Washington Notebook: Customs hopes to fill Christmas stocking

The agency says it is accepting donations to help build, operate or maintain ports of entry.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the General Services Administration yesterday announced the open period for accepting donation proposals to help improve border processing, as authorized in Section 559 of last year’s appropriation act. 
   Congress gave CBP and GSA permission to accept donations of property, money or services from the private sector or local governments for the construction, alteration, operation or maintenance of new or existing ports of entry.   
   The agencies said they will only consider proposals that envision federal ownership of the proposed donation.
   A live Q&A webinar will take place on Nov. 5 to provide more information about the Donation Acceptance Program.
   Proposals may be submitted to 559donationsacceptance@cbp.gov until 5 p.m. on Dec. 23.
   CBP’s mission has expanded during the past dozen years, along with increases in trade and travel across the border, but capital and operating resources have not kept pace, as lawmakers remain under pressure to keep a lid on growth of the federal budget. 
   A new Customs program also allows localities to reimburse the agency for overtime and extra manpower at airports, seaports and land checkpoints.
   Finding alternative sources of funding through public-private partnerships is one leg of CBP’s resource optimization strategy.