David Thomas: “Although in committee we had a full and, I think, useful discussion about a number of concerns dealing with Customs and…”

“Although in committee we had a full and, I think, useful discussion about a number of concerns dealing with Customs and the way in which Customs deals with our border security and the way in which they enforce the law, one provision which caused some consternation and which has been in front of us for several years is the way in which Customs officials in particular areas are compensated. It is a difficult job, because many of the airports in Customs locations are open 24 hours a day. People are coming in at all hours of the morning and night as well as during the day, and so it is a difficult labor situation. And in an attempt to try to figure out how to have an equitable pay structure for those who might be working shifts that most of us would be more familiar with, called graveyard shifts or night shifts, there does need to be a bit of an incentive in terms of offering more than the normal compensation during normal working hours.”