U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) announced Tuesday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had passed legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Joint Task Force’s authority.
The bill would extend the task force’s authority for two more years. Peter’s bill, DHS Joint Task Force Reauthorization Act, extends the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and operate the JTF for two more years. The bill requires the Secretary to develop a staffing plan and include those plans in reports to Congress. It would also require the Secretary to give Congress an annual briefing on Joint Task Force-East’s staffing and resource needs and to submit a report to Congress on JTF-East’s headquarters location.
“Joint Task Forces are an important tool to help DHS protect the homeland and combat transnational crime,” Peters said. “My bill will ensure DHS can continue to coordinate effectively across agencies, and with critical international partners, to address these complex security challenges.”
The JTF allows DHS to establish joint operations using DHS personnel and resources to secure the U.S. land and maritime border, as well as to address homeland security threat and establish regional operations tackling ongoing challenges like drug smuggling and trafficking.
The DHS Joint Task Forces were codified by Congress part of the yearly National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in 2017. DHS currently uses this authority through its Joint Task Force-East which works to strengthen the coordination of the U.S. government agencies and international partners to combat transnational criminal organizations and address maritime migration. The Joint Task Force-East has led efforts to improve intelligence and information sharing especially when it comes drug trafficking and target pathways used for smuggling.