[House Hearing, 107 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ISSUES AT THE NORTHERN BORDER
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE,
DRUG POLICY AND HUMAN RESOURCES
of the
COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENT REFORM
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 28, 2001
__________
Serial No. 107-107
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house
http://www.house.gov/reform
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
81-864 WASHINGTON : 2002
___________________________________________________________________________
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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman
BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland TOM LANTOS, California
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
STEPHEN HORN, California PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii
JOHN L. MICA, Florida CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington,
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana DC
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
BOB BARR, Georgia DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio
DAN MILLER, Florida ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
DOUG OSE, California DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
RON LEWIS, Kentucky JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia JIM TURNER, Texas
TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine
DAVE WELDON, Florida JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois
CHRIS CANNON, Utah WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri
ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida DIANE E. WATSON, California
C.L. ``BUTCH'' OTTER, Idaho ------ ------
EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia ------
JOHN J. DUNCAN, Jr., Tennessee BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
------ ------ (Independent)
Kevin Binger, Staff Director
Daniel R. Moll, Deputy Staff Director
James C. Wilson, Chief Counsel
Robert A. Briggs, Chief Clerk
Phil Schiliro, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana, Chairman
BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
JOHN L. MICA, Florida, BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
BOB BARR, Georgia DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
DAN MILLER, Florida JIM TURNER, Texas
DOUG OSE, California THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois
DAVE WELDON, Florida
Ex Officio
DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
Christopher Donesa, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Conn Carroll, Clerk
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on October 28, 2001................................. 1
Statement of:
Dion, Sylvain, president, Distribution Marcel Dion........... 39
Duchaine, Stephen, president Highgate Springs chapter,
American Federation of Government Employees................ 51
Lariviere, Gilles, president, West Brome Mill................ 42
Ouellette, Jean R., Director, INS, Portland District......... 10
Paradis, Denis, Member of Parliament of Canada, House of
Commons.................................................... 30
Smith, Timothy, executive director, Franklin County
Industrial Development Corp................................ 69
Spayd, Philip W., District Field Officer, U.S. Customs....... 17
Tsounis, Chad, executive director, St. Albans area Chamber of
Commerce................................................... 64
Wilda, John, president, Chapter 142, National Treasury
Employees Union............................................ 58
Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:
Dion, Sylvain, president, Distribution Marcel Dion, prepared
statement of............................................... 40
Duchaine, Stephen, president Highgate Springs chapter,
American Federation of Government Employees, prepared
statement of............................................... 55
Lariviere, Gilles, president, West Brome Mill, prepared
statement of............................................... 44
Leahy, Hon. Patrick, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Vermont, prepared statement of.................... 80
Ouellette, Jean R., Director, INS, Portland District,
prepared statement of...................................... 12
Paradis, Denis, Member of Parliament of Canada, House of
Commons, prepared statement of............................. 34
Sanders, Hon. Bernard, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Vermont, prepared statement of.................... 6
Souder, Hon. Mark E., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Indiana, Burlington newspaper article............. 9
Spayd, Philip W., District Field Officer, U.S. Customs,
prepared statement of...................................... 20
Tsounis, Chad, executive director, St. Albans area Chamber of
Commerce, prepared statement of............................ 67
Wilda, John, president, Chapter 142, National Treasury
Employees Union, prepared statement of..................... 61
ISSUES AT THE NORTHERN BORDER
----------
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2001
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and
Human Resources,
Committee on Government Reform,
Highgate Springs, VT.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:30 p.m., at
the U.S. Customs Station, Highgate Springs, Route I-89, North
of Burlington, VT, Hon. Mark Souder (chairman of the
subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Souder and Sanders.
Staff present: Chris Donesa, staff director; and Conn
Carroll, clerk.
Mr. Souder. Thank you all for coming. I thank Congressman
Sanders for hosting us today. He's a member of our
subcommittee, and we look forward to working together and
addressing a lot of the questions. Today our subcommittee will
explore the status of the Highgate Springs, VT, border
crossing.
We have invited representatives of the U.S. Customs
Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, which also administers the U.S. Border
Patrol, to testify here today, and we thank Mr. Jean Ouellette,
District Director of the INS, and Mr. Philip W. Spayd, District
Field Officer at U.S. Customs, for being here today. We are
also pleased to have here with us representatives and employees
of two agencies, Mr. Stephen Duchaine, an INS Inspector and
president of the Highgate Springs Chapter of the American
Federation of Government Employees, and Mr. John Wilda, a U.S.
Customs Inspector, president of Chapter 142 of the National
Treasury Employees Union.
The subcommittee is vitally interested in ensuring the
effective functioning of these agencies, and we will continue
to work with them and their employees to ensure the continued
security and effective administration of our Nation's borders.
We also welcome Mr. Denis Paradis, member of the Canadian
House of Commons. Mr. Paradis represents the area of Quebec
just north of this area. Border policy, of course, affects not
simply the United States, but also Canada. As such, it is of
vital importance that we seek the input of our neighbors to the
north in evaluating changes at the border. We are very glad
that he could join us today.
When examining border policies, we must also seek the input
of representatives of the local community, particularly the
business community, whose livelihood is directly affected by
the changes at the border. We therefore welcome Mr. Tim Smith,
executive director of the Franklin County Industrial
Development Corp., and Mr. Chad Tsounis, director of the St.
Albans Chamber of Commerce. We also welcome two representatives
of the Canadian business committee, Mr. Silvain Dion, president
of Distribution Marcel Dion, and Mr.--I want to say my French
pronunciation is very poor. Gilles Lariviere? Close? President
of West Brome Mill.
In Indiana, anybody who isn't German, we kind of have to
get them over and kind of sort it out, so I apologize.
We thank everyone for taking time out of their Sunday
afternoon to join us for this important discussion.
Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
the subcommittee was considering ways to improve both the
security of our Nation's borders and the efficient flow of
international commerce, travel and tourism. Continuing problems
with illegal immigration and the smuggling of drugs and other
contraband over the southern and northern borders, and the
threat of terrorism, have prompted calls to hire more Federal
law enforcement officers and to expand the physical and
technological infrastructure needed to allow those officers to
work effectively.
The attacks of September 11th have emphasized the necessity
of dealing with the terrorist threat as well as the problems of
narcotics interdiction and illegal immigration. At the same
time, long delays at border crossings resulting from the
increased security measures put in place after September 11th
have raised concerns about the effect of these policies on
trade, tourism and travel.
Congress has been considering numerous proposals to deal
with these problems. For example, the House of Representatives
and the Senate have now both passed anti-terrorist legislation
that, among other measures, would authorize the tripling of
Border Patrol agents, INS inspectors and Customs inspectors
along the northern border. It is unclear, however, how quickly
any of these agencies can meet these requirements. Moreover, it
is unclear what the impact of this new emphasis on anti-
terrorism will be on personnel decisions at each of these
agencies.
This hearing and the hearing tomorrow morning at Champlain,
NY, are the first in a series of field hearings which will be
held by this subcommittee at border crossings and ports of
entry throughout the United States. At each such location, this
subcommittee will assess the problems facing the Federal
agencies, local lawmakers, and community and business leaders
with respect to border policy. We will focus on what new
resources are needed for the Federal Government most
effectively to administer the border crossings, as well as what
new policies can be pursued to ease burdens placed on commerce,
travel and tourism. We will also explore how the new emphasis
on preventing terrorism may affect the ability of these
agencies to carry out their other vital missions.
These issues are all extremely important and extremely
urgent, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today
about ways to address them.
If I could just add to what I've told some of you, that the
original outgrowth of this actually came from the U.S.-Canada
Parliamentary Group last May, long before the current crisis.
Susan Whalen and I chaired the Transborder Subgroup, and we
were concerned, particularly in the Buffalo and Detroit
corridor, about the backups that were already occurring.
We also had additional discussion, as Canada was looking at
possibly some relaxation of some of their antidrug laws, and
what that was going to do to further complicate the border-
crossing question, and we needed to try to address these things
before the crisis became too great.
Then, after September 11th, we decided to move from just
Detroit, Buffalo, and Vancouver, to pick up a couple of the
other major places on the northern border, because historically
we've looked at the southern border, not the northern border.
And at the same time, I talked with members of the U.S.-Mexico
Parliamentary Group, and we're going to hold at least three
hearings on the southern border in the first week of December.
We'll be down on the Texas area at Brownsville, Laredo, and
McAllen, and the second week of December up in the Puget Sound
area, because--and I want to illustrate one other reason why
we've decided to come here today. This was, up until a couple
of weeks ago, even though it's in the Montreal corridor, not
much media focus was on it. It was a good chance for me to see
a different type of a mix of if we put more pressure on an
interstate highway, what also happens on the water, what
happens if people walk through the woods. People in America are
demanding that we have more border security, yet if we're going
to do that, we need to do it in a logical way.
If I may say one other thing, because many of you may not
be familiar with our hearing process, we're an oversight
committee that is to analyze how things are being done, to then
set up and advise the appropriations and legislative
committees. But in this case, we're working very much in tandem
and simultaneously with the authorizers and the appropriators,
and among other things that we're trying to address, we had, I
think, 2 weeks ago, now, a hearing on recruitment problems in
the INS and U.S. Marshals and Customs, because we just doubled,
roughly, the number of people we expect to hire, yet 67 percent
of the INS people are generally hired from either local law
enforcement or the military, and when we say we're going to
bump up this category, what is it going to do to other parts of
American society when we do the hiring? What are the problems
that you have at each place in your recruitment ability? Are
there pay caps, overtime caps, language caps? We want to look
at those kind of nuances, as well.
We're also having this week, to give you a little bit of
perspective, this week alone, in the Education Committee, we're
having a hearing on tracking students who immigrate to the
United States where we've lost track of them, because one of
the terrorists was one of them where the university didn't keep
track that they were registered.
We're also having, in the Government Reform Committee on
Tuesday, a hearing on the post office. We're having a hearing
also this week on the sharing of information between local law
enforcement and our Federal law enforcement officials through
RISKS, EPIC, and a lot of our intelligence systems. So we're
comprehensively analyzing our system, because back home there
is very little else being talked about around the United
States, except for fear of what's going to happen.
We need to do this in a responsible way, and that's why
we're here today. Now I'd like to yield to my friend, Mr.
Sanders of Vermont.
Mr. Sanders. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank
you for coming to the State of Vermont this afternoon to get
input on an issue of enormous concern, and that is, how do we
protect the northern border of Vermont and the United States
from terrorists, from drug dealers, and from all those who
would do us harm, while at the same time making certain that
commerce, tourism, and legal and legitimate activity between
the United States and Canada continues to flourish. And
frankly, as the chairman indicated, I think that is not an easy
challenge to solve, which is why this hearing is extremely
appropriate.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all Vermonters and
Canadians for coming out today on a beautiful Sunday. We
appreciate everybody being here. The United States, obviously,
and Canada, and the people of Vermont and Quebec have long ties
that go way back. We have people from the same family on both
sides of the border, and I am absolutely confident that,
working together, we in fact are going to be able to solve this
very difficult issue of making sure that both sides of the
border are safe, and that we continue the flow of commerce that
is so important to the economy of Vermont and Quebec.
I would also like to thank--he's not here, but to thank
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont for submitting a statement for
the record, and Mr. Chairman, I would ask unanimous consent
that statement be allowed into the record and to thank him and
the staff for all the work they have done on this issue.
Mr. Chairman, it is clear to me that the Federal Government
must commit significantly more resources to the security along
our northern border. A couple of weeks ago, as it happens, my
wife and I happened to travel back from Canada, we spent a few
hours on the other side of the border, and we had the
opportunity to speak with some of the Border Patrol people
right here in this particular facility, and I was informed
about the kind of hours, increased hours, that many of the
people here are currently putting in. And I want to thank them
on behalf of all Americans for really stepping up to the plate
in these difficult times. Clearly, given the changing world
that we are living in since September 11th, there's no
question, I think, in anybody's mind that our people along the
border are going to need significantly more help than they
currently have, and it's our job to make sure that they get
that help.
Recently, legislation was passed which authorizes a
tripling of the number of Border Patrol officers, INS
inspectors and Customs Service employees along the northern
border. Money was also authorized to improve technology for
this purpose, but as the chairman knows, within the world of
Congress, an authorization does not necessarily mean an
appropriation. There's a difference.
Last month, however, Congress did appropriate $40 billion
in response to the terrorist attacks, and I intend to do all
that I can to make certain that some of that money is released
as quickly as possible to improve our security requirements
along the northern border.
Increased technology and increased money is one thing, but
using those assets effectively is something else. For example,
how do we increase security and manpower on the border, while
not keeping automobiles and trucks waiting for hours before
they cross into Canada or into the United States? How do we pay
increased attention to terrorism, as we must, while not
neglecting our long-term concerns about illegal drugs and other
law enforcement issues?
Can we accomplish these goals? Absolutely. We sure can. But
it's going to take some good thinking through these issues in
order to be effective, and that is why a hearing like this is
so important. It allows us to hear from the people on the front
lines, the people who are doing the actual work in protecting
our border, and the business people and citizens of the local
community who will live with the consequences of the new
decisions being made.
So Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you again for holding this
very important hearing, and I look forward to working with you
in the months to come.
[The prepared statement of Hon. Bernard Sanders follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.001
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.002
Mr. Souder. Thank you. Before proceeding, I'd like to take
care of a few procedural matters. First, I ask unanimous
consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to submit
written statements and questions for the hearing record, and
that any answers to written questions provided by the witnesses
also be included in the record. I also ask unanimous consent
that all exhibits, documents and other materials may be
included in the hearing record, and that all Members be
permitted to revise and extend their remarks without objection
is so ordered. And I would like to insert into the record an
article from the Burlington newspaper this morning saying,
``Border Tests Show Media to be . . .'' I thought this was a
very good article that illustrates--and we'll be looking for
other things that are regionally oriented--that illustrates
that we aren't playing ``gotcha.'' We're trying to figure out
how to work together, and there's been a lot of gamesmanship
around the border. We all know it's impossible to catch
anything everywhere, but we want to work together as much as
possible to catch people who aren't following the law.
[The information referred to follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.003
Mr. Souder. Now, would the witnesses on the first panel
please come forward, and before you sit down, if you'll stand
and raise your right hands. Is is the standard practice of this
committee to have everybody testify under oath. Do you swear
that the testimony you'll give today is the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Let the record show that the witnesses both have answered
in the affirmative. You'll now be recognized for your opening
statements, if you can summarize in 5 minutes, because we have
a large number of witnesses, and we'll insert your full
statements in the record, in addition to any other information
that you want to submit.
So first off, from INS, Jean Ouellette.
STATEMENT OF JEAN R. OUELLETTE, DIRECTOR, INS, PORTLAND
DISTRICT
Mr. Ouellette. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Congressman
Sanders. I want to thank you for the opportunity to address you
today on behalf of the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
the Portland District, concerning issues relating to the
northern border. I've been working with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service for more than 30 years. I've been
closely involved with the management of the inspections program
in INS for most of my career.
The INS, an agency under the Department of Justice, now
with over 30,000 employees, enforces and administers the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. Our employees
prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States,
facilitate the admission of legitimate travelers; arrest,
detain and remove criminal aliens; and administer requests for
benefits such as naturalization. Immigration inspectors are
stationed at airports, seaports, and land border ports of entry
such as this one here at Highgate Springs, VT.
The Portland District has jurisdiction of the States of
Vermont and Maine and the port of entry at Pittsburg, NH. The
border with Canada in this area extends over 600 miles from the
eastern shore of Lake Champlain in Vermont, to the port of
entry at Lubec, ME, on the Maine coast.
INS maintains staff at 31 land border ports of entry, as
well as at international airports in Portland and Bangor, and
conducts seaport inspections at numerous locations along the
Maine coast. The district currently has 137 full-time
Immigration inspectors and 76 part-time or seasonal inspectors.
These inspectors, working with the U.S. Customs inspectors,
examine over 13 million applicants for admission per year.
Other staff located at the district office in Portland, and at
a sub-office here in St. Albans, VT, are dedicated to interior
enforcement, to detention and removal, to benefits
adjudications, and to support functions.
Highgate Springs is one of four major ports of entry in
Vermont. Twelve other smaller facilities report directly to
these four major locations. Highgate, which was constructed in
1997, is our newest facility. Alburg, a joint facility with
Canada, was constructed and opened in 1988. Other facilities
date back to the early 1930's.
The 63 Immigration inspectors and 19 part-time seasonal
inspectors in Vermont examine over 3\1/2\ million applicants
per year. The master port at Highgate, including its subports,
has a staff of 29 inspectors, 18 of whom are stationed here at
the Highgate location. Six smaller locations report to this
facility. During fiscal year 2000, over 1 million applicants
for entry were processed at the Highgate location itself.
Immigration inspectors are trained and tasked with
determining admissibility of applicants for admission in a
fair, consistent and timely fashion. The great majority of
applicants at land border ports of entry are admitted after
questioning in their vehicle by an Immigration or a Customs
officer, and a review of their documents and their demeanor,
and other such aspects. Individuals determined to need further
questioning prior to a determination of their admissibility are
directed into the port of entry for further questioning and
further processing by another officer.
Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the ports of
entry have have been placed on the highest security alert. The
alert entails more extensive inspections, closer scrutiny of
individuals, their documentation, and their vehicles.
Inspectors have been asked to work longer hours in order to
increase presence at the border and to process traffic timely.
Others have been detailed to other locations to assist in
traffic management.
The INS and Customs have a special relationship, because of
our shared responsibilities at ports of entry. We work closely
at all levels, exchanging information, and assigning personnel
as needed to manage traffic. The Border Patrol is an essential
element in the border area, since its agents control the areas
between the designated ports of entry.
Canada is also a full and important partner in the northern
border. Law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border
share intelligence on a daily basis. They participate in
regular meetings to share information for their own local areas
and join in task forces to address shared concerns and
problems.
Immigration inspectors continue to closely screen
applicants for admission, providing security for the country. I
am especially proud of the men and women of the Portland
District for the extraordinary work they perform and continue
to perform on a daily basis. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Ouellette follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.004
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.005
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.006
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.007
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.008
Mr. Souder. Thank you very much.
Now we recognize Mr. Spayd.
STATEMENT OF PHILIP W. SPAYD, DISTRICT FIELD OFFICER, U.S.
CUSTOMS
Mr. Spayd. Thank you. Thank you for the invitation to
testify and for providing me the chance to appear before you
today. I would like to discuss the efforts of the U.S. Customs
Service to address the terrorism threat and the challenges that
exist along the U.S.-Canada border, commonly called the
northern border.
As the guardian of our Nation's border, Customs plays a
major role in the great struggle against the forces of terror
in which America is now engaged. The Customs Service enforces
over 400 laws and regulations for more than 40 Federal
agencies. Naturally, the northern border is a major focus of
our efforts. Protecting our broad, expanding economic ties with
Canada, while preventing terrorists from exploiting increased
traffic flows is our goal on the northern border.
The immense flow of trade and travel between the United
States and Canada requires that our two nations continue to
work together to enhance the protection of our vital interests
at this critical time. Trade and travel between the United
States and Canada has jumped dramatically since the
implementation of NAFTA in 1994. The area port of Highgate
Springs, VT, consists of eight land border ports, plus the port
of Burlington. The area port stretches from Alburg on the west,
through the major port of Highgate, here on Route 89, to East
Richford, VT. These ports are the main link between the
metropolitan areas of Montreal and Quebec City and Boston and
the rest of New England.
During the last fiscal year, over one-half million
passenger vehicles and nearly 130,000 trucks entered the United
States through the area port of Highgate Springs. Over $5
billion of commercial goods entered through the area port of
Highgate last year alone.
The Customs Service was addressing security along our
frontier with Canada well before the attacks of September 11th.
The previous arrest of an Algerian terrorist, the millennium
bomber, Ahmed Ressam, by Customs inspectors at Port Angeles,
WA, in December 1999, is an example of our previous efforts.
That arrest also set into motion a range of efforts to bolster
security along our northern flank.
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th,
U.S. Customs Service immediately implemented a level one alert
for all personnel at all ports of entry. This is our highest
state of alert, calling for sustained, intensive anti-terrorist
operations. We remain at level one alert today.
Under level one alert, all ports of entry have increased
vehicle, passenger cargo and mail examinations commensurate
with the threat at their location. On the northern border, we
have suspended remote inspection reporting systems, and are
staffing every port of entry with at least two officers, 24
hours per day, 7 days a week. In order to meet the demands of
maintaining this high state of alert, nearly 100 additional
Customs inspectors have been temporarily detailed to northern
border posts, to ensure that this minimum staffing requirement
applies even to our most remote locations.
In addition to the Customs Service's enhanced efforts and
in keeping with the tradition of partnership that has always
marked the close relationship between our two nations and
Customs agencies, Canada Customs has pledged their full support
and cooperation in preventing terrorists and the implements of
terrorism from transiting our northern border. We are working
on a priority basis with Canada to identify additional steps to
be taken now, to enhance security. We have also been asking for
the public's and the trade community's patience as we work to
protect our Nation from the immediate threat, without turning
the border into an obstacle to legitimate trade or our
lifetime's freedom of movement, although traffic volume has
been markedly lower since September 11th.
Despite initial concerns about our level one alert placing
an undue burden upon normal border flows, we have in fact
succeeded in reducing waiting times at the border to the levels
they were at prior to the September 11th attacks. Cooperation
with our partners from Customs Canada and in the business
community has been instrumental to our success.
As some of you know, some of our Customs facilities on the
northern border need to be updated. Although this main port at
Highgate is a modern facility constructed in 1997, many of the
other facilities in the area date back to the 1930's-era ports,
such as Alburg and Morses Line.
To improve these facilities, Customs recently was provided
with $20 million for resources and technology to support
northern border security and aging infrastructure. Equipment
will be deployed to various northern border locations. These
nonintrusive inspection systems enhance the agency's ability to
inspect vehicles and cargoes crossing the border, without
impeding the steady flow of commercial traffic. Customs
inspectors along the northern border are also currently using
other technology, including radiation detectors to detect
radioactive material used for weapons of mass destruction and
vapor trace technology to help us detect the presence of
narcotics.
In addition, the Customs Service plans to use part of this
$20 million in new funding to enhance the security of the ports
of entry along the northern border by investing in key elements
of infrastructure. There are many roads which connect to the
border which are unmonitored and allow for individuals or small
groups to gain entry undetected. Most remote, limited-hour
ports of entry have no monitoring or assessment capabilities.
Our infrastructure investments will be prioritized to those
locations that have the highest risk. The Customs Service plans
to install digital video security systems, which can call
remote monitoring locations, when they are enabled, at selected
locations. These systems will complement our existing systems.
The Customs Service also plans to install additional
lighting and appropriate barriers, gates, bollards at those
locations that lack barriers to prevent unauthorized vehicle
crossings, and to increase officer safety and deny anonymity to
law violators.
From an overall perspective, the vast volume of trade and
traffic on the northern border has put immense pressure on our
ability to enforce the Nation's laws while facilitating
international trade, even before September 11th. After
September 11th, our challenge has risen to a new level.
Although we have taken many steps to address these challenges,
such as the planned improvements at our facilities and the
temporary detailing of additional Customs inspectors to the
northern border, we still face many challenges.
We are working with the Treasury and within the
administration to address these challenges. For example, we are
developing threat assessments and a longer-term perimeter
security strategy for dealing with them, to secure our homeland
defenses, including the northern border.
In considering such a long-term plan, several core
questions need to be addressed. First, how do we measure the
added protection or risk reduction we will realize from
additional investments on the border? How will Customs' plans
properly interact and integrate with the other border agencies,
the intelligence community, and the DOD? What are alternative
means of securing our far-flung border crossings? What is the
best system for securing the vast amounts of cargo coming
across the border?
I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Sanders, and the
members of the subcommittee for this opportunity to testify.
The Service will make every effort possible, working with our
fellow inspection agencies within the administration, and with
congressional leaders, our Canadian counterparts, and the
business community, to address your concerns and those of the
American people. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Spayd follows:]
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Mr. Souder. Thank you both very much. I can start the
questioning. Mr. Spayd, you're based out of the Boston office?
Mr. Spayd. Yes, I am.
Mr. Souder. And Mr. Ouellette, are you----
Mr. Ouellette. Portland.
Mr. Souder. You said, Mr. Spayd, that you transferred 100
additional Customs inspectors to the northern border. Is that
across the country?
Mr. Spayd. That's across the northern border, yes.
Mr. Souder. How much of that was from the Boston region?
Mr. Spayd. Fifteen were transferred from the Port of Boston
to the Ports of Maine and Vermont.
Mr. Souder. Have you had a similar transfers?
Mr. Ouellette. We've had smaller transfers within the
district itself, from ports in Maine that were less affected,
other locations that needed extra traffic management.
Mr. Souder. To meet the challenges that you're being asked
to do, how many additional agents would you say will be needed,
and let's talk about the Vermont border while we're here. Do
you feel that with the additional transfers in from Customs, if
you were able to sustain that number? Mr. Spayd, do you have
any suggestion?
Mr. Spayd. No, the 15 are not enough. We're getting by
with, as Representative Sanders mentioned, immense amounts of
overtime here, which, due to the extraordinary diligence of our
employees, we're working very hard, we're getting by, but that
would not sustain us over the long term. Customs has
reallocated 50 positions to the northern border--and I
apologize, I think of the northern border as Maine and Vermont.
Mr. Souder. Right.
Mr. Sanders. We're parochial. We don't see the west coast,
midwest.
Mr. Spayd. The 50 people which we are now hiring for, which
will be helpful, but even that to sustain, and when you take
your tour outside and see what it really takes to sustain level
one operations, at a much different level than you normally
operate at, that 50 will still require a lot of overtime and
reduced vacation time for people.
Mr. Souder. So ideal would be more than 50?
Mr. Spayd. Yes.
