On Thursday, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ), and other Republicans announced that they introduced legislation to speed up the hiring process for Customs and Border Protection by eliminating the polygraph test for veterans and law enforcement officers.
“This will help simplify a complex 11-step hiring process that averages between 274 days for agents and 318 days for officers,” a press release said. “Not only does this improve processing times for CBP applicants that already maintain the public’s trust, but it also saves taxpayer dollars.”
The average cost of a polygraph test is more than $2,000, which adds up quickly when one in three applicants is hired by CBP.
Both law enforcement officers and veterans must have served for three years to get the waiver, but veterans must also have held a security clearance within the last five years and law enforcement officers must have undergone background investigations, The Washington Times reports.
Crenshaw, who sits on the Committee on Homeland Security introduced the Anti-Border Corruption Improvement Act in the House with Ranking Member Mike Rogers and Representative Clay Higgins.
“Our Customs and Border Protection agents are drastically undermanned, and this bill aims to help fix that,” Crenshaw said. “By eliminating the unnecessary and costly polygraph test for vetted applicants with military and law enforcement backgrounds, this legislation quickens the hiring process and eases the burden on applicants, CBP recruitment efforts, and the taxpayer.”
The Washington Times reports that both Border Patrol and CBP are understaffed:
There are supposed to be more than 21,000 Border Patrol agents on duty, and President Trump has set a goal of getting to more than 26,000, but fewer than 2,000 were on the job in 2017, according to a Government Accountability Report last summer.
CBP officers were short more than 1,000 as well, the GAO said. Congress did just approve money in the new 2019 spending bill to hire hundreds of more officers, adding to the shortage.
GAO investigators identified the polygraph as a key part of the hiring hurdle. Not only does it take time to complete, but as of 2017, just a quarter passed the test — the worst rate of any major federal law enforcement agency.
Rogers said Crenshaw deserves credit for pushing the legislation forward.
“Adequate manpower is a critical element of border security,” Rogers said. “This legislation will help CBP fill critically-needed positions, while ensuring that our law enforcement is qualified and ready for the job. Oversight, Management, and Accountability Ranking Member Crenshaw deserves serious credit for his efforts.”
Higgins said the recent rise in illegal immigration makes the legislation essential to ensuring CBP has enough manpower.
“In addition to enhanced physical barriers and modern technology, we must have additional manpower to properly secure our border. CBP agents are highly-professional and patriotic in carrying out their mission, but the current surge in illegal crossings has created a dire need for additional boots on the ground,” said Congressman Higgins. “Men and women with law enforcement or military backgrounds are prime candidates to join CBP, and they’re needed on the border sooner rather than later. I’m proud to cosponsor Congressman Crenshaw’s bill implementing a polygraph waiver and expediting hiring for these applicants.”
In the Senate, McSally introduced a companion piece of legislation.
“The men and women of Customs and Border Protection are some of the finest law enforcement professionals – but unfortunately there are simply not enough agents and officers to get the job done,” said Senator McSally. “We need to streamline the hiring process while maintaining the same rigorous standards to get the additional help to our frontlines.”
McSally also introduced a similar piece of legislation as a representative in the House last Congress which passed with bipartisan support.
