1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Improving the Nation’s Visitors' International Travel Experience Act of 2014” or the “INVITE Act of 2014”.
Improving the Nation’s Visitors' International Travel Experience Act of 2014
A BILL
To expand the Global Entry Program and strengthen the Model Ports of Entry Program, and for other purposes.
2. Purposes
3. Definitions
In this Act:
Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Commissioner— The term Commissioner means the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Global entry program— The term Global Entry Program means the program described in section 235.12 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations.
Model ports of entry program— The term Model Ports of Entry Program means the program established by the Secretary of Homeland Security under section 725 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (8 U.S.C. 1752a).
4. Global Entry Program expansion
Coordination— The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall explore the feasibility of—
coordinating the enrollment and interview processes for individuals who—
are nationals of countries with which the United States has a reciprocal trusted traveler program agreement; and
simultaneously apply for a United States visa and enroll in the Global Entry Program; and
collecting a single application fee from such applicants; and
coordinating the passport application and Global Entry Program enrollment processes for eligible United States citizens.
Report— Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall jointly submit, to the appropriate congressional committees, a report that describes—
the status of bilateral negotiations to expand reciprocal trusted traveler programs such as the Global Entry Program;
barriers to the expansion of the Global Entry Program;
the number of United States citizens and nationals of other countries who are enrolled in the Global Entry Program, the NEXUS Program, or the SENTRI Program;
the feasibility of coordinating Global Entry Program enrollment with the visa and passport application processes;
if the Secretaries determine that such coordination is infeasible, the specific reasons for such determination; and
the resources needed and the next steps that the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security would need to take to implement the coordinated Global Entry and visa and passport application process described in subsection (a).
5. Strengthening the Model Ports of Entry Program
In general— Section 725 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (8 U.S.C. 1752a) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(3) modify the program, to the extent determined to be necessary by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including by expanding the program beyond the 20 airports at which the program was initially implemented.”
by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
“(c) Program metrics
“(1) Development—To ensure the effectiveness of the Model Ports of Entry Program (referred to in this subsection as the “program”), the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall develop metrics to measure the performance of the program, including metrics to measure customer satisfaction among passengers using the ports of entry at the Model Ports of Entry airports.
“(2) Report—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the INVITE Act of 2014, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—
“(A) a list of the program airports;
“(B) an explanation of how the program has been implemented at each program airport;
“(C) an analysis of the program’s performance against the metrics established under paragraph (1) to measure customer satisfaction;
“(D) recommendations for improving public-private collaboration between U.S. Customs and Border Protection, airports, and other industry stakeholders to improve the user experience at United States ports of entry; and
“(E) recommendations on whether the program should be expanded to more airports.
“(d) Model Ports of Entry Grant Program
“(1) Establishment—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the INVITE Act of 2014, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program to award, on a competitive basis, up to 10 grants of an amount deemed appropriate by the Commissioner to airports designated by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to establish public-private sector collaboration to improve the international arrival process at United States airports.
“(2) Source of funding—The funding for the grant program established under this subsection shall come from the operating budget of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“(3) Matching grant—The Secretary may not make a grant to an airport under this subsection unless the airport agrees to match the grant funding with an equal amount of non-Federal funds.
“(4) Use of funds—Grants received under the subsection—
“(A) shall be used to improve the grantee’s international passenger processing facility in accordance with the objectives of the Model Ports of Entry Program through activities such as—
“(i) the installation of informational television monitors;
“(ii) improvements to queue management; and
“(iii) the use of technology that will improve the entry process;
“(B) shall be used to provide a more efficient and welcoming international arrival process to facilitate and promote business and tourist travel to the United States; and
“(C) may not be used to replace funding for airport improvement projects paid for with—
“(i) passenger facility charges authorized under section 40117 of title 49, United States Code; or
“(ii) grants received through the Airport Improvement Program under subchapter I of chapter 471 of such title 49.
“(5) Working groups
“(A) Establishment—Grantees shall establish public-private partnership working groups with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“(B) Other members—Working groups established under this paragraph may include representatives of the travel and tourism industry, including—
“(i) the air passenger sector;
“(ii) the hotel sector;
“(iii) the theme park sector;
“(iv) the rental car sector
“(v) the tour operator sector;
“(vi) the travel distribution sector;
“(vii) the retail sector;
“(viii) the State tourism authority;
“(ix) the local convention and visitors authority;
“(x) local cultural interest groups; and
“(xi) the event management sector.
“(C) Collaboration—The working groups established under this paragraph shall—
“(i) support ongoing collaborative efforts to share best practices for improving the international arrivals process; and
“(ii) provide recommendations for overall facility design enhancements and the integration of public and cultural art into port of entry facilities at United States airports.
“(D) Federal advisory committee act—The provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to working groups established under this paragraph.
“(6) Administration and selection criteria—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall—
“(A) administer the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program; and
“(B) establish the criteria for selecting grantees.
“(7) Metrics—The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall establish metrics to determine the effectiveness of the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program.”
Report— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—
a description of the status of the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program;
a description of the metrics U.S. Customs and Border Protection will use to measure the effectiveness of the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program;
an analysis comparing the results of the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program with the metrics established pursuant to section 725(d)(6) of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, as added by subsection (a)(3);
recommendations on whether the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program should be made available on a competitive basis to additional airports; and
a description of the improvements the Commissioner intends to make to the Model Ports of Entry Grant Program.
6. U.S. Customs and Border Protection wait time metrics
Annual report— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that—
includes data on average passenger wait times and peak wait times for each month at each port of entry;
provides an analysis of the performance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection against the metrics developed pursuant to section 571(a) of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 (division F of Public Law 113–76); and
provides an update on the development and implementation of operational work plans that support the goal of reducing passenger processing times at air, land, and sea ports of entry in accordance with section 571(b) of such Act.
Public dissemination of wait times— The Commissioner shall—
prominently post the latest information on wait times for processing arriving international passengers at United States airports and land ports of entry on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website so that such information is easily accessible to website visitors; and
continuously update the information described in paragraph (1) during the hours in which the air and land ports are open and receiving customers.
7. Report on efforts to leverage technology in the international arrivals process
Not later than 1 year after date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall submit a report to Congress that—
describes efforts to develop new technologies and procedures to improve the passenger screening process at United States ports of entry;
lists the Department of Homeland Security components for which each technology is being developed; and
identifies methods for more effectively processing inbound international travelers to the United States while strengthening security.
8. Increasing the transparency of Department of Homeland Security customer service enhancements
In general— The Secretary of Homeland Security shall collect and analyze traveler feedback—
to develop customer service best practices across all relevant component agencies;
to ensure a welcoming environment; and
to improve the image of the United States around the world.
Use of traveler feedback— The Secretary of Homeland Security shall—
coordinate the collection of all traveler feedback across all relevant component agencies to improve the transparency of customer service enhancements;
publicly report the feedback described in paragraph (1) on a quarterly basis; and
analyze and utilize such feedback to develop customer service best practices throughout the Department of Homeland Security, which shall include cultural sensitivity and diversity training.
Monthly report— The Secretary of Homeland Security shall report all U.S. Customs and Border Protection traveler feedback to the Department of Transportation for publication in its monthly Air Travel Consumer Report.
INFO center staffing— The Commissioner shall ensure that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection INFO Center is adequately staffed in order to limit caller wait times to shorter than 10 minutes.