Legislation introduced by congressman Bob Filner, D-Calif.,
and John McHugh, R-N.Y., would extend law enforcement officer
status to certain employees of the Department of Homeland
Security’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and the
Internal Revenue Service.
The National Treasury Employees Union applauded the legislation,
which provides retirement eligibility at 50 after 20 years of
service, commenting that the work is as demanding and
dangerous as other federal law enforcement jobs because CPB
personnel are on the “front lines” at the nation’s boarders
and IRS personnel are often threatened and assaulted
collecting delinquent taxes. Similar legislation introduced
in the last Congress won support from 170 cosponsors.
The union symbolically called for granting all DHS employees
LEO status because the homeland security act calls for
“eliminating unwarranted disparities in the pay and benefits
of employees” from the 22 federal agencies that went into
the department.
