U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and John Katko (R-NY) on March 7 cosponsored two bills introduced by Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) that would officially authorize two U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs already in operation to protect the security of America and its citizens.
“Both of these programs provide necessary services to secure our homeland and protect our borders,” Rep. McSally said. “These common-sense bills formalize them in statute.”
The first bill, H.R. 5206, would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to lawfully establish the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), among other purposes. The office operates the DHS database of more than 225 million identities and provides biometric identity services that help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collect and pair biometric data on individuals entering or exiting the United States, according to Rep. McSally’s office.
“Congress has passed multiple laws since 2004 mandating the creation of a workable biometric exit/entry system, and OBIM is vital to that program’s implementation,” the congresswoman said.
U.S. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Clay Higgins (R-LA) are cosponsoring H.R. 5206, which has been referred for consideration to the House Homeland Security Committee.
The other bill, H.R. 5207, would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to formally establish the Immigration Advisory Program (IAP), a component of CBP’s multi-tiered security strategy in which customs officers are deployed overseas to help prevent prohibited foreign nationals from boarding U.S.-bound aircraft, according to McSally’s office. Customs officers are specifically sent to work at last-point-of-departure airports to advise and assist airlines in this work.
“IAP also ensures that dangerous individuals are not able to board planes headed to America,” McSally said.
H.R. 5207 also is cosponsored by Reps. Gallagher and Higgins and has been referred to the House Homeland Security Committee for consideration.