McSally bill to address staffing shortages along border approved by Committee

A bill authored by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) to address staffing shortages among U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Border Patrol agents by getting rid of duplicative mandated polygraph tests was recently approved by the House Committee on Homeland Security.

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.

The legislation, which builds upon the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010, 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, both agencies are below their congressionally-mandated staffing levels by more than 1,000 CBP officers and 1,800 border agents.

“My commonsense, bipartisan bill expedites the hiring process for certain, well-qualified applicants who have already proved themselves trustworthy in the military and in law enforcement — boosting our national security with trained manpower and bringing good jobs to our local economy,” McSally said. “I’m pleased to see this bill move out of committee and I’ll continue working to bring it up for a vote by the full House.”