger vehicles scanned by such system or 
                technology.
                  (D) Seizure data directly attributed to 
                scanned commercial and passenger vehicles.
    (c) Elements.--The plan required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following information:
          (1) Benchmarks for achieving incremental progress 
        towards 100 percent expeditious scanning of commercial 
        and passenger vehicles entering the United States at 
        land ports of entry along the border with corresponding 
        projected incremental improvements in scanning rates by 
        fiscal year and rationales for the specified timeframes 
        for each land port of entry.
          (2) Estimated costs, together with an acquisition 
        plan, for achieving the 100 percent scanning rate 
        within the timeframes specified in paragraph (1), 
        including acquisition, operations, and maintenance 
        costs for large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems 
        or similar technology, as well as associated costs for 
        any necessary infrastructure enhancements or 
        configuration changes at each port of entry. To the 
        extent practicable, such acquisition plan shall promote 
        opportunities for entities that qualify as small 
        business concerns (as such term is described under 
        section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
          (3) Any projected impacts, as identified by the 
        Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on 
        the total number of commercial and passenger vehicles 
        entering at land ports of entry where such systems are 
        in use, and average wait times at peak and non-peak 
        travel times, by lane type if applicable, as scanning 
        rates are increased.
          (4) Any projected impacts, as identified by the 
        Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on 
        land ports of entry border security operations as a 
        result of implementation actions, including any changes 
        to the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        officers or their duties and assignments.
    (d) Research and Development.--In furtherance of the plan 
required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and 
Technology, shall conduct research and development, in 
coordination with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, to enhance large-scale non-intrusive inspections 
systems or similar technology and refine the operational use or 
configuration of such systems or technology in pre-primary, 
primary, and secondary inspection areas of land ports of entry. 
Such research and development shall include consideration of 
emerging large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems or 
similar technology and modeling the use of such systems or 
technology that takes into account the variations in 
infrastructure, configurations, and sizes of land ports of 
entry.
    (e) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the 
submission of the plan required under subsection (a) and 
annually thereafter until such time as U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection has achieved 100 percent expeditious scanning of 
commercial and passenger vehicles entering the United States at 
land ports of entry along the border using large-scale non-
intrusive inspection systems or similar technology in 
accordance with such plan, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall report to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate on progress implementing the 
plan. Each such report at a minimum shall include the following 
information:
          (1) An inventory of large-scale non-intrusive 
        inspection systems or similar technology operated by 
        U.S. Customs and Border Protection at each land port of 
        entry.
          (2) For each system or technology identified in the 
        inventory required under paragraph (1), the following 
        information:
                  (A) The scanning method of such system or 
                technology.
                  (B) The location of such system or technology 
                at each land port of entry that specifies 
                whether in use in pre-primary, primary, or 
                secondary inspection area, or some combination 
                thereof.
                  (C) The percentage of commercial and 
                passenger vehicles scanned by such system or 
                technology.
                  (D) Seizure data directly attributed to 
                scanned commercial and passenger vehicles.
          (3) The total number of commercial and passenger 
        vehicles entering at each land port of entry where each 
        system or technology is in use, and information on 
        average wait times at peak and non-peak travel times, 
        by lane type if applicable.
          (4) Progress with respect to the benchmarks specified 
        in subsection (c)(1), and an explanation if any of such 
        benchmarks are not achieved as planned.
          (5) A comparison of actual costs (including 
        information on any awards of associated contracts) to 
        estimated costs set forth in subsection (c)(2).
          (6) Any realized impacts, as identified by the 
        Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on 
        land ports of entry operations as a result of 
        implementation actions, including any changes to the 
        number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers 
        or their duties and assignments.
          (7) Any proposed changes to the plan and an 
        explanation for such changes, including changes made in 
        response to any Department of Homeland Security 
        research and development findings, including findings 
        resulting from the research and development conducted 
        pursuant to subsection (d), or changes in terrorist or 
        transnational criminal organizations tactics, 
        techniques, or procedures.
          (8) Any challenges to implementing the plan or 
        meeting the benchmarks, and plans to mitigate any such 
        challenges.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Large-scale non-intrusive inspection system.--The 
        term ``large-scale non-intrusive inspection system'' 
        means a technology, including x-ray and gamma-ray 
        imaging systems, capable of producing an image of the 
        contents of a commercial or passenger vehicle in one 
        pass of such vehicle.
          (2) Scanning.--The term ``scanning'' means utilizing 
        technology to produce an image of the contents of a 
        commercial or passenger vehicle without engaging in a 
        physical inspection of such vehicle.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 5273.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises 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.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE, NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT 
                    AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested 
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of Congressional Budget Office.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                      DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 5273 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the objective of H.R. 5273, as 
amended, is to improve border security by requiring the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan to increase to 
100 percent the rate of expeditiously scanning commercial and 
passenger vehicles entering the U.S. at land ports of entry 
with NII systems or similar technology, and to report annually 
to Congress on the Department's progress implementing the plan 
until the 100 percent scanning rate is achieved.

                          ADVISORY ON EARMARKS

    In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of the rule 
XXI.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title

    This section states that the Act may be cited as the 
``Securing America's Ports Act.''