Mr. Souder. Would 50, at a level one, actually result in
what you're having to search for now--a reduction in other
things that Customs is searching for?
Mr. Spayd. Well, let me answer it this way: We need to
think in terms of the division between the primary vehicle
processing and the commercial processing. Now, a port like
Highgate gets a lot of Canadian cargo. It also gets
international cargo from around the world through the ports of
Montreal and through the ports of Halifax, and there's rail
connections between Halifax and Montreal. So that cargo is true
international cargo, and to sustain intensive examinations of
that cargo is another area and would require an additional
addition of employees to look at that cargo thoroughly, in a
way that allows the legitimate cargo still to move relatively
quickly through the port.
Mr. Souder. Mr. Ouellette, how about you?
Mr. Ouellette. On the short term we can handle the traffic
that we're doing at this point, with the staff we have on duty,
but it is requiring, as you mentioned, longer hours for all
officers, and overtime. We can sustain that for a short term.
Long term, we do need additional resources. I can't give you an
exact number; we're still working with our headquarters to come
up with that. But for the longer term, it would require fairly
substantial increases in resources. Not just personnel--I think
you will--you'd have to be looking at changes in the
infrastructure itself as well as changes in the technology we
use.
Mr. Souder. Do you believe it's possible--are you fully
staffed with all the vacancies you have in INS and Border
Patrol in this region?
Mr. Ouellette. I can't speak for Border Patrol, because
that's a different chain of command. In the Portland district,
which I can speak for, the inspection forces, our vacancies are
fairly minimal on the permanent Immigration inspector staff. We
have more difficulty in recruiting seasonal and part-time
inspectors, because of the labor situation. It's a very, very
difficult labor market. We're having difficulty recruiting
those people, but for the permanent staff, we have very few
vacancies.
Mr. Souder. In INS and in Customs, if you increase--if you
could do this in two parts: One is, where do you think your
local recruits would come from? How hard would that be to find
the boost-up in the region, and how long does it take to train
them?
Mr. Ouellette. We're fairly fortunate in locating
applicants for our permanent positions. We use the Outstanding
Scholar Program, visiting the colleges and universities in the
area and recruiting from that pool. We also use people who are
military veterans who've retired from the military or left the
military, and often will be able to fill our slots from that
pool. And so we've been fairly fortunate. We'll continue doing
that. We've never hired in large numbers, as perhaps we'll be
looking at in the future if Congress and the administration
does go forward with the recommendations. So we've never faced
large numbers of increased personnel at one time.
Mr. Souder. Mr. Spayd.
Mr. Spayd. Customs recruits on a national basis, and the
recruiting is all done through our Washington, DC, Office of
Human Resources Management, and there is a quite a rigorous
screening process. People need to take and pass a test, they
need to pass a group interview. Once they're hired, they need a
full background check, and they need, I believe, 15 weeks of
training, so it does take a while to get people. However, in
the ongoing recruitment, there are people always in the
pipeline, and I do know that of the 50 that we are going to add
in Maine and Vermont, that some number of them are already in
that pipeline, and we're expecting them relatively soon.
Mr. Souder. Thank you. Mr. Sanders.
Mr. Sanders. Thanks. Mr. Spayd, you indicated that you're
aware that some of our present employees are working very, very
long hours under a lot of stress. What kind of hours are people
working today?
Mr. Spayd. Well, on a 2-week--a northern border inspector
on a 2-week pay period is averaging 31 hours of overtime every
2 weeks.
Mr. Sanders. 15 hours a week or so?
Mr. Spayd. 15 hours a week.
Mr. Sanders. OK. Is that a--given the stress and the detail
that's involved, can people continue to work those kind of
hours and continue to do the job that we need?
Mr. Spayd. Not much longer, no.
Mr. Sanders. So we need help and we need it soon is what
you're implying. Mr. Ouellette.
Mr. Ouellette. I think we're facing the same situation,
that for the short term we can maintain this kind of activity,
but not for a long term. Our people are working 6 days a week
and often working 10-hour days during that time.
Mr. Sanders. And when you're asking people to be ever so
careful, I mean that's a hard thing to do?
Mr. Ouellette. It is. It's very difficult to work long
hours and to be as efficient as you would be in a normal
situation.
Mr. Sanders. Mr. Spayd, in your statement, you make a
statement, you state, ``There are many roads that connect to
the border which are unmonitored and allow for individuals or
small groups to gain entry undetected.'' Post September 11th,
can we afford that luxury anymore?
Mr. Spayd. Well, most of the roads--the word
``unmonitored'' in this statement means unstaffed by Customs
people.
Mr. Sanders. Right, I understand, yeah.
Mr. Spayd. The roads are monitored by the Border Patrol,
and places of egress into the United States or entry into the
United States are monitored by the Border Patrol, and I don't
want to speak for the Border Patrol, but I think it's well
known--you can certainly read this in the newspapers--that
there are not a lot of Border Patrol agents on the northern
border, and that in order to respond to intrusions at those
monitors, I think is a question that should be addressed with
the Border Patrol and their staffing.
Mr. Sanders. Right. Mr. Ouellette.
Mr. Ouellette. As far as the roads into the United States,
they are being monitored by the Border Patrol through their
sensors and all of their technology that's available to them.
You may have read recently that some news agents tested that
system, and they were apprehended by the----
Mr. Sanders. My favorite news agency. I'm glad you got
that.
Mr. Ouellette. So they were apprehended in their attempt to
cross without inspection. So the Border Patrol are very active.
We're very fortunate to have them.
Mr. Sanders. Let me ask both of you an overview. We don't
have a whole lot of time, but as the chairman indicated, the
challenge that we face is post September 11th, doing an even
stronger job in security, doing everything humanly possible to
keep terrorists from coming into this country, continuing to do
the work that we've always done in terms of narcotics and other
criminal-types of activity, and at the same time, not
disrupting the very strong flow of commerce and tourism that
exists between the United States and Canada, can we accomplish
that goal? Give me an overview, some of your general thoughts
as to how we can do those things. Mr. Spayd, you want to
respond?
Mr. Spayd. Well, can we do it? I mean it's a long order,
and in terms of drug interdiction, it is not a high-risk port,
although we are seeing increasing marijuana seizures moving
mainly from the west to the east, but after September 11th, it
became a high-risk border almost instantly. In order to get the
border to where we need it to be, I believe is a question of
people, a question of technology, a question of intelligence,
and information. In addition to technology, the right analysis.
The fact is, the vast majority of people crossing this border
are doing it for perfectly legitimate reasons.
Mr. Sanders. Of course.
Mr. Spayd. In Vermont, here, they may be going to church,
going home on the other side, but so the right risk management
approach, using better intelligence from wider sources,
undoubtedly technology, undoubtedly more people, all of which
arranged in the way where each agency does what it is best
equipped to do, is, to my mind, the formula for a system that
very much upgrades the border security.
Mr. Sanders. OK, Mr. Ouellette.
Mr. Ouellette. I think it's a three-part solution. I think
you have to look at resources; manpower, obviously; and the
efficient use of that manpower; you have to look at technology;
you have to find ways to separate the individuals to whom you
want to speak and those who we think are less of a risk, to
separate the people who need more interrogation from the
others. And then you have to look at the sharing of
intelligence. I think it's an important issue today where all
law enforcement agencies share the intelligence that's
available and share the----
Mr. Sanders. Do they do that enough right now?
Mr. Ouellette. I think there's always room for improvement.
I think it's being done on a local basis, and I see that every
day, but I think it needs to be reemphasized globally, that the
sharing of intelligence on an international basis is crucial to
all the countries of the world.
Mr. Sanders. And how do we do with our Canadian friends?
Are you happy with the relationship?
Mr. Ouellette. Yes, we are. The officers at ports like
Highgate belong to intelligence groups that meet regularly to
share information on both sides of the border. Canadians, their
law enforcement agencies, the RCMP, with our own Border Patrol,
Immigration, Customs, and other agencies. Local and State
police are involved in those, as well.
Mr. Sanders. OK. Well, we've got a job on our hands. We
look forward to working with you in the coming months. Thanks.
Mr. Souder. Thank you.
Mr. Ouellette. Thank you very much.
Mr. Souder. I have a couple of additional questions I want
to ask, and some of these we may want to put into the record. I
just want to say for the record, too, that I'm one who's a
little more nervous on the intelligence-sharing than some, and
I have a feeling Congressman Sanders shares some of these
concerns. One is rapid expansion means we're more likely to
have the ability to be penetrated in our intelligence
operations. Also, intelligence is often rumor, and the more
people you have with access to the rumors and the less
experienced people you have, the more it can spread in the
community if it's--in this type of stuff gets into part-time
people and so on. I know we have very professional government
people, but as you start hooking up State and local police and
all sorts of individuals with the intelligence--doesn't mean
it's necessarily hard stuff, as you all know--and it's a very
sensitive thing that we're trying to work through.
A couple of additional things: You've mentioned a little
bit of infrastructure required in your region. What would you
say are the most important priorities, particularly here in
Vermont, in infrastructure? You mentioned the border crossings
at Alburg and a couple of--Anything else? Equipment? Maybe you
can give it for the record if you don't have it in front of
you, because we'd like to know some particular things.
Miss Daniels is a friend of mine in O & B. I'm asking you
for a clear list, and I think both of you made it clear in your
statement what there has to be, but if you had a wish list.
Similarly, if you boost up the number of employees, is housing
sufficient in this area, or are we looking at any government
housing needs for new agents?
Mr. Sanders. Yes, we have an affordable housing crisis in
the State of Vermont.
Mr. Souder. Do we need more vehicles in the Border Patrol
if you boost up your agents?
Mr. Ouellette. I can't respond to the Border Patrol; sorry.
Mr. Souder. I forgot, I apologize. What about in the
Customs? Do you know how many borders in your region use a form
3461?
Mr. Spayd. Well, no, it's a hard question to answer. The
3461 is the fundamental Customs entry form for release of
documents, so we have a number that's our main system on the
northern border. We use what's called a 3461-alt, which
requires somewhat less information, and I don't want to get
into too many of the weeds, as they say, but because of the
difference of the northern border, the truck traffic which
arrives very quickly, but we use the 3461-alt, and then we have
what's called BRASS, which is a variation for low-risk
importers, and we use another system called BREL, which is for
shipments of less than $2,000.
Mr. Souder. What about the automated manifest?
Mr. Spayd. Well, again, the----
Mr. Souder. Similar?
Mr. Spayd. No, it's different from the border than the rest
of the country. The only automated manifest information that we
get on the border is rail. Again, because we haven't solved the
problem of the decentralized idea that trucks are constantly
leaving places and moving, and getting that advanced manifest
information per truck, we haven't solved that problem, where we
have in terms of air and vessel, where we get all the manifest
information in an automated sense prior to the arrival of the
conveyance.
Mr. Souder. What about automated broker interface? Similar?
Mr. Spayd. That's used throughout the region.
Mr. Souder. Do you see more pressure? Are we looking at how
to address these things? Could that speed up the time at the
border, or is this just unmanageable?
Mr. Spayd. Well, that's my next meeting. I'm addressing 150
Boston trade people on this question on Tuesday. It's the
question of how do we get the information that we need so we're
not having cargo enter the United States without a full and
detailed understanding of who shipped it, what it is and where
it's going. And I think there's some difficult questions that
need to be addressed. There is some legislation out there that
poses different alternatives, but I think a lot of discussions
need to be undertaken about how Customs can get the information
in a way that doesn't impede the legitimate trade.
Mr. Souder. And as you pursue that, one of the questions
is, do we need--what type of technology would we need to be
able to implement that so we don't have the backups, because
pressure is certainly going to be on to do more thorough
checks. We've never really had this focus on the northern
border before. At the southern border, we've invested in all
kinds of equipment and fast-pass systems and everything else,
but in the northern border, we just--it's pretty much somebody
who's crossed it frequently, there's never been much
comparative auditing. In trucking, there's been a little bit
more, but in Indiana, when they come back and forth with auto
parts multiple times a day, it's a whole different ball game.
On the other hand, there's been a lot of inability of
Congress to fix some of these problems long-term, because
there's been hollering, historically, that there's been
discrimination. So the northern border was already tightening
because of the pressures on the southern border, which are
still great, and we've had this big bog-down in Congress over
the trucking question in the southern border, which is then
putting political pressure on the northern border. And now with
the terrorist question added to that, we can kind of see these
kind of things coming and agree we can head them off before we
get into the 4-hour backups like in San Diego would be helpful.
Thank you very much for testifying.
Mr. Spayd. You're welcome.
Mr. Souder. If the second panel could now come forward. Mr.
Paradis, Mr. Dion, and Mr. Lariviere, if you could take the
oath.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Souder. Let the record show that all the witnesses have
answered in the affirmative. It's a privilege to be joined
today by our colleagues from the Canadian Parliament, the House
of Commons, Mr. Denis Paradis. We're very pleased to have you
with us, and we recognize your opening statement.
STATEMENT OF DENIS PARADIS, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF CANADA,
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Paradis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Congressman Sanders.
Thank you for this opportunity to meet with your subcommittee
about issues at the Canada-U.S. border that concerns us all.
