The "CATCH Fentanyl Act" mandates pilot programs to evaluate advanced technologies at land ports of entry for detecting fentanyl and other contraband, without additional funding.
John Cornyn
Senator
TX
The "CATCH Fentanyl Act" mandates pilot projects to evaluate advanced technologies, including AI, for detecting contraband, illegal drugs, weapons, and human smuggling at U.S. land ports of entry. These projects aim to enhance inspection efficiency, reduce wait times, and improve existing detection equipment. The Act requires reports to Congress on the effectiveness, impacts on privacy and civil liberties, and recommendations for implementing new technologies, while forbidding new funding appropriations.
CATCH Fentanyl Act: New Tech to Scan Cars, Trucks at Border Crossings - Starting in a Year
The "Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful Fentanyl Act" (CATCH Fentanyl Act) is all about upgrading how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) checks for illegal stuff coming into the U.S. at land borders. Basically, it sets up pilot programs to test out new technologies – think AI, machine learning, and advanced scanning systems – to better detect drugs, weapons, and human smuggling in cars, trucks, and cargo containers. This kicks off within one year of the bill's enactment, as stated in Section 3(a).
Scanning the Future
This section dives into how these pilot programs will work. The CBP Innovation Team gets to check out at least five different tech upgrades (Section 3(a)). They'll be looking for systems that can nail illegal activity, speed up inspections (shorter wait times!), improve outdated equipment, and keep things safe. Plus, these systems need to play nice with existing setups, automatically flag threats, be mobile if needed, and not break the bank (Section 3(a)). The private sector can offer up tech ideas, but the CBP has to make sure any personal data collected is kept private and secure (Section 3(c)).
For example, imagine a farmer shipping produce across the border. With better scanning tech, CBP could potentially spot hidden compartments with illegal goods faster, letting the legitimate produce get through quicker. Or picture a family road-tripping across the border – improved, non-intrusive tech could mean less time stuck in line, while still keeping everyone safe.
Real-World Rollout & Roadblocks
These pilot programs will run for five years (Section 3(d)). After three years, Congress gets a report on how well the tech is working (Section 3(e)(1)). And 180 days after the programs wrap up, there's a final analysis with recommendations for using the new tech at all land ports, including costs and infrastructure needs (Section 3(e)(2)). There will also be another report with findings on the impacts of the technology on privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. (Section 3(e)(3))
Here’s the catch: the bill specifically says no new money is being authorized for this (Section 4). So, CBP has to make it work with what they've already got. That could mean tough choices about where to run these tests and how much they can really do.
The Big Picture
The CATCH Fentanyl Act is trying to bring border security into the 21st century. It lines up with existing laws about using AI and non-intrusive inspection tech (Section 2). By testing these new systems, the goal is to make border crossings more efficient and effective at stopping illegal activity. But, the "no new money" rule and the need to protect people's privacy are big challenges to keep an eye on.