SCHUMER: DRAMATIC INCREASE IN TRAFFIC BACKUPS ON PEACE BRIDGE ARE DUE TO REPORTED CUT-BACKS IN FEDERAL AGENTS – SENATOR DEMANDS CBP TO LOCATE MORE OFFICERS AT BUFFALO BORDER TO BREAK LOGJAM
Border & Peace Bridge Officials Have Reported Significant Cutbacks in Customs & Border Protection Agents at Buffalo Border Crossings, Leading to Numerous Lane Closures & Increased Wait Times – Schumer Calls on CBP to Immediately Provide Answers for the Cause of These Counterproductive Reductions, Which Aren’t Related to Sequester, And Boost Number of Agents in Buffalo
Schumer Noted That the Progress Being Made on Both Sides of the Peace Bridge Will Have a Significantly Reduced Impact If There Aren’t Enough Agents To Inspect Cars & Commercial Traffic – CBP Stats Show That Every Border Patrol Agent Provides $2 Million Boost to Local Economy & 33 New Jobs
Schumer: It is Simply Unacceptable that Lanes Aren't Fully Staffed when Traffic is Backed Up.
Earlier this week, at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fontana Boathouse in Buffalo, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency to increase the number of border agents in Buffalo, and explain why recent lane closures have become more frequent. According to local border and Peace Bridge Authority officials, cutbacks in border agents have been significant recently: some estimate that as many as 60 agents have been cut from the Buffalo Border in the past 18 months. Schumer said that an understaffed Buffalo border jeopardizes the potential benefits of progress being made at the U.S. plaza and with commercial vehicle pre-inspection. These reductions have led to lane closures and backups that are not only frustrating, but hurt the local economy. According to the University of Southern California’s National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) April 2013 report, for every additional agent at a US Port of Entry the local economy sees a $2 million boost and 33 new jobs – a statistic that CBP cites regularly. Schumer explained that this counterproductive reduction in CBP agents in Buffalo is not only unjustifiable given the increased traffic and wait times it has caused, but the negative impact on the Western New York economy with each reduction makes it unacceptable.
“Too often travelers are pulling up to the Peace Bridge after sitting in long lines to find that only half the lanes are open. Cutbacks in Customs and Border Protection staffing at the Buffalo border increase congestion and travel times, and create a drag on the entire economy. These reported agent reductions are a result of CBP priorities shifting, and nothing else, and I’m calling on CBP to bring more agents back to the Buffalo border. With the Peace Bridge pre-screening program pilot on the horizon, and improvements being made on the U.S. plaza, these cutbacks also risk progress on the most significant measure we have to decrease wait times and speed commerce,” said Schumer. “Western New York’s economy depends on a safe and efficient border crossing, and I will go straight to the top to let the Department of Homeland Security know that these cutbacks are unacceptable and that new CBP agents should be located in Buffalo.”
“There are few things more important to our regional economy than seamless passage between our borders and nothing more maddening to see the seemingly constant bottleneck there. It is essential that DHS staff the bridge appropriately and flexibly to manage the demand to maximize the economic value to both countries. We commend Senator Schumer for helping address this vital economic issue for Western New York,” said Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, President and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
“The Peace Bridge Authority is committed to making the border as fast and efficient as possible. As we work to improve the U.S. Plaza and implement pre-inspection of commercial traffic it is critical that those efforts are fully staffed by CBP. While our local Customs officers do an excellent job - many times there are just not enough of them. Recent reductions in officers negate the benefits of the progress we are making and so we applaud Senator Schumer for pushing to locate more officers at the Peace Bridge to help improve the flow of traffic,” said PBA Chairman Anthony Annunziata.
“We appreciate Senator Schumer's focus on the efficient movement of people and commerce between New York and Ontario. The support our organization receives from Canadian fans is very important, particularly on game days, and the benefits from bi-national tourism for Western New York businesses is well documented. The cross border traffic going both ways increases the cultural and economic ties between the two countries and is a key element to the region being able to compete in a global economy,” said Russ Brandon, President and CEO of the Buffalo Bills.
Schumer pointed to mounting evidence that the Buffalo border crossing is not sufficiently staffed by Customs and Border Protection. For over 10% of the crossings between September and November at the Buffalo Point of Entry, wait times were longer than 30 minutes. According to The Buffalo News, the wait time for commercial vehicles via six open lanes was 18 minutes on the afternoon of Sunday, December 1st, and one hour for passenger vehicles entering via eight lanes. The passenger vehicle wait time was the longest compared to all 30 Canadian ports of entry monitored by CBP. Despite having over an hour wait time, only 8 of the 11 auto inspection lanes were open. Local officials estimate that as many as 60 agents have been cut from the Buffalo border in the past 18-months. CBP has refused to confirm or deny this number with Schumer’s office, and regardless of the exact number of cuts, there is a notable increase in traffic and lane closures at the Peace Bridge.
