DHS's Duke Notes Ongoing Search for ACE Funds, Importance of Advance Data
ATLANTA -- On her last day working as acting Homeland Security secretary, Elaine Duke on Dec. 5 said her department is still looking for additional ACE funds, even as ACE modernization “is in the budget,” and emphasized the importance of advance data and closer monitoring of postal supply chains as opioid shipments to the U.S. have increased in recent years. During a keynote speech at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium, Duke acknowledged that ACE needs upgrading, adding that the Department of Homeland Security’s Joint Requirements Council is looking for ways to free up more money for ACE. That council is a “component-led body” designed to “identify, prioritize and recommend investments to address cross-department capability,” according to DHS.gov. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal year 2018 Homeland Security spending bill directs $38 million to support ACE core functionality and $5 million for ACE enhancements (see 1711240027).
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During the same keynote, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said ACE uptime is “actually pretty good,” but noted that “I think we’ve acknowledged that we’ve had concerns, we’ve had issues,” including a 24-hour outage in August (see 1708030015), that CBP is working to address with more automated redundancy. “From our perspective, the performance of the code that we’ve put in place is working quite well,” McAleenan said. “We need to support it with the network and infrastructure to keep it up all the time. It is so critical for your business. But when we have the issues, we want to be able to respond quickly, and that’s where we need feedback from the trade community.”
While DHS’s role doesn’t include direct oversight of international mail shipments, it is working with the Universal Postal Union on international mail standards to make supply chains more secure, as recent spikes in fentanyl and other drug shipments have raised the department’s attention to trade, Duke said. DHS is also working on minimum security standards for physical screening of international mail, and is looking to automate the process through obtaining more advance shipping data, she said. “If we have one mantra across DHS for this year, it’s advance data, whether it’s passenger name records for airlines, and for shipping, the advance shipping data,” Duke said. “With the speed of commerce, with the speed of the movement of the people, and the adaptability of the terrorists and criminals, we need advance data.” February-introduced legislation aimed at reducing illicit fentanyl imports would require advance data in postal shipments (see 1705250029).
The interagency Import Safety Working Group, created through the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (see 1602170074), and chaired by Duke, held its first meeting a few months ago, she said. The group is developing a rapid response plan to address problems posed by unsafe, counterfeit, illicit drug, and child and forced labor imports, as well as other e-commerce-related threats, she said. The group is seeking input from the private sector. “For small businesses, a lot of this is about raising awareness,” Duke said. “Where do small retailers get their products? Are their sources safe? We need to know and understand, both for large business and small business, how we as the federal government can partner with you.” After Kirstjen Nielsen was sworn in Dec. 6 as DHS secretary, Duke assumed her former post as deputy DHS secretary.