Today, the House passed a series of homeland security bills, most notably the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Authorization Act (H.R. 3846). For the first time in the Department of Homeland Securitys history, this legislation would establish CBP in law while promoting principles of stability and transparency within the agency. Additionally, H.R. 3846 includes training and continuing education opportunities for CBP Agents and Officers that will provide them the tools they need to stay safe on the job. H.R. 3846 includes amendments that I was able to get passed during the Homeland Security Committee markup on the bill in June, including: * Providing greater congressional oversight on 4th Amendment issues such as personal searches performed by CBP Agents and Officers; * Strengthening the minimum standards of the short-term custody facilities that CBP uses to hold migrants, including proper access to food and water and basic legal rights; * Ensuring that CBP provides Congress information on any incident resulting the use of deadly force by an Agent or Officer; and * Requiring CBP to evaluate alternative methods to address critical infrastructure needs at our countrys ports of entry. This includes the use of public-private-partnerships such as lease-purchase agreements. I am hopeful the Senate will act on this legislation so we can send it to the president for his signature.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 01:41:15 +0000
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