Congress Passes Legislation Viewed as Step Toward Full Implementation of US-Canada Preclearance Agreement

The House and Senate last week passed H.R. 6431, the Promoting Travel, Commerce, and National Security Act of 2016, which would give the U.S. jurisdiction over prosecutable incidents involving U.S. border security personnel in Canada, per the terms of the U.S.-Canada preclearance agreement signed in March 2015 (see 1503160009). The Canadian American Business Council (see 1610250040) and a 25-member coalition (see 1611230032) said the legislation is an important step toward expanding preclearance activities to cross-border trade. The coalition urged top congressional appropriators to pass language similar to H.R. 6431 included in the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee’s fiscal 2017 spending legislation. But Rep. Ann Kuster, D-N.H., reintroduced the language as separate legislation on Dec. 2. The House on Dec. 7 passed H.R. 6431 under suspension of the rules, and the Senate approved it in the early morning hours of Dec. 10 by voice vote. The bill now awaits President Barack Obama’s signature.