The terrible events of September 11th have given new meaning to
the words ``neighbor'' and ``community.'' They have emphasized
to us all the importance of supporting each other through good
times and bad times. Indeed, our world is not the same since
terror struck at the very heart of our shared community. We
have been given a challenge with profound implications for our
two nations.
The Canada-U.S. border is a powerful symbol of the
relationship between our countries. Our border reflects our
friendship, our common values, and the fact that Canada and the
United States have the same interests in facilitating trade and
travel. Indeed, the human reality stretches across both sides
of this, some people would call it, imaginary line. While some
villages sit right on top of the fence, Canadians and their
ancestors before them have populated many of the northeastern
cities and parishes, even giving their name to some of them.
We had the same interests before September 11. We have the
same interests now, but our environment has changed
dramatically. We must rise to this new challenge together and
ensure we address new risks while protecting our people and
prosperity. We must work together to merge best practices and
develop common programs that serve our common interests.
The spirit of cooperation between our countries has
produced tremendous benefits to both our nations. We have
brought together a huge market that represents over $2 billion
a day in trade. Millions of jobs on both sides of the border
depend on trade and the continued integration of our two
economies.
On average, 300,000 people and 40,000 commercial shipments
enter Canada every day. And while we're talking numbers, let me
add that for 21,000 people arrested at the Canadian border with
a criminal record coming from the United States. In the year
2000, 14,000 were arrested going into the U.S.A. From Canada.
Coming back to the trade issue, 80 percent of our exports
are going south, while 25 percent of yours are finding buyers
on our side of the border.
As elected member for Brome-Missisquoi, my electoral
constituency expands all the way from the Richelieu River near
St-Jean, Quebec, to Lake Memphremagog, with nine border
stations along the line and some international small roads with
no border stations at all. I am therefore highly preoccupied by
the outcome of this situation.
Given these realities, Canada was already moving forward
with a new vision for improving the way we manage the border.
In April 2000, Minister of National Revenue, Martin Cauchon,
launched the Customs Action Plan. This plan sets out a series
of reforms based on risk-management principles of advance
information, preapproval, and self-assessment.
Given the events of September 11th, it's even more
important that we proceed with this plan. It remains a solid
strategy for meeting the challenges we face--maintaining high-
level security and at the same time keeping our nations'
economies strong. Obviously, the Customs Action Plan did not
anticipate the crisis that we now face, but it serves us well
in our new circumstances. In fact, we are accelerating the
security initiative of this plan that should be in place in the
next month.
The Government of Canada is providing additional funding of
$21 million to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency for new
technologies and increased staff at our airports and seaports.
Bill S-23 is the legislative authority for the implementation
of the initiatives in the Customs Action Plan.
As vice-chair of the House of Commons Committee on Justice,
I am pleased to report that the bill now requires only the
final stage of approval, which is the Royal Assent, in order to
proceed with implementation of the Customs Action Plan. Our
Justice Committee is also working very hard to complete the
study of new authorities for strengthening security at our
airports by allowing us to receive advance information on
passengers on international flights. This is the same
legislation our colleagues in the United States are now working
on.
The legislation also allows us to implement programs
announced last year which are aimed at facilitating the entry
to Canada of frequent low-risk travelers. NEXUS is the name,
and NEXUS is a good example of a program that facilitates
legitimate travel. Canada and the United States each have their
own programs to expedite low-risk frequent travelers. NEXUS is
a shared program, giving the traveler one card to go both ways,
using dedicated lanes. While both customs maintain the right to
examine NEXUS users, travel is made easier with a NEXUS card.
We know who those travelers are, and we have prescreened them
against Federal data bases in Canada and the United States.
Given the events of September 11th, we are now completing
additional internal checks to ensure that all NEXUS
participants are really low risk.
On the commercial side, our new legislation lets us pursue
a dramatic new reform called customs self-assessment. It
enables us to move the processing of commercial shipments away
from the border, and let me explain how it works. Pre-approved
importers will be able to use their own business system to meet
their trade data and revenue requirements; for example, by e-
mail. The Canada Custom and Revenue Agency supports this self-
assessment through regular audit activities.
Customs self-assessment streamlines the customs clearance
process and brings greater speed and certainty to the
importation of low-risk goods. I believe it will be better for
those companies involved. We will be able to manage the 11
million transactions a year far more efficiently. It means
better compliance and, more importantly, less congestion at the
border. Customs self-assessment also allows us to focus
resources on areas of high risk. The CCRA would like to develop
this and similar programs with our colleagues at U.S. Customs.
We need consistent approaches that work both ways, and we
need to fast-track what is part and parcel of our daily life:
Honest people and quality goods going through the border on a
daily basis. It's in our mutual interest to manage risk as it
shows up at the gate, way before it becomes a threat on our
streets.
Airports and harbors are the gateway for terrorists and
other threats from the outside, and they should be dealt with
accordingly in a mutually convenient approach.
Let's work together to build a better-managed border not
just for economic interests, but for our security interests. We
all must make sure terrorism does not win. President Bush and
Prime Minister Cretien have committed to work together to
coordinate our efforts and fight this threat. Working together
is the only way it will happen. That is the great history of
our shared border and this is the key to our success in the
future.
Thank you for this opportunity, and I'll try to convince my
colleagues in Ottawa to have the same democratic exercise on
our side of the border, and I wish also to welcome you, Mr.
Chairman, with the members of your subcommittee, to Ottawa,
where we could arrange a joint meeting with our colleagues from
the House of Commons. So thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Paradis follows:]
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Mr. Souder. Thank you very much for coming.
Now, from Distribution Marcel Dion, we're pleased to
welcome Mr. Sylvain Dion.
STATEMENT OF SYLVAIN DION, PRESIDENT, DISTRIBUTION MARCEL DION
Mr. Dion. Your Honor, members of the Congress, members of
the Committee on Government Reform: For the past 2 weeks, the
situation has clearly improved in regard with the crossing of
the American borders by trucks. However, we will need a longer
delay in obtaining the new Identification Standards from
American Customs, birth certificates or passports. Previously,
drivers' licenses were sufficient. We had a driver who was
refused entrance at Champlain, NY, because he had only his
driver's license and a photocopy of his application for a birth
certificate. This is the reason why we need a longer daily to
obtain their requested documents.
Proposal to improve security, to facilitate commerce, and
to ease travel between the United States and Canada: We think
that border control must be reinforced in a way to facilitate
northbound and southbound traffic. The European Union set the
pace in that regards. During the 1980's, there was a card
issued by the American Customs that was identifying the driver
at Customs. This card was obligatory for transportation of
containers inbound in the city of Detroit. It is almost a
historical reminder, but we believe that the preapproved,
updated, modern and performing driver's card could aim at
facilitating the flow of commerce between our two countries.
This new card should be issued for a Canadian driver as well as
for an American driver. By the same occasion, it will
contribute to their pride of being a professional driver.
It could include the following elements: photograph,
fingerprints, DNA test, criminal investigation by both
governments, bar code, for northbound and southbound commercial
traffic. Such a card should be previously approved by both
governments. We sincerely think that such a card could improve
the security and facilitate commerce between our two countries.
We thank you for hearing us.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Dion follows:]
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Mr. Souder. Thank you very much. I appreciate also you all
doing your statements in English. I know that it's really a
compliment to yourselves that you're all bilingual. One of the
interesting things that happened in my life is I was in Quebec
City on my honeymoon, way back--as I'm older--in 1974, at the
peak of the French-only in Quebec City, and my wife had to have
her appendix out on the 4th day of our honeymoon in the
University of Laval, and nobody spoke English except the night
guard, and one nurse helped us through it. So I appreciate very
much that you've been able to communicate to us better than we
can communicate back sometimes, and appreciate that very much.
Mr. Lariviere.
STATEMENT OF GILLES LARIVIERE, PRESIDENT, WEST BROME MILL
Mr. Lariviere. Having been involved in the transborder
softwood and hardwood industries with the United States for the
past 30 years, I welcome this opportunity to voice my concern
over the control being considered or put into place in response
to the September 11th disaster.
To begin with, let me say that as a Canadian and a close
neighbor, I sympathize wholeheartedly with you and hope that we
and our children will be able to continue living in a peaceful
America in the years to come. This being said, and as your
leaders have been saying repeatedly, we have to go on with our
lives and get back to our daily business. While we will try to
do so in the private sector, it becomes the business of both
governments to ensure that we can do so in the most unimpeded
way, while at the same time ensuring the protection of all
citizens against acts of terrorists of any form that could
jeopardize our democracy and create civil unrest.
In a more pragmatic way, while I do understand the need to
fight terrorists and drugs at the border, I do think that it
can be done without unduly affecting the normal flow of goods
and people going routinely through our common border as part of
one of the largest trade relationships in the world. My
softwood and hardwood business, which has been in operation for
the past 30 years, calls for 10 to 20 trucks a day to cross the
border with wood coming from the United States. The most recent
controls are significantly slowing down the trucks, with 2 to 3
hours of waiting at the border and affecting both my costs and
my capacity to deliver the goods in an orderly and timely
fashion.
With the devastating effect that the above-mentioned
tragedy has had on the North American economy, we certainly
don't need additional man-made obstacles to curtail even more,
the potential of commerce. This being said, I am all for
control aimed at terrorism and drug trafficking. They should
and must be the object of control at the border. At the same
time, with today's technology, it should be possible to deal
with normal day-to-day commercial transborder activities in a
streamlined and efficient way. Trucks entering the country on a
daily basis could be permanently logged into a computer data
bank by their permit number or license plate, and be processed
at the Customs office. This way, control could still be done in
a case-by-case basis should the need arise, and the regular
flow of goods could be maintained. Wherever such practices are
possible, there needs to be put into place. In any case, the
goal should be to process the goods through the border in an
orderly, timely and efficient way. It is only to the extent
that this goal is met that both Canadian and U.S. business and
consumers will be able to return to business as usual. Thank
you, sir.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lariviere follows:]
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.023
Mr. Souder. Thank you all very much for your testimony. Mr.
Lariviere, and Mr. Dion in particular, do most of your trucks
come across at I-89, or are you crossing at multiple points?
Mr. Lariviere. All over the place.
Mr. Souder. New York State, as well as in Vermont?
Mr. Lariviere. Yes. Detroit.
Mr. Souder. Detroit, as well? Have you seen--You've
mentioned 2 to 3 hours' delay. Is that across the board that
you're seeing? Is it greater----
Mr. Lariviere. Yeah, it's greater at different ports, yes.
Mr. Souder. In this region, what are you seeing?
Mr. Lariviere. Yeah, here at this port here and the port of
Lacolle is where it's the most longest time of waiting time.
Mr. Souder. Do you see that, as well?
Mr. Dion. Yes, but since 2 weeks, it's not as bad.
Mr. Souder. It's improved in the last couple of weeks?
Mr. Dion. Yes, yes.
Mr. Souder. Do you believe that's predominantly--we'll ask
the inspectors here--the number of inspectors or the number of
lanes? Obviously, we need to try to move to the fast pass-type
systems that you're all advocating, but that may take a while,
as we're proceeding, partly as we've seen in the southern
border as well, you alluded to the problem of getting the
passports cleared. Part of this is in our Embassies, we're not
used to the kind of pressure we're getting right now for the
requests; that it's going to take a while to get that system
up. In the meantime, but also even long term, if we have that,
do you see this as a problem with the number of truck lanes, as
well, or----
Mr. Dion. If you had more truck lanes, that would be
better, for sure.
Mr. Lariviere. Yes, it would help, definitely.
Mr. Souder. Mr. Paradis, have you seen much impact in the
last 30 days, change on the trade and the tourism?
Mr. Paradis. I mean the economy, it would be hard both on
our side and your side after this September 11th events. And
what we're looking now is that you just have to look outside
here; it's a much longer line, people arriving from Canada
entering in the States, than the contrary. I was pushing in my
speech here that we really should improve--it should go further
on the checking at airports and seaports, because if we can
better control seaports and airports, I mean the whole America
is more secure at this point, and that I think we will have to
find--I'm listening to my colleagues here that are giving some
kind of examples of the way it could be done immediately if we
had some lanes for trucks, and but on the long-term, also, we
should come to a solution that we should continue to explore
together.
Mr. Souder. One of the most difficult things we're going to
have to work through, there are different pressures in the
trucking area, whether it be logging or distribution, than
there are in the human traffic. In other words, we can probably
work with random inspections combined with the fast passes to
figure out how to have kind of repetitive use or people who
work across the borders. The less frequent travelers would
participate--I'm curious, Mr. Paradis, how do you think this is
going to evolve in Parliament? With the probable exception of
Mexico, the United States has not only a tougher immigration
standard historically, but a more enforced immigration. Canada
has always prided itself on being much more open in its own
immigration standards. That's part of the problem vis-a-vis
Europe, where they have more commonality. Do you see that
changing in Canada?
Mr. Paradis. Yes, we do see that changing, because we're
bringing changes in our administration for the immigrations,
and it's in the process right now, so by April 2002, for
example, we're issuing official cards for people that are in
the country and that are Canadians, and they are waiting for
the process. And there will be more security checks, also, and
we are kind of improving on security basis the system for
immigration.
