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TOPICS
DHS agencies fight uphill battle against counterfeiting
Homeland Security Department agencies have staffs that are too small and too burdened with enforcing immigration policy and investigating terrorism to effectively confront the growing counterfeit goods market, lawmakers and private sector officials said Wednesday.
The multibillion-dollar industry, which produces fakes ranging from high-end designer handbags to the commonplace surge protector, has been growing at a pace beyond the ability of investigators and enforcers to fight, private sector officials said at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. In addition, the sheer volume of shipping containers entering ports on a daily basis is so great that thorough checks are impossible.
"I understand you can't check two million containers, every container," said Brian Monks, director of Underwriters Laboratories' anti-counterfeiting division. "But criminals know that, too."
Agencies face several challenges as they try to screen against illegal immigrants, weapons and counterfeit goods.
A Treasury Department official testified that information collection and analysis efforts often are duplicative.
"Agencies do not necessarily have access to information that other agencies collect, or have the benefit of knowing what enforcement or regulatory actions other agencies have taken in response to that information," said Timothy Skud, Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for tax, trade and tariff policy.
But while committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told government officials that the country's "trade enforcement needs are not being fully met," Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary Julie Myers told lawmakers her agency has already nabbed more money's worth in fake goods in fiscal 2006 than it did the previous year.
And as lawmakers tried to redirect funds toward staffing shortages, Customs and Border Protection officials asserted that the bureau is in the process of filling its ranks.
CBP is seeking 111 more workers to serve in a variety of capacities, said Jay Ahern, the agency's acting customs commissioner.
Still, Ahern acknowledged, "we're not where we're supposed to be under the Homeland Security Act [of 2002]."
Jerry Cook, vice president of Sara Lee-branded apparel, praised CBP for its efforts to build the Automated Commercial Environment system, which is aimed at better coordinating customs data.
"CBP has done the major work in building this program and bringing other agencies to the table," he said, "but the other government agencies have not delivered their portion of the needed product."
Some of lawmakers' harshest criticisms were not directed at American officials protecting trade and borders, but at Chinese officials, for allegedly failing to fully cooperate with U.S. inspectors.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the committee's ranking Democrat, accused Chinese officials of keeping pertinent documents in a "black box" and hampering CBP efforts.
COMMENTS
- "...Customs hostile takeover..." My friend, you are the victim of some really bad information. Just to set the record straight, nobody in Customs wanted to be merged with INS -- that was decided by some bureaucrats in the White House. Regarding your job, everyone with a brain agrees that immigration enforcement is important, yet thankless, because of the cowards in Congress who lack the courage to take a stand on this issue. Please don't assume that just because many of us are using this forum to let off steam, it means we are attacking you or any other hard-working federal officers. That is definitely not the intent of most of those who post here! Our comments are directed at exposing those who did nothing but screw up our former agency in a knee-jerk reaction to terrorism that did little or nothing to make our country safer. They should be scorned, not those of us who were thrown together into this mess, without any say in the matter at all. GovExec.com reader Posted May 15, 2006 1:12 PM
- Dear DO, Were you former INS management? Your disregard or plain ignorance of the facts leads me to believe so. 1. I comment to these articles only on the weekends. Working 12-16 average hour days prevents me from doing otherwise. And don’t even think about commenting on LEAP pay. LEAP doesn’t pay straight time and in most cases no pay at all for those extra hours. I’m not complaining, mind you. I love(d) my job. But this is not just a “job” to me. I am a patriot who strongly believes that what I was hired to do helps keep this country a little safer. Not doing what I was hired and trained to do can result in the death of thousands. 2. No former Customs agents’ comments here have implied that we believe we are superior to anyone. We have all said that everyone’s job is important. Do you really believe that we should cease proactively pursuing those who wish to harm us? You know, it’s U.S. citizens that sell the arms and technology to our enemies. They’re not all illegals. 3. Apparently, you know little about the formation of ICE/CBP. Read the last pages of the OIG report. We did not seek the splintering of the agency nor did we seek to take over the immigration duties. We fought against it. 4. Yes, most upper management was Customs. But for the first three years the agency was run by Garcia (read FBI) with absolutely no input from Customs management. If Customs were running the agency would the vast majority of our budget be tagged for enhancing the immigration laws? Now, Customs Kool-Aid drinkers are running the agency. All of the 2007 budget is tagged for additional increases in immigration enforcement. Not one penny of additional money is going toward Customs enforcement. 5. And I apologize for forgetting the Deportation Officers. There are none in my area. But I hear nothing but praise for the work they do. I was primarily jabbing DRO management who refuses to allow the IEAs to perform the duties that they received a pay raise for. GovExec.com reader Posted May 13, 2006 4:01 PM
- Interesting comments, and unfortunately, all too true. But I don't see a problem with publicly complaining about what's wrong with ICE, or otherwise telling the taxpayers what they are getting with this agency. What's wrong with telling the truth? If ICE isn't working, the American people have a right to know, and to demand corrective action to set things straight. There's no point in sweeping things under the rug, and pretending that all is well when everyone who works here knows that is not the case. This is a public forum, and I fully support those who are exercising their First Amendment rights here. If you don't want to read what people with a contrary view are saying, you don't have to. But just perhaps, by shining a spotlight on what is really going on at ICE, someone in power might be made aware of what is wrong, and take steps to fix this mess. GovExec.com reader Posted May 2, 2006 5:24 PM
