Authority To Convert Certain Overseas Limited Appointments To Permanent Appointments

Floor Speech

* Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1517, a bipartisan bill authored by Representative ENGEL and the ranking member on the Committee of Homeland Security, Representative KING.

* As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am grateful to these members for putting before us today a bill that aims to fix a discrete but important issue at Customs and Border Protection.

* In short, this bill gives the Commissioner the authority to noncompetitively convert approximately 35 overseas CBP employees into full-time permanent civil service positions.

* These employees were originally hired by the Immigration and Naturalization Service under ``limited overseas appointment'' authority between 1987 and 2003.

* Over time, the nature of their work changed, but their employment designation did not.

* Since 2005, CBP, the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of State have been trying to fix the glitch, but realize they need the help of Congress.

* Doing so will not only ensure that the employees continue to receive the appropriate benefits, but will also provide them with the protections they deserve as dedicated employees serving the CBP mission abroad.

* Further, this conversion of employment status will ensure that CBP and the United States honor agreements between our country and our foreign counterparts, such as Ireland, governing U.S. personnel overseas.

* Going forward, using the authorities provided to the Commissioner in H.R. 1517, it is my hope that the Commissioner will take the histories of these dedicated 35 individuals into account when applying CBP's rotation policy.

* In our attempt to ``right the system,'' CBP should not unduly disrupt the lives of these dedicated individuals, who provide a valuable service to this country.

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