Mr. Souder. One of the things that we'll probably deal with
a little bit tomorrow--it doesn't directly relate to the
trucking--it predominantly relates right now to other customs
and narcotics questions, but could indeed also start to relate
in human traffic, which could be terrorists or other
immigrations and how we deal with the Indian reservations,
which are independent on the United States side, and the First
Peoples of Canada.
Could you explain to me briefly what kind of--in the United
States, they have a whole separate police force that are
independent and require a whole different cooperation
structure. Is that true in Canada, as well?
Mr. Paradis. I'm not too sure as to how they process in
those reserves. But you don't have to go that far. I mean
yesterday I went to visit a few border stations along my riding
here, my constituency, and I've seen a place where--and there
was three places not too far from here where people can cross,
and there is--I mean at one point you triple your people at the
Customs, you open all the trunks and everything, but 600 feet
further, people can cross without nobody there. I mean that
doesn't make sense, and those people in drugs or different
circuits like that, they know that there is some kind of roads
open like that. And just a small sign saying ``don't cross''
and police, like some others have said, are not always there to
pick them up if they cross where they're not supposed to cross,
so it's a kind of as complicated, maybe, here as it would be in
Akwasasne or some other reserve.
Mr. Souder. One of the things that becomes apparent from
looking at a map--and in the next couple of days we're going to
be looking at this question, as well--obviously the border
isn't all land; that Lake Champlain comes up in a couple of
points. Do you have any idea of what moves or how we might do a
better job? Because you're right; if we strengthen the border
crossing at one place, logic tells you that if you're not
willing to follow the law, you're going to move around. Do you
have any sense of what might move in water and how we might
address that better?
Mr. Paradis. On the lake?
Mr. Souder. Yes.
Mr. Paradis. Better surveillance on the lake, I imagine.
Because you're right, the lake is kind of open and on both
sides. So block maybe some roads that need to be blocked right
now and where there is no port of entry, and better
surveillance on the crossing of the lake.
Mr. Souder. This is a huge problem, because tourism and
boating, whether it be Lake of the Woods or Lake Huron, I mean
people don't know an international boundary when they're going
back and forth. Would that be a huge problem to try to watch
that more?
Mr. Paradis. There was a pilot project a few years ago on
Lake Champlain, for example. It could be real easy if we would
have a barge or a kind of a dock there where you put a Customs
officer from United States and a Customs officer from Canada,
and both there, so the boat stops, and there's not much
different places where you can go through and just stop there
and report if you're a Canadian or an American. Let's work
together on that, and I think that would be easily fixable.
Mr. Souder. Thank you. Mr. Sanders.
Mr. Sanders. Thank you. Let me thank all three of you for
emphasizing a very important point, and that is, while we
obviously want to put more emphasis and do a better job in
keeping terrorists out of both countries, we don't want to
forget about the economy. Right now in the United States--I
don't know how the situation is in Canada--we are entering a
recession. So obviously we don't want to take action which will
slow down our economy and create more unemployment, and thank
you for making that point.
Now, I should know this, and I apologize for not knowing
this, but let me start off with Mr. Lariviere, and that is, if
you have a truck driver who every week is going across the
border?
Mr. Lariviere. Every day, yes.
Mr. Sanders. Every day. Is he treated the same way as
somebody who has never come across the border and is coming
across for the first time? Or is there a process by which your
business that is going across the border, is there a process
involved where we know that a truck--we know a driver comes
across many, many times of the year?
Mr. Lariviere. Yes.
Mr. Sanders. We know who this guy is, we know what the
material is, and that in some way or another we could expedite
that process so that he is not treated like a new visitor?
Mr. Lariviere. No, no, he's been treated very well, and
there's no problem on that part. The only thing is it's the
waiting time that's occurring right now with what happened.
Mr. Sanders. No, but what I'm meaning, what I'm trying to
get at, is he treated differently than somebody who's coming
across for the first time? In other words, is there a process,
if you're coming across many times and--a driver is coming
across many, many times--shouldn't we have a process by which
we anticipate him, we know him, if this is the guy, if this is
the material, we do all that we have to do, but it should be
different than somebody who we're seeing for the very first
time?
Mr. Lariviere. Yes, right.
Mr. Sanders. You agree with that?
Mr. Lariviere. Yes.
Mr. Sanders. And that would expedite the process?
Mr. Lariviere. That's right, yeah.
Mr. Sanders. Right now, is there any procedure by which our
people here know all of your drivers, who they are, that we
have a list of them and we can identify them and so forth, or
is it----
Mr. Lariviere. Yeah, sure, because when they go through
every day, they have their name, if it's the same customs
officer.
Mr. Sanders. But it's more informal than formal?
Mr. Lariviere. That's right, yes.
Mr. Sanders. So I think what you were trying to stress----
Mr. Lariviere. To stress, to put it formal.
Mr. Sanders. Figure out how we can get that information
earlier to anticipate a truck coming and we can move that
faster?
Mr. Lariviere. Exactly, yes.
Mr. Sanders. And I would gather that you would hope that
with some of the additional money that we anticipate putting
into this area, that we can have additional lanes so that the
process can be expedited?
Mr. Lariviere. Exactly, yes.
Mr. Sanders. OK. Mr. Dion, you agree with that, as well?
Mr. Dion. Yeah, no problem. But you had a new system 1 year
ago you put in Windsor, a PAPS system, P-A-P-S, and I would
like to know if it's effective here. Because with that new
system, it's supposed to go more fast to clear the truck at the
border. But we have 55 trucks. We didn't go with PAPS, because
it's only good for Detroit, but maybe the PAPS system is very
aware. We should go with there, just stick a sticker on the
invoice, and when the truck comes to the gate, it's already
clear. The Customs officers just have to make the immigration,
``Are you Canadian? Do you have your passport? OK, have a good
day.''
Mr. Sanders. Well, it would seem to me that with all of the
potential technology that we have, if we know when you are
coming, if we know what you are bringing, if we know who your
driver is, that situation should be different than somebody
just traveling over the border for the first time.
Mr. Dion. Right, but the PAPS starts just 1 year ago, but I
know it was only for Windsor. But if that system would be able
to take the system for Vermont and into Maine----
Mr. Sanders. I don't know the answer. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Souder. My understanding is it's a pilot program, which
we historically fund these things to test them, and I know,
because I come from Fort Wayne, which crosses a lot in Detroit/
Windsor. I'm not sure that we're going to get a fair pilot test
of it, because we've slowed down the border so much in general,
but we will be having a hearing in Windsor with Susan Whalen,
probably within 30 to 60 days, and we'll focus on that and
we'll get back to you with that procedure, but it's the type of
thing we should be doing across the country. We have a similar
thing at the San Diego border.
Mr. Sanders. My guess is that with the kind of technology
that we have now, we should be able to expedite the process for
regular commerce. That's the extent of my questions, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Souder. Well, thank you again. And we are certainly
trying to evolve in this direction, many of us across the
country, even if we don't have a district--I'm 120 miles from
the border, but what we've seen is while we've lost many jobs
in Mexico, we've had an increase in trade with Canada, some 90
percent in the last 12 to 18 months. North American Van Lines
has based their international headquarters in my district, so
we have a lot of trucking questions going across the border, as
well as increasingly Canadian-owned companies in the United
States. It is a very active type of a trading situation.
The American people, if I can just add this comment, and I
look forward to continue to work with each of you. It is hard
to understand the emotion coming off an evening watching the
media, after New York and after the Pentagon attack and the
anthrax, which many of us feel may not even be connected, but
has made everybody so hyper, and false alarms all through the
United States.
We're in a situation in our own office buildings, my
legislative director had to go in--because she had been in one
of the offices in our building, she had to go in for her
antibiotics yesterday, that I keep waiting for my beeper to go
off, because so far they have not cleared my own office and own
floor, the sixth and seven the floor. And it is a different
feeling now that they're coming at us and they're going to keep
coming at us, and finding that before the terrorists get in, if
indeed these are even related, international border security is
our only protection, and yet at the same time, if they collapse
our economy, they've accomplished their goals. And so it's a
delicate balance we're trying to work through, and as I pointed
out in the first panel, is to be not penny-wise and pound
foolish here, is that we may throw so many resources at
something with so little return that in fact it either diverts
resources, when we are chasing something that can't be caught
and is so infrequent, and/or collapses our economy.
So we thank you for our testimony today. This is what we're
trying to do across our border.
Mr. Sanders. If I may say so, it's terribly important that
you continue to stay involved. I think we all have the same
goals, and we need as many ideas as we possibly can achieve.
Thank you very much.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Souder. Let the record show that the witnesses have
each answered in the affirmative.
From the American Federation of Government Employees,
representing INS, Stephen Duchaine.
STATEMENT OF STEPHEN DUCHAINE, PRESIDENT HIGHGATE SPRINGS
CHAPTER, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
Mr. Duchaine. Thank you. Congressmen, thank you for
inviting me to testify regarding our staffing situation on the
Canadian border. My name is Stephen Duchaine, and I'm a Senior
Immigration Inspector at this port of entry, Highgate Springs,
VT. I'm also the vice president of AFGE Local 2076, District 1,
which includes the Immigration Inspectors of Vermont. I just
received my 30-year pin for government service, and I have been
an inspector since 1980 here and in Laredo, TX. I'm also a
third-generation Vermonter whose ancestors came from Quebec.
The demographics of Canada have changed dramatically over
the years. Canada has a very large immigrant community from all
over the world. I've seen hundreds apply for refugee status at
the Canadian port of entry opposite this one. Many arrived in
the United States illegally, and some legally, but they went
directly to the Canadian border to apply for refugee status, as
I would see them walk along the interstate going north.
I'm sure you remember Mr. Ressam, who was arrested in 1999
trying to enter the United States in the State of Washington
with a trunkload of explosives, but you may not remember that
he was a resident of Montreal, Canada, only 40 minutes from
this port of entry. Last year in the northeastern corner of
Vermont, Lucia Garofalo was intercepted at a small port of
entry, smuggling a suspected Middle Eastern terrorist to the
United States. A few years ago, a Lebanese-born Canadian was
caught with a pipe bomb in Richford, VT. Once again, they were
all residents of Montreal. On September 8, 2001, at Highgate
Springs, we refused entry to three Middle Eastern-born
individuals who reside in Montreal under very suspect
circumstances. I sent out an intelligence report September 10,
2001, identifying all three. One clearly expressed to me his
displeasure with the U.S. Government being a puppet of the
Israeli Government.
During normal monthly operations, we refuse entry to an
average of 100 aliens. Usually 25 or so are based on criminal
convictions. These numbers are only for this port of entry. I
have successfully prosecuted over 50 felonies and seized over
200 conveyances for immigration violations here at Highgate
Springs. The cases involved commercial alien smuggling
involving commercial trucks, documented false claims, including
fraudulently obtained U.S. passports obtained by criminal
aliens, and attempted reentry after deportation involving
aggravated felons. I have two such cases pending now. Sentences
received have been as long as 4 years in prison.
One such case involved an IRA member who had been deported
after being caught in an FBI sting trying to purchase stinger
missiles. He was caught at this port of entry, trying to return
to Boston.
My local has long said it is inherently unsafe to work at
the border ports with only one officer, and now that we are on
level one alert, our service is now staffing these ports with
two officers. They are even staffing ports 24 hours a day that
are normally open only 16 hours. Most of the ports in Vermont
are these small ports. No additional staffing has been
authorized, so the additional staffing requirements have
required a great deal of overtime.
The average Immigration inspector in Vermont has been
getting an average of 20 or more hours of overtime each week
since September 12, 2001. All annual leaves have been canceled
and days off lost, disrupting officers' personal lives. There
are also serious health concerns when you realize the average
age of inspectors. I will soon be 50 years old, and well over
half the inspectors at Highgate are significantly older than I
am.
Many have health problems that these extra hours will only
make worse. I will only mention my own. I am being treated for
high blood pressure, and as of October 25, 2001, I was
diagnosed with a sleeping disorder. My doctor recommends a
reduction in my stress level and in my hours of work. At the
rate of overtime that is being utilized in Vermont, many senior
inspectors will reach the overtime cap before the end of the
year, if their health holds up.
If the overtime cap is not waived, then the 65 percent of
the officers I estimate who don't reach the cap will have to
work additional hours. More experienced officers would be
unavailable for overtime assignments as the holidays approach.
We have many very fine inspectors here in Vermont, but
given the threat that we face, we must have additional
inspectors or we must close some of the lower-traffic ports of
entry and consolidate the staff where the most traffic is
crossing. I do not believe Vermonters or the American public
want border stations to be closed. I believe they feel safer
knowing we are on guard. However, inspectors presently on duty
have commitments to their families and community that are
difficult to put on hold indefinitely, regardless of their
dedication.
Also tied to the staffing issue is the continuing problem
of retaining our young inspectors. Our new INS Commissioner
Ziglar, in his recent testimony to Congress, quickly identified
this crucial issue, extending hope that inspectors will finally
be recognized as law enforcement officers with the appropriate
retirement, and he also supports a long-overdue upgrade to GS11
for all inspectors. Commissioner Ziglar's testimony alone has
given hope to inspectors, that didn't exist a few months ago.
