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Washington, D.C.—For far too long, insufficient attention has been paid to the critical staffing needs of the trade compliance mission of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the leader of the union representing the CBP workforce told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security today.

In testimony submitted for the record, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said what has effectively been a freeze on trade staffing at CBP since 2003 has seriously impacted the agency’s revenue-collection function.

Moreover, she said, insufficient staffing in this critical function impedes efforts to strengthen enforcement of U.S. trade laws, including anti-dumping and similar provisions, with a follow-through negative impact on domestic jobs.

CBP’s trade staff is responsible for enforcing more than 400 U.S. trade and tariff laws and regulations; they are key players in the nation’s efforts to ensure a fair and competitive trade environment in line with international agreements and treaties.

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

Staffing shortages translate to significant lost revenue, as well, she said, noting that a 2007 Government Accountability Office report found that such shortages led to under-collection of an estimated $150 million in anti-dumping duties alone. And, at today’s hearing, several witnesses testified that $1.5 billion in tariff revenue has been left uncollected since 2001.

President Kelley called on the subcommittee, which is chaired by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), to appropriate the funding necessary to hire additional trade enforcement and compliance personnel, including Import Specialists, at the nation’s ports of entry in order to enhance trade revenue collection and boost enforcement efforts.

The NTEU leader noted that CBP collects more revenue for the government than any agency other than the Internal Revenue Service.

NTEU is the nation’s largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.