Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes governmental training and technology to allied countries to track and combat terrorism.

Highlights:

• Establishes the program known as the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program, also known as BITMAP, to address and reduce national security, border security, and terrorist threats before they can reach the borders of the United States (Sec. 2).

• Requires BITMAP operations to coordinate the appropriate foreign government representatives and the heads of other Federal agencies, to identify and screen foreign nationals that could pose a security threat by the voluntary sharing of biometric and biographic information (Sec. 2).

• Requires BITMAP operations to provide the capabilities, training and equipment, to partner countries to voluntarily collect biometric and biographic information to identify individuals that could pose a threat the the United States (Sec. 2)

• Requires BITMAP operations to provide the capabilities, training and equipment, to partner countries to compare foreign date to United States date, which includes the following (Sec. 2):

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Database;

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Next Generation Identification database;

• The Department of Defense Automated Biometric Identification System, also known as ABIS;

• The Department’s Automated Biometric Identification System; and

• Any other database the Secretary of Homeland Security, and other federal agency heads deem necessary.

• Requires BITMAP to ensure the biometric and biographic identification data collected are incorporated into appropriate United States Government databases (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Secretary to ensure that BITMAP operations include participations from relevant components of the Department, and request participation from other Federal agencies (Sec. 2)

• Requires that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to enter into an agreement with the government of a country that was not previously a partner of the United States before carrying out BITMAP operations in said country (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Secretary to inform Congress via the Committee of Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate no later than 60 days before an agreement enters into force by providing a copy of the agreement which includes (Sec. 2):

• The name of the country;

• The location that the operations will take place; and

• The terms and conditions for Department personnel operation in the location.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text