Locally, the retention problem can be very easily
explained. An inspector works rotating shifts, weekends,
holidays, and when a crisis comes, as it has three times in the
past year, the inspectors' planned leave is canceled, and all
for GS9 pay, without law enforcement retirement.
The Vermont service center has more immigration examiners
than we have inspectors in Vermont, their hours are flexible,
and leave is never a problem. They also have overtime, and many
even work in their private homes and they are paid at a GS12
level. Is it surprising that young inspectors apply for
examiner jobs as soon as they open? I think not. I have seen
this happen over and over, and it will continue to happen
unless Congress supports Commissioner Ziglar's efforts to
correct this retention problem.
At Highgate Springs, we have 16 immigration inspectors. In
the next 5 years, eight will retire. Five are actively seeking
a transfer, leaving three who intend on remaining inspectors at
Highgate Springs for more than 5 years. Management for
immigration inspection in Vermont presently has eight managers,
and five expect to be retired in 5 years, as well. While my
data is oriented specifically to Highgate Springs, VT, the
personnel issues are very similar through Vermont INS
inspections. Once again, I thank you for allowing me to testify
before you.
Mr. Souder. Before we move to the other testimony, let me
say this to both you and Mr. Wilda, if you'll communicate to
your employees, as well, that we very much appreciate the
people on the front lines, and that we were not paying
attention enough to people who are on the front lines when we
get these kind of attacks on our country, and whether it's the
firemen who went in to try to rescue people, whether it's the
people at the border who are working
overtime, we appreciate it very much, and hope that gets
through. And hopefully we can be more sensitive to the needs
and demands that are being made on average people that are
actually having to do the battle, and we want to thank you on
behalf of the Congress.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Duchaine follows:]
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STATEMENT OF JOHN WILDA, PRESIDENT, CHAPTER 142, NATIONAL
TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION
Mr. Wilda. Good afternoon. Chairman Souder, Congressman
Sanders, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank you for giving
me the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is John
Wilda. I'm a U.S. Customs Inspector assigned to the port of
Highgate Springs, VT. I've worked here for 27 years. I'm also
the chapter president of Chapter 142 of the National Treasury
Employees Union. Chapter 142 represents all bargaining unit
employees in the U.S. Customs Service who are employed in the
State of Vermont and assigned to the port of Pittsburg, NH.
My objective today is to explore ways to enhance the
security at our borders, improve ways of facilitating cargo,
and easing the entry of legitimate travelers into the United
States. Prior to making any recommendations about staffing, I
think the Federal Government has some decisions that must be
made.
The State of Vermont is divided into two area ports,
Highgate Springs and Derby Line. Each port maintains
jurisdiction over other smaller ports, as well. There are 15
staffed border crossings in Vermont; 10 of the 15 border
crossings are staffed by one inspector per shift. Of these 10,
2 are open only 16 hours per day. Both of these are located
within the area port of Highgate Springs, VT.
Since we have gone on high alert, the number of inspectors
assigned to each shift has been increased to two inspectors per
shift, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. This includes coverage
at the two ports previously staffed only 16 hours per day.
Keeping these small, one-person stations open with two
inspectors will require an additional 40 to 50 inspectors in
the State of Vermont.
In December 1999, this country should have received a
wakeup call when a terrorist, Ahmed Ressam, was arrested by
U.S. Customs officials attempting to smuggle bomb-making
supplies into the United States at Port Angeles, WA. Mr. Ressam
lived 45 miles north of Highgate, in Montreal. Highgate Springs
is a direct link between Montreal and Boston.
Our work has changed significantly since September 11th. We
now double-staff our one-person ports. We staff around the
clock at ports that were previously open only 16 hours per day.
We double-staff our primary inspection lanes at the larger
ports so that we can safely examine every car, truck and bus
entering the United States. We unload each and every bus that
arrives and check all passengers' names in our Customs and
Immigration data base. Our work has increased significantly,
yet we're doing it all with no increase in staff.
Last pay period I worked 50 hours of overtime over a period
of 2 weeks. I recently worked 21 consecutive days between days
off. I often work 16 hours, get off work at 8 a.m., return to
work at 4 p.m. the same day. On-the-job work injuries have
increased due to fatigue. We often work several different
shifts in a week. All vacations have been canceled. Our summer
inspectors have been extended until March.
To go along with the agency's philosophy of facilitation,
Customs proposed using remote video inspection systems at
certain remote one-man ports. At that time, NTEU warned the
agency of the potential drawbacks of this system, including a
dangerous security issue, terrorists. Within a year of the
installation of the remote video inspection in Pittsburg, NH,
Lucia Garofalo, who was suspected by the U.S. Government of
having terrorist connections after she was arrested, took
advantage of the open border concept. As a result of her entry
via camera inspection, intel was generated by a customs
inspector which resulted in her arrest at another one-person
crossing in Beecher Falls, VT, shortly thereafter. Several
years ago, two other terrorists were arrested, one in Alburg
and one in Richford.
A supplemental appropriations bill provided the Boston
Customs Management Center with 80 additional inspectors. The
Boston CMC encompasses all of New England. Of these 80
inspectors, Highgate Springs, the largest land border cargo
center in the CMC, was allotted a total of 5. Boston received
30. During the present alert, Boston has been providing
Highgate with TDY inspectors. That has helped. But we should be
getting triple the amount in order to immediately alleviate the
stress of working long hours with little impending hope for
some much-deserved time off.
Since September 11th, we no longer work alone. Aside from
the one-person ports, more staff is needed at the larger ports,
as well. We have a new $10 million facility here at Highgate
Springs, which opened in 1997. Understaffing has caused it to
be grossly underutilized. Our warehouse is only open 16 hours
per day. Staffing cuts have eliminated our two-man mobile
enforcement team. Boston has a 16-person team. We should be
opening our warehouse 24 hours per day. We should maintain an
outbound inspection team. An 80-car freight train arrives in
St. Albans daily without any inspection at all.
Lake Champlain is a wide-open sieve to both boaters in the
summer and snowmobiles in the winter. During Y2K, we had a
bomb-detecting ion scanner. We no longer have one. We used to
have two administrative employees here. Inspectors and
supervisors now perform their functions.
The process for new hires needs to be expedited. It now
takes well over a year to get an inspector on board. One way to
get around this is to offer full-time positions to those who
now work only part-time. Hiring needs to be decentralized and
brought back to the local managers.
While our prime focus is fighting terrorism, there are
additional benefits to the way we now perform our inspections.
Four major drug interdictions were made in Vermont since
September 11th. Additional staff will enable us to fight the
evils of terrorism and interdict major drug shipments.
We need to reexamine some of our immigration policies so
that we never again allow terrorists to enter our country,
legally or illegally. We must use our borders to protect
ourselves. We cannot become complacent again. There is a cost
to more staffing. I think there are millions of Americans who
believe the added security is worth it.
It is very clear that funding must be increased to allow
Customs to meet the challenges of the future. Customs' recent
internal review of staffing, known as the Resource Allocation
Model [RAM], shows that nationwide, Customs needs 14,776 new
hires just to fulfill its basic mission. Highgate Springs would
need 17 new inspectors and 8 additional support personnel.
Another issue that must be addressed is law enforcement
retirement for Customs inspectors and canine enforcement
officers. Customs officers have the authority to apprehend and
detain those engaged in terrorism, drug smuggling, and
violations of other civil and criminal laws. We are being
denied benefits given to our colleagues who work with us.
Granting us law enforcement status would be a long-overdue step
in recognizing the contributions we make in protecting our
borders. There is presently a bill before Congress, H.R. 1841,
which would grant law enforcement status to customs officers.
In closing, we can facilitate cargo, ease travel, and
improve security, but it all comes down to more staff. We need
more inspectors so no one works alone at small ports. We need
more staff at the larger ports so we can facilitate cargo by
assigning more inspectors to cargo release and open our
warehouses 24 hours per day. More inspectors will allow us to
open more traffic lanes on busy days, thereby reducing waiting
times and enhancing enforcement. We need to institute a roving
enforcement team to provide inspectional capabilities at the
rail yard, on the lake, and between ports as needed. We need
better technology and better communication with other agencies.
Either we revert back to the border being a sieve, or we get
the requisite staff necessary to protect all Americans. Thank
you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Wilda follows:]
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.029
Mr. Souder. Thank you.
Mr. Chad Tsounis, executive director of the St. Albans Area
Chamber of Commerce.
STATEMENT OF CHAD TSOUNIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ST. ALBANS AREA
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Mr. Tsounis. I'm pleased to testify before the Government
Reform Committee, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy
and Human Resources today, Sunday, October 28th, in regard to
issues relating to border crossings.
I understand the purpose of this hearing is to explore ways
to improve security, facilitate commerce, and ease travel
between the United States and Canada. I further understand that
the subcommittee will make recommendations concerning potential
legislation based upon the information which you today will
receive. I therefore take very seriously this hearing today.
Thank you for the opportunity to address these important issues
on behalf of the business community within Franklin County.
The issue of security is best left to the Customs officials
of whom have already made ample statements today at this
hearing. However, a few comments will suffice that the security
at our borders must be strong, consistent, and uniform. There
must be a thorough screening process for those Customs
officials who are responsible for the security of our borders
and border crossings. There must further be acceptable funding
to allow for an increase in Customs border officials so as to
provide an adequate level of personnel at the border, with the
purpose of enforcing good security procedures; however, not at
the expense at the convenience and utility of our border
crossings.
There should further be consistent and uniform procedures
used during the process of border crossing, which are well
communicated to the public and business community at large, for
the purpose of proper compliance with such procedures.
The issue of facilitating commerce is another which has
been touched upon by members of the witness panel, yet which
I'll address briefly. The best way to facilitate commerce on
our U.S.-Canadian border is not necessarily promoting policy
which allows for the quickest transport across the border.
Rather, it is the promotion of policy which allows for the most
thorough and efficient crossing of the border.
Again, the issue of appropriate staffing at the border is
one which should be addressed, as the volume across the border,
I assume, increases year by year. Again, diligent communication
of border-crossing procedures and standards should be relayed
to those businesses that take part in regular commerce across
the border. The need for efficient crossing of our U.S.-
Canadian border is paramount to the success of our businesses
that rely on accessibility, both for the exchange of products,
as well as the impact of tourists upon our service-based
businesses.
An issue of importance in light of September 11th's tragic
events is how the strengthening of security at the border will
affect the day-to-day travelers and tourists who seek to visit
the United States or Canada via our border crossing.
Let me be clear that the consistent, uniform security
procedures taken at our border should by no means be
compromised simply for the sake of an easy and quick crossing
of our border. Instead, there must be sound policies and
procedures which are both expected by and communicated to the
traveling public. These policies could be documented, for
example, in an easy-to-read brochure distributed by U.S.
Customs via chambers of commerce on both sides of the border
which explain what a traveler should expect in terms of
appropriate documentation, inspection, and allowance of items
to be carried across the border.
Of even greater importance, however, is the communication
of problems or delays at the border which may immediately
affect the traveling public. Throughout the day on September
11th, our Chamber office was flooded with phone calls asking
for us to confirm whether or not the border had indeed been
closed to travelers. Again a week or so later, the border was
rumored to be closed because of an alleged bomb threat. In both
instances, the immediate need of travelers was to determine
whether or not to stay put in their present location or to
continue on toward the border.
We received phone calls in both instances from chambers in
other New England States who asked for similar information in
order to service travelers heading north. Massachusetts, New
Hampshire were examples. The St. Albans area Chamber of
Commerce was unable to provide accurate information to
travelers, and was further unable to confirm the border
closings because of tied-up phone lines at Customs.
An easy and practical solution which should be adopted in
light of future potential delays or border crossings is a
uniform communication policy in which chambers of commerce and
other related organizations be contacted and informed in light
of these happenings. The dissemination of reliable information
to the traveling public will not only alleviate congestion at
the border during instances of delay or closing; rather, it
will allow travelers to plan accordingly if border crossing is
temporarily suspended or delayed.
In either case, communication of present circumstances at
the border must be relayed in a timely, accurate, and
sufficient manner to chambers of commerce and other related
organizations in order to continue the confidence and
reliability of our border and its workings.
In conclusion, the improvement of security, the
facilitation of commerce, and the ease of travel between the
United States and Canada should be conditioned first upon
safety and security, and then upon ease and accessibility.
Further, any policy developed which speaks to these issues of
security, facilitation of commerce, and the ease of travel
between the U.S. And Canada, should have a long-sighted, as
opposed to short-sighted, approach as relates to the effects of
these policies upon businesses.
A strong, consistent and uniform policy for crossing our
borders, which emphasizes thoroughness and efficiency as the
rule, will maintain an adequate level of accessibility to the
border by our businesses and traveling public. Efficiency and
thoroughness at the border from day to day are better for our
businesses and public than a misstep and tragic event which
results in an uncalculated and negative effect upon our
community, businesses, and economy.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Tsounis follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.030
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] 81864.031
Mr. Souder. Thank you.
