Senate Passed FY 2010 DHS Appropriations Conference Report (President is Expected to Sign)
On October 20, 2009, the Senate agreed to (passed) the conference report for H.R. 2892, the fiscal year (FY) 2010 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, etc.
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The House passed the conference report on October 15, 2009. The conference report has been cleared for the White House. According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the President is expected to sign the measure into law.
(The House and Senate had earlier passed different versions of H.R. 2892. A House-Senate conference was held to resolve the differences between the two versions, which resulted in one bill - the conference report for H.R. 2892. House and Senate conferees filed the H.R. 2892 conference report on October 13, 2009.)
Highlights of House- and Senate-Passed Conference Report
The conference report has been summarized in detail in previous issues of International Trade Today. Highlights of the funding and other provisions from the conference report, as well as conferee instructions to DHS in the Joint Explanatory Statement1, include:
$40 million less CBP automation than in individual House and Senate bills
CBP funding for 50 additional CBP Officers and 10 support positions to enhance Southwest border outbound operations, procurement of non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment, etc.
CBP directed to provide Congress with 5 year intellectual property rights enforcement strategy
CBP directed to improve administration of antidumping and countervailing requirements
CBP directed to devote attention and funding to Northern Border security
Funding for textile transshipment enforcement
Funding for ICE forced child labor, southwest border activities
Funding for TSA screening of fresh fruit air cargo, additional inspectors, etc.
TSA requirement to increase cargo screening incrementally
TSA requirement to report, brief Congress on 100% air cargo screening
Funding for a pilot maritime port security system program
Restrictions on funding for full-scale procurement of ASP monitors
Switchblade provision that would counter CBP's expansion of new entry prohibition
Funding restrictions for certain activities involving the Buy American Act, butane lighters, and prescription drugs
1The Joint Statement explains the effect of the accompanying conference report.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/16/09 and 10/20/09 news, 09101605 and 09102025, for BP's detailed, two-part summary of the House-Senate conference report, with links to summaries of the individual House and Senate bills.)
H.R. 2892 conference report, including Joint Explanatory Statement (H.Rept. 111-298) available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_reports&docid=f:hr298.111.pdf.