U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced 26 public-private partnerships under the Reimbursable Services Program.
The program allows the private sector and state and local governments to reimburse the agency for additional inspection services that would not otherwise be available. Agreements allow selected partners to expand critical services such as agricultural inspections, border security operations, customs processing, immigration inspections, and other support functions at ports of entry.
The partnerships, selected in late October, are for expanded services for incoming commercial and cargo traffic and international traveler arrivals.
“The CBP Reimbursable Services Program stops bottlenecks and greatly enhances CBP’s ability to respond to processing needs without delay,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “This mutually beneficial program enables CBP to continue providing crucial support at remote locations, and outside of typical port hours.”
The partnerships are located in Alaska, Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
Reimbursable service agreements are authorized by The Homeland Security Act of 2002, and
reimbursable services are limited to overtime costs and support services for airports with 100,000 or more arriving international passengers annually.