OK, Mr. Smith.
STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY SMITH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRANKLIN COUNTY
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Mr. Smith. Good afternoon, and I'd like to welcome everyone
to northern Vermont. My name is Timothy Smith, and I'm the
executive director of Franklin County Industrial Development
[FCIDC]. FCIDC is a nonprofit corporation which is partially
funded by the State of Vermont, municipalities within Franklin
County, local businesses, and utilities. FCIDC is engaged in
processes of building a strong diversified market economy that
serves the interests of area enterprises, municipalities, and
residents.
As mentioned in your invitation to testify, your area of
concern included security, facilitation of commerce, and ease
of travel between the United States and Canada. The area of
which I feel most comfortable is that of facilitating commerce.
I have lived along the Canadian border most of my life--if
not here, then 5 years in Derby Line, VT, in the Northeast
Kingdom. What was very apparent is the fact that the border
crossings in the past had been responsible for processing and
regulating goods and people who enter into the United States.
Since September 11, 2001, the focus has been forever altered to
include national defense and stricter regulations. The stricter
regulations have led to a delay of processing all commercial
traffic. Some have as their ultimate destination manufacturing
or distributionsites within Franklin County.
The truck delays at the Highgate port were increased an
additional 45 to 90 minutes during peak traffic hours after the
New York attacks. The length of delays have decreased as time
has passed and as our lives have gradually returned to normal,
as normal as we can expect considering recent events.
The volume of commercial traffic throughout Vermont's
northern borders have increased substantially due to the
signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the
economic growth we have seen over the past decade. Our border
crossings are also impacted by the Port of Montreal's proximity
to Vermont and its goal to become 1 of the top 15 ports in
North America.
With the increased volume of traffic and higher
expectations on our border personnel to help in the fight for
our national security by enforcing stricter regulations, it is
necessary to ensure that the border crossings have the tools
and resources they need to do an effective job.
It is apparent that the manpower, facilities and technology
at Vermont's border crossings are not up to par. The Vermont
border crossings lack proper facilities, technology and
staffing to process commercial traffic in a safe, timely and
efficient fashion.
I would encourage two specific enhancements that in the
long run would improve processing efficiency, staff morale, and
safety of our country. The first piece is obvious to anyone who
lives near the border and knows individuals that work here. It
is absolutely necessary to increase the levels of employment at
the border crossings. It is difficult to operate any business
or agency when an employee is overworked and approaching levels
of burnout. An overworked employee may lose motivation and be
less attentive to the tasks at hand.
Second, an improvement in the facilities to process
commercial traffic is imperative to do an effective and
comprehensive job in securing our national border. The facility
should contain state-of-the-art technology such as x-ray
machines and communication systems.
Currently there are no commercial vehicle facilities at the
Highgate or Derby Line border crossings, let alone the numerous
smaller ones scattered across northern Vermont. A facility such
as this would allow the staff the opportunity to be protected
by the elements, which would in turn increase staff morale.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the businesses I
have spoken with in Franklin County have not complained about
the delays. They are aware of the reasons for the current
precautions and accept them. These delays will not have such an
adverse impact on local business that they should be forced to
close or relocate. These delays will probably not even be a
major concern when a company is considering locating to
northern Vermont, as issues of higher priority when a company
is considering locating or expanding include skilled work
force, job training, cost of doing business, and health care.
However, these delays are costing local businesses a
significant amount of revenues and resources and will have a
direct impact on the economy of Franklin County. Thank you for
listening, and I hope the committee will consider the
recommendations that we are proposing to you today.
Mr. Souder. Thank you all very much. Mr. Sanders is going
to start the questioning.
Mr. Sanders. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me divide the
questioning up between law enforcement and commerce, if I
might.
In terms of law enforcement, let me start with you, Mr.
Duchaine--and let me begin by reiterating what the chairman
said: we very much appreciate the enormous effort that you
folks have been making under this kind of pressure and what
it's done to your family life and so forth. You are unsung
hereos, and we really appreciate what you've done, and we're
going to do our very best to make life better as soon as we
possibly can.
In that regard, Mr. Duchaine, you mentioned, and it should
be of concern to all of us here, that in your statement, ``At
Highgate Springs we have 16 Immigration inspectors. In the next
5 years eight will retire, five are actively seeking a
transfer, leaving three to remain for the next 5 years.'' You
know, one of the things that we are aware of since the tragedy
is that we are not treating the people who are on the front
line in terms of security, the way we should. We see this in
airports, when we find out we have minimum-wage workers who
determine what gets on planes and what not, and we are hearing
from you right now that in your judgment--and I agree with
you--that many of our border people are underpaid. Let me ask
you a specific question. What will an upgrade to GS11 mean for
the men and women who work right here?
Mr. Duchaine. If you're referring to dollars and cents, the
grade structure is obvious, but what it means for the
inspections program is we're going to be able to retain our
younger inspectors. What you have in a situation as far as pay
structures is the senior officers, because there's not really a
rotation of staff here, get--if the GS11-grade inspector
position, because in Inspections, we have a breakdown--we have
Specialists and certain Senior Inspectors who are GS11s. They
tend to remain. And the other two-thirds of the staff tend to
be the trainees and the journeyman inspectors, GS9s, who are
basically tired of waiting for the older inspectors to retire
and move on so they can get an 11.
Mr. Sanders. What's the difference in pay, roughly?
Mr. Duchaine. Oh, you're talking over $1,000 a month,
minimum difference. When you consider the overtime that they're
earning, as well.
Mr. Sanders. And you think if we increase the GS9s to 11s,
you would have a lot easier time retaining people?
Mr. Duchaine. Absolutely. I believe you would see a lot of
the GS9 inspectors, if you get the 11--especially if you get
the law enforcement, they would probably remain in inspections.
Mr. Sanders. So one of the points--and I think everybody
recognizes you want people to stay on the job for a long time,
to learn the job, we don't want constant turnover, so one of
the points you are making is that irregardless of how many new
people we can bring in tomorrow, it's not going to help all
that much if we constantly have this turnover?
Mr. Duchaine. That's right.
Mr. Sanders. And you think it's imperative, then, that we
rethink those policies?
Mr. Duchaine. Absolutely.
Mr. Sanders. OK. Mr. Wilda, let me ask you in a similar
vein. Your people do not have some of the retirement benefits
that other law enforcement people have. Can you focus on that
for a moment? What does that mean for retention? What does that
mean for people willing to come onto the job in the first
place?
Mr. Wilda. I don't think we have the same problems that
Immigration has as far as job retention is concerned. The main
reason for that is that Immigration has several larger offices
just south of here, within commuting distance, so if the grades
are not available at the border, Immigration can always put in
for another one, and just within commuting distance, have a
much higher-paying job. Customs it's not the same. Here,
approximately half of the inspectors are GS11 and the other
half are GS9. I think it would help. An upgrade to an 11 would
certainly improve morale, for one thing. Like I say, I don't
think the turnover is the same in Customs as it is for
Immigration.
Mr. Sanders. If I were a 22-year-old person interested in a
life of law enforcement, would I come up here, would I go to
the Burlington Police Department, would I go to the State
Police, would I go to a Federal law enforcement? How high would
I be attracted to come here compared to other law enforcement
career options?
Mr. Wilda. Well, there are some benefits. One of the big
problems, of course, is rotating shifts, long hours and things
like that. Federal benefits, you know, attract a certain number
of people to government service. It's a good job, but certainly
a higher-graded job would keep people here and stop them from
transferring. We do lose some transfers to other locations
because there's a higher grade--it may be in Montreal, Toronto,
Boston, Chicago, Miami--so we do lose some people, transfers.
Mr. Sanders. OK. Let me just ask you, maybe somewhat
personal or not, but you guys both are putting in a hell of a
work week, and so are your brothers and sisters who are also
involved. How much longer can people continue to work like that
and retain their health, and in fact, their ability to do the
job?
Mr. Duchaine. Yeah, well my comment would be is that we
probably got a slightly overforce in the immigration side of
the house, that sick leave is starting to pick up for the ones
that have health problems. I mean they're trying to get by, and
that tends to result in more overtime for the others. To answer
your question quickly, I would say that most can tough it out
for a shorter period of time until we get the additional staff
on, as our district director indicated, but I would say there's
a certain amount of urgency, especially with our hiring
practices being what they are.
Mr. Sanders. When do you anticipate some additional help
coming in? Do you have a sense of how quickly that might be?
Mr. Duchaine. Not in the near term, no. I understand
positions have been authorized, and obviously, no money
attached with it, so----
Mr. Sanders. Congress does that. I won't--has a tendency of
authorizing----
Mr. Duchaine. I'm hoping that will show up in the
immigration budget.
Mr. Sanders. We will certainly do our best to make that
happen. Mr. Wilda, what do you hear?
Mr. Wilda. Well, the long days are taking its toll, and
I've seen an increase in injuries, crawling under trucks and
things like that, somebody cutting their head or cutting their
leg, and I think that's directly due to fatigue. I've been told
that we have a couple of new hires coming on at the end of the
year, which will help a little bit. Holding over the summer
inspectors helped tremendously. These are part-timers who
normally end August 30th, and they've agreed to stay on until,
I believe, through the end of March, and they've been just a
tremendous benefit to us.
Mr. Sanders. But those are working double shifts in a
sense, too, because they have their regular day jobs.
Mr. Wilda. Exactly.
Mr. Sanders. You heard the testimony that we heard from
some of our Canadian friends a moment ago. I am interested in
asking the same question to you. You're familiar with people
who are going over the border on a regular basis. Can we make
some improvements to expedite the process for those people
whose loads we know, whose drivers we know, whose contents we
know? Can we make some improvements in that direction?
Mr. Smith. I would say yes. As I've spoken to people at
Deringer's, one of the larger Customs brokers in the area. They
have suggested that--and I believe there's a policy put in
place--John, you can support me on this--that if someone has
not come across a border over the last 3 years, that they need
to be reinspected. Where they have to go back to the firm and
they have to do an actual inspection of the company sending the
firm, you know, the product over. So they're taking it in a
little different respect, in that they go back to someone who
they have not seen and then scrutinizing their paperwork and
their operation, more so than a company who has come across on
a regular basis. But yeah, I would agree that there could be a
system set up for those. And I have two or three companies in
Franklin County that sends a truck over daily.
Mr. Sanders. Right.
Mr. Smith. And they come through the same port just about
the same time every day, and they have done a few things to
help alleviate inspection. They've allowed a walkway down
through their trailer, so that people can walk in and can check
them. So they are working on that angle to help assist with the
process, as well.
Mr. Sanders. Mr. Tsounis.
Mr. Tsounis. I don't think I would add any more than Tim
has to the business side of it, where you have regular basis
constantly going over the border day by day.
As I said in my statement, in regards to tourists who are
crossing the border--and I said tourists, not terrorists--in
regards to tourists crossing the borders, you have people who
are from Montreal and Burlington-based, or in those regions,
who are regularly crossing the borders. They probably
understand what's expected of them in regards to documentation
that is needed, items they are able to carry across and, you
know, food or retail possessions, but I think in terms of
persons who may not be as familiar, tourists who may not be as
familiar crossing the border, again, it's a communication
piece.
The chambers should have something in their offices, which
we don't now, whether it's because it's not there or whether
it's because we haven't looked for it or the publication is not
actually in existence. There should be a communication piece
which describes to the common traveler what kind of
documentation could be required, what kind of searches or
inspections could be taken during the crossing of the border,
so I would say that just to make it more efficient, so that
we're not getting people at the border, ``I didn't know that
you were going to be asking this.''
Mr. Sanders. Right, that they can have their stuff out and
ready to go?
Mr. Tsounis. A communication piece, something that can be
placed in chamber offices is one example, a brochure of some
type. The other thing I had mentioned is the communication when
there are delays, 45 minutes or more, it would be good for
chamber offices and other related organizations to know that
those delays or stoppages at the border are happening. This
way, we get people in our office or calls from chambers around
the State or in other parts of New England, we're able to tell
them, ``There's a 45 minute delay, have lunch, try it in
another hour,'' so some kind of communication piece where, you
know, for example, a 45-minute-plus delay, a stoppage at the
border, chambers, our chamber and other chambers and
organizations are contacted, ``Look, there is a delay, there is
a stoppage.''
Mr. Sanders. Suggesting that some of the restaurants in
Swanton start advertising more, huh?
Mr. Tsounis. Exactly, yup, and those are--I think that
would alleviate congestion and alleviate slowing of our public
travelers.
Mr. Sanders. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Souder. What immediately jumped to my mind when you
said that is what they've started to do, I know even Fort Wayne
is doing it now in the airport page, that you can call up and
see the status of the flight, just as if, you know, it's on the
board at the airport, that in some places they have something
they hand at the border. But that's too late. In Windsor I was
stopped a number of years ago, I hadn't carried my passports
before, and all of a sudden they wanted passports for my kids
with me, and so I had to go over and file all kinds of papers
as to whether I had kidnapped my kids. At Sault Ste. Marie 1
year, when we went camping, we had to leave potatoes, because
that year there was a concern about some midwestern potatoes.
