Oversight Hearing – U.S. Customs and Border Protection
House Subcommittee on Department of Homeland Security
2025-05-15
Loading video...
Source: Congress.gov
Summary
No summary available.
Participants
Transcript
Subcommittee on Homeland Security will come to order. Welcome, Acting Commissioner Flores. Thank you for being here. Two weeks ago, the Office of Management and Budget released a skinny fiscal year 2026 budget request. While we await the details of the full request, the focus of this hearing will be on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. I will now turn to my colleague, the distinguished gentlelady from Illinois, Ms. Underwood, for your opening remarks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Acting Commissioner Flores. It's nice to see you again. I would like to note that you've taken this position as a career official.
You're not serving in a political capacity, so we appreciate your service and thank you for being here today. You are currently the head of one of the nation's oldest and most versatile federal agencies responsible for addressing changing and increasingly challenging issues. the enforcement of complex trade and agricultural laws and policies, securing our borders from illicit activities, including narcotics and human trafficking, facilitating lawful trade and travel through our ports of entry, and representing American values to visitors and around the world. CBP's work is made harder by our broken immigration system and Congress's failure to fix it. Since January 20th, you've also been at the mercy of fast-paced and chaotic directives from the administration to meet unfeasible goals that are putting enormous strain on CBP's resources and operational abilities. The constant whiplash on tariffs and new policies that are deterring international tourism are already impacting CBP, threatening our economic security and the financial stability of your agency. On top of that, the Secretary is commandeering resources for politicized security theater that has already put DHS investigations and officers at risk. The President is dangerously downgrading our relationship with Canada, one of our most important allies and a critical partner on trade and northern border security. And our Vice President is joking about detaining tourists who come here to enjoy the 2026 World Cup.
?
Unknown
The Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration reports that international visitors to the United States already fell 12 percent compared to the same time last year. And airlines are reporting that bookings for the summer are also looking lower. In addition to hurting the American economy, threats to tourism and trade impact CBP's daily operations because as international air passengers decline, so do your fee collections associated with that travel. The U.S. is now on track to lose over $12 billion in international travel spending this year, which would likely increase CBP's budget needs for fiscal year 2026, putting pressure on this subcommittee to find savings from other parts of DHS. I know your agency is already monitoring this decline and previously projected growth, but I ask you to keep us informed about how this may change in this fiscal year and the next to ensure CBP has the resources it needs. One of the resources we have invested in over the years has been the deployment of non-intrusive inspection technologies that are vital in the detection of deadly narcotics and cross border traffic. There is much more to be done to stem the flow of these deadly narcotics across our borders and continued investment in both personnel and technology at the ports is critical to keeping our community safe. I am committed to improving our security at and between the ports of entry and facilitating trade and travel. But I'm also committed to doing so in a way that is consistent with our values as Americans. Our founding constitutional principles and our responsibility to those in our care, including the most vulnerable individuals that CBP encounters, as well as the physical and emotional wellness of the CBP workforce. In 2023, CBP launched a pilot in El Paso, Texas, focused on addressing the concerning rise in deaths by suicide of CBP personnel and providing services to improve the wellness of the CBP workforce. This program is saving lives.
?
Unknown
performance, retention, and recruitment. That's important because hiring at CBP continues to be a challenge, especially for Border Patrol agents. While the Secretary touts a surge in recruitment, that does not translate into actual positions on boarding. CBP is also facing a major issue with its CBP officer workforce due to the anticipated wave of retirements that will leave a major gap in our capacity if we don't continue to plan and invest in hiring them now. I hope to hear more from you about your plans for addressing these issues and how Congress, and specifically this committee, can help on that front. Thank you again for being here today, and I look forward to your testimony and answers to our questions.
I yield back. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Commissioner, when your staff has briefed you, by the way, is there any reason they're all frowning right now? It's kind of early for the, anyhow, if they brief you, I traditionally do not do an opening statement. That's because frankly, nobody's really asked me to do one. And so I'm not gonna do one today, which means we're gonna go right to you and your opening statement. Without objection, your full written testimony will be entered into the record. And with that in mind, we would ask you to summarize to the extent you can your opening statement to five minutes.
Sign up for free to see the full transcript
Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.