Trade Neglected as DHS's Noem Testifies at House Appropriations Committee
In more than two hours of House appropriators' questions for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, trade was barely touched on.
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Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., was one of the exceptions, telling Noem he plans to introduce legislation to address goods that transit through Mexico or Canada instead of arriving at U.S. ocean ports, which, in his view, is starving the Harbor Maintenance Fund.
Noem said the Harbor Maintenance Tax is important. She then praised CBP for implementing many tariff changes since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. She said CBP "has done it with excellence." She said they have collected $32 billion since early April. "These countries are feeling the pain enough that they’re coming to the table," she said.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, emphasized how the ports need to have the space and screening equipment to facilitate legitimate trade and catch smugglers. He said when lines get to be a mile long, CBP officers start waving trucks through.
Noem later said that CBP needs funding for scanners for rail cars and for small packages, and said the government doesn't have enough knowledge on what's in containers and small packages.