Another year my sister was--we were meeting up there and she
was bringing me a little Christmas tree, and that year
Christmas trees or pine trees weren't allowed to be coming
across.
Mr. Sanders. You seem to be a lucky guy in terms of
carrying products.
Mr. Souder. Yeah, so it's true in both directions, and if
we had some way, with the e-mails today, that could put up
whatever's on the screen and the chambers could then get it
down and into your network, and when there's a short-term
thing, maybe not something system-wide but certainly at each
border, it can't be that hard to do anymore with the type of
information we have. Do you have any comment on that?
Mr. Wilda. The only comment I have is I believe now you can
access the Customs Web page and they update border waits every
15 minutes at specific crossings.
Mr. Tsounis. Is there a phone number, like a 1-800 number
where somebody could call and they could have a message
playing? I mean that's something, if you're in your car and
you're on the cell phone, you know, you're able to make a quick
phone call. A brochure should also talk about things such as
what should objects look like or not look like. I mean these
are the types of things you're going to be held up for, retail
items--a toy gun, for instance--don't buy a toy gun and bring
it across the border. But there needs to be communication, so
that persons aren't getting to the borders and say, ``Oh, I
didn't realize.''
Mr. Souder. For example, in the midwest and west in
particular--it probably is true in the east, too--but one of
the big things was Canada passed a new gun-trading permit law
and they're going into American gun shows, but a lot of people
were not aware of that new law, and all of a sudden they're hit
with a charge at the border. Really unusual at the northwest
angle in Minnesota and for Alaskans, when they were traveling
between American States, but had to go through Canada, and how
to work through the waiver question. There are all sorts of
things that we work through, and we have to do a better job of
performing those.
I had somebody riding with me in an airplane who I thought
told me, because he was very concerned, it was his grandma--it
could have been his aunt--was the only person at one of these
24-hour points. Is it possible that one of the points in
Vermont could have, in the evening, if it's a 24-hour point, a
single elderly woman being the only person at that point?
Mr. Duchaine. Not since the level one alert. It should be
two.
Mr. Souder. But prior to that?
Mr. Duchaine. Oh, yes, yes.
Mr. Souder. So it wouldn't only be just one person? It
could be a female, and it could be somebody who was near
retirement?
Mr. Duchaine. We're talking about a female Immigration
inspector, elderly, working by themselves at an outpost? Oh,
yes, absolutely.
Mr. Sanders. And you know her well, right?
Mr. Souder. Because we often have security concerns at 7-
11s and other types of things where you just have one
personnel, but what we're talking about here is not just one of
you two.
Mr. Duchaine. No, I understand. And it's--I suspect it's
not a unique situation along the Canadian border. I'm sure
other locations have it, as well.
Mr. Souder. Mr. Ziglar, by the way, testified in front of
our committee, that was our hearing that we had, and he also
talked to a large group of members that started a lot of this
whole concern, particularly on the law enforcement question and
the retention question, regarding Border Patrol, but also with
Customs, as we were looking at the hiring, when we heard, I
think, the day before, he had met with a bunch of members, five
people had retired, and we were losing at a time we were
supposed to be adding.
Furthermore, the chairman of that Subcommittee on
Appropriations is trying to figure out, even right now while
we're working, what the needs are. We have an irony here that
myself and the ranking member, Elijah Cummings, are also both
on Civil Service and are both on this subcommittee. We're
having a little bit of a tussle right now about this grade
ranking. We were trying to fix it, actually, in the
Appropriations bill, but cannot. There are two short-term
problems, but we're looking at it long-term. One is that we're
having a problem in the entire Civil Service system, and
there's concern about us doing a rapid fix of what it might do
to other departments in the government if we fix one portion,
and for example, we're having a big-time problem retaining
doctors in the health service. And Dr. Welden chairs the Civil
Service, so he viewed us as trying to protect law enforcement,
but he was also concerned about how to address some other
sectors.
A second part of that is that we are indeed boosting the
dollar amount, and it's to some degree, because it isn't going
to be as high as what's authorized, and how much is spent per
individual, particularly when we factor in the retirement
systems that are always teetering as to whether they're funded
anyway, that if you said--what was your more critical need,
given the fact that both of these are important to employees,
for safety reasons, for job pressure reasons, for health
reasons, is it--we're going to address both questions, but is
your need greater right now to have more inspectors to relieve
some of the pressure, or to get the salary structure? Because
that's a decision we have to make.
Mr. Duchaine. We need staff right now. I mean we don't even
have an impending date for vacation time or anything like that.
There are very few days off that we've gotten since September
11th, and usually that day is not a complete day.
Mr. Souder. But the truth is that's a short-term need
that's going to have to be addressed all over the long run.
You're going to have to.
Mr. Duchaine. Exactly, and if you had to have one or the
other, like I said. It's going to end up leading to a revolving
door, at least on the immigration side of the house. That as
soon as they get in, they're going to be looking for something
else, because it has----
Mr. Souder. One of the great debates, and I believe Mr.
Duchaine alluded to this--I didn't understand one of your
statements, but one of the big debates is a tradeoff between
personnel and technology. For example, if we are able to
implement more of this pilot program on PAPS or the fast-pass
system, do a better job of preclearances, get people one way or
the other so they can move back and forth easier, will that
remove some of the pressure for----
Mr. Duchaine. I don't see it having a significant impact in
our operation.
Mr. Souder. That will reduce the time more than it will----
Mr. Duchaine. Right.
Mr. Souder. And I also understood you in your testimony to
say that you wanted to staff all the lanes. Does that mean that
at times, you have lanes that could be opened up more? In other
words, it's not a problem here, but physically at this
particular crossing, it's a personnel problem; is that true for
trucks, too?
Mr. Wilda. Right. Today is a good example. The trucks were
directed basically through the auto lanes. Normally the trucks
all cross on the other side of the warehouse, and so we'd have
the capability of operating five passenger traffic lanes
instead of two or three. Since we've opened this facility in
1997, we have never had the staff to open five, even if, you
know, we had the personnel. It's just impossible to do.
Mr. Sanders. See here's an example that we put a whole lot
of money into an infrastructure, but that you can't utilize
what you have, right?
Mr. Wilda. Exactly.
Mr. Souder. So you said that--that was one of the questions
I was trying to address. I know it was you, Mr. Wilda, who
referred to--you said, when you were talking about the
terrorist Garofalo, you referred to the camera, and said that--
I understood your testimony to be saying you felt that that was
a failure, when in fact we caught her. Are you suggesting that
it was--I mean it was better than nothing, but are you
suggesting that others are getting by and it was a fluke that
we--I didn't quite understand.
Mr. Wilda. The remote video system has been, or had been,
instituted at Pittsburg, NH. The monitors for that system were
at least 30 or 40 miles away, in Norton. So if the traveler at
that crossing said, ``I'm not going to wait 'til you can come
inspect me,'' or whatever, they could leave and there's nothing
we could do about it. The closest inspector's 40 miles away.
Mr. Duchaine. It keeps honest people honest.
Mr. Wilda. Exactly. We're doing inspections by remote
video.
Mr. Sanders. Let me ask you to be frank. At this moment in
our history, with the apprehension that we all have, can we
continue to act like that anymore?
Mr. Duchaine. Not in my opinion, no.
Mr. Wilda. No. Not at all.
Mr. Sanders. I think people would be laughing that, you
know, everyone's talking about everything crisis, crisis,
crisis, crisis, and you have a video camera, and human beings
are 40 miles away in a pretty remote area.
Mr. Souder. But what you're saying happened in this case
was they got basically a picture of her, so we knew she was
here, but we couldn't catch her at that point, but because you
got the picture, that went out as a warning at the border
crossings, so when she came across a second time, we caught
her.
Mr. Wilda. Yeah, I believe she was refused entry when she
came in the camera. So she went back to Canada, and based on
that information, when she ultimately was intercepted at a
crossing where there were inspectors, an arrest was made.
Mr. Souder. Are you saying here--It says as a result of her
entry via camera inspection. What does that mean?
Mr. Wilda. Right. Pittsburg, NH, they have remote video
system. There's a camera set up and you talk to it and you say,
Hi, I'm so-and-so, I'm going to some location.
Mr. Souder. Well, how does it stop you?
Mr. Wilda. It doesn't. There's no physical barrier.
Mr. Souder. So did she drive on through?
Mr. Wilda. I'm not certain whether she actually entered on
that inspection or not. I'm not sure anyone is certain whether
or not she did.
Mr. Souder. But we caught her.
Mr. Duchaine. That was hence my comments that many, many
inspectors--and she was apparently stupid this time, to turn
around. We gathered intelligence, eventually we caught her.
Mr. Souder. Anything else any of you want to say for the
record? We very much appreciate you----
Mr. Sanders. Let me just--just a few more.
Mr. Souder. Sure.
Mr. Sanders. Do you have any law enforcement people--do you
have any more information than we do about some of those folks
from September 11th who had gone from--presumably gone to
Boston from Canada? Do we have any more information? Did they,
in fact?
Mr. Duchaine. I don't. I do know that the three that I made
reference to in my testimony weren't amongst the terrorists
that have been identified on the aircraft and such.
Mr. Sanders. Second question is we've heard commentary that
immediately after September 11th, there were long delays, but
those long delays seem to have receded. Now, is that the case,
that we're making some progress, or----
Mr. Duchaine. I would say to a certain extent we're making
some progress. We're being inventive on how we can clear them a
little faster, by using--some of the local people are learning
to use some of the outer ports of entry during the busier
times, and I also think fewer people are traveling than before.
I do feel we're making as much progress as we can, given the
resources that we have.
Mr. Sanders. On the ground at your level, what is your
relationship to your Canadian counterparts?
Mr. Duchaine. I would portray it as excellent.
Mr. Wilda. I would as well.
Mr. Duchaine. And I would like to add to the record, as
well, we've gotten a lot of very positive comments from the
traveling public, that I've never seen anything like it in the
time I've been here. They're very, very understanding, polite,
and they've thanked us on many occasions, as have you.
Mr. Wilda. Even after a 3-hour wait, everybody would drive
through and say thank you.
Mr. Sanders. I think we're all in this together, and people
understand what we have to do. Well, I just want to thank all
of you, and once again, thank you for the great job you're
doing.
Mr. Souder. I forgot two other things that I had. One is
tomorrow we're going to be over in Champlain. It's very
interesting to me, and it's logical, that Vermont flows to
Boston and Portland offices in both of your cases, whereas New
York flows to Albany and New York City. But I would suspect
that people who'd want to avoid Customs for drugs or for
immigration, or terrorists, might not be quite that neatly
divided. That is, if somebody crossed zones, do you exchange
information? Do you talk regularly to the crossings across the
way and alert--do you have a system that would bounce down and
have to come back up?
Mr. Wilda. Yes.
Mr. Duchaine. Quite often people don't realize it. They'll
drive down saying a destination out of Vermont without a
particular intervening destination in Vermont. That's an
automatic secondary over here. It makes no sense to travel from
Montreal to New York by way of Vermont, so but we do
communicate regularly.
Mr. Souder. They may be getting cheese or syrup or
something. You made some comments about--well, Mr. Wilda, about
the--basically the lake being wide open. Do you have anything
right now on the lake? What's your involvement? It's been a
little--we've heard that the state and local law enforcement
have more primary enforcement there. Does Customs have a
presence, too?
Mr. Wilda. Customs has no presence on the lake. That would
be either Coast Guard or Border Patrol. And one of the
suggestions that I made is if you did have some sort of mobile
enforcement team they could cover the rail yard 1 day and the
lake another day and some other manned crossing on a third day,
just to intercept people and keep them off guard, so they don't
know what to expect.
Mr. Duchaine. The Border Patrol does have a boat, and given
the limited resources, from what I understand word of mouth,
they're not out there very often. Immigration inspection, they
don't have a port of entry and don't have inspections. We do
have boat permits where we can preprocess people in ports of
entry, and if somebody inspects them on the lake, we're
supposed to make sure they have been inspected.
Mr. Souder. Is your gut feeling that much moves on the
water?
Mr. Wilda. I think----
Mr. Duchaine. Yes, undoubtedly. If I could let out a family
secret, my grandmother told me before she passed on that my
grandfather, who had a farm out in West Swanton, VT, on the
lake, that he smuggled booze during prohibition, as well as a
few Chinamen. I'm sure that sort of thing is still going on.
Mr. Sanders. Statute of limitations is in effect. Your
grandmother is safe.
Mr. Souder. Well, thank you all again. We appreciate it
very much, and we'll try to make sure you get copies of this
hearing record, and if you have additional things you want to
submit or you have other people who are in your chamber or
other individuals who want to submit some written testimony,
we'll be happy to put that in the record, too. With that, this
hearing is adjourned.
[Note.--The publication entitled, ``Investing in the
Future, The Customs Action Plan, 2000, 2004,'' may be found in
subcommittee files.]
[Whereupon, at 5:52 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
[The prepared statement of Hon. Patrick Leahy and
additional information submitted for the hearing record
follow:]
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