Through the budgeting of $6.7 billion, which includes $1.1 billion in user fees, the Administration seeks to fulfill the goals of providing border security while promoting global trade. “Today global terrorism is a real threat that allows no room for error,” says Robert Bonner, CBP commissioner. “The President’s budget, and the funding for technology, reflects the imperative of securing our border if we are to protect America against that threat.”
Broad initiatives citied in the FY 2006 budget of most interest to the logistics and trade community, include:
• $36.9 million for 210 additional Border Patrol Agents.
• $20 million to Border Patrol Aircraft Replacement, putting 12 new helicopters in place of present Vietnam era helicopters.
• $28.3 million for automated targeting systems that aid in identifying high-risk cargo and passengers.
• $138.8 million that includes $5.4 million in new funds, to expand the Container Security Initiative (CSI) in seven additional countries. CSI provides pre-screening of cargo before it reaches the U.S.
• $54.3 million for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), which includes $8.2 million for conducting supply chain security validations.
• $305.5 million in funding for the Automated Commercial Environment and $16.2 million for the International Trade Data System.
Other broad categories of funding for CBP include Weapons of Mass Destruction Detection Technology, America’s Shield Initiative, Air and Marine Operations, the Immigration Advisory Program, the Arizona Border Control Initiative, Long Range Radar and the Automated Biometric Identification System/Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
