119-s703

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 703 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 703

 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 25, 2025

 Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Justice, Mr. 
 Kelly, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Moreno, Mr. Tillis, Mrs. Capito, 
and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
 and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
 Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 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.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Contraband Awareness Technology 
Catches Harmful Fentanyl Act'' or the ``CATCH Fentanyl Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
        (B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
 of Representatives.

    (2) Artificial intelligence; ai.--The terms ``artificial 
 intelligence'' and ``AI'' have the meaning given the term 
 ``artificial intelligence'' in 

section 238

    (g) of the John S. 
 McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 
 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. 4061 note).

    (3) CBP innovation team.--The term ``CBP Innovation Team'' 
 means the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Innovation Team 
 within the Office of the Commissioner.

    (4) Nonintrusive inspection technology; nii technology.--
 The terms ``nonintrusive inspection technology'' and ``NII 
 technology'' means technical equipment and machines, such as X-
 ray or gamma-ray imaging equipment, that allow cargo 
 inspections without the need to open the means of transport and 
 unload the cargo.

    (5) Pilot projects.--The term ``pilot projects'' means the 
 projects required under 

section 3

    (a) for testing and assessing 
 the use of technologies to improve the inspection process at 
 land ports of entry.

    (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROJECTS ALLOWING ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS TO 
 PARTICIPATE IN INSPECTING CARS, TRUCKS, AND CARGO 
 CONTAINERS AT CERTAIN PORTS OF ENTRY.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through CBP 
 Innovation Team, and in coordination with the Office of Field 
 Operations and the Department of Homeland Security Science and 
 Technology Directorate, shall begin the implementation of pilot 
 projects for testing and assessing the use of technologies or 
 technology enhancements to improve the process for inspecting, 
 including by increasing efficiencies of such inspections, any 
 conveyance or mode of transportation at land ports of entry 
 along the borders of the United States. The technologies or 
 technology enhancements tested and assessed under the pilot 
 projects shall be for the purpose of assisting U.S. Customs and 
 Border Protection personnel to detect contraband, illegal 
 drugs, illegal weapons, human smuggling, and threats on inbound 
 and outbound traffic, in conjunction with the use of imaging 
 equipment, radiation portal monitors, and chemical detectors.

    (2) Requirements.--
        (A) In general.--In implementing the pilot projects 
 at ports of entry, the CBP Innovation Team, in 
 coordination with the Department of Homeland Security 
 Science and Technology Directorate, shall test and 
 collect data regarding not fewer than 5 types of 
 nonintrusive inspection technology enhancements that 
 can be deployed at land ports of entry. The CBP 
 Innovation Team shall test technology enhancements from 
 at least 1 of the following categories:
            (i) Artificial intelligence.
            (ii) Machine learning.
            (iii) High-performance computing.
            (iv) Quantum information sciences, 
 including quantum sensing.
            (v) Other emerging technologies.
        (B) Identification of effective enhancements.--The 
 pilot projects shall identify the most effective types 
 of technology enhancements to improve the capabilities 
 of nonintrusive inspection systems and other inspection 
 systems used at land ports of entry based on--
            (i) the technology enhancement's ability to 
 assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
 accurately detect contraband, illegal drugs, 
 illegal weapons, human smuggling, or threats in 
 inbound and outbound traffic;
            (ii) the technology enhancement's ability 
 to increase efficiencies of inspections to 
 assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
 address long wait times;
            (iii) the technology enhancement's ability 
 to improve capabilities of aging detection 
 equipment and infrastructure at land ports of 
 entry;
            (iv) the technology enhancement's safety 
 relative to As Low As Reasonably Achievable

    (ALARA) standard practices;
            (v) the ability to integrate the new 
 technology into the existing workflow and 
 infrastructure;
            (vi) the technology enhancement's ability 
 to incorporate automatic threat recognition 
 technology using standard formats and open 
 architecture;
            (vii) the mobility of technology 
 enhancements; and
            (viii) other performance measures 
 identified by the CBP Innovation Team.
            (C) Private sector involvement.--The CBP Innovation 
 Team may solicit input from representatives of the 
 private sector regarding commercially viable 
 technologies.
            (D) Cost effectiveness requirement.--In identifying 
 the most effective types of technology enhancements 
 under subparagraph
        (B) , the pilot projects shall 
 prioritize solutions that demonstrate the highest cost-
 effectiveness in achievement the objectives described 
 in clauses
            (i) through
            (ix) of subparagraph
        (B) . Cost 
 effectiveness shall account for improved detection 
 capabilities, increased inspection efficiencies, 
 reduced wait times, and total cost of implementation 
 (including infrastructure upgrades and maintenance 
 expenses).

    (3) Nonintrusive inspection systems program.--The CBP 
 Innovation Team shall work with existing nonintrusive 
 inspection systems programs within U.S. Customs and Border 
 Protection when planning and developing the pilot projects 
 required under paragraph

    (1) .

