Hearing Report: Lawmakers Question Acting CBP Commissioner about FY26 Budget Needs, Officer Shortfalls, and Declining Travel
May 15, 2025
This morning, Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores testified before the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee about the agency's fiscal year 2026 budget request and reconciliation needs. While much of the hearing focused on border security efforts and technology needs, CBP officer shortages, hiring, and reductions in international travel were briefly discussed.Staffing:
- Veronica Escobar (D-TX) raised concerns about the Office of Field Operations’ chronic understaffing and asked how the agency is addressing it. Acting Commissioner Flores acknowledged that the agency’s current workload staffing model identifies a shortfall of “more than 5,000 officers”. He stated that CBP “is in the process of making operational improvements to both the trusted traveler and trusted trade programs to help expedite crossings and to alleviate officer stress while the agency waits for additional officers.” AAAE has been aggressively advocating for more officers on Capitol Hill. The House Homeland Security Committee’s budget reconciliation legislation included funding to hire 5,000 additional officers.
- Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) raised concerns about the number of CBP employees currently eligible to retire. Flores acknowledged that there are about 5,900 CBP personnel agency-wide who can retire now. Of that total, 3,300 are officers.
Ciscomani also raised concerns about retirement provisions contained in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s reconciliation legislation that would change when law enforcement (including CBP officers), who must retire by age 57, can collect a supplemental annuity to bridge their retirement income until they can collect Social Security. Flores replied that they are monitoring those provisions. Based on his experience, CBP always sees an impact on the agency’s staffing levels when changes occur to current employees' pay and benefits.
- Subcommittee Chair Mark Amodei (R-NV) expressed concern that CBP has repeatedly requested reprogrammings that take money away from its personnel accounts to pay for other needs because of how long it takes to onboard new staff. He stressed that the hiring process needed to be improved and questioned Flores about what was being done to revamp it. Flores replied that the agency is “taking a hard look at its current hiring process and any obstacles to find ways to shorten the timeframe”.
- Ranking Member Lauren Underwood (D-IL), in her opening statement, cited statistics from the International Trade Administration that showed a 12 percent decrease in international visitors to the United States as compared to the same period in 2024. She also noted that airlines are reporting lower bookings for this summer. She raised concerns that a significant decline in international visitors would hurt CBP fee collections, which fund a substantial part of the agency’s annual funding needs.
• Acting Commissioner Flores's hearing statement
• Video of the hearing
