[Senate Report 118-334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 754
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-334
_______________________________________________________________________
EMERGING INNOVATIVE BORDER
TECHNOLOGIES ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
H.R. 7832
TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO IDENTIFY, INTEGRATE, AND
DEPLOY NEW, INNOVATIVE, DISRUPTIVE, OR OTHER
EMERGING OR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE,
OR ADDRESS CAPABILITY GAPS IN, BORDER SECURITY
OPERATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 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
ADAM SCHIFF, 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. 754
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-334
======================================================================
EMERGING INNOVATIVE BORDER TECHNOLOGIES ACT
_______
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 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 H.R. 7832]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 7832) to require
the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan to
identify, integrate, and deploy new, innovative, disruptive, or
other emerging or advanced technologies to enhance, or address
capability gaps in, border security operations, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and an
amendment to the title, 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..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 7832, the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act,
requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the
Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a plan to identify, and
deploy innovative and emerging technologies to improve border
security operations. The bill authorizes CBP to utilize one or
more Innovation Teams to research and integrate commercial
technologies that may be used by CBP. The bill also requires
CBP to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the
activities of the Innovation Teams.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for
border security at both officially designated ports of entry as
well as along the borders between these ports.\1\ In carrying
out this mission, CBP faces evolving challenges, such as
increasing trade volumes and changing tactics of criminal
organizations attempting to evade law enforcement.\2\ CBP
utilizes technology to address these challenges, such as
scanning cargo entering the country at ports of entry and
increasing situational awareness along our international
borders.\3\ In 2018, CBP established an Innovation Team to
support the development and deployment of technology to meet
evolving mission needs with more agility. Since then, CBP has
established multiple Innovation Teams that focus on different
areas, including IT infrastructure, artificial intelligence and
analytics, and sensors and data.\4\ These teams specialize in
identifying and piloting cutting-edge commercial technologies
and integrating them for government use. In a September 2022
report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended
that CBP's Innovation Teams develop performance goals and
measures specifically related to the team's strategic goals.\5\
The Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act would formally
authorize CBP to operate Innovation Teams and specifically
requires that CBP establish operating procedures, define clear
responsibilities and goals for teams, and submit an annual
report to Congress detailing their activities.
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\1\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Security, Along U.S.
Borders(www.cbp.gov/
border-security/along-us-borders) (accessed Dec. 5, 2024).
\2\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP Strategy 2024-2028 Mar.
29, 2024) (www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2024-Mar/
20_0329_cbp-strategy-2024 2028.pdf).
\3\Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Budget Overview Fiscal Year 2025 Congressional
Justification (Mar. 14, 2024).
\4\Government Accountability Office, Customs and Border Protection:
Innovation Team Has Opportunities to Mature Operations and Improve
Performance (GAO-22-105984) (Sept. 2022).
\5\Id.
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The Innovation Team is charged with collaborating
internally within CBP to understand the needs of frontline
personnel and how technology would be deployed for specific use
cases. Externally, the Innovation Team has worked with entities
offering existing technology to meet those mission needs as
well as to develop new technologies.\6\ This legislation
requires the Secretary of DHS to submit a comprehensive plan to
be delivered to Congress that specifies how CBP's Innovation
Team will coordinate with other DHS offices and non-Federal
partners to test and deploy new technologies, detail key
performance parameters for evaluating the efforts to identify
and integrate innovative technologies, and include an
assessment of the privacy impact of technologies.
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\6\Id.
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III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 7832, the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act,
was introduced on March 29, 2024, by Representative Luis Correa
(D-CA-46), and original cosponsor Representative Morgan
Luttrell (R-TX-8). On November 23, 2024, the House of
Representatives passed the bill under a suspension of the rules
by voice vote. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered H.R. 7832 at a business meeting on
November 20, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Peters
offered a substitute amendment to the bill, as well as a
modification to the substitute amendment. The Peters substitute
amendment, as modified, made several changes to the bill.
Specifically, it required the Commissioner of CBP to consult
with the Department's Chief Information Officer, Chief
Procurement Officer, Privacy Officer, Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties Officer, General Counsel and other relevant offices
and components of DHS for the innovative and emerging border
technology plan. It also required that the plan include an
assessment of the potential privacy, civil rights, civil
liberties, security, and safety impacts of the technologies on
individuals, as well as potential mitigation measures. The
Committee adopted the modification to the Peters substitute
amendment and the substitute amendment, as modified, by
unanimous consent with Senators Peters, Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Butler, Lankford, Scott, Hawley and Marshall
present. Senator Peters also offered Peters amendment 2 which
changed the long title of the bill. The Committee adopted
Peters amendment 2 by unanimous consent with Senators Peters,
Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Butler, Lankford, Scott,
Hawley and Marshall present.
The bill, as amendment by the modified Peters substitute
amendment and Peters amendment 2, was ordered reported
favorably by roll call vote of 9 yeas to 1 nay, with Senators
Peters, Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Butler, Lankford,
Hawley, and Marshall voting in the affirmative, and Senator
Scott voting in the negative. Senators Carper, Sinema, Johnson,
and Romney voted yea by proxy, and Senator Paul voted nay 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
``Emerging Innovating Border Technologies Act.''
Section 2. Innovative and emerging border technology plan
Subsection (a) requires the Secretary of DHS, acting
through CBP and the Science and Technology Directorate, to
submit a plan for identifying, integrating and deploying new,
innovative, disruptive, or other emerging or advanced
technologies that are safe and secure to enhance CBP's
capabilities to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland
Security. It also requires that the DHS's Chief Information
Officer, Chief Procurement Officer, Privacy Officer, Civil
Right and Civil Liberties Officer, General Counsel, and any
other relevant offices and components of the department be
consulted in the development of the plan. It requires that the
plan be submitted not later than 180 days after enactment of
this bill.
Subsection (b) outlines the information that must be
included in the plan required in subsection (a). Specifically,
it requires that the plan contain information about the use of
the CBP Innovation Team authority under subsection (c) and
other information related to the teams. It also requires the
plan to identify technology being used by other federal
agencies that could support CBP's mission needs. It also
requires an assessment of the potential privacy, civil rights,
civil liberties, and safety impacts of technologies on
individuals, and potential mitigation measures.
Subsection (c) authorizes the Commissioner of CBP to
maintain one or more CBP Innovation Teams to research and adapt
commercial technologies that may be utilized by CBP. The
subsection requires each team to operate consistent with DHS
and CBP's procurement and acquisition management policy as well
as policies pertaining to responsible use of artificial
intelligence. It also requires each team to consult with the
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Privacy
Officer of DHS to ensure programs, policies, and procedures
involving civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy
considerations are addressed in an integrated and comprehensive
manner. It requires the establishment of operating procedures
for each team, that include roles and responsibilities within
each team, protocols for entering into agreements to transition
technologies to new programs of record, and procedures to
ensure that each team is in compliance with all applicable
laws, rules, and regulations and DHS policies pertaining to
procurement and acquisition management, privacy, civil rights,
and civil liberties and the responsible use of artificial
intelligence. Subsection (c) further requires that teams
establish planning and strategic goals, including projected
costs, time frames, and performance measures. It requires the
Commissioner of CBP to submit an annual report not later than
180 days after enactment of this bill to the Senate Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee
on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives regarding
the activities of the CBP Innovation Teams.
Subsection (d) requires that before the deployment of any
new technologies identified in the plan under subsection (a),
the Secretary of DHS consider the costs and benefits to the
government for any new technology identified in the plan, to
ensure such technology will provide quantifiable improvements
to border security.
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. 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, there are no changes to existing
law.
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