H.R. 1569 — CATCH Fentanyl Act

This section defines terms used in the Act, including: (1) appropriate congressional committees (i.e., the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland Security); (2) artificial intelligence or AI (as defined in section 238(g) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, 10 U.S.C. 4061 note); (3) CBP Innovation Team (i.e., the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Innovation Team within the Office of the Commissioner); (4) nonintrusive inspection technology or NII technology (i.e., technical equipment and machines, such as X-ray or gamma-ray imaging equipment, that allow cargo inspections without opening the means of transport and unloading the cargo); and (5) pilot projects (i.e., the projects required under section 3(a) for testing and assessing the use of technologies to improve the inspection process at land ports of entry).

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the CBP Innovation Team in coordination with the Office of Field Operations and DHS Science and Technology Directorate, to implement pilot projects within one year of enactment to test and assess at least five types of nonintrusive inspection (NII) technology enhancements—such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, quantum information sciences, or other emerging technologies—at land ports of entry along U.S. borders. (As background, NII systems enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel to scan vehicles, trucks, and cargo containers for contraband, illegal drugs, weapons, human smuggling, and other threats without physical opening, using imaging equipment, radiation portal monitors, and chemical detectors.) The pilots must identify the most effective enhancements based on criteria including detection accuracy, inspection efficiencies to reduce wait times, upgrades to aging equipment, safety under As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) standards, integration into workflows, automatic threat recognition, mobility, and cost-effectiveness (accounting for detection gains, efficiencies, reduced wait times, and total implementation costs including infrastructure); incorporate private sector input; align with existing CBP NII programs and DHS research; and include data privacy measures such as adherence to laws, anonymization, and audits. The pilot projects terminate five years after enactment. Not later than three years after enactment and 180 days after termination, the Secretary must report to congressional committees on (1) effectiveness analyses; (2) recommendations for deployment at all land ports of entry; (3) a utilization plan with total costs and breakdowns (including infrastructure); and (4) an inventory of existing CBP cargo and vehicle inspection technologies, including implementation status and challenges.