Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
Senators Urge Homeland Security Appropriations Leaders to Help Northern Ports of Entry Resume Pre-Pandemic Operating Hours
WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) recently led a bipartisan group of senators in urging the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with the necessary resources in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funding legislation to properly staff and secure the U.S.-Canada border. The senators outlined the importance of:
- Providing the personnel, technology and tools required for border professionals to successfully carry out their mission.
- This includes alleviating the need for temporary duty assignments that move officers and agents away from the northern border.
- Implementing technologies that improve situational awareness and monitoring of the northern border.
- Ensuring northern ports of entry are open and accessible for lawful travel and trade.
- The senators called for the committee to advance efforts to restore operating hours at northern ports of entry as they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents have the critical mission of protecting the American people by securing our borders. Continued temporary duty assignments take a significant toll on officers and agents as well as families assigned to northern border duties. We encourage the subcommittee to provide the necessary resources to ensure personnel on the northern border can fulfill their mission without the constant need for temporary duty assignments,” said the senators. “Finally, [it is] essential to have ports of entry open to accommodate lawful travel between the United States and Canada. As we turn the corner on the pandemic, the subcommittee should ensure that CBP has the necessary resources to resume pre-pandemic operating hours at northern border ports of entry.”
Those joining Hoeven and Tester in this effort include Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Angus King (I-Maine), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.). The full text of the letter can be read here.
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