McCaskill-Backed Bipartisan Bill

McCaskill-Backed Bipartisan Bill Improves Border Security Technology:  Legislation was introduced by Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona; McCaskill toured U.S.–Mexico border earlier this year.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is backing a bill to strengthen the Department of Homeland Security’s process for purchasing new technology to secure the border. McCaskill is joining Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona who introduced the bill earlier this year.

“When I toured the U.S.–Mexico border earlier this year, I heard again and again from border patrol agents that what they need most is more technological resources,” McCaskill said. “This bill will help ensure that law enforcement officials have technology that works and that they need to make our borders more secure.”

The Border Security Technology Accountability Act will improve the Department of Homeland Security’s process for purchasing new technology to help secure the border, ensuring that acquisitions are not over budget or underperforming. The bill also requires DHS to submit to Congress a plan for testing and evaluating new border security technologies to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively.

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has legislative and oversight jurisdiction over border protection and enforcement. McCaskill has served on the Committee since joining the Senate in 2007, becoming the top-ranking Democrat on the Committee at the beginning of this year. Last week, McCaskill introduced a terrorism response bill alongside Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. McCaskill’s bill to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s program that targets transnational criminal organizations on the border and at U.S. ports in order to combat drug and weapons trafficking and other crimes was approved by the Committee earlier this year. She has also pushed for answers in a Committee hearing on what USPS and Customs and Border Protection is doing to crack down on opioid shipments from foreign countries to Missouri and across the country. In February, she toured the U.S.–Mexico border to hear more about what those on the ground most need to enhance border security.

Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/defense to read more about McCaskill’s efforts to strengthen national security.