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88–272 PDF 2014

S. Hrg. 113–369 

EXAMINING THE USE AND ABUSE OF 

ADMINISTRATIVELY UNCONTROLLABLE OVERTIME 

AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE EFFICIENCY AND 

EFFECTIVENESS OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND THE 

FEDERAL WORKFORCE 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JANUARY 28, 2014 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs 

( 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEIKAMP, North Dakota 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Staff Director 

JOHN P. KILVINGTON, Deputy Staff Director 

KEITH B. ASHDOWN, Minority Staff Director 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

LAUREN CORCORAN, Hearing Clerk 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF 

FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE 

JON TESTER, Montana, Chairman 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

TONY MCCLAIN, Majority Staff Director 

BRENT BOMBACH, Minority Staff Director 

KELSEY STROUD, Chief Clerk 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Opening statement: Page 

Senator Tester .................................................................................................. 1 

Senator Portman .............................................................................................. 2 

Prepared statement: 

Senator Coburn ................................................................................................. 25 

WITNESSES 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014 

Hon. Carolyn Lerner, Special Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel ............... 4 

Ronald D. Vitiello, Deputy Chief, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection ................................................................................................. 6 

Catherine Emerson, Chief Human Capital Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security ........................................................................................................ 7 

Brandon Judd, President, National Border Patrol Council .................................. 9 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Emerson, Catherine: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 37 

Judd, Brandon: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 9 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 40 

Lerner, Hon. Carolyn: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 4 

Prepared statement with attachment ............................................................. 28 

Vitiello, Ronald D.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 6 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 37 

APPENDIX 

Responses to post-hearing questions for the Record: 

Ms. Lerner ......................................................................................................... 42 

Mr. Vitiello ........................................................................................................ 45 

Ms. Emerson ..................................................................................................... 48 

(1) 

EXAMINING THE USE AND ABUSE OF 

ADMINISTRATIVELY UNCONTROLLABLE 

OVERTIME AT THE DEPARTMENT OF 

HOMELAND SECURITY 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014 

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF

FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE, 

OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:32 p.m., in room 

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jon Tester, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Tester and Portman. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR TESTER 

Senator TESTER. I will call to order this hearing of the Subcommittee on Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and 

the Federal Workforce. 

Senator Portman will be here momentarily, but we will get going 

for the sake of time, your time and ours, too. I want to thank the 

witnesses for being here today. 

This afternoon’s hearing is titled, ‘‘Examining the Use and Abuse 

of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime at the Department of 

Homeland Security.’’ Once again, I want to thank Senator Portman 

for his bipartisan nature and ability to work with. 

On October 31, 2013, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) 

issued a report to the President on longstanding abuse of overtime 

payments by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At 

DHS, administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO), is intended 

to allow for compensation of certain employees for unscheduled 

overtime that requires their presence on the job. For example, the 

use of AUO would be appropriate for a Border Patrol agent working beyond originally scheduled hours to apprehend a suspect while 

trying to illegally cross the border. 

However, the OSC’s report showed that employees from multiple 

DHS agencies regularly misuse AUO. For example, employees 

working in purely administrative functions in the commissioner situation room or an office within the Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) claim to have worked 2 hours of AUO following their assigned shift approximately 90 percent of the time. Investigators 

found that these hours were not a result of unpredictable or com-
2 

pelling law enforcement activities. Instead, they were spent performing administrative functions, and in some cases, watching TV 

or surfing the Internet. 

What is most disturbing is that this is not the first time we have 

heard about AUO abuses at DHS. The OSC released a very similar 

report regarding Border Patrol officers in Washington State in 

2008. When this last report came out 5 years ago, DHS and CBP 

promised reforms, but we have not gotten very far. 

We all greatly appreciate the work being done by the men and 

women at DHS. However, I am sure that they would agree that the 

employees’ action and misuse of public funds outlined in the OSC 

report are unacceptable. It is estimated that the practice is costing 

taxpayers millions of dollars each year. 

Today, we hope to examine the instances of AUO abuse raised 

in the Special Counsel’s report. We also seek to learn more about 

how DHS and CBP are responding to the recent investigative report, what disciplinary actions are being taken, and what additional cases of payroll fraud may have been discovered. 

I want to thank our witnesses once again for joining us today 

and for their ongoing work to restrict AUO abuses at the Department of Homeland Security. I look forward to our discussion. I look 

forward to your testimony. 

With that, I will turn it over to Ranking Member Portman for 

his opening statement. Senator Portman. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PORTMAN 

Senator PORTMAN. Great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I appreciate the witnesses being here and I join the Chairman 

in saying we appreciate your hard work to try to get at this abuse. 

More importantly, I appreciate the service that Department of 

Homeland Security employees perform every day, including dangerous activities on our border and around the world. We are here 

today to talk about an instance where the taxpayer is not being 

served, and this is abuse of AUO. 

For about 5 years, we believe the Department has been aware of 

this problem, and as the Chairman has said, we do not believe that 

enough is being done to focus on it. The Office of Special Counsel 

brought this to the attention of DHS leadership back in 2008. Most 

recently, in an October 31, 2013 report to President Obama, the 

U.S. Office of Special Counsel describes a series of situations involving Customs and Border Protection headquarters in D.C., offices in Texas, California, a Texas-based Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (ICE) office, D.C. headquarters of the Immigration 

Service, and a Georgia-based training facilities, all of which, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, there were situations 

of abuse. 

Despite the administrative nature of the work that is done in 

those kinds of offices, in one office, employees reportedly claimed 

2 hours of AUO following their assigned shift 89 percent of the 

time. So, almost 90 percent of the time, they would claim 2 hours 

following their assigned shift. 

Improper claims of AUO have reportedly cost taxpayers up to $9 

million annually at 68 DHS offices identified by whistleblowers. 

While the total amount and cost of annual AUO abuse throughout 
3 

the Department is unknown, maybe we will get more of those numbers today from you. 

It is obvious the kind of work being done in the six cases referenced in the OSC notification do not fit the criteria to be eligible 

for AUO. They are not activities like responding to a criminal activity and they are not being used in only an occasional basis. Unfortunately, it is also evident that throughout many parts of DHS, 

there seems to be a culture in the workplace that condones this, 

either tacitly or maybe more explicitly, so it is something that we 

need to get to the bottom of and that is why this hearing is important. 

I understand you are announcing today at DHS certain categories of employees, such as those in headquarters positions, will 

be barred from utilizing administrative overtime. That seems like 

a good step to me. I would like to learn more about it, but I also 

look forward to hearing from witnesses today about a more comprehensive way forward to deal with this issue and deal with this 

underlying issue of the culture, being sure that it is not encouraging the abuse. 

Today, we will try to get to the bottom of this. I thank, again, 

the folks here today with us and others that are on a path to correct this issue and fix the condoning of this practice, and Mr. 

Chairman, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today. 

Senator TESTER. Well, thank you, Senator Portman. 

Once again, welcome to the witnesses. I think we are very fortunate to have a panel that has the expertise that it has in front of 

us today and I want to thank you and your folks in your different 

agencies for allowing you to be here today. 

For introductions, first, we have Carolyn Lerner, who is the head 

of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent investigative and 

prosecutorial Federal agency. Her office released the report on 

AUO abuses at DHS and has been investigating additional instances of abuse since October. It is great to see you again, Carolyn. Thanks for being here. 

Ron Vitiello is the Deputy Chief of U.S. Border Patrol. In this 

role, he serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Border Patrol and is responsible for daily operations. It is good to see you 

again, Chief. 

Catherine Emerson is the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) 

at DHS. She is responsible for recruiting, diversity, and inclusion, 

learning and development, workforce planning, policies, and technologies in support of the DHS mission. You have a full plate. 

