Congress passes seven homeland security bills

The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed seven bipartisan bills that enhance aviation, border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security.

In total, the Homeland Security Committee has now passed 25 bills through the House in the first session of the 114th Congress.

“Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives took an important step in securing our homeland by passing seven bills that provide the Department of Homeland Security with tools critical to fulfilling its mission," U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said. "These bills increase DHS’ accountability regarding border security technology and strengthen aviation security. This is a significant step in the congressional oversight of DHS, and I encourage our counterparts in the Senate to act quickly on this legislation. I would also like to commend the members of the committee for their insightfulness and ability to work together by passing 25 bills this year through the House of Representatives.”

Among the bills passed by Congress were H.R. 998, the Preclearance Authorization Act of 2015, which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA).

The bill authorizes DHS to establish U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance operations in foreign countries to secure the homeland against terrorists and instruments of terror from entering the U.S. H.R. 998 passed the House by voice vote.