When back-ups occur at the Peace Bridge, it can almost instantly damage the local economy. Schumer highlighted that nearly 30,000 jobs in Erie County alone can be directly or indirectly attributed to Canadian Visitors to the region and in addition a large portion of the local tax base is derived from Canadian shoppers.
CBP staffing, which directly impacts the efficiency of border crossings for both travelers and commercial goods, is tied to economic growth. According to USC’s CREATE report, “the positive economic impacts of additional CBP officers would be measurable in tourist and business travel expenditures and freight transportation costs. These changes, in turn, would produce additional economic ripple effects (like increased tax revenue and job creation).” Schumer noted that these positive economic benefits add up to millions in local economic impact, now threatened by staffing reductions.
In addition, Schumer was adamant that – along with general staffing at the Buffalo Port of Entry – the Peace Bridge pre-screening pilot program must be fully staffed. The pre-screening pilot is on track to start early next year, and aims to speed traffic across the Peace Bridge by pre-inspecting traffic on the Canadian side of the border. Schumer was the prime champion of the prescreening pilot program and has long pushed for shared border management efforts and the moving of pre-inspection of U.S.-bound truck traffic to the Canadian side of the border in order to alleviate huge delays that have put a serious damper on international commerce and tourism, and that exacerbate traffic snarls and air pollution.
Moving the prescreening process to the Canadian side of the border will mean that any new Peace Bridge plaza on the American side will have greater flexibility during the design process. A more efficient pre-inspection process in Canada will result in fewer delays for truckers carrying goods into the United States, for tourists, and for day visitors seeking to take in Sabres or Bills games, or to shop or dine at New York restaurants. It would greatly improve commerce between businesses on both sides of the border.
However, Schumer warned that CBP cannot simply cut agents from their regular duties at the Peace Bridge and shift them to the pre-inspection pilot – they must fully staff the pre-inspection pilot with new agents or they jeopardize its potential impact.
“Shifting agents from their regular duties at the Peace Bridge to staff the pre-inspection pilot is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Schumer. “Pre-inspection must be fully staffed from day one, and I will push the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that is the case.”
Currently, 100% of all trucks must go through a congested screening process on the American side of the border, as that congestion builds it has an adverse impact on air quality and commerce and backs up traffic across the bridge and into Canada. After the pre-inspection pilot program gets underway, 90% would be fully cleared on the Canadian side, with approximately 10% requiring additional screening in the United States.
A copy of Senator Schumer’s letter appears below:
Dear Acting Secretary Rand Beers,
I am writing today to express my concern over recent traffic back-ups at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo. Recently, my office has experienced a significant increase in reports of lengthy delays at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry coupled with multiple lane closures at the U.S. Plaza. Additionally, I have heard multiple reports of substantial staff reductions at the Peace Bridge over the last 2 years. I strongly urge you to ensure that the Peace Bridge remains fully staffed, which will help ensure not only public safety but also the economic viability of Western New York.
In addition to fully staffing the Peace Bridge, I also request that you commit to fully staffing the pre-inspection pilot program set to begin at the Peace Bridge next month. I have made bringing pre-inspection to the Peace Bridge a top priority and it is critical that is fully staffed with new agents, rather than by moving existing agents from the Buffalo Port of Entry in order to ensure its intended result.
I would also request that you provide my office with data relating to how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assigns agents to international Ports of Entry. Specifically, I ask that you provide my office with the number of agents per port, and the number of agents per number of daily crossings for all U.S. Ports of Entry. In addition, I understand that CBP uses a Workload Staffing Model (WSM) to determine the number of agents needed at each Port of Entry; I would ask that you provide my staff with results of that model for each U.S. Port of Entry.
As you can imagine, an efficient and effective Peace Bridge crossing is critical to the economy of Western New York – which sees a significant portion of its tax revenue generated from Canadian visitors. As a result, not only have I worked to advance a pre-inspection pilot program for the bridge, but local leaders are also working to advance an effort to redesign the U.S. Plaza. In order for both of those projects to have the intended effect – reducing traffic delays – it is critical that CBP fully staff the bridge with the needed number of agents to prevent additional delays in traffic.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to working with you to resolve these issues. Should you need more information please contact Leon Fresco in my Washington DC Office.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator