[Senate Report 116-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 527
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-264
_______________________________________________________________________
SECURING AMERICA'S PORTS OF ENTRY ACT OF 2019
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1004
TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER
PROTECTION OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS OFFICERS AND
SUPPORT STAFF AND TO REQUIRE REPORTS THAT IDENTIFY
STAFFING, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO ENHANCE SECURITY AT
PORTS OF ENTRY
September 9, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
99-010 WASHINGTON : 2020
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
Joseph C. Folio III, Chief Counsel
Clark A. Hedrick, Counsel
David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
Samuel Rodarte Jr., Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 527
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-264
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SECURING AMERICA'S PORTS OF ENTRY ACT OF 2019
_______
September 9, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1004]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1004) to increase
the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of
Field Operations officers and support staff and to require
reports that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equipment
needed to enhance security at ports of entry, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............6
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 1004, the Securing America's Ports of Entry Act of 2019,
requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of
Field Operations (OFO) to increase the number of officers and
support staff and to report on any additional staffing,
infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance security at
ports of entry.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
As port of entry freight and passenger volumes increase,
OFO staffing levels must keep pace to efficiently and
effectively secure the nation's border and facilitate trade and
travel. The OFO Workload Staffing Model is designed to
determine the number of CBP Officers needed to fulfill its
mission.\1\ The Workload Staffing Model assesses passenger
volume at each port of entry, processing times, annual work
hours per full-time CBP officer, additional responsibilities
incurred depending on passenger volume, and minimum overhead
coverage requirements to calculate the number of CBP officers
needed to fulfill its mission.\2\ For fiscal year (FY) 2020,
the Workload Staffing Model estimated a need for 27,187 OFO
officers.\3\ As of May 25, 2019, OFO had 23,898 officers on
board, 3,289 short of the Workload Staffing Model
requirement.\4\ Congress funded 600 new CBP officers for
FY2019.\5\
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\1\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Staffing Methodology at
Ports of Entry (Oct. 8, 2019), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/
default/files/publications/cbp_-_staffing_methodology_at_
ports_of_entry_0.pdf.
\2\Id. at 13-14.
\3\E-mail from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Committee
staff (Aug. 22, 2019, 12:04 EDT).
\4\E-mail from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Committee
staff (June 14, 2019, 17:49 EDT).
\5\U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, Summary Department of
Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations Agreement, available
at https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
DHS%20Conference%20Press%20Summary1.pdf.
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In recent years, the demographic composition of individuals
arriving or seeking entry at our southwest border has changed
dramatically, creating a variety of new challenges for our
frontline personnel. While single adult males have historically
composed the majority of those taken into custody, the
southwest border now experiences unprecedented levels of
families and unaccompanied alien children seeking entry between
or at ports of entry. In FY2017, CBP reported that 29,375
family units and 7,246 unaccompanied children sought admission
at U.S. at ports of entry.\6\ That same year, 75,622 family
units and 41,435 unaccompanied alien children entered between
the ports of entry at the southwest border.\7\ By FY2019, CBP
reported that the overall numbers had increased significantly.
While 53,430 family units and 4,614 unaccompanied alien
children sought admission at southwest border ports of entry,
473,682 family units and 76,020 unaccompanied alien children
were taken into custody between ports of entry.\8\ This massive
inflow resulted in a humanitarian crisis within a border
enforcement system not prepared to handle these populations at
this scale. This required CBP to move CBP officers from OFO
ports of entry around the country to assist Border Patrol in
the processing of these individuals. In June 2019, OFO
estimated that between 500 and 750 officers would be diverted
from ports of entry to help Border Patrol with processing,
transporting, and supervising those in custody.\9\ By the end
of September, all officers had returned to their posts.\10\
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\6\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Southwest Border Migration
FY2017, available at https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-
migration-fy2017.
\7\Id.
\8\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Southwest Border Migration
FY2019, available at https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-
migration.
\9\Telephone call from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to
Committee staff (June 14, 2019).
\10\E-mail from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Committee
staff (Sept. 20, 2019).
