House appropriator questions CBP budget choices

House appropriator questions CBP budget choices    The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security on Wednesday accused the Obama administration of using funhouse mirrors in its fiscal year 2012 budget request for U.S. Customs to create the appearance of spending discipline.
   Rep. Robert Aderholt said the stated goal of cutting costs and prioritizing frontline operations is laudable, but expressed concern that many efficiencies and administrative savings identified in the budget are undefined, and would hurt the border management mission.
   The administration budget identifies $330 million in program reductions and other savings.
   'Commissioner, during this time of fiscal crisis, there are two things we need: truth in budgeting and clear results ' While some proposals represent real savings, the rest are merely budget fiction — operations will suffer and true needs will be deferred.'
   Republicans took control of the House in January and have aggressively pushed an agenda of fiscal discipline, banning earmarks and demanding spending cuts across government.

Aderholt

   Aderholt, R-Ala., questioned the proposed cut of $60 million for the Air and Marine division, saying it would reduce surveillance along the Southwest border. The U.S. government has made gaining control of illegal entry across the border and curtailing the spread of drug cartel violence a top priority.
   The budget also reduces overtime for Customs and Border Protection officers by $20 million, which would likely increase wait times for commercial vehicles and travelers at ports of entry, the chairman said.
   'I am not convinced this request stabilizes CBP's budget to sustain the workforce much less support investments in technology, infrastructure, and assets needed to meet the mission,' Aderholt said.
   He also criticized the administration for including in its budget $55 million in additional revenue from passenger user fees, calling it a 'hypothetical increase' that Congress would be expected to fund when authorizing legislation fails to pass.
   The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 created the user fee system for passengers and shipments entering the country. The law exempted passengers arriving from Canada, Mexico, territories and possessions of the United States, and adjacent islands. CBP in 2006 raised the fee for passengers to $5.50 from $5.
   CBP said it wants to repeal the exemptions to help cover its expenses for enforcing U.S. laws and preventing dangerous people or goods from crossing the border.
   CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin testified that 37 percent of the 21,186 officers at ports of entry are paid by user fees. During the height of the recession in 2009, user fees declined 8 percent, he said.
   The agency had to make up the difference through appropriations. Eliminating the fee exemptions would relieve pressure on the Treasury and help provide a more predictable revenue stream to support force requirements, Bersin said.
   Congress has been reluctant to eliminate the passenger fee exemptions in the past.
   The White House budget seeks $11.85 billion for CBP in 2012, a $301 million increase from the appropriated level in 2011, including funds to make permanent an additional 350 CBP officers for ports of entry and the agencies two national target centers. A supplemental border security bill passed last year enabled the agency to add 250 CBP officers along the Southwest border.
   Aderholt also said that CBP has been well funded in recent years and that Congress expects to see results for those investments. ' Eric Kulisch