To strengthen control of the US borders, the Department of Homeland Security's US Customs and Border Protection directorate increased the number of Border Patrol agents from about 12,300 in September 2006 to 18,875 in April 2009, an unprecedented 53 percent increase in about 2.5 years.
Yet, critics claim the increase is too little to make a significant dent in the number of criminals and terrorists --and their contraband -- illegally entering the US. One critic, a former New York Police detective points out that New York City -- with a population of about eight million people -- possesses a police force of over 40,000 officers, not to mention civilian employees such as dispatchers, police administrative aids, tow truck drivers, and many others.

"When one city's police department approaches 50,000 members compared to a federal agency with less than 20,000 agents is tasked with protecting the entire nation's borders, something is definitely wrong," said Det. Sidney Frances.

In addition, law enforcement leaders are aware that there are never 18,875 Border Patrol agents on duty at the same time. In order to cover one post or patrol position for 24 hours, seven days per week, it takes 4.5 men or women for each agent position. Add to that sick leave, holidays, vacations, etc. and if there are 5,000 agents on duty at both borders during a shift, that may be considered a full complement.

The Border Patrol plans to add additional agents during the remaining months of fiscal year 2009, increasing its onboard strength to about 19,700 agents by the end of September 2009. To support the President's yearly budget request for funding for additional Border Patrol agents, Customs and Border Protection first identified a list of cost items associated with the recruiting, hiring, training, equipping, and deploying of a new Border Patrol agent.

These cost items include, for example, recruiting functions: background checks and medical exams to determine an applicant's fitness for the Border Patrol; salary and benefits; training at the Border Patrol's training academy in Artesia, NM; and equipment such as night-vision goggles, mobile radios, and uniforms.

All of these cost items are then added together to arrive at what CBP refers to as the Position Cost Model (PCM), the incremental dollar amount needed to recruit, hire, train, equip, and deploy one additional Border Patrol agent.

CBP then multiplies the PCM amount by the number of additional Border Patrol agents CBP expects to hire in a particular fiscal year to estimate the funding needed for these additional agents. This budget estimate is then incorporated into the President's overall budget request for CBP. In total, the PCM used to support the President's 2009 budget request for additional Border Patrol agents contained 93 individual cost items totaling $159,642; that is, CBP estimated it would need $159,642 for each additional agent hired in fiscal year 2009.

As a result, for fiscal year 2009 the President requested an additional $362.5 million over the Border Patrol's fiscal year 2008 funding level to increase the Border Patrol agent workforce by 2,200 agents. Of this amount, $351.2 million was generated by the PCM estimate ($159,642 x 2,200) and the remaining $11.3 million was for additional support staff, vehicles, and equipment not included in the PCM estimate. The accuracy of estimates for the individual cost items that constitute the PCM is crucial to CBP developing a reliable budget request for new agents.

To assist the Congress in reviewing the Border Patrol's funding for new agents, the GAO assessed the reliability of the estimates generated by the PCM. In prior work they identified best practices for agencies to use in developing cost estimates, which are to be comprehensive (e.g., they are reasonably complete, cover pertinent costs in sufficient detail, and ensure that key cost items are neither omitted nor double-counted), accurate (e.g., calculations are correct; there are few, if any, minor mistakes; estimates are not overly conservative or optimistic; and are adjusted properly for inflation), and well-documented (e.g., all calculations are provided, the assumptions are justified, and supporting sources of data are provided).

The GAO analysts also issued standards for internal control in the federal government that outline requirements for effective management control over program operations. The GAO's report addresses the extent to which CBP used best practices and internal controls when developing the PCM cost estimates for the President's fiscal year 2009 CBP budget request.

Specifically, consistent with cost estimating best practices, the fiscal year 2009 PCM was comprehensive in that it reasonably complete, covering 93 pertinent cost items related to recruiting, hiring, training, equipping, and deploying a new Border Patrol agent, and contained both large and small dollar cost items.

In addition, the PCM contained cost items both directly related to the hiring of a new agent, such as the agent's salary, and indirectly related, such as the additional rent and utility costs associated with hiring new agents. For 16 of the 28 cost items (which accounted for 49 percent of the total fiscal year 2009 PCM dollar amount), CBP used relevant historical cost data, applied approved ratios and inflation factors to help ensure that specific cost item estimates were accurate and retained appropriate documentation, consistent with best practices.

Analysts validated the PCM cost estimate for these 16 items using the documentation and formulas CBP provided, arriving at the same amount or within $20 of the PCM amount. However, for 12 of the 28 cost items, CBP did not meet one or more best practices or follow internal control standards. Best practices state that cost estimates are considered valid if they are well documented so they can be easily replicated or updated and can be traced to original sources through auditing. Similarly, internal control standards require that all transactions and other significant events be clearly documented and the documentation should be readily available for examination.
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