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Washington, D.C.—In its most glaring omission, the administration’s proposed fiscal 2008 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “fails completely to meet critical staffing needs in the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the ports of entry,” the president of the union representing thousands of front-line homeland security workers said today.

“The relative handful of additional positions for CBP Officers (CBPOs) contained in this budget proposal pales in comparison to the pressing need for more staffing at the nation’s land, air and sea ports of entry,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

Kelley added: “The White House proposes adding fewer than 300 CBPO positions, when the stark reality is that several thousand new CBPOs are needed to help ensure the safety of our country.”

On that point, the NTEU leader said Congress required DHS to submit by Jan. 23 a resource allocation model (RAM) specifically assessing optimal levels at all land, air and sea ports of entry.

NTEU sought this language in last year’s DHS appropriations. In a previous RAM study—prepared a number of years ago by the then-U.S. Customs Service prior to the creation of DHS—Customs said it needed an additional 14,000 inspection employees for its missions, a need that was never met.

“I would hope that DHS will release the new RAM in a timely fashion so that members of Congress can have as much pertinent information as possible as they deliberate the DHS budget proposal,” Kelley said, adding that NTEU will press for funding to support additional staffing at land, air and seaports.

NTEU was pleased with one aspect of the proposed DHS budget, however—yet another cut in funding for the agency’s much-touted MaxHR personnel system. The budget blueprint proposes only $15 million for it in fiscal 2008.

Last week’s Continuing Resolution approved by the House would provide DHS with only $20 million for MaxHR development in fiscal 2007. These figures are a far cry from the $71.4 million the administration sought for the program in the president’s fiscal 2007 DHS budget request.

The crux of the MaxHR system was an attempt to implement regressive personnel rules that would have sharply restricted employees’ collective bargaining, due process and appeal rights. That effort failed in the face of a successful NTEU-led federal court suit.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments, including more than 14,000 in CBP.