[Senate Report 118-275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 678
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-275
_______________________________________________________________________
CONTRABAND AWARENESS
TECHNOLOGY CATCHES HARMFUL (CATCH) FENTANYL ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 4062
TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM TO ASSESS THE USE OF
TECHNOLOGY TO SPEED UP AND ENHANCE THE CARGO
INSPECTION PROCESS AT LAND PORTS OF ENTRY ALONG THE BORDER
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
_______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
LAPHONZA R. BUTLER, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Katie A. Conley, Senior Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Megan M. Krynen, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 678
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-275
======================================================================
CONTRABAND AWARENESS TECHNOLOGY CATCHES HARMFUL (CATCH) FENTANYL ACT
_______
December 9, 2024.--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. 4062]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4062) to establish
a pilot program to assess the use of technology to speed up and
enhance the cargo inspection process at land ports of entry
along the border, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment, in the nature of a substitute, 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.................................. 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. 4062, the Contraband Awareness Technology Catches
Fentanyl Act or the CATCH Fentanyl Act, requires the Secretary
of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), acting through
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Innovation Team, to
conduct a 5-year pilot program to test and assess the use of
technologies or technology enhancements in regard to non-
intrusive inspection (NII) systems. These technologies are
intended to improve inspections of conveyances or mode of
transportation at land ports of entry, including by increasing
efficiency. The bill requires that five different types of
technology enhancements to NII systems be tested under the
pilot program, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine
learning, high-performance computing, or quantum information
sciences, and specifies criteria to determine the effectiveness
of the technology enhancements being tested. It requires CBP to
report to Congress during and after the pilot on the
effectiveness of technology being tested, CBP's plans to
utilize new technologies, and sets out specific quantitative
and other measures for analysis that should be incorporated
into the report. It also requires the DHS Privacy Officer and
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer, in consultation with
the CBP Innovation Team and other appropriate offices, to
submit a report to Congress before and after the completion of
the pilot regarding the impacts of the technologies being
tested on privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
On an average day in fiscal year 2023, CBP processed over 1
million people arriving at U.S. ports of entry, over 100,000
truck, rail, and sea containers, and over 200,000 privately
owned vehicles.\1\ CBP uses NII systems to scan vehicles and
cargo entering the U.S. at ports of entry to detect contraband
or unclaimed goods without physically opening or unloading
them, increasing CBP's ability to efficiently and effectively
facilitate trade and travel.\2\ In FY 2023, using large-scale
NII systems, CBP conducted over 9.2 million scans, which led to
the interdiction of more than 127,000 pounds of narcotics.\3\
In addition to enhancing CBP's ability to interdict illicit
goods, NII increases operational efficiencies and saves both
CBP and the trade industry money. According to CBP,
examinations conducted using NII systems can be completed in an
average of 8 minutes, compared to 120 minutes for physical
examinations, on average. Additionally, using NII systems and
other technology has contributed to $1 billion in savings in
annual operational costs and has saved industry $5.8 billion to
$17.5 billion in costs from delays.\4\
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\1\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, On a Typical Day, Fiscal
Year 2023 (www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/typical-day-fy2023) (accessed
Sept. 3, 2024).
\2\Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, CBP Trade and Travel Report Fiscal Year 2022 (June 2023).
\3\Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, FY 2023 CBP Travel Sheet. (June 2024).
\4\Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, CBP Trade and Travel Report Fiscal Year 2022 (June 2023).
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Because of the effectiveness and operational efficiencies
of utilizing NII, Congress has provided substantial funding for
CBP to acquire additional systems to increase scanning
rates.\5\ However, in 2022, Congress raised concerns about
CBP's utilization of previously appropriated funds in report
language for the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations
bill, including a failure to integrate AI, machine learning,
and autonomy into the program.\6\ These types of enhancements
could aid CBP personnel in more easily identifying anomalies in
vehicles or cargo to assist with detection of drugs, like
fentanyl as well as other threats.\7\ Given these previous
concerns, the CATCH Fentanyl Act seeks to ensure that CBP is
testing and evaluating technology enhancements to continually
improve the technology CBP is utilizing and improve inspections
processes at ports of entry. It also outlines specific
Congressional reporting requirements to enhance oversight of
CBP's NII programs, including the effectiveness of the
technologies tested.
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\5\Public Law No. 116-6 (2019); Explanatory Statement Submitted by
Representative Kay Granger, Chair of the House Committee on
Appropriations, Regarding H.R. 2882, Further Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2024, Division C--Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2024, Fentanyl Initiative and Non-Intrusive
Inspection (NII), Congressional Record H1811 (Mar. 22, 2024).
\6\Explanatory Statement Submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair
of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Regarding H.R. 2618,
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Division F--Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2023, NII, Congressional Record,
S8560 (Dec. 20, 2022); House Committee on Appropriations, Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, 2023 (Jul. 2022) (H. Rept. 117-
396).
\7\Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Budget Overview Fiscal Year 2025 Congressional
Justification (Mar. 14, 2024).
