COALITION CALLS FOR ACCELERATED ACE DEVELOPMENT

COALITION CALLS FOR ACCELERATED ACE DEVELOPMENT    James B. Clawson, executive director of The Coalition for Customs Automation Funding appealed to members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees to accelerate development of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as part of an emergency appropriation to replace the Automated Commercial System (ACS).
   In a letter to U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., Clawson said that, although Customs is already in the first stages of building the new system, only $230 million of the $308 million requested has been appropriated for fiscal year 2002.
   “Fortunately, Customs has begun work on replacing ACS with the Automated Commercial Environment,” Clawson said in his letter.
   He said ACS is ineffective, particularly since “harrowing events over the last several days have forced us to reevaluate our role as the world’s largest trading nation.”
   “As you are aware, ACS is simply not able to adequately handle present day enforcement challenges,” he told the appropriations committees.