The Border Trade Alliance (BTA), a leading trade organization, issued its strong support for legislation introduced earlier in December by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-TX) to study the impact of growing wait-times at land border crossings along the U.S. border with Canada and Mexico.
In late August, the BTA wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, to raise the concern of increased delays at land ports of entry. The BTA also brought forth similar concerns and provided recommendations to address the issue of wait-times through its service on the Departments of Homeland Security and State’s Secure Borders Open Doors Advisory Committee (SBODAC).
“The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) appreciates the strong leadership of Senator Hutchison and Congressman Rodriguez on border issues,” said J. Art Macias, Chairman of the Border Trade Alliance. “This legislation provides the ability to quantify wait times at our land ports of entry, which will allow policy-makers to best identify solutions to address the growing concern over wait times and ensure for both our economic and physical security.”
Last year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, over 6.6 million trucks and over 30 million personal vehicles crossed the U.S.-Canada border while more than 4.7 million trucks and over 88 million personal vehicles crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
“There are a number of contributing factors to increased wait-times at our border crossings,” said Maria Luisa O’Connell, President of the Border Trade Alliance. “Providing policy-makers and the public with hard data will help identify the root causes of these delays as well as the appropriate federal response. We urge lawmakers to move swiftly to adopt the bills introduced today by Senator Hutchison and Congressman Rodriguez.”
As part of its continued advocacy and outreach efforts on wait-times, the BTA is committed to continue working with the Department of Transportation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies to ensure they receive the necessary resources to secure our ports of entry and facilitate legitimate trade and travel.
1 Comment
Wait times. Wait times are nothing but a big, fat lie. I recently retired from CBP. We were told to NEVER put in wait times over 59 minutes. Wait times over that would result a stern warning from headquarters. It did NOT make a difference if there were no more Officers available or no more lanes to open. Of course lying about wait times often resulted in budget slashing. The LAST thing we need is more nonsensible laws like this. Change the Administration and threaten THEM with disciplinary action, like they do the Officers who try to be honest. I worked for 32 years for Customs in Vermont.
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[...] issue of growing wait-times at ports of entry stands as a major policy priority for the BTA. Currently, there ...
[...] borders. Senator Hutchison and Congressman Rodriguez have introduced and pressed for the passage of legislation (S.2425 and H.R. 4309) ...
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