    (4) Data privacy protections.--In implementing the pilot 
 projects and utilizing new technologies, the Secretary shall 
 safeguard the privacy and security of personal data collected 
 during inspections through appropriate measures, including--
        (A) adherence to relevant privacy laws and 
 regulations;
        (B) implementation of data anonymization 
 techniques, if applicable; and
            (C) regular audits to assess compliance with data 
 privacy standards.

    (5) Science and technology directorate.--The CBP Innovation 
 Team shall work with the Department of Homeland Security 
 Science and Technology Directorate to align existing 
 nonintrusive inspection research and development efforts within 
 the Science and Technology Directorate when planning and 
 developing pilot projects required under paragraph

    (1) .

    (b) Termination.--The pilot projects shall terminate on the date 
that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (c) Reports Required.--Not later than 3 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and 180 days after the termination of the pilot 
projects pursuant to subsection

    (b) , the Secretary shall submit a 
report to the appropriate congressional committees that contains--

    (1) an analysis of the effectiveness of technology 
 enhancements tested based on the requirements described in 
 subsection

    (a)

    (2) ;

    (2) any recommendations from the testing and analysis 
 concerning the ability to utilize such technologies at all land 
 ports of entry;

    (3) a plan to utilize new technologies that meet the 
 performance goals of the pilot projects across all U.S. Customs 
 and Border Protection land ports of entry at the border, 
 including total costs and a breakdown of the costs of such 
 plan, including any infrastructure improvements that may be 
 required to accommodate recommended technology enhancements;

    (4) a comprehensive list of existing technologies owned and 
 utilized by U.S. Customs and Border protection for cargo and 
 vehicle inspection, including--
        (A) details on the implementation status of such 
 technologies, such as whether the technologies have 
 been fully installed and utilized, or whether there are 
 challenges with the installation and utilization of the 
 technology;
        (B) an evaluation of the compatibility, 
 interoperability, and scalability of existing cargo and 
 vehicle inspection technologies within U.S. Customs and 
 Border Protection's physical and information technology 
 infrastructure; and
            (C) identification of any obstacles to the 
 effective deployment and integration of such 
 technologies; and

    (5) the analysis described in subsection
            (d) .
            (d) Areas of Analysis.--The report required under subsection
            (c) shall include an analysis containing--

    (1) quantitative measurements of performance based on the 
 requirements described in subsection

    (a)

    (2) of each technology 
 tested compared with the status quo to reveal a broad picture 
 of the performance of technologies and technology enhancements, 
 such as--
        (A) the probability of detection, false alarm rate, 
 and throughput; and
        (B) an analysis determining whether such observed 
 performance represents a significant increase, 
 decrease, or no change compared with current systems;

    (2) an assessment of the relative merits of each such 
 technology;

    (3) any descriptive trends and patterns observed; and

    (4) performance measures for--
        (A) the technology enhancement's ability to assist 
 with the detection of contraband on inbound and 
 outbound traffic through automated

    (primary) inspection 
 by measuring and reporting the probability of detection 
 and false alarm rate for each NII system under 
 operational conditions;
        (B) the throughput of cargo through each NII system 
 with a technology enhancement, including a breakdown of 
 the time needed for U.S. Customs and Border 
 Protection--
            (i) to complete the image review process 
 and clear low-risk shipments; and
            (ii) to complete additional inspections of 
 high-risk items;
            (C) changes in U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
 officer time commitments and personnel needs to sustain 
 high volume NII scanning operations when technology 
 enhancements are utilized; and
            (D) operational costs, including--
            (i) estimated implementation costs for each 
 NII system with technology enhancements; and
            (ii) estimated cost savings due to improved 
 efficiency due to technology enhancements, if 
 applicable.

    (e) Privacy and Civil Liberties Reports.--The Secretary, in 
consultation with the CBP Innovation Team and other appropriate 
offices--

    (1) prior to the implementation of the technologies 
 referred to in this section, shall submit--
        (A) a report or reports to the appropriate 
 congressional committees regarding the potential 
 privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights impacts of 
 technologies being tested under the pilot projects 
 pursuant to this section, including an analysis of the 
 impacts of the technology enhancements on individuals 
 crossing the United States border; and
        (B) recommendations for mitigation measures to 
 address any identified impacts; and

    (2) not later than 180 days after the termination of the 
 pilot projects pursuant to subsection

    (b) , shall submit a 
 report to the appropriate congressional committees containing--
        (A) findings on the impacts to privacy, civil 
 rights, and civil liberties resulting from the pilot 
 projects;
        (B) recommendations for mitigating these impacts in 
 implementation of approved technologies; and
            (C) any additional recommendations based on the 
 lessons learned from the pilot projects.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS.

 No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act.
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