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Washington, D.C.—In a candid assessment opposing the idea of consolidating border security agencies, the leader of the union representing some 12,000 employees of the Customs Service said today the way the government can “show the public it is serious about protecting the borders” is by fully funding the agency which serves as the nation’s first line of defense in the wars against both terrorism and illegal drugs.

“No organizational structure change will be successful, no matter how good it may look on paper, if the government does not provide proper funding for its border security agencies,” particularly Customs, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) told a House subcommittee today.

In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, Kelley said she finds “extremely troubling” a proposal to consolidate Customs with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and Border Patrol under the Department of Justice.

The union leader said she remains concerned that the Justice Department’s recent, highly visible errors indicate a lack of a sound organizational structure with regard to the two border security agencies currently under its jurisdiction.

President Kelley stressed the unique nature of the multiple missions performed by Customs employees. They serve as the first line of defense not only against terrorism, but against drug smuggling, child pornography,

money laundering, and a host of other crimes. At the same time, they facilitate more than $1.3 trillion in trade, collect more revenue than any government agency except the Internal Revenue Service, enforce hundreds of federal laws and process hundreds of millions of travelers at the nation’s 301 land, air and seaports.

The structure at Justice, she said, has nothing to do with revenue collection or trade facilitation. Adding those functions “would create a logistical mess and make it more difficult for U.S. companies that import and export goods.”

The far wiser course for the nation, the NTEU leader said, is for Congress and the administration to provide Customs with the resources it needs for personnel, technology and training. While the president’s fiscal 2003 budget request of $3.18 billion represents “a token increase” from last year’s appropriation, Kelley said it is “simply inadequate” to meet the agency’s needs, especially in light of the events of last September 11.

“The recent deployment of over 700 National Guard troops to our borders clearly shows the need for more Customs personnel,” she said.

Kelley noted that Congress acknowledged the shortage of staffing and resources for Customs by providing an additional $245 million for the agency’s border security mission in last year’s emergency supplemental appropriation. She urged Congress to provide additional funding for Customs in the fiscal 2002 emergency supplemental appropriation—despite the administration’s failure to ask for any funds for Customs in its request for an additional $27.1 billion in homeland security spending.

NTEU is the largest independent union, representing some 150,000 employees in 25 agencies and departments.