White House FY15 Budget Boosts CBP Levels, BIS Allocation
President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) budget expands CBP staffing levels, proposing an unprecedented level of 25,775 officers, according to the budget released by the Office of Management and Budget on March 4. The budget provides $38.2 billion in non-disaster, net discretionary budget authority for the Department of Homeland Security and adheres to spending permitted in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (see 13121924).
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“These officers will help CBP process increased travel and trade that flows through our air, land, and sea ports of entry. This investment is projected to add nearly 66,000 new jobs and $4 billion to the Gross Domestic Product, while helping to reduce wait times, and expediting the flow of trade and tourism,” said the Obama administration in the budget. “In addition, these officers will conduct 46,000 more seizures of illegal items, including potentially over $5.5 million in counterfeit and fraudulent goods, further protecting U.S. businesses.”
The budget also aims to improve U.S. manufacturing capacity through the establishment of 45 manufacturing institutes over a 10 year period, said the White House, as part of $8.8 billion in base discretionary allocation for the Commerce Department in FY15. The 45 institute goal builds off four manufacturing hubs already launched and another five poised to launch in 2014. The budget also directs funds to support U.S. trade enforcement mechanisms. “To promote exports and foreign investment in the United States, the Budget includes $497 million for the renamed International Trade and Investment Administration (ITIA), an eight percent increase over the 2014 enacted level. Funding for ITIA includes $15 million to accelerate operations of the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center, an interagency effort to address unfair trade practices and barriers to boost U.S. exports.”
The budget also provides $111 million for the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to sustain export licensing and enforcement, representing a $9 million increase from the 2014 budget level, according to the White House. The allocation is intended to support on-going Export Control Reform (ECR). “The Administration’s continued efforts to implement the ECR initiative will advance national security and economic competitiveness by better focusing U.S. controls on transactions to destinations or end users of concern, while facilitating secure trade for controlled items with U.S. allies and close partners,” said the White House. The budget also prioritizes transportation infrastructure renovation with a $302 billion, four-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal to support infrastructure projects on roads, bridges, transit systems and railways.