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H.R.103 / 119th Congress

Congressional Border Security Assessment Act

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025

Congressional Border Security Assessment Act

This bill grants Members of Congress and their accompanying staff lawful access to Indian reservations for the purpose of assessing national security, public safety, and the security of the border. Specifically, the bill applies to an Indian reservation that includes 50 or more contiguous miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Read the summary on Congress.gov

Who introduced it

Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] · R–AZ

Committees

  • Natural Resources Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Sep 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.103 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

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Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.103 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

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Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.103 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

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Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.103 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

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Read the proposal in plain language

AI-generated · Source-checked by AI · Oct 23, 2026

Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.

What it would do

The proposed Congressional Border Security Assessment Act would give members of Congress and staff accompanying them lawful access to certain Indian reservations to gather information for security assessments. It would apply to reservations that include at least 50 continuous miles of the United States–Mexico border. Access would also extend to roads and easements on Indian country.

Check the sources
This Act may be cited as the Congressional Border Security Assessment Act.
Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-01-03
A member of Congress and any Congressional staff accompanying that member shall have lawful access to any Indian reservation that includes 50 or more contiguous miles of the international boundary between the United States and Mexico for the purpose of obtaining information for assessing national security, public safety, and the security of the international boundary. Such lawful access shall extend to any roadways or easements on Indian country.
Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-01-03

How it would work

The proposed access right would cover members of Congress and congressional staff accompanying a member. Its stated purpose is gathering information to assess national security, public safety, and border security.

Check the source
A member of Congress and any Congressional staff accompanying that member shall have lawful access to any Indian reservation that includes 50 or more contiguous miles of the international boundary between the United States and Mexico for the purpose of obtaining information for assessing national security, public safety, and the security of the international boundary.
Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-01-03

The bill would extend lawful access to any roadways or easements on Indian country. An easement is a right to use land belonging to someone else.

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Such lawful access shall extend to any roadways or easements on Indian country.
Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-01-03

The bill would use the definition of “Indian country” in section 1151 of title 18 of the United States Code. That definition is incorporated by reference rather than reproduced in the bill.

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For the purposes of this section, the term Indian country shall have the meaning given that term in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code.
Official bill text · Introduced in House · 2025-01-03

What the record shows

The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 3, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on January 3, 2025.

Check the source
Source snapshot updated 2025-09-03T20:09:43Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
Official legislative record · 2025-09-03T20:09:43Z

Riders & Targeted Benefits

Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.

This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.

Riders

Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.

None identified in the reviewed text

No unrelated provision was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.

Earmarks

Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.

None identified in the reviewed text

No earmark was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of accompanying materials.

Other targeted benefits

Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.

None identified in the reviewed text

No separate narrow benefit warranting a finding was identified beyond the bill’s core access policy and its intended users. This conclusion is limited to the complete supplied introduced text.

What this analysis cannot establish

  • The supplied text is the introduced version. The dated actions snapshot does not establish whether the bill later advanced, changed, or became law.
  • The referenced statutory definition of Indian country is not supplied, limiting assessment of the lands covered. The bundle also does not identify which reservations meet the border-length threshold.
  • The text provides no express effective date, expiration date, enforcement procedure, or process for coordinating access with tribal authorities.
  • No member earmark disclosures, committee reports, or conference materials are supplied.

Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 3, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI