Mike Byrnes and Associates, Inc. Publishers
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Mike Byrnes & Assoc. , Inc. Names the U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Bumper To Bumper® People of the Month for December, 2009 Of course you've heard of the rules of the road. But who makes those rules? This year we've been profiling the different agencies contributing to the regulations that govern and impact commercial vehicle driving. Earlier this year we profiled the DOT, the NHTSA, the AAMVA, the FMCSA, the AASHTO, the FHWA, the CARB, the PHMSA, the DOE and the TSA. You can find all those profiles in our Article Archives. This month Mike Byrnes and Associates, Inc., highlights the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security. It is one of the DHS's largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. It also has a responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws. CBP combined the inspectional workforces and broad border authorities of U.S. Customs, U.S. Immigration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the entire U.S. Border Patrol. On March 1, 2009, Jayson P. Ahern was named Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing, managing and controlling our nation’s borders. CBP uses multiple strategies and employs the latest in technology to accomplish its dual goals of guarding security and facilitating trade. CBP's initiatives are designed to protect the homeland from acts of terrorism, and reduce the vulnerability to the threat of terrorists through a multi-level inspection process. Along the US borders with Canada and Mexico, CBP has implemented the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program. The FAST program utilizes transponder technology and pre-arrival shipment information to process participating trucks as they arrive at the border, expediting trade while better securing our borders. Deployment of Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology is increasing. It enables CBP officers to screen or examine a larger portion of the stream of commercial traffic. CBP does not rely on any single technology or inspection process. Instead, officers and agents use various technologies in different combinations to substantially increase the likelihood that terrorist weapons including a nuclear or radiological weapon will be detected and interdicted. Examples are:
CBP's Laboratories and Scientific Services Fast Response Team reacts to calls on suspicious containers. The Laboratories and Scientific Services also operates a 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year hotline at its Chemical, Biological, Radiation, and Nuclear Technical Data Assessment and Teleforensic Center.
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