Baucus, Grassley object to CBP nominee in tough hearing
The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee made it clear Thursday that they would not support Alan Bersin, commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), for Senate confirmation when his interim appointment expires at the end of 2011.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the committee, repeatedly slammed Bersin for his failure to obtain federal I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms for ten domestic employees at his home in California over the past 20 years, including six employees in recent years.
"As the person responsible for securing our nation's borders, your failure to follow the law in this matter is unacceptable," Baucus protested during a Senate confirmation hearing for Bersin.
Baucus returned to the subject repeatedly over the course of the lengthy confirmation hearing, making it clear that the Senate Finance Committee would not support Berin's nomination for a full term as CBP commissioner. Indeed, Baucus faulted Bersin for declining an interim appointment by President Barack Obama when Congress recessed for its spring break in March.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the committee, also hammered Bersin for his failure to maintain employment eligibility verification forms on his household staff.
"The nominee was recess appointed on March 27, despite knowledge by the administration that the Finance Committee, on a bipartisan basis, had serious concerns with respect to conflicting information pertaining to the proper documentation of domestic staff hired by the nominee," Grassley objected.
Bersin defended the failure to retain I-9 forms for his domestic staff as a simple matter of ignorance of any legal requirement to do so.
No attempt was made to conceal the lack of I-9 forms while the eligibility of the household staff indeed was verified and taxes were paid on their salaries, Bersin replied.
"In 20 years, no employee ineligible to work in the United States has ever worked in our household. No employee who has worked in our household has not had taxes paid in connection with that employment," Bersin stated.
Bersin supplied the Finance Committee with copies of passports, driver's licenses, and other documentation to verify the eligibility of his employees, but he confessed, "My wife and I simply did not know and were mistaken in not knowing that the I-9 form was required to record the information."
The senators were dumbstruck by the response, calling it incredible and unbelievable. Baucus retorted that a former US attorney, who regularly dealt with employment law, should have known better. Bersin said he was aware of the requirements for businesses but did not apply the law to his own household.
"I have made clear that I have acknowledged the error, mistake and the violation," Bersin apologized.
As a former prosecutor, Bersin argued, he would plead that he followed the spirit of the law although he violated its letter.
"Stepping back from my own personal situation, if a person had the information called for by the I-9... to demonstrate the eligibility of the person to work in the United States, it would not remove the violation but it would put into light and into context the failure to maintain the information in that form. I would say there is a difference," Bersin commented.
Baucus remained completely unsatisfied yet indicated the committee would try to work with Bersin while he serves as interim commissioner through the end of the next session of the Senate.
To receive a confirmation vote by the full Senate, Baucus would have to pass both the Senate Finance Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Clearing those hurdles now seems unlikely for the commissioner.
Security initiatives
Despite the adversarial air of the hearing, some senators tried to inquire as to Bersin's plans for major CBP initiatives during his term.
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) inquired about plans to ramp up southbound inspections of potential smuggling vehicles carrying weapons and money into Mexico, fueling drug violence in border areas such as Juarez.
Bersin said that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acknowledged the need for a continuous cycle of northbound and southbound inspections at US ports of entry when she kicked off the Southwest Border Strategy in March 2009. Since that time, CBP and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have conducted southbound checks of vehicles using manual searches and technology.
However, CBP does not yet have license plate scanners at all ports of entry. The agency is examining where it can install more such readers in ports where there is room to do so and then establish a system for flagging vehicles for inspection.
In response to questions from Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bersin emphasized that CBP must strengthen its partnerships with local law enforcement agencies, particularly along the US northern border where the agency does not have as many resources.
CBP has been working with state, local and tribal agencies to expand joint operations and checkpoints and to collaborate on shared issues such as communications interoperability.
To address concerns and confusion about security checkpoints away from US borders, CBP and local law enforcement agencies will conduct more outreach to local communities to explain the purpose and operations of those checkpoints, Bersin said.
John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked Bersin about delays in dispatching Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Texas border with Mexico, the longest stretch of southwest international border.
CBP has stationed three Predators to Arizona and two in North Dakota while facing delays for deploying their surveillance capabilities to Texas, Cornyn lamented. Cornyn acknowledged that CBP was being held up by the need to obtain airspace authorization for the Predators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Bersin revealed he has a meeting with FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt on the issue next week. FAA faces a legal deadline to approve or to deny clearance within weeks for a sixth Predator drone, which would patrol western Texas, Bersin said.
"It is an absolutely essential dimension of homeland security and will become even more so as we move into future," Bersin stated.
Meanwhile, CBP plans to place a Maritime Guardian variant of the Predator in Corpus Christi, Texas. The agency only recently filed for clearance from FAA for that UAV.
Bersin also told lawmakers that CBP was committed to maintaining a "steady state" of border security personnel in the constrained economic environment of the next year. CBP would examine what it could do to increase its manpower in future years, Bersin vowed.
Bersin also promised to defend US business interests by assisting in the fight against counterfeit goods and defending US intellectual property laws.
Even so, Baucus faulted Bersin's knowledge of business law and statistics while continuing to express his displeasure with the commissioner's qualifications.
"Your agency retains the authority to secure the borders from unlawful entry of persons and goods. And frankly, I believe your failure to complete and maintain I-9s goes to the heart of your duties as commissioner of Customs and the heart of your agency's responsibilities to secure our borders. To credibly enforce the law, you must first follow the law. Nevertheless, you have been appointed as commissioner. Your term will expire at the end of the next session," Baucus concluded at the end of the hearing.
|
Columns 