Thank you for being here today, Catherine. 

And, finally, Brandon Judd is the President of the National Border Patrol Counsel. A 15-year Border Patrol agent, Brandon has 

patrolled the borders in California, Arizona, Maine. He represents 

more than 17,000 Border Patrol agents and staff. You have a great 

resume. If you have not been in Montana, you are welcome anytime, Brandon. 

And I want to thank you all for being here. As we customarily 

do, we swear in all witnesses who appear before this Subcommittee, so if you do not mind, please stand and raise your right 

hand. 
4 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Lerner appears in the Appendix on page 28. 

Do you swear that the testimony you will give before this Subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 

truth, so help you, God? 

Ms. LERNER. I do. 

Mr. VITIELLO. I do. 

Ms. EMERSON. I do. 

Mr. JUDD. I do. 

Senator TESTER. Let the record show that the witnesses all answered in the affirmative. 

It goes without saying, your written testimony will be entered in 

its totality in the record. I would ask you to keep your oral statements to around 5 minutes, the closer the better, and the record 

will be open for 15 days following this hearing. 

So, Ms. Lerner, I will let you kick off the testimony. Go ahead, 

Carolyn. 

TESTIMONY OF CAROLYN LERNER,1 SPECIAL COUNSEL, U.S. 

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL 

Ms. LERNER. Thank you very much, Chairman Tester, Ranking 

Member Portman, Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify today about overtime abuse at the Department of 

Homeland Security. 

I want just to briefly acknowledge the folks who are here with 

me from the Office of Special Counsel today, the Chief of our Disclosure Unit, Catherine McMullen; Lynn Alexander, Johanna Oliver, and Nadia Pluta, who are the attorneys in the unit that had 

primary responsibility for these matters and have done a great job. 

I want to just start by very briefly explaining the Office of Special Counsel’s role in disclosure matters. OSC provides a safe channel for Federal employees to disclose government wrongdoing. We 

evaluate disclosures using a substantial likelihood standard. If the 

standard is met, I refer the allegations to the head of the appropriate agency, who, in turn, is required to conduct an investigation 

and submit a report to my office. After reviewing the agency’s report, I make two determinations, first, whether the report contains 

the information required by statute, and second, whether the findings of the agency appear reasonable. My office then transmits the 

report with an analysis and recommendation to the President and 

the appropriate oversight Committees. 

It was within this statutory framework that we received disclosures from 12 whistleblowers from the Department of Homeland 

Security. They reported overtime pay abuse at 12 separate DHS locations, nine of which involve offices within Customs and Border 

Protection. The whistleblowers allege that employees systematically abuse a type of overtime pay called administratively uncontrollable overtime. For years, it was the norm for employees, especially within CBP, to extend their shifts by 2 hours a day, every 

day, increasing their pay 25 percent. Management officials were 

aware of the overtime misuse and often abused it themselves. 

By regulation, this type of overtime may only be used when an 

employee’s hours cannot be scheduled in advance due to a substantial amount of irregular and unpredictable work or a compelling 
5 

law enforcement purpose. For example, AUO is appropriate when 

an employee is apprehending a suspected criminal along the border 

and it would constitute negligence for the employee to leave the job 

unfinished. 

Each of the employees in the DHS cases here are not using AUO 

as the result of an unpredictable or a compelling law enforcement 

need. Instead, AUO is used routinely, nearly every day, and is an 

entrenched part of the culture at CBP and other parts of DHS. In 

some cases, the allegations extend to extreme misconduct. According to the whistleblowers, many employees spend the extra overtime not working at all. They relax, surf the Internet, and sometimes they are not even present at the workplace. 

In my October 31 letter to the President, which was attached to 

my written testimony, I outlined allegations from whistleblowers at 

six different DHS offices. Since then, more whistleblowers have 

stepped forward. To date, we have referred six additional AUO 

abuse cases for investigation. 

It is important to note that much of the AUO being claimed involves desk duty, training assignments, or even exercise classes, 

where there is no need for AUO. 

The estimated cost of abuse at these 12 locations, which include 

CBP headquarters, likely exceeds $37 million annually. 

To date, we have received four completed reports from DHS, and 

in all four, the whistleblowers’ allegations were substantiated. 

Overtime abuse at DHS is a longstanding problem. As you noted, 

Senator Tester, in 2007, identical allegations about overtime abuse 

were substantiated by DHS. At that time, CBP outlined a corrective action plan, but 6 years later, that plan has not been implemented. 

This morning, for the first time, DHS lawyers told my office that 

the Department of Homeland Security had decided to suspend AUO 

for certain positions. I will leave it to the DHS witnesses to explain 

the details of that. This is a long overdue but very welcome development. As additional reports come in from DHS to my agency, we 

will continue to monitor whether this suspension leads to permanent reform. 

In conclusion, I want to applaud the whistleblowers who are 

speaking out, often against their own financial self-interest. Had 

they not stepped forward, these problems would never have come 

to light. 

I would be pleased to answer any questions that the Committee 

may have. 

Senator TESTER. Well, thank you for your testimony, Carolyn, 

and I can tell you there will be questions. Thank you very much 

for your work. 

Ron, we look forward to your testimony. 
6 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Vitiello appears in the Appendix on page 37. 

TESTIMONY OF RONALD D. VITIELLO,1 DEPUTY CHIEF, U.S. 

BORDER PATROL, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION 

Mr. VITIELLO. Chairman Tester, Ranking Member Portman, the 

Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you 

today to address the recent allegations against U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection, specifically, the U.S. Border Patrol. 

When CBP was established in 2003 in the wake of terrorist attacks on September 11, it was tasked with merging personnel, 

equipment, policies, procedures, and systems from four agencies 

within three Departments, Treasury, Agriculture, and Justice. 

Today, the uniformed men and women of CBP make up the largest 

law enforcement organization in the Nation and take a solemn vow 

to secure the homeland from terrorists and other threats. 

While much of CBP’s critical efforts are performed at official 

ports of entry and at the land and maritime borders in between, 

advancements in technology are increasingly enabling aspects of 

front-line law enforcement activities, such as gathering intelligence 

and surveillance and detection, to be accomplished remotely. The 

responsibilities of a Border Patrol agent are arguably the most unpredictable of all the CBP law enforcement positions. 

While the function of the Border Patrol has changed and expanded dramatically since its inception 89 years ago, its primary 

mission remains unchanged. The Border Patrol protects our Nation 

by reducing the likelihood that dangerous people and capabilities 

enter the United States between the ports of entry. This effort is 

accomplished by maintaining surveillance, following up leads, responding to electronic sensor alarms and aircraft sightings, and interpreting and following tracks. We also maintain traffic checkpoints along highways leading away from the border, conduct city 

patrols, transportation checks, and support anti-smuggling investigations. Regularly working in isolated harsh terrain, agents of the 

Border Patrol patrol on foot, in vehicles, in boats, and in some 

areas on horses, all-terrain vehicles, bikes, and snowmobiles. 

The frontline border security efforts are increasingly augmented 

by advancements in technology, including enhanced sensor, video, 

and radar technology. The technology is sometimes affixed to unmanned aircraft systems and increases the Border Patrol’s capabilities in the land, air, and maritime domains between the ports of 

entry. The vast amounts of information gathered from this technology requires review and analysis and rapid interpretation into 

actionable information for use by agents on the ground. 

The work of a Border Patrol agent is, by its very nature, dynamic 

and unpredictable. In the course of any given day, agents are continually presented with new conditions and new situations. This 

type of work requires agents, both patrolling on the ground, processing intelligence at remote locations, following leads, and to go 

where the illegal activity takes them, even if it takes them beyond 

their standard duty hour. 

