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Washington, D.C. — To secure the nation’s borders and impede the flow of illegal money, guns and drugs into our country, there must be a significant increase in staffing and resources at the ports of entry, said the leader of the union representing more than 24,000 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“The more than 24,000 CBP employees represented by the NTEU are capable and committed to the varied missions of DHS from border control to the facilitation of legitimate trade and travel,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). “They are proud of their part in keeping our country free from terrorism, our neighborhoods safe from drugs and our economy safe from illegal trade.”

In testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Kelley stated that insufficient staffing at border crossing points not only jeopardizes national security, but also leads to increased wait times for inspections and prevents CBP from meeting its goal of conducting primary inspections in 30 to 40 seconds. In fiscal 2010, CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists at ports of entry inspected 352 million travelers and nearly 106 million cars, truck, buses, trains, vessels and aircraft.

Kelley called on CBP to fully staff all existing travel lanes and booths at ports of entry, and urged Congress to require the agency to submit yearly a workplace staffing model to include optimal staffing requirements for each port of entry in order to fully staff all travel lanes and reduce commercial and passenger wait times.

The NTEU leader emphasized that, while the administration’s fiscal 2012 budget request funds an additional 300 CBP Officer positions compared to fiscal 2010, it would still be 108 Officers below the fiscal 2009 level. Also, the proposed budget does not provide enough funding for Agriculture Specialists, NTEU stated.

“The American public expects its borders and ports be properly defended, and the hard-working, dedicated employees at CBP are committed to providing that security,” Kelley said. “Congress must provide them with the resources to fulfill the agency’s vital mission.”

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