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Washington, D.C.—The House Homeland Security Committee’s vote today to provide law enforcement officer status to Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs) from March 2003 is a positive step forward, said the largest independent union of federal employees.
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley emphasized that the union supports LEO status for all CBPOs including legacy Customs and Immigration inspectors and is fighting for complete coverage in any final legislation.
Despite many members of the Homeland Security Committee supporting retroactive LEO coverage that would allow legacy Customs and Immigration inspector service to be counted toward a 20-year retirement benefit, some questions raised about the committee’s jurisdiction prevented language to that effect from going forward. The jurisdictional questions surround the committee’s authority to approve legislation that would be retroactive to before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the committee itself.
Other congressional committees, including the House Government Reform Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees, would not be bound by these same limitations and NTEU will be working with those committees to ensure that any legislation providing LEO coverage for CBPOs will be available retroactively to legacy Customs and Immigration inspectors, Kelley said.
“Today’s action by Homeland Security is only one step in the road to passage of LEO legislation but it is a positive step,” the union leader said. “NTEU will fight for legislation that would bring LEO status to all CBPOs” as laid out in H.R. 1002 and S 3652.
“Finally, members of Congress are beginning to recognize the critical role CBP Officers play in our nation’s security,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “Every time we gain additional support we are one step closer to 20-year retirement for all of these deserving front-line employees.”
In other action by the Homeland Security Committee on the DHS reauthorization bill, NTEU-supported amendments were rejected that would have ended Max HR—DHS’s new personnel system—and provided a journey grade 12 for CBPOs.
NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 federal workers in 30 agencies and departments, including more than 14,000 in DHS’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).