Senate Appropriations Committee Issues Report on the FY 2006 DHS Appropriations Bill (Part I)

(The House passed its own version of H.R. 2360 on May 17, 2005. As of July 13, 2005, the Senate Appropriations Committee-reported version of H.R. 2360 was being considered on the Senate floor.)

Committee Report Contains Additional Information and Recommendations

The Senate Appropriations Committee Report (S. Rept. 109-83) contains, among other things, certain additional information and recommendations from the Committee.¹

This is Part I of a multi-part series of summaries on the Committee's report and highlights the Committee's recommendations, etc. as follows (partial list):

Container Security Initiative. The Committee recommends, among other things, $138,790,000 and 341 positions, an increase of $12,694,000 and 12 positions, from the FY 2005 level, for expansion of the Container Security Initiative (CSI).

The Committee expresses concern that some host governments are reluctant to conduct inspections of a significant number of containers CSI officials request and refer for additional inspection. The Committee notes that if a host country is reluctant to work with U.S. CSI teams, its further participation in the CSI program should be reevaluated and possibly terminated.

The Committee directs DHS to provide a report, no later than February 18, 2006, on the specific steps DHS has taken to work with host governments to explain the CSI targeting methods, how CSI teams coordinate their efforts with State Department personnel, what actions have been taken/consideration has been given to withdrawing CSI personnel from a CSI port if cooperation with CSI teams has not improved, and the specific action taken and planned to implement the recommendations made by an April 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on CSI.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/24/05 news, 05062410, for BP summary of the GAO's April 2005 report.)

Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. The Committee recommends, among other things, $54,268,000 and 277 positions for expansion of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. This is an increase of $8,200,000 from the FY 2005 level.

Standards for CSI and C-TPAT. The report states that the GAO has determined that CSI and C-TPAT need to develop more detailed standards for verifying the security of, and provide more rigor in, the known shipper process used by these programs.

The Committee directs DHS to submit a report, by February 18, 2006, on the CSI and C-TPAT programs, to include the following: (1) the most rigorous performance measures, including outcome-oriented indicators, which have been developed and implemented for CSI and C-TPAT; (2) a human capital plan; and (3) the plans currently in place that lay out the goals, objectives, and detailed implementation strategies of the programs. Further, the Committee states that the report should include the results of the CSI and C-TPAT programs for each of FYs 2004 and 2005 and the specific actions taken and planned to implement the recommendations made by a March 2005 GAO report on C-TPAT. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/21/05 and 06/22/05 news, 05062110 and 05062215, for BP summaries of GAO's March 2005 report.)

Textile transshipment enforcement. The Committee recommends $4,750,000 for textile transshipment enforcement, as authorized by the Trade Act of 2002. (The Trade Act of 2002 authorized appropriations for the hiring of 72 positions between CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including import specialists, auditors, and analytic staff and funding has been provided for these positions.)

The Committee states that it is aware that CBP did not fill positions in FY 2004 and directs all of its positions be filled. Further, DHS is directed to report to the Committee by February 18, 2006, on how the funds for textile transshipment were used in FYs 2004 and 2005, and include in that report a five-year enforcement strategy to reduce textile transshipment.

Automated Commercial Environment. The Committee recommends $458,009,000 to be available until expended, for automation modernization. This includes an increase of $8,100,000 for inflationary adjustments. Of the funds recommended, not less than $321,690,000 would be available for the development of ACE and $5,000,000 would be for the International Trade Data Systems (ITDS). The ACE funding would be available only upon the submission of a comprehensive expenditure plan from ACE which is, among other things, approved by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

Agricultural inspections. The Committee states that it is aware of the March 31, 2005 report by the USDA Inspector General that calls for an increased coordination process for imported food inspections between the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and CBP. The Committee requests DHS, in conjunction with USDA, to submit a report by February 18, 2006, which details the specific actions each agency will take, or has already taken, to address the apparent 32% reduction in agriculture inspections and the lack of coordination and access between the Departments to targeting and planning intelligence information.

¹According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), such reports do not have statutory force and departments and agencies are not legally bound by their declarations. However, reports do explain congressional intent, and executive branch agencies take them seriously because they must justify their budget requests annually to the Appropriations Committees.

Senate Appropriations Committee report (S. Rept. 109-83) available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_reports&docid=f:sr083.109.pdf.