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Washington, D.C. – The dramatically understaffed air, land and sea ports of entry would immediately benefit from a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hiring surge introduced today in the House and endorsed by the National Treasury Employees Union.

The Border and Port Security Act would authorize the hiring of 500 new CBP Officers and 100 Agriculture Specialists every year until the staffing shortage is alleviated.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas.

“Having adequate personnel at our 328 ports of entry is vital to our nation’s security and economic growth,” said NTEU National President Tony Reardon. “We are grateful to Rep. Vela and others who recognize that our ports should not be shortchanged when it comes to screening people and cargo entering our country from around the world.”

The House bill is similar to a Senate proposal sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., also endorsed by NTEU.

There is an existing vacancy rate of about 1,200 CBP Officers, which have been funded by Congress but not filled, and the agency’s own workload staffing model calls for adding 2,500 more Officers and 731 more Agriculture Specialists.

During testimony to Congress last month, Reardon warned lawmakers that the staffing shortage was impeding travel and trade by causing delays at the ports; damaging morale because officers are forced to work excessive overtime or are temporarily reassigned to other places of duty far from their homes and families; and resulting in fewer Officers available to conduct more in depth secondary inspections.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees at 32 federal agencies and departments.