[Senate Report 117-229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 588
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-229
_______________________________________________________________________
TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT STIPEND ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 4326
TO AUTHORIZE THE DIRECTOR OF U.S. IMMIGRATION
AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT TO PAY STIPENDS TO
MEMBERS OF TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE
UNITS WHO HAVE BEEN PROPERLY VETTED
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 5, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Sarah C. Pierce, Senior Counsel
Katie A. Conley, Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 588
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-229
======================================================================
TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT STIPEND ACT
_______
December 5, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 4326]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4326) to authorize
the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pay
stipends to members of Transnational Criminal Investigative
Units who have been properly vetted, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............7
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 4326, the Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit
Stipend Act, authorizes the Director of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pay stipends to members of
Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs). This bill
is intended to enhance the Department of Homeland Security's
(DHS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) efforts to combat
to interdict drugs and precursors abroad by authorizing HSI to
operate TCIUs and to pay monetary stipends to participating
vetted foreign law enforcement officials that facilitate
information exchange and bilateral investigations of
transnational crime, including drug smuggling.
II. Background and the Need for Legislation
On September 27, 2011, HSI established the TCIU Program to
act as a force multiplier in the fight against transnational
criminal organizations.\1\ TCIUs are comprised of foreign law
enforcement officials and prosecutors who receive extensive
training at U.S. based law enforcement training centers. These
officials must also undergo a strict vetting process prior to
engaging in rapid bilateral investigations of various
programmatic areas including weapons trafficking and counter-
proliferation, money laundering and bulk cash smuggling, human
smuggling and trafficking, narcotics trafficking, and many
other violations of law within HSI's investigative purview.
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\1\United States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland
Security; Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and
Operations; Testimony Submitted for the Record of Assistant Director
Steven W. Cagen, Homeland Security Investigations, Hearing on Examining
DHS's Efforts to Combat the Opioid Epidemic, 117th Cong. (May 18, 2022)
(H.R. Hrg. 117-124).
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There are over 500 vetted and trained foreign law
enforcement officers in 13 countries that comprise the 12 TCIUs
and two International Task Forces, which include personnel from
multiple countries working together to combat transnational
crime.\2\ TCIUs further the ICE HSI mission by investigating
and prosecuting individuals involved in transnational criminal
activity that pose continuing threats to the homeland security
of the United States. TCIUs identify targets, collect evidence,
share intelligence, and facilitate the prosecution of
transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) both in-country and
through the U.S. judicial system. For example, in Mexico in
fiscal year (FY) 2021, ``the HSI Mexico TCIU made approximately
100 arrests; seized 3 million USD; 4,300 pounds of cocaine; 350
pounds of fentanyl; 717,000 pounds of drug precursor chemicals,
and 58,000 pounds of other drugs.''\3\
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\2\Id.
\3\Id.
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The FY 2022 Appropriations Bill, as well as previous
appropriations bills, authorize ICE to fund ``overseas vetted
units,'' to include paying for training, equipment, vetting
requirements and other operational expenses.\4\ However, this
authority does not specifically authorize ICE to pay TCIU
members a salary supplement, nor does it specify the role of
the TCIUs in carrying out HSI's mission to combat transitional
organized crime. This limitation differs from other U.S.
federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), which have been granted the authority by
the Congress to provide salary supplements to overseas vetted
units.\5\\6\
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\4\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Pub. L. 116-260, Sec. 9,
Division F, Title II (December 27, 2020).
\5\Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, Pub. L. 104-208
(September 30, 1996).
\6\House of Representatives, Departments of Commerce, Justice, and
State, the Judiciary, and related agencies Appropriations Bill, Fiscal
Year 1997, 104th Cong. (Report 104-676) (July 16, 1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While host foreign countries will remain responsible for
paying the salaries of TCIU personnel, salary supplements are
important for HSI to recruit and retain the highest caliber
foreign law enforcement officials. TCIUs perform an important
role in HSI's ability to disrupt and dismantle TCOs that pose a
direct threat to U.S. border security. The current inability
for HSI to provide salary supplements has resulted in a high
turnover rate as TCIU personnel seek employment opportunities
that offer higher compensation or choose to work with other
agencies such as DEA, which has the authority to pay salary
supplements. Given the time and fiscal resources required to
recruit, vet, and train new TCIU members and the need for
continuity to bring long-term, complex investigations to a
successful conclusion, the current high turnover rate is
detrimental to HSI's efforts to combat TCOs.
III. Legislative History
Senator Portman (R-OH), along with Senator Hassan (D-NH),
introduced S. 4326, Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit
Stipend Act, on May 26, 2022. The bill was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 4326 at a business meeting on
August 3, 2022. During the business meeting, an amendment, as
modified, was offered by Senator Scott and adopted by voice
vote en bloc. The amendment requires the Director of ICE to
provide an annual unclassified briefing for a 5-year period
upon enactment to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House, that identifies the number of
vetted members of TCIUs in each country; the amount paid in
stipends to such members, disaggregated by country; and
relevant enforcement statistics, such as arrests and progress
made on joint investigations, in each such country. The
amendment also provides for a classified briefing, if
necessary, to ensure the Committees are provided any necessary
classified information.