Sec 2. Large-scale non-intrusive inspection scanning plan

    Subsection 2(a) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to submit to Congress a plan to increase to 100 percent the 
rates of expeditious scanning of commercial and passenger 
vehicles entering the U.S. at land ports of entry using large-
scale NII systems or similar technology.
    Subsection 2(b) identifies the baseline information to be 
included in the plan on large-scale NII systems or similar 
technology in use by CBP as of the date of enactment of the 
Act. At a minimum, the baseline shall include an inventory of 
NII systems or similar technology currently operated at each 
port of entry, including how each system or technology is used 
and where in the port it is located; the percentage of 
commercial and passenger vehicles scanned; and associated data 
on seizures.
    Subsection 2(c) identifies the elements of the plan for 
increasing the scanning rates of commercial and passenger 
vehicles to 100 percent as required under subsection 2(a). 
Specifically, the plan is to include the following:
          (1) Benchmarks for achieving incremental progress 
        toward 100 percent scanning at each land port of entry, 
        including projected scanning rates by fiscal year and 
        rationales for the specified benchmarks.
          (2) Estimated costs, together with an acquisition 
        plan, for achieving the benchmarks within the specified 
        timeframes for each port of entry. The estimated costs 
        are to include the acquisition, operations, and 
        maintenance costs for NII systems or similar 
        technology, as well as associated costs for any 
        infrastructure enhancements or configuration changes 
        required at each port of entry for the installation or 
        operation of acquired systems. To the extent 
        practicable, the acquisition plan shall promote 
        opportunities for small businesses.
          (3) Any projected impacts, as identified by the CBP 
        Commissioner, on the total number of commercial and 
        passenger vehicles entering land ports of entry and 
        average wait times at peak and non-peak travel times as 
        scanning rates are increased.
          (4) Any projected impacts, as identified by the CBP 
        Commissioner, on land ports of entry operations, 
        including any changes to the number of CBP officers or 
        their duties and assignments, as a result of 
        implementing the plan.
    In preparing the elements of the plan, the Committee 
expects the Department to consider any differences in the 
requirements for scanning commercial vehicles compared to 
passenger vehicles and to prioritize deployments in response to 
current and projected border security threats. The Committee 
also expects the Department to select large-scale NII systems 
or similar technology that maximizes the throughput of all 
vehicular traffic entering each port of entry, with a 
preference for conducting scanning as early in the inspection 
process as practicable given port size, space, or configuration 
limitations. To minimize the impact on port operations as 
scanning rates are increased, the Committee expects the 
Department to amend each port of entry's standard operating 
procedures, as necessary, to reflect the benchmarks established 
in the plan.
    Subsection 2(d) requires the Secretary, acting through the 
Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to conduct research 
and development, in coordination with the CBP Commissioner, to 
enhance and refine the operational use of large-scale NII 
systems or similar technology in furtherance of the plan 
required under subsection 2(a). Such research and development 
shall include consideration of emerging large-scale NII systems 
or similar technology and modeling the use of such systems that 
accounts for the variations in infrastructure, configurations, 
and sizes of land ports of entry. The Committee is aware of the 
pilot programs CBP currently has underway to test new large-
scale NII systems at select ports of entry along the southwest 
border and encourages the Department to undertake similar 
efforts to ensure new or enhanced large-scale NII systems or 
similar technologies are adequately proven before being 
deployed. The Committee also expects the Under Secretary for 
Science and Technology to leverage any related research and 
development conducted with other components of the Department, 
such as the Transportation Security Administration, as 
appropriate.
    Subsection 2(e) requires the Secretary to report to 
Congress no later than one year after submission of the plan 
required under subsection 2(a), and annually thereafter until 
CBP has achieved the 100 percent scanning rate for commercial 
and passenger vehicles, on the Department's progress 
implementing the plan. At a minimum, the annual report shall 
include the following:
          (1) An updated inventory of large-scale NII systems 
        or similar technology currently operated by CBP at each 
        port of entry, including how each system or technology 
        is used and where in the port it is located; the 
        percentage of commercial and passenger vehicles 
        scanned; and associated data on seizures.
          (2) The total number of commercial and passenger 
        vehicles entering land ports of entry and average wait 
        times at peak and non-peak travel times.
          (3) Progress with respect to the benchmarks for 
        achieving incremental progress toward 100 percent 
        scanning at each land port of entry identified in the 
        plan, and an explanation if any benchmarks are not 
        achieved.
          (4) A comparison of actual costs (including 
        information on any awards associated with contracts) to 
        the estimated costs identified in the plan.
          (5) Any realized impacts, as identified by the CBP 
        Commissioner, on land ports of entry operations, 
        including any changes to the number of CBP officers or 
        their duties and assignments, as a result of 
        implementing the plan.
          (6) Any proposed changes to the plan and an 
        explanation for such changes, including changes made in 
        response to research and development findings (such as 
        required under subsection 2(d)) or changes in terrorist 
        or transnational criminal organization tactics, 
        techniques, or procedures.
          (7) Any challenges implementing the plan or meeting 
        the benchmarks and plans to mitigate such challenges.

                                  [all]