The Bottleneck at Customs
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Delays for international arrivals at Dulles International Airport ["Airport Bottlenecks," letters, March 17] are not only common, they are likely to worsen. The reason is inadequate staffing at the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, whose employees work on the front lines of the nation's air, sea and land ports of entry.
These ports -- including Dulles -- are woefully understaffed, even as the bureau's mission becomes broader, more complex and more dangerous. Employees' first duty is to help guard the United States against terrorism, but facilitating passenger processing and trade remain key parts of their work. None of it can be done efficiently at current staffing levels.
The administration's fiscal 2009 budget plan calls for an additional 529 customs officers nationwide -- fewer than two per port. But the bureau's own model shows a need for as many as 4,000 new officers and agriculture specialists at the 326 U.S. ports of entry. There is no valid reason for failing to expand this workforce significantly.
COLLEEN M. KELLEY
President
National Treasury Employees Union
Washington
