HR 4057119th CongressIntroduced

CBP Canine Home Kenneling Pilot Act

Introduced: Jun 20, 2025

Defense & National SecurityImmigration

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The CBP Canine Home Kenneling Pilot Act would create a temporary pilot program to test whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations canines can be housed and cared for at the homes of their handlers rather than in centralized kennels. The program would require planning, guidance, and training for handlers, and it would span at least two years with a maximum of three years. It must include at least ten ports of entry with participation from a mix of seaports, airports, and land ports in both urban and rural settings, and participation would be voluntary. A briefing to Congress would occur within one year, and a final report (with cost-benefit, performance, and welfare analyses) would be due within 180 days after the pilot ends. The act defines home kenneling as housing and caring for a working canine at the handler’s residence.

Key Points

1Establishes a canine home kenneling pilot program for CBP OFO to assess benefits to both handlers and canines, to be set up within one year of enactment.
2Requires written guidance and training for handlers, and consultation with DHS components that use home kenneling, DHS Office of Health Security, and the National Treasury Employees Union.
3Mandates the pilot include at least ten ports of entry and cover seaports, airports, and land ports, across urban and rural locations; participation must be voluntary.
4Sets duration: at least two years, with termination no later than three years after the pilot’s establishment.
5Requires congressional briefings within one year and a final report within 180 days after termination, detailing participating teams, cost-benefit and welfare analyses, and recommendations on continuing home kenneling.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- CBP Office of Field Operations, specifically canine handlers and their canines, who would participate in the home kenneling pilot.- Port of entry operations (seaports, airports, land ports) across urban and rural settings.Secondary group/area affected- CBP and DHS oversight bodies, including health security considerations and union representation (National Treasury Employees Union), which would influence guidance, training, and implementation.- Taxpayer/public costs and resource allocation related to training, monitoring, and evaluating the pilot.Additional impacts- Animal welfare and handler wellbeing: the pilot is evaluated on health, welfare, and job performance, potentially affecting canine welfare, handler quality of life, and work efficiency.- Privacy and home-life considerations for handlers: home kenneling requires maintaining appropriate living arrangements and could raise privacy or liability questions for residences.- Operational and logistical implications: housing canines at home may affect daily routines, travel, and crisis response readiness; the pilot includes guidance to try to mitigate risks.- Policy and program evaluation: the final report will inform future decisions on whether home kenneling should be adopted more broadly, scaled back, or discontinued.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 2, 2025