U.S. House Approves Bipartisan McCaskill-Backed Bill to Strengthen Border Security

Press Release

The U.S. House approved the Boots on the Border Act, a bipartisan bill to fill open border security positions with qualified veterans and experienced law enforcement officials. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Senator Claire McCaskill serves as the top-ranking Democrat, approved the Senate bill last month.

"I'm glad to be working with Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate on this commonsense bill that'll help make Missouri communities and our nation more safe," McCaskill said. "This bill opens doors for men and women in the military and law enforcement to continue serving our country by protecting our border."

The Boots on the Border Act helps U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) fill vacancies by removing the requirement of a polygraph test for veterans and federal law enforcement officers who have already undergone strict vetting and local and state law enforcement officers who have completed a polygraph for their current position. The polygraph waiver would not apply to anyone who is currently under investigation or has ever engaged in criminal activity or serious misconduct, and CBP may require a polygraph for anyone subject to the waiver if anything in the applicant's background raises any questions.

McCaskill has been a longtime advocate for increasing border security and earlier this year toured the U.S.-Mexico border to learn more about what Customs and Border Protection needs to increase border security. McCaskill's efforts in 2010 led to the placement of 1,000 new border patrol agents, new unmanned aerial vehicles, improved communication equipment and more to monitor the border without adding to the deficit. In 2012, her bipartisan bill to combat illegal underground border tunnels--cosponsored by Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona--passed unanimously in the Senate and was signed into law. And bipartisan, comprehensive legislation to address the country's broken system in 2013 that McCaskill supported would have added 20,000 enforcement agents to the U.S.-Mexico border, while financing the construction of 700 miles of border fence and aerial drones to monitor the border.

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