When it comes to paying Border Patrol agents for work beyond 

their regularly scheduled hours, the Department and CBP are committed to working with Congress to modernize and streamline the 

compensation structure to reflect the expanded responsibilities of 
7 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Emerson appears in the Appendix on page 37. 

our workforce. AUO, a system established almost 50 years ago, no 

longer meets the needs of a 21st Century law enforcement environment, where increasing amounts of surveillance, intelligence, and 

border security activities are conducted remotely. The work of securing the border is no longer limited to physical presence and our 

compensation system should reflect the current operational environment. 

The Border Patrol takes its responsibility to be a good steward 

of taxpayer dollars very seriously. Misuse of government funds is 

not tolerated. The Border Patrol has and will cooperate fully with 

all internal DHS and external reviews of the compensation system 

and procedures. 

Prior to the issuance of the Special Counsel’s report, CBP did initiate internal working groups on AUO to review current practices 

and update internal policies, where applicable, to reflect the roles 

and responsibilities of the positions earning AUO. The Border Patrol also regularly issues official guidance on AUO to Chief Patrol 

Agents and Division Chiefs, most recently in December 2012. 

The guidance regulated policies governing the Administration 

and management of AUO criteria that Border Patrol agents and 

their supervisors must use to deem eligible for AUO payments in 

legitimately claiming AUO and the responsibility required of employees. While the Department and CBP have taken steps to educate supervisors and employees about the proper application of 

AUO, we intend to continue to work to educate and train our staff 

in the proper use and align pay structures with current agency 

functions. 

The Border Patrol’s mission requires compensation structures 

that maintain flexibility, ensure continuous agent coverage, provide 

equal pay for equal work, and enable better budget forecasting. We 

welcome a legislative solution that meets the agency’s critical mission, promotes efficiency, and has the least impact on Border Patrol 

personnel. 

Thank you for allowing me to testify before you today, and I do 

look forward to your questions. 

Senator TESTER. Well, thank you, Mr. Vitiello, for your testimony, and there will be questions. 

Catherine Emerson, you are up. 

TESTIMONY OF CATHERINE EMERSON,1 CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Ms. EMERSON. Chairman Tester, Ranking Member Portman, 

Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to address the Department of Homeland Security’s use of administratively uncontrollable overtime. 

I serve as the first career Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security and am responsible for the Department’s human capital program, which includes workforce planning, 

policies, and technology in support of the DHS mission. I assumed 

the CHCO position in August 2011. Additionally, I advise the 

Under Secretary for Management and the Secretary and the Dep-
8 

uty Secretary on workforce issues, and I greatly appreciate their 

the leadership of our employees in the issues that affect them. 

Properly paying our border and homeland security personnel and 

properly managing that pay system are essential to the Department’s missions. The employees of DHS are the Department’s most 

important asset. They show an exceedingly high level of commitment to protecting our homeland and I am proud to serve them. 

They often work long hours under difficult conditions, and they deserve to be appropriately compensated for their work. 

Our employees are compensated through a variety of pay systems and authorities that remind us that DHS was created by, in 

part, combining 22 different offices and agencies into one Department focused on the mission of homeland security. 

One of the pay authorities that DHS utilizes to compensate our 

employees is called administratively uncontrollable overtime. AUO 

recognizes that law enforcement officers and their operationally focused employees will need to recognize circumstances that require 

the employee to continue working past the end of their shift. As 

you can imagine, those circumstances arise quite frequently with 

our Border Patrol agents and other mission critical operations in 

the field, and the vast majority of AUO and other overtime is appropriately claimed and compensated. 

Given the importance of the DHS mission and the limited funds 

we have to accomplish it, the abuse of overtime of any kind is extremely troubling. Additionally, the inappropriate use of one type 

of overtime in the place of the proper one should be curtailed. 

I appreciate the work of the OSC in the investigations that took 

place in our components as a result of those referrals. Those investigations uncovered both abuse and inappropriate application, and 

DHS has taken several actions as a result. 

Yesterday, Secretary Johnson signed a memo that directed the 

heads of DHS components to suspend the use of AUO for certain 

categories of employees. As you are likely aware, at the request of 

the Office of Special Counsel, DHS has been conducting a comprehensive review of the use of AUO across the Department. That 

review is being led by the DHS Office of General Counsel (OGC). 

While that review is ongoing, it has become apparent that some 

AUO practices needed immediate attention. Additional measures 

may be taken as the review progresses, but in the interim, AUO 

will be suspended for the following categories of employees: Employees who work in component headquarters offices and whose duties do not meet the regulatory requirements for the use of AUO; 

employees engaged as full-time training instructors; and employees 

to whom internal investigators have determined that the Department is inappropriately providing AUO pay. 

I appreciate the leadership that Secretary Johnson and Deputy 

Secretary Mayorkas have shown on this issue in their first few 

weeks since being confirmed. I look forward to continue working 

with them on human capital policy issues at DHS. 

I have taken several additional actions as a result of the OSC 

disclosures. Based on my concerns, all future OSC complaints related to workforce issues will be provided to my staff, which should 

improve coordination and better enable us to identify trends that 

may be emerging. 
9 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Judd appears in the Appendix on page 40. 

On December 6, 2013, I issued a memorandum to components reminding them of their responsibilities to comply with all AUO laws 

and regulations. Components were directed to provide greater scrutiny to the eligibility determinations of employees who receive AUO 

and to continue to address instances of inappropriate use or abuse. 

I instructed my staff to include the review of AUO policies in 

their required Office of Personnel Management (OPM) audits of 

component human capital policies and programs. Review of AUO 

policies is not otherwise required by OPM. 

I tasked the components with providing my office information regarding disciplinary actions taken as a result of AUO abuse. I look 

forward to reviewing that information when it is provided. 

I would like to close by thanking the Chairman for introducing 

legislation that proposes a new pay system for the Border Patrol 

that may better suit the needs of the 21st Century law enforcement 

environment. The Department is actively reviewing that legislation 

and will continue to work with you and your staff throughout the 

legislative process. 

I appreciate the chance to address this issue today and to answer 

any questions that you may have. Thank you. 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Catherine. We appreciate you being 

here today. 

Brandon Judd, your testimony. 

TESTIMONY OF BRANDON JUDD,1 PRESIDENT, NATIONAL 

BORDER PATROL COUNCIL 

Mr. JUDD. Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Portman, first 

off, Chairman Tester, I appreciate the invite to your State. I have 

a brother who is a Border Patrol agent out of the Malta, Montana, 

Border Patrol station, so I have been there many times. It is a 

beautiful State. 

Senator TESTER. Truly God’s country. Go ahead. 

Mr. JUDD. On behalf of the 16,500 rank-and-file Border Patrol 

agents whom I represent, I would like to thank you for having this 

hearing to explore reforming the administratively uncontrollable 

overtime system. 

The Special Counsel’s report confirmed what the line agents have 

known for a long time. When AUO was first introduced in the 

1970s, there were fewer than 4,000 Border Patrol agents. Most 

agents worked alone or in small groups with little or no supervision. AUO made sense 40 years ago, because if an agent was 

tracking smugglers or illegal aliens after their shift was over, the 

agent could simply keep working. Because those hours were unscheduled, the extra hours were covered under AUO. 

Today, the Border Patrol has over 21,000 agents. It is a 24-hour 

a day operation, and in order to maximize manpower in the field, 

the Border Patrol utilizes a three-shift rotation with each shift lasting 8 hours. The challenge is how to handle shift changes, because 

it is common for an agent’s patrol area to be over an hour away 

from the Border Patrol station. 

