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Friday, March 29th, 2024

McSally introduces bill to address CBP, Border Patrol staffing shortages

U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced last week bipartisan legislation that builds on the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010, which addresses staffing shortages of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Border Patrol agents along both international U.S. borders.

The legislation stems from repeated issues from mandated polygraph tests for all incoming CBP officers and Border Patrol agents. Since the implementation of the polygraph mandate, two thirds of all applicants failed their tests, which resulted in the fewest number of border agents and CBP officers since 2009. As a result, there are more than 1,400 open CBP jobs and more than 1,700 open Border Patrol agent positions.

McSally’s bill seeks to address certain issues from polygraph test mandates by exempting current state and local law enforcement officers with at least three consecutive years of experience that have already passed polygraph tests and are not under investigation or have not been found guilty of misconduct. In addition, federal law enforcement officers with at least three consecutive years of experience and can pass a strict background check will also be exempt.

Armed services members, including those who served in the reserve branch and veterans with at least three consecutive years in the military and have held top secret clearances, will also be exempt provided they pass a strict background check.

“Fully staffing our CBP officers at our ports of entry and Border Patrol agents between the ports of entry is vital for security and economic growth of our communities and nation,” McSally said. “These shortages have grown worse over the last several years. These common sense discretionary tools will give the CBP Commissioner the ability to transition those who have taken an oath and put their lives on the line for us already into these critical positions more expeditiously while continuing to provide safeguards against corruption.”