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Increasing CBP officer staffing could also help drive the
U.S. economy. According to the Joint Economic Committee,
``[e]very day 1.1 million people and $5.9 billion in goods
legally enter and exit the U.S. at [the 328] ports of
entry.''\11\ CBP ``estimates that an additional 1,000 POE
officers would increase economic activity by $2 billion and add
33,148 new U.S. jobs per year.''\12\
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\11\U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, Economic Impact of
Understaffing U.S. Ports of Entry, available at https://
www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/88c66173-5dc9-4e5e-b144-
6f9517443409/economic-impact-of-understaffing-u.s.-ports-of-entry.pdf.
\12\Id. at 1.
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More CBP capacity will have significant economic impacts on
America. According to the U.S. Travel Association,
international visitors spend an average of $4,200 per visit,
from traveling to the U.S.\13\
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\13\U.S. Travel Ass'n, U.S. Travel Answer Sheet, (last visited Aug.
18, 2020), https://www.ustravel.org/answersheet.
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CBP officers are also vital to stemming the nation's drug
epidemic. According to the Congressional Research Service
(CRS), from FY2014 to FY2018, ``about 65% of seized illicit
drugs, by weight, were seized at land ports of entry at the
border, about 28% of seized drugs were seized at air ports of
entry, and about 5% were seized at sea ports of entry. . . .
[N]early 97% of drugs were seized during inbound inspections
across those years.''\14\ The smuggling and seizures of
fentanyl and other opioids have rapidly increased in recent
years. According to CRS, ``[f]entanyl seizures increased from
the 70 pounds seized by OFO in FY2015 to 2,173 pounds seized
across OFO and the Border Patrol in FY2018.''\15\ On January
26, 2019, CBP officers seized the largest amount of fentanyl in
CBP history totaling close to 254 pounds at the Nogales Port of
Entry on the southwest border.\16\
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\14\Congressional Research Service, Illicit Drug Flows and Seizures
in the United States: What Do We [Not] Know?, (July 3, 2019), available
at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45812.pdf.
\15\Id. at 7.
\16\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP Officers Seize Largest
Amount of Fentanyl in CBP History, available at https://www.cbp.gov/
newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-officers-seize-largest-amount-
fentanyl-cbp-history.
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With the expanding use of e-commerce and the ease of
international transactions, the U.S. has observed a significant
increase in international mail and potential opportunities to
introduce contraband into the country. According to the
testimony of OFO Executive Assistant Commissioner Todd C. Owen
to this Committee on January 25, 2018, ``CBP has seen a nearly
50 percent increase in express consignment shipments'' and a
200 percent increase in international mail shipments over the
past five years.\17\ Additionally, ``[i]n FY 2013, CBP and the
USPS processed approximately 150 million international mail
shipments. By FY 2017, the number of international mail
shipments had swelled to over 400 million shipments.''\18\ Yet
according to the National Treasury Employees Union, over the
last three years, only 181 CBP employees were assigned to the
five Postal Service International Service Centers and 208 CBP
employees were assigned to the Private Express Carrier
Facilities.\19\
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\17\Combatting the Opioid Crisis: Exploiting Vulnerabilities in
International Mail: Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. &
Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcomm. on Investigations (Jan. 25,
2018) (testimony of Todd C. Owen, Executive Assistant Commissioner,
Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs & Border Protection)'',
available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
Owen%20Testimony.pdf.
\18\Id.
\19\National Treasury Employees Union, Authorities and Resources
Needed to Protect and Secure the United States, available at https://
www.nteu.org/legislative-action/congressional-testimony/authorities-
and-resources-needed-to-prot.
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This bill requires CBP to hire no less than 600 additional
OFO officers a year until the staffing levels identified in the
Workload Staffing Model are achieved to address these needs.
The bill also requires reporting on infrastructure improvements
at ports of entry that would enhance drug interdiction,
information on detection equipment that would improve the
ability of officers to identify drugs, and safety equipment to
protect officers from accidental exposure to dangerous toxins.