For example, an agent’s shift may be done, but the oncoming relief is still an hour away. After a handover with an oncoming 
10 

agent, the off-going agent still has to drive an hour back to the Border Patrol station to turn in all equipment. So, while a shift may 

be 8 hours, the agent has to work an extra 2 hours per day to ensure border integrity. Those 2 hours have been traditionally covered under AUO, even though they are routine and foreseeable. 

From my perspective, a reform of the Border Patrol pay system 

to address the problem is long overdue. What worked 40 years ago 

does not work for today’s operational needs and threats. Today, 

gone are the mom-and-pop smuggling organizations, replaced by 

multinational cartels that smuggle both drugs and illegal aliens 

into our country. These cartels are well organized, well funded, 

heavily armed, and are often extremely violent. They also have extensive intelligence and surveillance networks. With each tunnel 

coming into the United States that is discovered by law enforcement, the American public is made aware of just how well funded 

and organized these cartels are. 

The real question is where do we go from here. How do we reform the AUO system while ensuring manpower on the border? 

Last month, Chairman Tester and Senator McCain introduced legislation, S. 1691, to reform AUO, and there is companion legislation is the House introduced by Congressman Chaffetz. On this 

point, I want to be clear. Border Patrol agents support this legislation. It is long overdue. 

The primary reason agents support this legislation is that it 

guarantees manpower we need in the field to accomplish our mission. This bill provides the equivalent of 20 percent more manpower, or 5,000 trained agents at the border. The legislation gives 

us the capacity we need to do our job. 

I would also like to address the cost savings that would be 

achieved by this legislation. This legislation will save the taxpayers 

over $1 billion in the next 10 years. Moving to this new system will 

be a pay cut from what Border Patrol agents have traditionally 

earned. However, we believe ensuring proper manpower, long-term 

stability, and safety is worth a pay reduction. 

We heard last month from Deputy Chief Vitiello of the Office of 

Border Patrol that the proposed legislation gives the agency the 

flexibility to schedule agents where and when needed. We also 

heard from the Special Counsel last month about how the current 

AUO system has been abused for financial gain at taxpayers expense since at least 2008. We heard from DHS’s Chief Human Resource Officer that no immediate solution is possible, absent legislation. And, finally, just earlier this month in the joint explanatory 

statement of the fiscal year (FY) 2014 omnibus appropriations bill, 

congressional leadership has directed Customs and Border Protection to work with the National Border Patrol Council to develop a 

sensible pay reform. 

Let me be clear. We see no sound reason why any agency or department would not support a bill that will curb abuse, allow for 

scheduling flexibility, increase border security, and saves taxpayers 

money. I testified a month ago that this bill gives the agency and 

our country more security and safety at our Nation’s border while 

saving over $1 billion in the next 10 years. That remains true 

today. We welcome any support and collaboration from the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Customs and Border 
11 

Protection. The time to take action is now. We owe it to the American public and taxpayers and to the agents at the borders. 

In conclusion, I want to thank this Committee for the opportunity to testify. I want to leave you with the firm notion that Border Patrol agents support S. 1691 and its House companion. The 

Border Patrol is overdue a system that fits current threats and 

operational needs, that is also cost effective and ensures manpower 

and agent safety. 

I look forward to any questions that you might have for me. 

Senator TESTER. Thank you for your testimony. I want to thank 

all the witnesses for their testimony, and so we will go to the questions. I think we will put 7 minutes on the clock and do as many 

rounds as we want. 

I will start with you, Mr. Vitiello. Not everyone is familiar with 

administratively uncontrollable overtime. Could you further flesh 

out and explain in as plain of English as you can the current role 

it plays in the Border Patrol pay system. 

Mr. VITIELLO. So, as stated previously, the legislation that controls, and the regulations that control AUO were developed in the 

late 1960s, and so what it allows for under that rubric is that after 

the end of an 8-hour schedule, an agent—an individual can self-deploy the additional time it would take to complete a compelling 

mission. 

Now, in these reviews, it has obviously been seen that this is 

specifically outside of the administrative process or the administrative work and it is more of a field-based kind of construct. But it 

does allow for agents to finish the work that starts within that first 

8 hours. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Catherine, very quickly, you talked about 

three areas—and correct me if I did not get it down right—three 

areas where AUO would not be allowed. Component headquarter 

offices, what I have written down, training instructors, and employees that the internal investigations say are not relevant. Fairly accurate, in that you are nodding your head. What percentage of the 

overall employees that were eligible for AUO are going to be eliminated from its use, and do you expect this list to expand with time? 

What is the short-term and long-term goals here? 

Ms. EMERSON. This is an interim measure, and you did get those 

three categories correct, for the most part. It approximately affects 

900 employees—— 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Ms. EMERSON [continuing]. Take a rough guess of how many employees in the Department are using AUO is probably anywhere 

from 25,000 to 28,000. 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Ms. EMERSON. And they are primarily in CBP. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Well, maybe I will stick to the script here, 

but I guess the question I have is that as we look down the road, 

I mean, how—look, Mr. Vitiello said that the Border Patrol has 

changed. Brandon Judd said that the Border Patrol has changed. 

The question becomes, as we look forward—assuming that my bill 

does not pass, because I hope it does and we are going to work to 

get it passed, but I do not know that it is or it is not—how is the 

Department going to take care of this? How are they going to—this 
12 

is somewhat of a measure put forward now that is going to probably be expanded upon later, I would think, potentially. What kind 

of metrics are you going to be using to determine whether it should 

be used or not, and what kind of metrics were used in this? 

Ms. EMERSON. Well, we have new leadership. We have a new 

Secretary, a new Deputy Secretary who inherited this situation and 

were briefed on it when they came in, and they have taken it very 

seriously, as we see from the memo that was put out yesterday. 

This is an interim measure, and as there are a number of reviews 

that are going on, one with the Government Accountability Office 

(GAO). We have the OSC that has brought some cases to our attention. We have our Office of General Counsel that is doing a review, 

as well as the components are doing reviews, as well. So, there are 

a number of reviews underway and this number could expand as 

we go forward. We are looking at the AUO practices and procedures that are in place and making sure that AUO is properly 

being accounted for. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Ms. Lerner the whistleblowers, did they 

have the ability to—did they come to anybody within DHS before 

they went to OSC? 

Ms. EMERSON. I am not aware that they did. Perhaps Mr. Vitiello 

can speak to that regarding the CBP ones. 

Senator TESTER. Yes. Right. 

Ms. EMERSON. But we appreciate the whistleblowers—— 

Senator TESTER. Oh, no. I am not being critical of anybody. I just 

want to know if there is a mechanism for them to go to the Department first, or is their first avenue OSC, and that is going to be the 

question I ask you in a second, Carolyn. But, did anybody come to 

the leadership at the Border Patrol? 

Mr. VITIELLO. I would have to refer that. I am not specifically 

aware of that, although we encourage employees to go to their supervisors for all manner of—— 

Senator TESTER. Gotcha. Carolyn. 

Ms. LERNER. I can answer that. 

Senator TESTER. Sure. 

Ms. LERNER. At least for the first six, the group of six that we 

referred and talked about in our October letter—— 

Senator TESTER. Right. 

Ms. LERNER [continuing]. All six of them tried internally to complain and bring this problem to their supervisors and the Inspectors General (IGs) attention. They did not get a result, which is 

why they came to us. 

Senator TESTER. I got you. 

Ms. LERNER. They are not required to come to us first. 

Senator TESTER. I got you. 

Ms. LERNER. They can, but—— 

Senator TESTER. OK. So, moving forward, do you not think that 

is important, to open up the ability for people to come and actually 

encourage them so that you guys can deal with it up front? 

