Sequestration Would be a 'Challenge' for CBP, Says Official
The threat of drastic budget cuts as a result of sequestration has created significant uncertainty within CBP on how it would affect the agency and the flow of goods in and out of the U.S., said a CBP official, speaking Sept. 10 at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Government Affairs conference. "If I just blindly say the support will be there," after sequestration "to the same degree it is now, I think I would be lying and I would lose all credibility," said Al Gina, assistant commissioner for CBP's Office of International Trade.
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"If the sequestration is as high as that 7 percent excursion, that is going to be a challenge for CBP to enable us to maintain efficient throughput of incoming and outgoing cargo, to maintain wait times at an acceptable level that the American people would see as bearable coming in and going out of the country."
(The sequester, an automatic, ten-year, $1.2 trillion across-the-board budget cut that begins in January, was required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (here). The cuts were intended to provide incentive for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to achieve $1.2 trillion in savings, which the bipartisan panel of House and Senate members ultimately failed to do. If the sequester proceeds unabated, agency budgets could see cuts as large as 7.8 percent across the board, said a recent report from the Professional Services Council (here).)
Around $750 Million
Gina said the possible 5-7 percent cuts to CBP's $11.5 billion, which would pare the budget back about $750 million, "would have an impact." While CBP is committed that every employee would remain within the agency, if "sequestration came on, I'm not sure as an agency, our attrition rate would be sufficient, to have to go back to the drawing board." Gina said the financial difficulties of 2008 led to government employees delaying retirements and slowing the replacement of higher-graded employees with lower-graded employees.
OMB urged agencies to continue normal spending and operations, since Congress still has 16 weeks to act on a balanced reduction plan, said a recent memo sent to agency heads (here). For the immediate future, OMB plans to consult with agencies on how to apply for exemptions and determine what reporting requirements agencies will need to meet, the memo said. Over the long term, OMB will work with agencies to collect information on sequestrable amounts, determine unobligated balances and calculate the percentage reductions necessary to implement the sequestration, it said.
Gina also spoke about other looming budget cutting and the importance of funding for support of other CBP assets. "It's a package with complementing parts," he said. For instance, giving CBP Non-Intrusive Inspection (NIIs) systems require the personnel to run the machines, he said. It would be better for CBP to get fewer NIIs if the personnel was included, he said.
One U.S. Government at the Border
CBP Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar will meet with nine counterparts that make up the Border Interagency Executive Council later this month, said Gina. The meeting will focus on information sharing, interagency trusted trade partnership, and single window, which includes the Participating Government Agency message set, Document Imaging System, and PGA Interoperability.
Gina stepped in to speak in place of CBP Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar, who was originally slated to speak.