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Washington, D.C.—While supporting the overall goal of strengthening America’s homeland security, the leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers expressed serious reservations about the administration proposal to consolidate multiple government agencies while failing to address the funding needs of those agencies.

Federal agencies with border security responsibilities faced serious funding and staffing shortages even prior to the terrorist attacks of last September 11, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said—and the administration’s proposal to create a new Department of Homeland Security does nothing to address those needs.

Moreover, President Kelley said in testimony submitted yesterday to a key House subcommittee, a consolidation of agencies that ignores the specific and different fields of expertise of those agencies will lead to a loss of that vital know-how. NTEU represents some 12,000 employees of the Customs Service.

In her testimony to the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, Kelley said she finds “extremely troubling” the administration’s proposal to consolidate major parts of at least six governmental agencies into a new department.

For Customs, “a new cabinet level agency is no substitute for the additional funding and personnel needed” to meet the particularly unique dual missions of border security and trade facilitation.

Under the administration’s proposal to create a consolidated department devoted to homeland security, Customs would be combined with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Agency of the Transportation Department and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Agriculture Department. The administration has said that no additional funding nor personnel would be provided.

“What Customs needs in order to be successful and to carry out its recently expanded mission of homeland security is greater funding,” the NTEU leader said.

On a closely related matter, she urged Congress “not to take away the rights and benefits that are currently available to the employees who may be merged into any new department.” Noting that it is not yet clear what the administration means by its desire for “flexibility” in legislation creating a Department of Homeland Security, the NTEU president said that “before, during and after September 11, front-line employees have acted heroically to protect our freedom. They do not deserve to lose theirs.”

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