Bill Introduced to Hire Hundreds of Agriculture Inspectors at CBP
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America is endorsing a bipartisan bill that would authorize the hiring of an additional 240 agricultural inspectors at CBP in each of the next three years. The bill was introduced July 11 by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
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The bill would allow the hires to be done outside the usual budget caps, through supplemental appropriations, and would also provide for 600 new agricultural technicians over three years. It also would pay for training 60 new dogs to help with inspections, which the senators said have detected "illicit fruits, vegetables and animal products that may have otherwise been missed in initial inspections." CBP estimates there is a shortage of nearly 700 inspectors across the country, Peters said.
The bill, S. 2107, is also supported by farmers, the union that represents CBP, the Border Trade Alliance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others. John Kran, national legislative counsel for the Michigan Farm Bureau, thanked the senators who authored the bill, saying in the release: “Invasive species like spotted wing drosophila and the brown marmorated stink bug are just two examples of non-native pests that have created havoc for Michigan farmers over the last few years. This bill will expand and enhance border inspections and provide farmers with another level of protection from foreign pests that negatively impact both farmers and the consumers they feed.”