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III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced S. 4062, the CATCH
Fentanyl Act, on March 22, 2024, with original cosponsor
Senator Margaret Hassan (D-NH). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 4062 at a business meeting on
April 10, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Hassan offered
a substitute amendment to the bill, as well as a modification
to the substitute amendment. The Hassan substitute amendment,
as modified, made in addition to technical changes, also added
a requirement to prioritize cost-effectiveness when determining
the most effective technology enhancement for the pilot
projects. The modification also added human smuggling to the
list of violations that the technology in the pilot program
should assist CBP with detecting. Finally, the modification
added a requirement for DHS to report to Congress regarding the
privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights impacts of the
technologies being tested. The Committee adopted the
modification to the Hassan substitute amendment by unanimous
consent, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Butler, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley
present. The Hassan substitute amendment, as modified, was
adopted by unanimous consent, with Senators Peters, Hassan,
Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Butler, Paul, Lankford,
Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
The bill, as amended by the modified Hassan substitute
amendment was ordered reported favorably, by roll call vote of
11 yeas and 1 nay, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Ossoff, Blumenthal, Butler, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley
voting in the affirmative, and Senator Paul voting in the
negative. Senators Carper, Johnson, and Marshall voted yea by
proxy, for the record only.
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
``Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful Fentanyl
Act'' or the ``CATCH Fentanyl Act''.
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines the terms ``appropriate congressional
committees,'' ``artificial intelligence,'' ``CBP Innovation
Team,'' ``nonintrusive inspection technology; NII technology,''
and ``pilot projects.''
Section 3. Pilot projects allowing additional technology providers to
participate in inspecting cars, trucks, and cargo containers at
certain ports of entry
Subsection (a) requires that the Secretary of Homeland
Security, acting through the CBP Innovation Team, in
coordination with the Office of Field Operations and the DHS
Science and Technology Directorate, implement pilot projects
for testing and assessing the use of technologies or technology
enhancements to improve the process for inspections at ports of
entry. It specifies that the technologies tested and assessed
should specifically be for the purpose of assisting CBP
personnel to detect contraband, illegal drugs, illegal weapons,
human smuggling, and threats on inbound and outbound traffic,
in conjunction with other technologies.
It also outlines specific requirements for the pilot
program. It requires that not fewer than 5 types of NII
technology enhancements be tested and evaluated, including at
least one of the following: artificial intelligence, machine
learning, high-performance computing, quantum information
sciences or other emerging technologies. It also specifies
criteria to determine the effectiveness of the technology
enhancements being tested in the pilot projects, including its
detection accuracy, safety, mobility, and its ability to
increase efficiencies of inspections to help CBP reduce wait
times, integrate with existing workflow and infrastructure, and
incorporate automatic threat recognition technology using
standard formats and open architecture. It also specifies that
the pilot projects should prioritize solutions that demonstrate
the highest cost-effectiveness in meeting the aforementioned
objectives. It authorizes the CBP Innovation team to solicit
input from representatives of the private sector regarding
commercially available technologies.
This subsection also directs the CBP Innovation Team to
work with existing NII programs within CBP and the DHS Science
and Technology Directorate when planning and developing the
pilot projects.
Subsection (b) sunsets the pilot projects 5 years after
enactment of the bill.
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary of DHS to submit
reports to Congress within 3 years of enactment and within 180
days after the pilot projects are terminated that contain an
analysis of the effectiveness of the technology enhancements
tested, recommendations from the testing and analysis
concerning the ability to utilize such technologies at all land
ports of entry, plans to utilize the technologies that meet the
performance goals of the pilot projects at all ports of entry.
Subsection (d) outlines the areas of an analysis that
should be incorporated into the report required in subsection
(c). Specifically, it requires CBP to include in their analysis
things like quantitative performance measurements like
probability of detection, an assessment of the relevant merits
of each technology, trends and patterns observed, and
additional performance measures.
Subsection (e) requires DHS Privacy Officer and Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties Officer, in consultation with the
CBP Innovation Team and other appropriate CBP offices to report
to Congress on the impact of the technologies being tested on
privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights prior to the
implementation of the technology no later than 180 days after
the termination of the pilot projects.
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
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 4062 would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) to establish a pilot program to test technology
enhancements for inspecting vehicles and cargo at land ports of
entry. The bill would require CBP to evaluate the effectiveness
of at least five technologies, including artificial
intelligence, machine learning, and quantum information
sciences, to detect contraband and increase the efficiency of
inspections. Under the bill, the pilot program would end five
years after enactment. S. 4062 also would require CBP to report
to the Congress on the effectiveness of the technologies in the
program and their effect on privacy and civil rights and
liberties.
Using information from CBP, CBO estimates that the agency
currently deploys three technologies that are compliant with
the bill's requirements and would need to purchase two
additional types of technologies. Based on the costs of similar
projects, CBO estimates that CBP would incur an additional cost
of about $8 million annually to procure, deploy, and evaluate
those technologies. Additionally, CBO estimates that it would
cost the agency less than $500,000 to comply with the bill's
reporting requirements. In total, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 4062 would cost $40 million over the 2024-2029
period. Any related spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
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 UNDER S. 4062
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2024-2029
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Estimated Authorization............................. * 8 8 9 9 9 43
Estimated Outlays................................... * 6 7 9 9 9 40
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* = between zero and $500,000.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
[all]