H.R. 3488: Preclearance Authorization Act of 2014

113th Congress · introduced 2013-11-14 · Foreign Trade and International Finance · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2013-11-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Meehan, Patrick [R-PA-7] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Preclearance Authorization Act of 2014

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 3, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Preclearance Authorization Act of 2014 - (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance operations in a foreign country to: prevent terrorists, instruments of terrorism, and other security threats from entering the United States; prevent inadmissible persons from entering the United States; ensure merchandise destined for the United States complies with applicable U.S. customs laws; and ensure the prompt processing of persons eligible to travel to the United States. (Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify Congress not later than 180 days before entering into an agreement with a foreign country to establish CBP preclearance operations there, and (2) make certain certifications to Congress not later than 90 days before entering into an agreement to establish CBP preclearance operations at an airport in a foreign country. Directs the CBP Commissioner to: measure monthly the average customs processing time to enter the 25 U.S. airports with the highest volume of international travel; quarterly assess whether the average customs processing time for those airports significantly exceeds the average customs processing time to enter the United States through a preclearance operation; and provide Congress with a remediation plan for reducing that time in the event of an affirmative assessment. (Sec. 5) Directs the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), before commencement of CBP preclearance operations at an airport in a foreign country, to enter into an agreement requiring the country to adopt aviation security screening standards comparable to those of the United States. Directs the Administrator to require TSA rescreening in the United States of passengers and their property before they may deplane into sterile areas of U.S. airports if they have come from an airport in a foreign country that has failed to maintain security standards and protocols according to such an agreement. Requires TSA rescreening also, before being permitted to board a domestic flight in the United States, of any passenger on a flight originating from a foreign airport with preclearance operations who is a selectee based on a check against a terrorist watch list. (Sec. 6) Prohibits the Secretary from entering into or renewing an agreement with a foreign country to establish or maintain CBP preclearance operations at an airport in that country unless it certifies that it: routinely submits information about lost and stolen passports of its citizens and nationals to INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Document database, or makes such information available to the United States through another comparable means of reporting.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Preclearance Authorization Act of 2014

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Meehan, Patrick [R-PA-7] · 154 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), André Carson (D-IN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tom Cole (R-OK), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), David P. Joyce (R-OH), William R. Keating (D-MA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Grace Meng (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) and 94 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr3488.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr3488 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113