S. 3504 — Strong Ports, Strong Communities Act

This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including "(1) community infrastructure," meaning a transportation, water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric, gas, or other utility project, or other project supporting or disproportionately impacted by a land port of entry (as designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security), that is owned by a state, Tribal, or local government or a not-for-profit member-owned utility and either focuses on modernizing or constructing a land port of entry or is located within 25 miles of one and supports or is disproportionately impacted by it; "(2) rural area," meaning a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of not more than 100,000 inhabitants; and "(3) Secretary," meaning the Secretary of Homeland Security.

This section establishes the Land Port of Entry Community Infrastructure Program, authorizing the Secretary of Homeland Security to award grants and supplement funds from other federal programs to state, tribal, and local governments and not-for-profit, member-owned utility services for community infrastructure projects supporting land ports of entry. Eligible projects fall into five categories: (1) improving safety, efficiency, and reliability of legitimate trade and travel (e.g., local transportation or water infrastructure for port modernization or construction); (2) enhancing border security, as measured by predicted impacts on illicit drug seizures and other metrics at ports of entry established under 6 U.S.C. 223(c); (3) enhancing resilience and emergency preparedness of ports and infrastructure; (4) improving U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel family quality of life; and (5) addressing direct community impacts (e.g., transportation, traffic congestion, waste/wastewater, pollution, environmental degradation). In selecting projects, the Secretary must consider (1) improvements identified in CBP's 2024 "Land Port of Entry Modernization: Promoting Security, Travel, and Trade" report; (2) state capital investment plans supporting land ports; and (3) for quality-of-life projects, alleviation of commuter workforce issues and benefits to CBP personnel and dependents. The Secretary must standardize processes for project identification, validation, and prioritization and consult with the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, and Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; and other relevant agencies. Projects generally require a 30% non-federal match, but the Secretary may reduce or waive this for rural areas or projects advantageous to homeland security. The Secretary may reimburse up to 70% of costs (or more under a waived match) for eligible projects with expenditures on or after November 15, 2021, if reimbursement is sought within a reasonable time.

This section authorizes appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security for each fiscal year to carry out the Land Port of Entry Community Infrastructure Program. Amounts appropriated for the program remain available until expended, and grant awards are subject to the availability of appropriations.