Details of the Appropriations Committee Report On the House-Passed FY 2006 DHS Appropriations Bill

Committee Report Contains Additional Information and Recommendations

Prior to the passage of H.R. 2360 by the House, the House Appropriations Committee (Committee) issued a report (H. Rept. 109-79) that contains, among other things, certain additional information and recommendations from the Committee.¹

This is Part I of a multi-part series of summaries on the Committee's report and focuses on the Committee's recommendations, etc. (See future issues of ITT for additional summaries.)

"Highlights" of the Committee's report are summarized below (partial list):

Funding to develop new DHS regional structure denied. The Committee denied the $49,895,000 requested by the President to develop a new regional structure for DHS, which is currently under review by the Secretary of Homeland Security. According to the Committee, it is unclear what, if any, regional structure will be proposed and until a decision has been made, Congress has been briefed, and any outstanding concerns have been adequately addressed, it is premature to provide funding for this new structure.

The Committee states that once DHS announces its new regional structure, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is directed to review the costs and benefits of the proposed structure.

The Committee states that DHS may not enact such a new structure until GAO issues a report to the Committee on its findings and the Committee has had time to adequately analyze DHS' regional proposal and GAO's results.

Committee responds to DHS' inability to submit required reports on a timely basis. The Committee expressed concern about DHS' inability to submit reports on a timely basis, noting that at this time, 123 of the 169 reports required by the FY 2005 DHS appropriations bill are late. As a result, the Committee withheld from obligation $20 million until all reports are received.

CSI.The Committee notes that it has consistently supported CBP initiatives to improve security for international trade and commerce, and protect the supply chain critical to a healthy U.S. and global economy. To further support these promising efforts, the Committee fully funded the administration's request for the Container Security Initiative (CSI). The Committee notes that it has not yet received the report that was due in January 2005 providing detailed spending and planning projections for FYs 2005-2009 and directs CBP to submit it as soon as possible. The Committee also includes a provision withholding $70 million from obligation until the report is submitted.

Cargo container security. The Committee expresses its frustration with DHS' delay in submitting a report on its cargo security efforts, which the FY 2005 Appropriations bill directed to be submitted by February 8, 2005. The Committee also notes that DHS has not released the National Cargo Security Strategy it circulated in draft form in December 2004. The Committee directs that the overdue report be submitted as soon as possible, and that an update, reflecting any changes resulting from the new Strategy, be delivered to the Committee at the time the Strategy is released.

Five-Year Integrated Strategic transportation security plan. The Committee states that the FY 2005 Appropriations Act required DHS to submit a five-year integrated strategic transportation security plan, which has not yet been received. As a result, the Committee directs DHS to submit a report no later than January 16, 2006 on the progress that has been made in securing this critical infrastructure, outlining a five-year plan to achieve this objective.

NII and CSI. The Committee notes that in a number of instances, the host nations participating in the CSI program have been unable to deploy the necessary Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology required of them as a CSI participant.The Committee directs CBP to submit a report not later than 90 days after enactment on how NII system selection and use could be improved and the pros and cons of CBP involvement in financing or otherwise supporting NII systems at CSI ports.

In-Bond. The Committee states that it also supports the investigation by CBP into ways to improve security of domestic cargo containers that move or transit the U.S. as "in-bond" shipments, and includes $1,018,000 in funding to continue this program as requested.

Relationship between CBP and ICE. The Committee states that it has learned that there is a frequent lack of communication between CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and directs DHS to submit a report no later than January 16, 2006 that describes the directives and guidelines that are in place to govern the interrelationship between Border and Transportation Security (BTS) agencies and to clarify the operational roles and responsibilities of each agency and component.

Automated Commercial Environment. The Committee commends CBP on its progress in deploying ACE Releases 3 and 4 and in growing the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program to more than 450 importer, broker, and carrier accounts. The Committee also recognizes CBP's plan to roll out ACE to port locations and geographic clusters and fully supports this initiative. The Committee states that it will continue to track the progress of this activity so that best practices are followed and to ensure that the ACE schedule reflects cost controls and that ACE aligns with the DHS enterprise architecture. The Committee notes that this is especially important as ACE seeks to avoid delays in delivering its releases and to manage the significant software development that remains to be completed. The Committee states that it believes that ACE and CBP modernization should be integrated, if not form the core, of DHS information system and border security technology, including the CSI and Automated Targeting Systems. The Committee further directs CBP to address such issues in its quarterly reports on ACE implementation progress.

Textile transshipment enforcement. The Committee directs CBP to report not later than January 16, 2006 on how funds previously appropriated for textile transshipment enforcement were spent. This report should include staffing levels and a description of how CBP has redeployed its workforce previously assigned to enter and monitor quota information, now that those quotas have expired.

Quality assurance at ports of entry. The Committee expresses concern about reports that quality assurance procedures being applied by CBP at its port of entry are not uniform. The Committee notes that it is aware that CBP currently uses videotape systems at some inspection sites, and urges CBP to expand the use of such quality assurance procedures nationwide.

¹According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), such reports do not have statutory force and departments and agencies are not legally bound by their declarations. However, reports do explain congressional intent, and executive branch agencies take them seriously because they must justify their budget requests annually to the Appropriations Committees.

H. Rept. 109-79 available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_reports&docid=f:hr079.109.pdf.