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Washington, D.C. — Without the resources and focus it needs, the trade mission of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is not being fully met, and that is costing our nation hundreds of millions of dollars, the head of the union representing tens of thousands of frontline homeland security workers told a House subcommittee today.

“Lack of sufficient focus and resources costs the U.S. Treasury in terms of customs duties and revenue loss and costs American companies in terms of lost business to unlawful imports,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) in testimony submitted to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.

With the mission of regulating and facilitating trade, Kelley noted that CBP enforces more than 400 U.S. trade and tariff laws and regulations to ensure fair and competitive trade, while also stemming the flow of illegal imports and contraband. Moreover, CBP is the second-largest source of federal revenues, collecting $38 billion in duties and fees on imports valued at more than $2.3 trillion in 2011.

However, the NTEU leader said the agency is not receiving the resources it needs to fulfill this mission. “NTEU is deeply concerned with the lack of resources, both in dollars and manpower, devoted to CBP’s trade functions,” Kelley said. “Lack of sufficient focus and resources costs the U.S. Treasury in terms of customs duties and revenue loss and costs American companies in terms of lost business to unlawful imports.”

According to a report by CBP, there was more than $331 million in uncollected revenue in fiscal 2011, which is the highest total since 2008. The NTEU president cited several issues as contributors to this shortfall and warned of potential attrition problems.

“Because of continuing staffing shortages, inequitable compensation, and lack of mission focus, experienced CBP commercial operations professionals at all levels, who long have made the system work, are leaving or have left the agency,” Kelley said. “Twenty-five percent of CBP Import Specialists will retire or be eligible to retire within the next few years.”

To address these problems, Kelley recommended several steps, including rejecting proposed reductions in Entry and Import Specialist staffing, as the proposed staffing numbers fail to meet the levels required by the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

NTEU also supported a study of the setting, collection and utilization of customs and user fees to determine the viability of creating a dedicated funding stream for this critical mission.

NTEU is the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including the entire 24,000-employee CBP bargaining unit.