Senate Committee Passes Flake CBP HiRe Act
Press Release
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today applauded the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's approval of the Customs and Border Protection Hiring and Retention (CBP HiRe) Act. The bill aims to boost manpower at the border and understaffed ports of entry by allowing CBP to utilize specific incentives, pay rates, and authorities to help the agency reach congressionally mandated staffing levels. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is a co-sponsor of the bill.
In recent years, CBP has experienced difficulties recruiting, hiring, and retaining both Border Patrol agents to secure the border and CBP officers to staff trade-facilitating ports of entry. These positions remain unfilled due to high attrition rates, a lengthy hiring process, and difficulty finding applicants willing to work in remote locations. Despite congressional authorization and ample funding for new hires, CBP remains nearly 1,000 CBP officers and 1,800 Border Patrol agents short of congressionally-mandated staffing levels.
In fact, CBP is barely able to hire fast enough to fill the jobs left by departing agents and officers. CBP hires only one out of every 64 applicants for officer positions and one out of every 113 applicants for Border Patrol agent positions, according to the agency. In total, less than two percent of applicants manage to get through CBP's hiring process.
The CBP HiRe Act streamlines processes and procedures to give CBP more autonomy over existing incentives and authorities to bring more law enforcement personnel into frontline positions. The bill allows CBP to offer recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives to applicants for law enforcement positions in remote and rural areas with a critical hiring need as well as recruitment and retention difficulties. The bill also allows CBP to use the rural and remote nature of an area, and any resulting hiring challenges, when applying for consideration of a special pay rate.
"Arizona needs more boots on the border, and it's going to get them because of my CBP HiRe Act. This is commonsense, bipartisan solution that will cut red tape and give CBP the tools it needs to effectively and efficiently recruit and retain desperately needed personnel," said Flake. "Now that the bill has the committee's stamp of approval, it should be brought to a vote and sent to the president's desk without delay."
Support: The CBP HiRe Act is supported by National Border Patrol Council, National Treasury Employees Union, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Tucson Border Patrol Local Union, Arizona-Mexico Commission, Border Trade Alliance, Arizona Border Counties Coalition, Douglas International Port Authority, Douglas Regional Economic Development Corp, Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, Greater Nogales/Santa Cruz County Port Authority, Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp, Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, Transportation & Trade Corridor Alliance, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Ambos Nogales Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Douglas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Sierra Vista Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Partnership for Public Service, and The Volcker Alliance.
To view statements of support, click here.
To view the full text of the bill, click here.
Background:
On Aug. 22, 2017, Flake secured CBP commitment to implement major policy changes designed to increase manpower at strained and understaffed ports of entry along Arizona's border with Mexico. Read more about the stakeholder meeting convened by Flake in Tucson here.
On March 9, 2017, Flake introduced the Boots on the Border Act to address hiring shortfalls at CBP by waiving duplicative polygraph requirements for applicants with qualifying law enforcement or military experience. Read more about the bill here.
On Oct.17, 2016, Flake sent a letter to Department of Homeland (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson requesting additional information on CBP's polygraph examinations. The signed letter can be viewed here.
On June, 29, 2016, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Flake sought answers from Secretary Johnson on several border and immigration-related issues impacting Arizona, including the hiring rate of CBP officers. Video of Flake and Secretary Johnson's exchange can be viewed here.
On Dec. 5, 2016, Flake and Heitkamp first introduced the CBP HiRe Act.
On Oct. 19, 2015, the Border Jobs for Veterans Act was signed into law. This bill was introduced by Flake and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) to help put veterans to work as CBP officers at understaffed U.S. ports of entry by requiring the Department of Defense and DHS to cooperate on efforts to recruit and expedite the hiring of outgoing U.S. military service members.
In 2014, Flake led a successful effort to secure congressional authorization and funding for the creation of 2,000 new CBP officer positions to increase manpower at strained and understaffed ports of entry.
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