Ms. EMERSON. Yes, I agree with you. In fact, they can go to our 

Office of Inspector General (OIG). They can go to the components’ 

Internal Affairs. But encourage the whistleblowers to come forward, yes, sir. 
13 

Senator TESTER. OK. But, the point is, and I know you guys have 

been without leadership for some time, the point is, they did not, 

and when they did, according to Ms. Lerner’s testimony, nothing 

happened. Is the leadership team there at DHS going to look at 

ways to facilitate better interaction with leadership within DHS? 

Ms. EMERSON. Yes. And, in fact, the reviews that are ongoing are 

looking at the whistleblower situation, as well. 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Ms. EMERSON. In fact, I put out an information request to the 

components in looking at any disciplinary actions that have occurred for abuse of AUO, and also the whistleblowers, any retaliation—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. I mean, I am going to get into this later, 

but one of the things that personally drives me crazy as a policymaker is we are under tight financial restrictions here. Both Senator Portman and myself understand the importance of border security. And when we are allocating money and it is being misused 

and we are looking at potentially pulling people off the Northern 

border, which may be warranted, may be not—I am not saying 

that—but we are looking at doing some things that reduce manpower in the process and this is going on, it drives me crazy. So, 

hopefully, you do have new leadership in Homeland and I think 

that is going to help a lot. 

Ms. Lerner, you had something you wanted to say, and then I 

will kick it over to Senator Portman. 

Ms. LERNER. Yes. Just, we talk about one example where a whistleblower went to her supervisor and said, ‘‘I want to be decertified. 

I do not want to be certified to take AUO anymore.’’ And the supervisor said, ‘‘No, you have to keep doing it, because if you stop, it 

is going to affect all of us.’’ It is against their own financial selfinterest for them to hold people accountable as supervisors because 

they are getting it, as well. 

I wanted to mention one other thing, which is that these are terrific interim steps. We are really pleased at some progress. 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Ms. LERNER. But, the problem is, there still has not been a directive issued to stop it. This is not a difficult issue. The law is really 

easy. You do not qualify for AUO unless your job specifically requires it, if you have substantial unpredictable work, if it is irregular, or if there is a substantial law enforcement need. This is not 

rocket science. It should not be that difficult to issue a directive 

saying that folks who do not meet that criteria should not be taking AUO. 

Senator TESTER. I agree with you, and I will tell you that the 

only excuse here that I can see is the fact that we have not been 

able, until just recently, to confirm their leadership. I think that 

you can be assured that we are going to be watching this issue very 

closely and holding the leadership within DHS very much accountable. 

With that, Senator Portman. 

Senator PORTMAN. Thanks, Chairman. I appreciate it. 

And thanks for the testimony today and for your willingness to 

not just come here today and testify, but help us get to the bottom 
14 

of this and provide the information to deal with the issue administratively in your Department. 

It sounds like there are a couple of instances where it has been 

abused. One is based on what Mr. Judd and Chief Vitiello said. 

You have a shift change and there is no better tool right now to 

cover that shift change because this goes back to the 1960s. It is 

antiquated. It is being used when you should have a better tool. 

The other seems to be an even more egregious case, where employees are just falsifying time cards, and this is often in a position 

that really does not need AUO because some of these positions, as 

the interim measures are saying, really are not appropriate for it. 

Is that more or less accurate? Chief, do you think you can kind 

of put that into those two categories? 

Mr. VITIELLO. That is a fair description. 

Senator PORTMAN. One of the things that troubles me as I look 

at this is that we have these allegations that have come forward 

related to DHS as a group and that it seems like CBP was kind 

of put in a position to deal with it, and specifically Office of Internal Affairs. And, Ms. Emerson and Chief Vitiello, in Ms. Lerner’s 

testimony, she says that within Customs and Border Protection’s 

Office of Internal Affairs, a whistleblower alleges that approximately 275 CBP employees improperly claim AUO, up to 2 hours 

a day, every day, with the full knowledge and approval of the Office of Internal Affairs leadership. I just want to confirm with both 

of you that this is the same office that is being charged with investigating the claims of AUO abuse in other CBP offices. Is that accurate? 

Mr. VITIELLO. So, it is true that a couple of parts of the Internal 

Affairs Office at CBP are compensated in overtime using AUO. 

That is correct. 

Ms. EMERSON. Can I just add that the Office of Inspector General 

is now involved in investigating those AUO complaints. 

Senator PORTMAN. Yes. But, I guess my question is, why would 

it have gone to the Office of Internal Affairs if there was indication 

that this was an office that was using AUO itself inappropriately? 

Anyway, it just does not seem to make sense to have delegated it 

to that office. 

Finally, Ms. Lerner’s office, from its communication date, has indicated that AUO abuse has the possibility of being a Departmentwide problem, so my question is, why was it just focused on CBP, 

not DHS as a group? And maybe, Ms. Lerner, you could tell us, do 

you know if it is common for the Inspector General to refer cases 

down to a particular component that seem to have an impact across 

DHS, and if so, why? 

Ms. LERNER. I am not exactly sure of the correct answer to that, 

and probably Ms. Emerson would know better than I would. I will 

say that there is a lot of emphasis on CBP, but this is a problem 

throughout DHS. 

Senator PORTMAN. Yes. 

Ms. LERNER. And it is not just, actually, Customs and Border Patrol officers, or Border Protection officers, that are affected, as you 

note. I mean, these are office workers. These are trainers. These 

are canine workers. These are CrossFit instructors. It is a problem 

that extends throughout the Department. 
15 

Senator PORTMAN. Ms. Emerson. 

Ms. EMERSON. Until recently, the majority of the cases were 

CBP. So, it was not until recently where we had ICE and the 

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 

added to that. So, the practice within DHS is when the OSC referral letters came in, that was handled as a legal matter. So, it was 

referred to OIG. They had the right to refuse it. And then it went 

over to the components, and that is where it went to the Internal 

Affairs Office for investigation. It did not come to my office. I did 

not find out about the OSC referral letters until November, early 

November 2013. So, now there is a process in place where those 

letters come to me right when they come into the Office of General 

Counsel. 

Senator PORTMAN. OK. Yes, that seems to make a lot more sense, 

and particularly when it is an agency-wide allegation and specifically not to send it to one of the specific offices that was at least 

alleged by whistleblowers to have been abusing itself. 

So, the October 31 report from the Office of Special Counsel stated that these abuses were taking place in assignments where it is 

really inconceivable that the employees would be conducting work 

that makes them eligible, based on the criteria. And so, I guess, 

again, Ms. Emerson and Chief, what is the process for selecting 

which employees are eligible for AUO? I know the interim measures may change this, but what is the process for selecting employees? 

Mr. VITIELLO. So, the bulk of the individuals involved are in the 

Border Patrol, and so when they come to a headquarters assignment, they are coming from the field. All of my staff that is in uniform were people who previously served in the field in all manner 

of what the Border Patrol does in the field, and so you spoke briefly 

about the culture and how this is kind of a systemic problem. Now, 

looking at it going backward, we incorrectly interpreted the eligibility. There was a scenario in which we used AUO not as it is in 

the reg as a discrete resource, but, in fact, used it to get whatever 

the work in front of particular agents were. And so, again, the actions that the Department is taking today will right that problem 

interimly and then we will learn more about it as we have over the 

last year. 

