Senate Appropriations Committee Issues Report on the FY 2006 DHS Appropriations Bill (Part II)

(The House passed its own version of H.R. 2360 on May 17, 2005. As of July 14, 2005, the Senate Appropriations Committee-reported version of H.R. 2360 was being considered on the Senate floor.)

Committee Report Contains Additional Information and Recommendations

The Senate Appropriations Committee Report (S. Rept. 109-83) contains, among other things, certain additional information and recommendations from the Committee.¹

This is Part II of a multi-part series of summaries on the Committee's report and highlights the Committee's recommendations, etc. as follows (partial list):

TSA funding for air cargo security. With regard to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) funding, the Committee recommends $50,000,000, $10,000,000 more than the FY 2005 and budget request levels, for air cargo security activities. In addition, the Committee provides an increase of $19,162,000 to develop technologies and initiate demonstration and pilot programs within the Science and Technology high explosives countermeasures portfolio.

Of the increase provided for FY 2006 for air cargo security, $7,000,000 is provided for the hiring of regulatory inspectors to ensure industry compliance and $3,000,000 is provided to increase inspections of air cargo on international planes and air cargo transported by commercial passenger planes domestically. This will complement the 100 regulatory inspectors funded for FY 2005 as part of the first phase of a multi-year plan to provide increased inspection and enforcement regulatory oversight.

Inspection of cargo on passenger aircraft. In the FY 2005 DHS Appropriations Act, TSA was instructed to issue a security program and take such other necessary actions to triple the percentage of cargo inspected on passenger aircraft. The Committee states that it appreciates that TSA is in the process of implementing this tripling of inspection and expects to achieve this threshold by mid-summer. For FY 2006, the Committee directs TSA to work with other entities within DHS, including Science and Technology, to develop technologies that will move TSA forward toward achieving a goal of screening 100% of cargo on passenger aircraft.

Known shipper and C-TPAT programs. The Committee states that TSA is to continue to coordinate the "known shipper" and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) programs to develop a domestic air cargo targeting capability to promote supply chain security. The Committee encourages increased random screening inspections of air cargo transported on passenger and all-cargo air carriers.

The Committee recommends continued funding for the maintenance of the automated "known shipper" database currently being deployed to centralize data submitted by indirect air carriers and shippers to allow the immediate verification of the status of a specific shipper and to enhance the determination of high-risk air cargo for screening.

Targeting systems. Included in the Committee's funding recommendation for CBP is $28,253,000, an increase of $5,400,000, for systems technology acquisitions, to be distributed to automated targeting system/land, automated targeting system/passenger, and automated targeting system/inbound.

America's Shield Initiative. Included in the Committee's funding recommendation for CBP is $51,084,000 to continue the development of the America's Shield Initiative for the deployment of enhanced electronic surveillance capabilities along the southern and northern borders. The Committee encourages the program managers to explore the use of commercial, airborne, off-the-shelf wireless technology as it develops this program.

Non-intrusive inspection technology. The Committee states that it supports the acquisition and utilization of advanced mobile inspection systems for screening trucks, cargo containers, and passenger vehicles. The Committee states that it is supportive of multiple technologies to provide this critical service.

Antidumping enforcement/Byrd Amendment. The Committee states that it has ensured, within the amounts provided for this account, the availability of sufficient funds to enforce the antidumping authority contained in section 754 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 USC 1675c).

In response to a Committee directive, CBP submitted a report in February 2005 regarding the status of its implementation of recommendations by the Treasury Department on implementation of the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA, i.e., the Byrd Amendment). The Committee directs CBP to report on whether it has completed all of the initiatives, processes, and procedures that it identified in its February 2005 report.

The Committee also expresses concern that CBP failed to submit the report concerning the collection of duties due February 8, 2005 and again directs CBP to work with the Departments of Commerce and Treasury and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (and all other relevant agencies) to complete a joint report to the Committee providing a coordinated plan including legislative or regulatory changes proposed by CBP, if necessary, to increase antidumping and countervailing duty collections, particularly related to cases involving unfairly-traded Asian imports. The CBP annual reports on CDSOA for FYs 2003 and 2004 showed a failure to collect millions in assessed duties. The Committee directs CBP to break out the non-collected amounts for each of FYs 2001-2004 by order and claimant, along with a description of each of the specific reasons for non-collection with respect to each order.

Tobacco imports. The Committee is concerned there is insufficient coordination between those Federal agencies responsible for tracking and permitting tobacco products to be imported into the U.S., and those Federal agencies responsible for ensuring that Federal tax and trade laws and other Federal requirements applicable to such imports are met.

The Committee directs DHS, in consultation with the Treasury Department, to report by February 18, 2006, on automating the interface between the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and CBP as part of the ongoing Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) project.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 07/14/05 news, 05071415, for Part I.)

Senate Appropriations Committee report (S. Rept. 109-83) available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_reports&docid=f:sr083.109.pdf.