Customs modernization finally funded

Congress gave the Customs Service a $130 million holiday gift last week in the fiscal 2001 omnibus appropriations bill. Now, Customs finally has the money it needs to begin its long-awaited computer modernization program. Funding for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) was tied up in budget squabbles as part of the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, which President Clinton vetoed Oct. 30. The Treasury-Postal bill contained $130 million for ACE-$80 million less than Customs requested-and $123 million to keep Customs' current system, the aging Automated Commercial System, running. The old system has long suffered from brownouts, periods when the system becomes all but inoperable due to high demand for its services. "These brownouts put a brake on the economy," said Customs Commissioner Raymond Kelly. "They have an adverse impact on every facet of the U.S. economy, from Wall Street to Main Street." Customs will release a request for proposals today in hopes of finding a contractor to build the new $1.3 billion system.