Senator PORTMAN. So, if you have a largely administrative job, 

you think that after these interim measures are expired, there will 

be something in place that will make that clear, that that person 

would not be qualified—— 

Mr. VITIELLO. Agree. The ongoing review at the Department with 

the other agencies, what we have learned from the OSC complaints, our own review at CBP, will help discriminate the work in 

a way that is most beneficial. I think, again, I have 29 years of 

doing this and I have learned more about AUO in the last year 

than I did in my previous 28. And so I think the actions that are 

taken are the appropriate ones. We have to figure out what the impacts of them are and then move out and learn in a way that puts 

us in a place where supervisors, managers, and leaders have the 

right information to put the right kind of compensation against the 

right kind of work. 
16 

Senator PORTMAN. And employees are going to change jobs. They 

are going to rotate through. So, it should not be as to the employee. 

It should be as to the job function, right? 

Mr. VITIELLO. Correct. 

Senator PORTMAN. OK. Well, listen, again, we appreciate the fact 

that there is work being done. The interim steps are starting to be 

taken. I think we need to learn, though, from what happened. It 

is, as the Chairman said, critical to get more people on the border, 

and we are all looking at tight budgets. Certainly, the appropriations process going on right now is difficult with regard to your Department, particularly, but generally for DHS, and we have to be 

sure that the money is being spent in the most efficient way possible. 

So, we appreciate your being on top of it. We are going to stay 

on top of it and we appreciate your getting back to us as you begin 

to work through this. And the interim measures are just that, just 

interim, so I understand you have an ongoing process, Ms. Emerson, through your Special Counsel Office within the Department. 

The DHS Office of General Counsel is conducting an internal review, is that accurate? 

Ms. EMERSON. That is correct. 

Senator PORTMAN. And when is that likely to be completed and 

when do you expect a report? 

Ms. EMERSON. I have asked that question myself and have not 

gotten an answer. I know it is a lot of work. There is also a couple 

other reviews going on that I mentioned, GAO and the OIG. But 

this was an interim measure that the Secretary felt needed to be 

taken right away, and as it goes on, we may be looking at more 

measures coming forward. 

Senator PORTMAN. Does the internal review so far corroborate 

what the OSC found? 

Ms. EMERSON. Yes. 

Senator PORTMAN. OK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Senator Portman. 

I was just sitting here listening while you were responding to 

Senator Portman’s questions, and I have to tell you, with a different two people sitting up here, they could be beating you guys 

to death and making themselves look pretty good because this 

looks pretty bad, and here is why. 

In 2008, the Department was made aware of this, and we are 

finding out things now like the AUO eligibility was not determined, 

was not defined the right way, and I heard the AUO eligibility 

coming from Ms. Lerner’s mouth and it does not look like it is that 

complicated, that it is pretty tough to define it any other way than 

what it is, and I can have her list them again. I did not write them 

down. 

And then your position, Catherine—and I said when I introduced 

you, your plate is very full—by your own admission, you were not 

aware of this stuff until November 2013? 

Ms. EMERSON. I had an offsite with my H.R. Directors the end 

of April, and that is when a couple of them were talking about 

some inconsistencies in the way AUO was applied. 

Senator TESTER. Gotcha. 
17 

Ms. EMERSON. But, I never did know, and neither did my staff 

know—— 

Senator TESTER. Right. So—— 

Ms. EMERSON [continuing]. About this OSC complaint. 

Senator TESTER. So, the question becomes for me, and I think for 

Senator Portman and anybody else who would be here off this 

Committee, what happened? Where is the breakdown? I mean, a 

red flag was raised back in 2008 and, basically, folks ignored it, or 

there were not the communication channels to bring it up the ladder, or tell me what happened, and then tell me if it is different 

today and why. 

Ms. EMERSON. It was seen as a legal matter. So, the complaints 

went from OSC to the Office of General Counsel and the Office of 

General Counsel sent it to OIG to see if they wanted to take it, and 

they sent it to the component Internal Affairs to investigate, and 

that is how it went. It never came to the Office of the CHCO. So, 

it was seen as a component matter. So, CBP received the majority 

of those referral letters from OSC. 

Senator TESTER. OK. So, what is different today? I mean, what 

is different today that this same thing is not going to happen again 

after Senator Portman and I start thinking about doing other 

things? 

Ms. EMERSON. Well, as you mentioned, we have new leadership 

and they are extremely concerned about this. They inherited it. 

They are very concerned. They have only been in there for, what, 

approximately 30 days, and they have already taken action. 

The other thing is I have found out about the OSC complaints 

in early November and I have reached out to the Office of General 

Counsel and told them that I need to have those OSC complaints 

when they deal with personnel matters, specifically AUO, so that 

I can watch for trends like this. 

So, we have also got the additional reviews going on, GAO, IG, 

component investigations going on. So, there are a lot of reviews 

right now that are bringing us some information regarding AUO 

practices and procedures throughout the Department. Additionally, 

when my office goes and does audits of the human capital policies 

and procedures, I put this on the list. It is not something that OPM 

requires, but I am requiring it throughout the Department, that we 

will review the policies and the procedures of each component on 

AUO. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Ms. Lerner, did you put forth recommendations to the Department when you did your research? Did you put 

forth recommendations to the Department about what has transpired and potentially—and maybe this is not in your purview, I 

am just asking—any suggestions on how you fix the problem? 

Ms. LERNER. That is actually not—— 

Senator TESTER. Put your mic on, please. 

Ms. LERNER. Our statutory authority is pretty much to make a 

substantial likelihood determination, refer it to the agency for their 

investigation, and then review their report—— 

Senator TESTER. And who did you refer it to? Who did you refer 

your investigative report to? 

Ms. LERNER. Well, I sent it to the head of the Department, so 

I would send it to—— 
18 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Ms. LERNER [continuing]. The first set went to then-Secretary 

Napolitano. 

Senator TESTER. Gotcha. 

Ms. LERNER. And then we get their report back. We review it for 

reasonableness. The whistleblower reviews it. We often ask, as we 

did in one of these cases, for the Department to look at it again, 

because we were not satisfied with how they reported back to us. 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Ms. LERNER. They then came back, actually, I think, yesterday 

on one of these and said, yes, in fact, this was substantiated. All 

four of the reports that we have gotten back so far, and there are 

12 altogether, the four that we have gotten back have all substantiated the allegations. 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Ms. LERNER. Once we get those reports back, our authority is 

pretty much just to then report to you all as the oversight Committee—— 

Senator TESTER. Right. Yes. 

Ms. LERNER [continuing]. And to the President. We can ask for 

the Department to get back to us—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Ms. LERNER [continuing]. On remedial efforts that they say that 

they are going to take, and we are going to do that now. We are 

going to ask that they report back to us in probably 3 to 6 

months—— 

Senator TESTER. Sure. 

Ms. LERNER [continuing]. About what actions they have taken. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Good. So, it is up to them to fix the problem. You point out the problem, verify it, and say fix it. OK. 

Ms. LERNER. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. Thanks. 

Ms. LERNER. One of the legislative fixes we have been talking 

about with your staff is to make it an affirmative obligation—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Ms. LERNER [continuing]. For the agency to report back on remedial actions that they have taken. 

Senator TESTER. I got you. 

Mr. Vitiello, are there mechanisms currently in place, because it 

is the Border Patrol Department where most of this is coming 

from—are there mechanisms currently in place to monitor AUO 

within the agency today? 

Mr. VITIELLO. Yes. So, to go back a little bit on your question, 

since the 2008, the agency, either through CBP corporate or from 

the Office of Border Patrol, the Chief’s office, we did issue additional guidance. We pointed people to the existing regulations. We 

tried to tighten up the office. The Human Resources Office put together a training package that we deployed to the field. Unfortunately, we still continue to suffer from a lack of being able to execute on those things in the most appropriate way. 

Senator TESTER. My guess is, because it is not being checked on. 

So, are there mechanisms today—— 

Mr. VITIELLO. Yes, so—— 
19 

Senator TESTER [continuing]. In which you can check and make 

sure that the orders that you put down are followed? 

