Last week, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) successfully included language in the FY15 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that calls for a review of Customs and Border Protection officer training to ensure agents act with the highest degree of professionalism.

This new language requires the Commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection to review training manuals and coursework as well as incident reporting practices within the agency. The focus of this language is to make sure that the Border Patrol officials are trained to interact respectfully with those crossing the border and with their partners in the community. Furthermore, the addition to the bill asks that CBP report to the Committee on their findings of their review.

“The taxpayers living in my district and along the border interact with agents from Customs and Border Protection on a regular basis,” said Congressman Cuellar. “I have great confidence and respect for the men and women at Customs Border Protection that work at our ports of entry. I believe that the inclusion of this language will establish the highest standard of professionalism in how our Border Patrol Agents and Customs officers are trained, ensuring that the officers treat all individuals with dignity and respect.”

Next, the FY15 Homeland Security Appropriation Act will move to the House floor for consideration.