Hill Votes to Help Increase Border Personnel

Statement

Today, the House passed H.R. 2213, the Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act. The bill would allow the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to waive the polygraph requirement for hiring new agents in limited situations for applicants with previous law enforcement or military experience. After the bill passed the House, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) stated:

"During my first term in Congress, I made three separate trips to three unique ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico Border to get a clear understanding of the challenges we face in securing our border. On these informative trips, Customs and Border Patrol agents and local police officials routinely made it known that one of the biggest obstacles they face in effectively securing our border is a lack of manpower. The requirement to have a polygraph pre-employment greatly slows down their ability to reach staff levels needed to do their job, and eliminating this requirement for veterans or police who have honorably served their county or community will help our government fulfill its responsibility of protecting our border."

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