The bill, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by
voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote were: Peters,
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Lankford, Romney,
Scott, and Hawley.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section cites the short title as the ``Transnational
Criminal Investigative Unit Stipend Act''.
Section 2. Homeland Security Investigations Transnational Criminal
Investigative Units
This section amends Section H of title VIII of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) by adding the
following:
Subsection (a) authorizes the Secretary of the Department
of Homeland Security to operate TCIUs through ICE, HSI.
Subsection (b) authorizes TCIUs to be composed of trained
foreign law enforcement officials who shall collaborate with
HSI to investigate and prosecute individuals.
Subsection (c) requires TCIU foreign law enforcement
officials to pass security evaluations, which may include a
background check, a polygraph examination, a urinalysis test,
and other various security evaluations as determined necessary
by the Director of ICE. This section also requires the Director
to report to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives on the
procedures used for the vetting of these members and if any
additional measures should be implemented to prevent personnel
in vetted units from being compromised by criminal
organizations.
Subsection (d) authorizes the Director of ICE to pay TCIU
members a monetary stipend for the work conducted in
furtherance of their unit duties.
Subsection (e) requires the Director of ICE for a five-year
period following enactment of the bill to provide Congress with
a briefing on the number of TCIU members located in each
country, the amount of stipends paid, and relevant enforcement
statistics.
This section also provides a clerical amendment to the
table of contents for the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. note) by inserting ``Sec. 890C. Transnational Criminal
Investigative Units.''
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, November 9, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed table summarizing estimated budgetary
effects and mandates information for some of the legislation
that has been ordered reported by the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 117th
Congress.
If you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide
them. The CBO staff contact for each estimate is listed on the
enclosed table.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
SUMMARY ESTIMATES OF LEGISLATION ORDERED REPORTED
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In
order to provide the Congress with as much information as
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during
the 117th Congress. The legislation listed in this table
generally would have small effects, if any, on direct spending
or revenues, CBO estimates. Where possible, the table also
provides information about the legislation's estimated effects
on spending subject to appropriation and on intergovernmental
and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act.
ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS AND MANDATES INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increases
Direct Spending subject Pay-as-you- on-budget
Bill Title Status Last Budget spending, Revenues, to go deficits Mandates Contact
number action function 2023-2032 2023-2032 appropriation, procedures beginning
2023-2027 apply? in 2033?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4326 Transnational Ordered 08/03/22 750 0 0 Not estimated No No No Jeremy
Criminal reported Crimm
Investigativ
e Unit
Stipend Act
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S. 4326 would authorize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to operate Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs)--teams of foreign law
enforcement officials working with ICE to investigate and prosecute individuals involved in transnational criminal activity. The bill also would
authorize ICE to pay stipends to TCIU members. CBO estimates that enacting S. 4326 would not affect direct spending or revenues. CBO has not estimated
the discretionary costs of implementing the bill. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) * * *
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
* * * * * * *
Sec. 890B. Homeland Security critical domain research and development.
Sec. 890C. Transnational Criminal Investigative Units.
* * * * * * *
TITLE VIII--COORDINATION WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES; INSPECTOR GENERAL;
UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE; COAST GUARD; GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Subtitle H--Miscellaneous Provisions
* * * * * * *
SEC. 890C. TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE UNITS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall operate Transnational
Criminal Investigative Units within United States Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
(b) Composition.--Each Transnational Criminal Investigative
Unit shall be composed of trained foreign law enforcement
officials who shall collaborate with Homeland Security
Investigations to investigate and prosecute individuals
involved in transnational criminal activity.
(c) Vetting Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Upon entry into a Transnational
Criminal Investigative Unit, and at periodic intervals
while serving in such a unit, foreign law enforcement
officials shall be required to pass certain security
evaluations, which may include a background check, a
polygraph examination, a urinalysis test, or other
measures that the Director of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement determines to be appropriate.
(2) Report.--The Director of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement shall submit a report to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives that describes--
(A) the procedures used for vetting
Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit
members; and
(B) any additional measures that should be
implemented to prevent personnel in vetted
units from being compromised by criminal
organizations.
(d) Monetary Stipend.--The Director of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement is authorized to pay vetted members of a
Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit a monetary stipend in
an amount associated with their duties dedicated to unit
activities.
(e) Annual Briefing.--The Director of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, during the 5-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act, shall provide an annual
unclassified briefing to the congressional committees referred
to in subsection (c)(2), which may include a classified
session, if necessary, that identifies--
(1) the number of vetted members of Transnational
Criminal Investigative Unit in each country;
(2) the amount paid in stipends to such members,
disaggregated by country; and
(3) relevant enforcement statistics, such as arrests
and progress made on joint investigations, in each such
country.
* * * * * * *
[all]