TUCSON, Ariz. - It's important for our economy to have more Customs officers at ports of entry to process people and cargo.
But a lot of vacant positions have gone un-filled because the hiring and background checks take so long.
Senator Martha McSally was able to pass a bill out of a key Senate committee that she says still allows for effective background checks but gets Customs officers and Border Patrol Agents on the job faster.
"Because they sometimes will recruit somebody, but it's taking too long and nobody can wait, you know, a year to get a job. So they move on to something else."
Business people who depend on cross border commerce say a shortage of inspectors had already led to long lines for cargo getting across the border, then re-assigning agents to process immigrants made back-ups worse.
