United States Customs and Border Protection Authorization Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
United States Customs and Border Protection Authorization Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish formally, in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (formerly the U.S. Customs Service), headed by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Establishes in the CBP:
a Deputy Commissioner;
the U.S. Border Patrol;
an Office of Air and Marine Operations;
an Office of Field Operations, including a National Targeting Center;
an Office of Intelligence and Investigative Liaison;
an Office of International Affairs; and
an Office of Internal Affairs.
Requires the CBP Commissioner to establish, and update triennially, certain standard operating procedures for CBP personnel.
Directs the CBP Commissioner to require all CBP agents and officers to participate in a specified amount of continuing education to maintain an understanding of federal legal rulings, court decisions, and departmental policies, procedures, and guidelines.
Requires the CBP Commissioner to ensure that:
adequate access to food and water is provided as soon as possible to individuals apprehended and detained between a U.S. port of entry, and
detainee rights are provided at CBP processing centers.
Directs the CBP Commissioner to publish wait times at the 20 U.S. airports with the highest volume of international travel and make this information available to the public on the CBP website.
(Sec. 4) Makes technical conforming amendments.
Declares that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shall be maintained as a distinct entity within DHS.
Removes the Office for Domestic Preparedness from within the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security and establishes it simply within DHS.
Transfers all functions of the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security to the DHS Secretary.
Authorizes the DHS Secretary (currently, the Under Secretary) to impose disciplinary action on any employee of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP who willfully deceives Congress or agency leadership on any matter.
(Sec. 5) Directs the CBP Commissioner to report to Congress on:
The summary continues for 21 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on July 28, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 29, 2014: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Candice Miller (R-MI) introduced it on January 10, 2014, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 10, 2014, 4626 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4426 days ago, on July 29, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers