Maritime Border Security Review Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Maritime Border Security Review Act
(Sec. 3) This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to Congress a maritime border (i.e., the transit zone and the borders and territorial waters of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) threat analysis that includes an identification and description of:
current and potential terrorism and criminal threats posed by individuals and groups seeking to enter the United States through the maritime border or exploit border vulnerabilities on the maritime border;
improvements needed at U.S. seaports to prevent terrorists and instruments of terror from entering the United States and reduce criminal activity, as measured by the total flow of illegal goods and illicit drugs, related to the maritime border;
improvements needed with respect to the maritime border to prevent terrorists and instruments of terror from entering the United States and reduce criminal activity related to the maritime border;
vulnerabilities in law, policy, cooperation between state, territorial, and local law enforcement, or international agreements that hinder effective and efficient border security, counterterrorism, anti-human trafficking efforts, and the flow of legitimate trade relating to the maritime border; and
metrics and performance parameters used by DHS to evaluate maritime security effectiveness.
In preparing the threat analysis, DHS shall consider and examine:
technology and personnel needs and challenges;
the role of state, territorial, and local law enforcement in general border security activities;
the need for cooperation among federal, state, territorial, local, and appropriate international law enforcement entities relating to border security;
the geographic challenges of the maritime border; and
the impact and consequences of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate on general border security activities relating to the maritime border.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on September 4, 2018. 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 September 5, 2018: 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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?
Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR) introduced it on May 17, 2018, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 5 Republicans.
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 May 17, 2018, 3038 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2927 days ago, on September 5, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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