Mr. VITIELLO. Yes. So, there has been, we are using it differently 

now—the actions that went into place today, we will be able to look 

real-time how the hours are being claimed. In fact, each pay period 

when employees submit their time is an opportunity for a supervisor to review, and I think—— 

Senator TESTER. What if it is the supervisor that is doing it? 

Mr. VITIELLO. Yes, so that is part of the problem. Systemically, 

we have used this—again, we have not used AUO—we did not 

treat it in the Border Patrol for a very long time, until very recently, as a discrete resource, did not look at it as overtime, sort 

of looked at it as part of how we got the job done, regardless of 

what the work was. And so that is a foul in the process and the 

reg as it relates to administrative duties and things that happen 

at the training academy. And so those were where our biggest challenges are. 

But, also, the job has changed. There are several things that 

agents do these days that were not contemplated in the 1960s 

when this reg was issued, and so—intelligence reports, analyzing 

things and getting the next shift more prepared for their deployment. 

We are going to use the tools that we have. We obviously have 

leadership and instruction from the Department and at CBP to fix 

immediately, based on the interim findings, and then the review of 

the ongoing cases, and then the complete review at the Department 

will help us do this in a much more structured way with the 

verification that you are talking about. 

Senator TESTER. Are you reasonably confident today that the 

verification methods that are in place within your office are adequate and appropriate at this point in time? 

Mr. VITIELLO. I think the tools are there. I would prefer that we 

had AUO in and of its nature is self-deployable, so I think we are 

still going to have an ongoing challenge with how it is looked at 

and how it is discussed. But, obviously, given these actions that we 

are going to take and how we are learning from these reviews, we 

are going to get much better at it. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Same question for you, Catherine. Within 

the Department itself, DHS, do you have the tools by which to 

monitor and do you think they are adequate? 

Ms. EMERSON. Yes. I would like to point out, in the Secretary’s 

memo that he put out yesterday—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Ms. EMERSON [continuing]. He specifically said in the last paragraph, ‘‘Nothing in this memorandum limits a component head 

from otherwise restricting or controlling the use of AUO where he 

or she discovers other circumstances involving misuse of AUO.’’ So, 

this is from our Secretary saying that it is on the component heads 

to be responsible for how that AUO is administered. 

Senator TESTER. Good. 

Ms. EMERSON. I said there are a number of reviews that are ongoing. I know that there have been in CBP, there is a position-byposition review going on—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 
20 

Ms. EMERSON [continuing]. On who should be given AUO. I know 

ICE has done the same thing. 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Ms. EMERSON. They are doing an audit. 

Senator TESTER. Right. 

Ms. EMERSON. USCIS has temporarily suspended the use of AUO 

in their component, as has the Management Directorate. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Thank you. Senator Portman. 

Senator PORTMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I think what we learned from the OSC report is pretty clear, that 

there is, as I said earlier, a cultural problem here. In other words, 

it is embedded in the culture, and not just of Border Patrol and 

Protection but also at DHS. And so I guess the question would be, 

what are you doing specifically about that? Ms. Emerson, you are 

a human capital expert. What specific steps should be taken to 

change the culture that this abuse of this overtime is acceptable? 

Ms. EMERSON. Honestly, I think the memo that was put out by 

our Secretary yesterday is a good effort in the very beginning. It 

is very serious. He is taking this matter very seriously. He is acting 

quickly, only been on the job for approximately 30 days and already 

coming out strongly regarding AUO administration. 

Also, my office, as said, I put in measures that when we go and 

do our human capital audits in the components, we will be looking 

at AUO processes and procedures. There are a number of reviews 

that are going to be coming up, finalizing, and we will look at that 

to see where we still have issues. 

Senator PORTMAN. I think one thing that maybe we have not 

touched on enough today is the way you change the culture is, in 

part, through accountability, right. I mean, you hold people responsible. And if folks think they are not going to be held responsible, 

it may be difficult to change that culture. 

So, I understand from information provided to our Subcommittee 

that DHS reported that 84 cases of AUO abuse were reported in 

2012 and 2013. As of December 2013, of those 84 cases, 43 are still 

being reviewed, 33 were closed with no action, no findings, one was 

pending with DHS Inspector General, a total of 7 of the 84 cases, 

investigators were able to substantiate the allegation of AUO 

abuse. I understand that in these seven cases, the employees were 

only given oral or written counseling as their disciplinary action. 

One, is that true? Is that your understanding? And, I guess to 

Ms. Emerson or to you, Chief, can you describe the offenses in 

these seven cases? Were these employees inappropriately directed 

by their management team to use this overtime inappropriately, or 

were they found to be logging hours when they were not doing 

work, or, as we have heard in some of these allegations, maybe not 

even present? What do you know about the seven cases? 

Mr. VITIELLO. I do not have specifics on where the counseling or 

the disciplinary actions were taken. I can tell you that, again, those 

cases were referred because they were, in fact, determined to be 

misconduct, and there is a strict process for that, where employees 

are given due process. The agency reviews the findings and then 

each case is looked at based on what were the supervisor’s responsibilities and how did they relate to the employee, or was this 
21 

something that the employee took on by themselves. You look at 

the totality of those things to decide what the final outcomes are. 

Senator PORTMAN. Eighty-four cases, seven substantiated, what 

do you know—— 

Ms. EMERSON. It is my understanding that those are primarily 

CBP cases. Those disciplinary actions, when allegations of employee misconduct, are handled by the components. However, in the 

General Counsel’s review that is ongoing, I have recently put out 

a request for information regarding the discipline of employees, so 

I will be getting that information in the near future. 

Senator PORTMAN. Any supervisors subject to any kind of punishment for condoning or knowingly approving of these—— 

Mr. VITIELLO. I do not have specifics, but anywhere where it is 

determined that employees, whether they are supervisors or not, 

engage in misconduct in this area, then it is addressed through the 

disciplinary process. 

Senator PORTMAN. Well, we would like some more information on 

that. I mean, you guys have both been in the field. One way in 

which people learn about a culture shift is they see there is some 

responsibility and accountability that goes with it, and if we are 

not following up on these disciplinary actions—84 cases, 43 still 

being reviewed, 33 closed with no action or no findings, seven were 

found to have abused overtime, and what we understand is that 

those employees were only given oral or written counseling as disciplinary action—so, I mean, I do not know what kind of accountability there is in that kind of a system. So, if you could get back 

to us as to what has happened with those cases, that would be 

really helpful. 

And specifically, I am not talking about the seven managers, as 

you say, Chief. If they are managers, they are subject to the same 

discipline. I am talking about, in those seven cases, were their 

managers disciplined if they were found to have condoned it—— 

Mr. VITIELLO. Let me just—— 

Senator PORTMAN [continuing]. Because I would suspect that is, 

from what we know, part of what has been going on. 

And, also, if you could tell us what led to the 33 cases being 

closed without action. I mean, I assume that is because the allegations were not substantiated, but we would like to know that. And, 

then, what is the status of the 43 pending cases as of December. 

These were cases from 2012 and 2013. 

Mr. VITIELLO. We will get back to you with that. 

Senator PORTMAN. Thanks, Chief. 

Thanks, Chairman. 

Senator TESTER. Yes. Thank you, Senator Portman. 

I would just kind of want to add on that, because I think it is 

important, I think it was testimony you gave earlier, and I can go 

back and check the record—it does not matter, we are not—but, 

you had talked about the definition of AUO that was interpreted 

wrong. And I would say, if that is correct, it was wrongly interpreted on how it should be used, that may be where the problem 

started right there. 

