Bill that would drop polygraphs for potential agents gets OK

Sen. Jeff Flake’s bill to waive a polygraph-test requirement for some job applicants at U.S. Customs and Border Protection has cleared its first hurdle in the Senate.

The Boots on the Border Act of 2017 gained approval from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs this week.

The bill would grant a waiver to the polygraph test for applicants with experience in law enforcement or the military.

Applicants at the agency tasked with securing the border have a 75 percent failure rate, according to CBP.

Meanwhile, CBP’s two main divisions have thousands of unfilled positions, including 1,700 in Border Patrol and 1,000 in the Office of Field Operations, which manages ports of entry.

The bill comes as one of President Donald Trump’s executive order calls for the agency to hire an additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents in the next few years.

“Staffing shortages continue to plague ports of entry and the southern border, and this waiver gives CBP the tools it needs to target and recruit applicants with the knowledge, experience, and skills needed to keep our borders and ports of entry safe,” said Flake, R-Ariz., in a statement.

The exemption is limited to applicants who:

» Have three consecutive years working with local and state law enforcement, clean records and have previously taken a lie detector test at their agency.

» Have three consecutive years with federal law enforcement, clean records and a “Tier 4” background investigation clearance.

» Are transitioning military with four years of service who have had security clearance in the past five years and have or are eligible for an honorary discharge.

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, a member of the Homeland Security committee, praised the bill saying, “We can’t effectively secure our southern border if we don’t have the manpower to get the job done.”

But critics argue loosening hiring standards to fill positions could open the agency to the type of corruption and misconduct that prompted Congress in 2010 to mandate the polygraph test in the first place.

“We have the procedure in place because something did happen,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz. “History doesn’t always repeat itself but it certainly rhymes every once in a while.”

His district in southern Arizona covers most of the border with Mexico. He has also been an outspoken critic of this legislation and its equivalent in the House, the Anti-Corruption Re-authorization Act.

“In an effort to speed up the hiring process we’re abandoning the vetting process for some categories. I don’t think that’s a wise move,” Grijalva said.