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Washington, D.C.—Rejecting a White House proposal, a key congressional homeland security subcommittee today restored full funding for the enhanced retirement benefit for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers won by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—and it added significant numbers of new CBP positions at the nation’s ports of entry.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley strongly applauded the action of the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee in its markup of the fiscal 2009 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The enhanced retirement benefit takes effect on July 6. In its initial budget submission, the White House, earlier this year, proposed repealing the enhanced retirement benefit, which grants long-delayed law enforcement officer (LEO) status to CBP Officers.

“I am extremely pleased that this subcommittee, led by its chairman, Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), is providing CBP with the resources it needs and funding the enhanced retirement benefit that will prove so valuable to the agency’s all-important recruitment and retention efforts.”

In addition to LEO funding of $217 million for the program in fiscal 2009, the subcommittee markup provides funding for an additional 100 CBP Agriculture Specialists and an additional 734 CBP Officers, above the 539 new positions proposed by the Administration.

The measure also limits funding for implementation of a new personnel system at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS had sought—unsuccessfully, thanks to three NTEU federal court victories—to impose a regressive personnel system that would have adversely impacted employees’ collective bargaining, due process and appeal rights.

President Kelley has consistently testified before Congress on the clear need to boost CBP Officer and CBP Agriculture Specialist staffing, 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.

She has argued strongly that understaffing not only threatens security, it is the major contributing factor to long wait times at border crossing points, leading to significant frustration among both travelers and those engaged in commercial operations.

“Each of these provisions in the subcommittee markup is a major step forward not only for CBP and its employees, but for the security of our nation,” President Kelley said. “NTEU will work hard to ensure their passage into law.”