S. 1004 also requires a report on OFO staffing required to
fulfill reimbursable service agreements.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 1004, the Securing
America's Ports of Entry Act of 2019, on April 3, 2019, with
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Bill
Cassidy (R-LA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Kyrsten
Sinema (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob
Casey, Jr. (D-PA), and Martha McSally (R-AZ) later joined the
bill as co-sponsors. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 1004 at a business meeting on
June 19, 2019. The bill was ordered reported favorably by a
voice vote with Senators Johnson, Portman, Paul, Lankford,
Romney, Scott, Enzi, Hawley, Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema,
and Rosen present.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Securing America's Ports of Entry Act of 2019.''
Section 2. Additional U.S. Customs and Border Protections personnel
Section 2 requires CBP to hire enough OFO officers to
fulfill the requirements of the Workload Staffing Model.
Subsection (a) mandates that CBP hire, train, and assign at
least 600 new OFO officers above current attrition levels in
each fiscal year until OFO reaches and sustains the Workload
Staffing Model requirements.
Subsection (b) authorizes CBP to hire, train, and assign
support staff to support new OFO officers.
Subsection (c) requires OFO, in its calculation of the
number of OFO officers needed at each port of entry, (1) to
rely on data collected at each port of entry and (2) to
consider volume from seasonal surges, other projected changes
in commercial and passenger volumes, current commercial
forecasts and other relevant information.
Subsection (d) instructs GAO, if CBP does not hire at least
600 OFO officers during fiscal year 2020 or the number needed
in each subsequent fiscal year, to (1) conduct a review of CBP
hiring practices to determine the reasons the hiring levels
were not achieved and (2) submit a report to Congress on its
review findings.
Section 3. Ports of entry infrastructure enhancement report
This section instructs CBP to submit a report to Congress
within 90 days of enactment that identifies (1) infrastructure
improvements at ports of entry which would enhance the ability
of OFO officers to interdict drugs illegally transported into
the U.S., including the circumstances at specific ports of
entry which prevent the deployment of technology used at other
ports of entry, (2) detection equipment which would improve the
ability of officers to identify illegally transported opioids,
and (3) safety equipment which would protect officers to
accidental exposure to drugs and associated dangers with
inspection of potential drug traffickers.
Section 4. Reporting requirements
Section 4 requires CBP to submit reports to Congress on
certain staffing assignments and requirements.
Subsection (a) requires CBP to submit a quarterly report to
Congress with data on temporary duty assignments of OFO
officers, with specific information regarding such assignments
to the southwest border. This subsection also requires CBP to
notify a director of a port of entry from which employees will
be reassigned of the redeployments, and the port director shall
notify impacted facilities of the intended redeployments no
later than 10 days before an employee is redeployed, absent
emergency circumstances.
Subsection (b) requires CBP to submit a quarterly report to
Congress regarding the reimbursable service agreements.
Subsection (c) instructs CBP to include information on OFO
hiring, updates to the 2017 Resource Optimization at the Ports
of Entry report, and a summary of quarterly reports in its
annual Workload Staffing Model Report to Congress.
Subsection (d) defines the term ``appropriate congressional
committees.''
Section 5. Authorization of appropriations
This section authorizes appropriations of $80,908,929 for
fiscal year 2020 and $97,132,268 for each fiscal year from 2021
to 2026 to carry out the requirements of this bill.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 6, 2019.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1004, the Securing
America's Ports of Entry Act of 2019.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 1004 would authorize the appropriation of about $81
million for fiscal year 2020 and about $97 million annually
over the 2021-2026 period for Customs and Border Protection to
hire more officers and support staff for the Office of Field
Operations. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts,
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost about $450
million over the 2020-2024 period and $214 million after 2024.
Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for
this program.
The costs of the legislation (detailed in Table 1) fall
within budget function 750 (administration of justice).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2019-2024 2019-2029
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Authorization............................. 0 81 97 97 97 97 97 97 0 0 0 469 664
Estimated Outlays......................... 0 65 94 97 97 97 97 97 19 0 0 450 664
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Details do not sum to totals because of rounding.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would not make changes in existing
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.