Multi-Industry Comment Letter - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Staffing at U.S. Ports of Entry

Release Date:

Jan 10

The Honorable Jeffrey Zients
Acting Director
Office of Management and Budget
1650 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Director Zients:

The undersigned organizations, representing a wide variety of interests that rely on the safe and efficient movement of people and goods across America’s borders, write to emphasize the importance of adequate funding to ensure appropriate U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staffing at U.S. ports of entry.

While CBP’s role of protecting our country and facilitating legitimate trade and travel is critical to the physical and economic security of the U.S., staffing at U.S. ports of entry has failed to keep up with the increased demand of trade and travel.

Commercial and pedestrian ports suffer from understaffing, which increases wait times, costs industry billions, and discourages business and leisure travelers from visiting the U.S. Over the past five years, a disproportionate amount of funding has been designated for increasing staffing of border patrol officers between the ports of entry, at the expense of staffing for customs officers who facilitate trade and travel at the ports of entry.

In addition, CBP should continue to focus on ways that it can utilize its current staff more effectively, through expanding trusted traveler programs, aggressively implementing its Trade Transformation Agenda, and evaluating additional methods for increasing efficiency at the ports.

We urge the Administration to ensure that the proper allocation of staffing at the ports of entry is made as part of the President’s Budget Request in order to enhance security, facilitate trade, and improve travel for the millions of business and leisure travelers who visit the U.S. each year.

Sincerely,

Airforwarders Association
Airlines for America
Airports Council International-North America
Amadeus North America
American Automotive Policy Council
American Concrete Pressure Pipe Association
American Trucking Associations
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Associated Equipment Distributors
Automobile Club of Southern California
Blessey Marine Services, Inc.
BNSF Railway Company
Border Trade Alliance
British Columbia Chamber of Commerce
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.
California Chamber of Commerce
Campbell Soup Company
Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance
CHEP
Detroit Regional Chamber
Express Association of America
Florida Chamber of Commerce
Food and Consumer Products of Canada
Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
Global Business Travel Association
Gnosis Management Group
Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition
Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
Hilton Worldwide
International Air Transport Association
International Warehouse Logistics Association
JetBlue Airways
Laredo (TX) Chamber of Commerce
Longview (TX) Chamber of Commerce
Lufthansa Group Airlines
Marriott International, Inc.
National Business Aviation Association
National Grain and Feed Association
National Retail Federation
National Tour Association
NCI Building Systems, Inc.
Norfolk Southern Corporation
North American Strategy for Competitiveness
Northern Border Customs Brokers Association
Permac Industries
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Rollins, Inc.
Ryder System, Inc
Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc.
Securitas Security Services USA
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Travel Association
Valerie J. Southern – Transportation Consultant, LLC
WestJet
Williams Mullen
Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce