[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.
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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]