Mr. VITIELLO. Yes. I mean, there is no excuse for, knowing what 

we know now, not to take the actions that have been taken or look-
22 

ing at the findings from OSC and saying that it does not mean 

what it means, because it is very serious and we take it seriously. 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Mr. VITIELLO. Like I said, we have been well aware that AUO 

has been a problem for the last couple of years—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Mr. VITIELLO [continuing]. But throughout my career, again, it 

was not treated as something separate and apart, like our other 

overtime systems. It was treated not as a discrete resource but as 

sort of a tool that is used to get all work done. 

Senator TESTER. Give me the definition really quickly again, Ms. 

Lerner. 

Ms. LERNER. Sure. By regulation, AUO may only be used when 

an employee’s hours cannot be scheduled in advance due to a substantial amount of irregular and unpredictable work or a compelling law enforcement purpose. 

Senator TESTER. This would just be my opinion, and I am a dirt 

farmer from Montana, OK—this would just be my opinion, but unless that administrative personnel is directly connected to that 

agent in the field, that he needs information, I cannot see how any 

administrative personnel would be eligible for this. That is my 

opinion. If I am wrong on that, let me know why I am wrong on 

that as we move forth and try to solve this problem. 

Mr. VITIELLO. No, I agree with what you said. 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Mr. VITIELLO. I am just saying that when we talked earlier about 

the culture, incorrectly used—— 

Senator TESTER. Yes. 

Mr. VITIELLO [continuing]. The actions going forward are the 

right actions—— 

Senator TESTER. Right. 

Mr. VITIELLO [continuing]. But, previously, we did not have that 

same interpretation. 

Senator TESTER. I got you. 

Mr. VITIELLO. We did not look at it the way we are looking at 

it now—— 

Senator TESTER. Gotcha. 

Mr. VITIELLO [continuing]. In the more appropriate—— 

Senator TESTER. I guess the point I am trying to make is that 

the people who defined it as being incorrect are the ones at fault 

here, not the people who are using it—— 

Mr. VITIELLO. I agree with you. 

Senator TESTER [continuing]. Because if I am told as an administrative person that I can utilize it, that it is OK by my boss, then 

I will use it. 

Mr. VITIELLO. That is correct. I think that is part of the systematic challenge that we had previously and now are coming to grips 

with. 

Senator TESTER. OK. That is good. 

I want to talk a little bit to you again, Mr. Vitiello, CBP conducted a comprehensive audit last spring to get a better understanding of the full extent of the costs of AUO use throughout CBP. 

I would assume that is both costs that have been used by the 

agents in the field when necessary and some of the administrative 
23 

costs we have been talking about before. What were the findings 

of the audit? 

Mr. VITIELLO. So, we have a review, there are 158 positions within CBP, positions and titles—— 

Senator TESTER. Sure. 

Mr. VITIELLO [continuing]. That are being reviewed. We expect 

that to be completed sometime in February. 

Senator TESTER. OK. 

Mr. VITIELLO. And that will give us a better handle on if position 

descriptions are correct, and then what is the appropriate work 

schedule and overtime compensation. 

Senator TESTER. I assume that audit will be public information? 

Mr. VITIELLO. I am not sure. I would have to—— 

Senator TESTER. We would like to get the results of that audit, 

if you could, to this Committee when appropriate, OK. 

Mr. VITIELLO. All right. 

Senator TESTER. So that we will know what kind of recommendations came down from those folks. I think if we all work together, 

we get this problem solved even quicker, so—— 

Do you know whether USCIS or ICE is conducting similar audits? This is for you, Catherine. 

Ms. EMERSON. I know ICE is conducting an audit, very similar, 

position by position. USCIS has suspended the use of their AUO. 

Senator TESTER. Oh, OK. All right. 

Ms. EMERSON. And they did that before the memo came out. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Sounds good. 

Mr. Judd, you have gotten off easy here today so far. In your testimony, you said that you thought that AUO was—there was a role 

for it 40, 50 years ago, not so much—it has kind of outlived its— 

I do not want to put words in your mouth, but maybe outlived its 

usefulness today. Could you expand on that a little bit? You talked 

about three shifts, basically three 8-hour shifts that rolled over. 

Could you talk about if there is a role for AUO today and what 

that role should be. 

Mr. JUDD. There is a role for AUO. I think that what we have 

to do is we have to go back and look at how this problem started. 

If you go back and you look at the hiring memorandum that went 

out to prospective employees, one of the things that it said was 

that you will receive 25 percent AUO. When I came in the Border 

Patrol approximately 161⁄2 years ago, I was told in the job announcement that I would receive 25 percent AUO. It was a recruitment tool that was used, because when we came in the Border Patrol, our entry salaries were not commensurate to other law enforcement, whether it be local, State, or Federal law enforcement. 

And so that is where the service used AUO as a recruiting tool 

to get personnel into the Border Patrol, and it is still applicable 

today. We still use AUO correctly in the field. We will continue to 

use AUO correctly in the field as long as we are allowed to have 

the overtime system. 

Rio Grande Valley, for instance, is the hotbed right now for illegal immigration and the agents out there are chasing drug smugglers, alien smugglers in the country well after their 8-hour shift. 

And so AUO is absolutely applicable, and it is applicable in all 

parts of the Border Patrol where we are chasing illegal aliens or 
24 

illegal drug smugglers. The problem is we need to look at a more 

modernized system. 

Senator TESTER. Let me ask you this, since you bring up another 

issue. You entered 161⁄2 years ago. If my math is correct, it was 

about 1998, maybe a little bit before. 

Mr. JUDD. Nineteen-ninety-seven. 

Senator TESTER. Nineteen-ninety-seven. You said wages were not 

commensurate then with other sectors of law enforcement. Are they 

commensurate now without AUO? 

Mr. JUDD. At the entry level, no, they are not. 

Senator TESTER. They are—— 

Mr. JUDD. The journeyman level is, but the entry level is not. 

Senator TESTER. Is how much lower, percentage-wise? 

Mr. JUDD. We recently—— 

Senator TESTER. Or dollar. I do not care. 

Mr. JUDD. It depends on who you are comparing us against, but 

when we looked at other law enforcement agencies that people— 

that are desirable, and that is city law enforcement, city police departments, or other Federal law enforcement, generally speaking, 

we are about $10,000 less than what other agencies hire their employees at. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Well, that is another issue for another 

hearing. 

I think we will probably wrap this up. Look, the Department has 

a new Director. It has a new second-in-command. It has a new IG. 

I can tell you that we want our border secure and we want our people to be able to do the job that they need to do when they are in 

the field. I can also tell you that, quite frankly, this kind of abuse 

of a program needs to stop, especially—it needs to stop any time. 

Even if we were flush with dough, it would need to stop, OK, because it is just not right. 

I want to thank you all for being here today, and I mean that. 

Oftentimes, these hearings are not particularly pleasant, but the 

truth is, I think that you offered up information that we all could 

use and did it in a way that shows your commitment to the Department. 

We have covered some ground. I think we need to work together 

to get the overtime issue solved at DHS, to ensure the taxpayer 

dollars are spent appropriately. I think it will help your program. 

It will help all of government, quite frankly, if we are able to do 

this. I look forward to working with you folks, the witnesses here 

today, to monitor implementation and the impact of the Secretary’s 

recent directive. 

Senator Portman and I were the only two here today, but I can 

guarantee you, there is not a person on this Subcommittee and on 

this Committee as a whole that is not concerned about this. I can 

guarantee you that. And so I think that if we can work on constructive measures to fix the problem—I think we know what the problem is—I think we all can win from this. 

This hearing record will remain open for 15 days for any additional comments or questions. 

And with that, once again, thank you all for being here, and this 

hearing is adjourned. 

Whereupon, at 3:45 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 
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