S. 703 — 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 such as X-ray or gamma-ray imaging equipment that allows cargo inspections without opening the means of transport); (5) pilot projects (i.e., projects required under section 3(a) to test and assess technologies for improving inspections at land ports of entry); and (6) Secretary (i.e., the Secretary of Homeland Security).

This section establishes pilot projects, to be implemented by the CBP Innovation Team (in coordination with CBP's Office of Field Operations and DHS Science and Technology Directorate) not later than one year after enactment, to test and assess at least five types of nonintrusive inspection technology enhancements (i.e., from categories including artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, quantum information sciences, and other emerging technologies) at land ports of entry along U.S. borders. The pilots aim to improve CBP detection of contraband, illegal drugs, weapons, human smuggling, and threats in inbound and outbound traffic—using imaging equipment, radiation portal monitors, and chemical detectors—based on criteria such as detection accuracy, inspection efficiencies to reduce wait times, upgrades to aging equipment, ALARA safety standards, integration, automatic threat recognition, mobility, and cost-effectiveness (accounting for detection gains, efficiencies, reduced wait times, and total implementation costs including infrastructure); private sector input is permitted, existing CBP nonintrusive inspection programs and DHS research must be coordinated, and data privacy must be protected via laws, anonymization, and audits. The pilots terminate five years after enactment, with required reports to congressional committees at three years after enactment and 180 days after termination containing effectiveness analyses, recommendations for deployment at all land ports, costed implementation plans (including infrastructure needs), and inventories of existing CBP cargo and vehicle inspection technologies with implementation status.