WASHINGTON – Several of Rep. Brian Higgins' legislative priorities – including a provision that will eventually speed up traffic between the U.S. and Canada and another that could lead to a cleaner Lake Erie – moved a step closer to becoming law Tuesday as the House completed its work on must-pass legislation for the year.
Most notably, the House passed a defense authorization bill that includes the Securing America's Ports Act, which mandates that U.S. Customs and Border Protection develop a plan to implement non-invasive inspection technology at all the nation's land borders. That technology would allow customs officers to scan for drugs and other contraband items without physically inspecting vehicles.
While that move would be moot so long as the U.S.-Canadian border remains closed to nonessential traffic, the eventual implementation of such technology could trim border wait times by as much as 15 minutes, a 2015 government study found.
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Higgins recently pushed for the adoption of such technology in a letter to the incoming Biden administration.
"We need to revisit strategic deployment for infrastructure investment at northern border land ports of entry," Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat, said in that letter. "New technologies, like large scale non-intrusive inspection technology, would expedite crossing for both passenger and commercial vehicles."
That defense bill also includes an amendment authored by Higgins that could eventually boost the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park. That provision authorizes $5 million in federal funding for the National Maritime Heritage Grant Program, which would be used to renovate historic ships such as those at the park in Buffalo. A recent study found that $973,000 in funding is needed to paint and repair the hull of The Sullivans, a World War II-era destroyer at the Buffalo park, and Higgins said he hoped money from the grant program could be used for that purpose.
Separately, the House approved a Water Resources Development Act that, while reauthorizing Army Corps of Engineers projects, includes Higgins' proposal for a $25 million demonstration project aimed at eliminating harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie and other waterways.
The money would bring an experimental effort to combat algae – which has been used in Lake Okeechobee in Florida – to Lake Erie.
"We’ve seen promising outcomes from the initial pilot project in Florida and this investment will expand efforts to protect the health and safety of people and our lakes,” Higgins said.
Both the defense bill and the water resources bill are expected to pass the Senate shortly. However, President Trump has threatened to veto the defense bill for two reasons: a provision calling for name changes of U.S. military bases named after Confederate military figures, and his insistence that a provision be added to remove a liability shield enjoyed by social media companies.
