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Washington, D.C.—The House Appropriations Homeland Security Committee voted today to provide full funding for the enhanced Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Retirement benefit for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers and to increase funding for desperately-needed CBP positions. The vote followed an assertive and successful lobbying effort by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

In its markup of the fiscal 2009 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, the House panel rejected a White House proposal to eliminate the LEO retirement coverage for CBP Officers won by NTEU and instead included the $217 million necessary to fund the program in fiscal 2009. The Senate last week marked up a bill with similar provisions.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley strongly applauded the action of the House appropriators. “Last year at this time, we were fighting for LEO retirement recognition for these deserving CBP Officers. Now, implementation of the program is less than two weeks away and I am very pleased to see the committee fully funding this important recruitment and retention program for 2009 despite White House calls for its elimination,” she said. Kelley noted that failure to fund the program would put CBP in the position of having to find the money elsewhere.

The committee also added significant numbers of new CBP positions at the nation’s ports of entry, funding an additional 100 CBP Agriculture Specialists and an additional 734 CBP Officers, above the 539 new positions proposed by the administration.

“The number of CBP employees proposed by the administration was woefully inadequate to guard our nation’s ports of entry,” said President Kelley. “The committee did well to boost the number of CBPOs who safeguard our nation against terrorists, as well as the agriculture specialists who keep dangerous pests and prohibited agricultural products out of the country.”

In congressional testimony, President Kelley has repeatedly called for significant staffing increases at CBP, noting that the agency itself—in its most recent staffing model—has identified the need for up to 4,000 more front-line employees at the nation’s 327 ports of entry.

In a major victory for employees, the House appropriations bill mirrors the Senate bill in prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using any funds to implement a new personnel system for frontline employees. Through federal court victories and funding cuts, NTEU has successfully blocked DHS efforts to implement a new human resources system that would erode key employee rights, including collective bargaining, due process and appeal rights.

“NTEU is committed to seeing these important provisions enacted,” President Kelley said. “DHS employees need sufficient resources and staffing levels to enable them to effectively protect our homeland. There should be no cutting corners on such a crucial mission.”