Guam lawmakers hear Customs and Quarantine Agency request for $22.3 million; agency presses staffing, equipment and modernization needs

Hearing: The Committee on Finance and Government Operations convened June 13, 2025, at the Guam Congress Building to review Bill 44‑38 COR, an omnibus fiscal‑year 2026 appropriations measure that includes the Customs and Quarantine Agency (CQA). Director Ike Pareto and senior CQA staff presented the agency’s FY2026 budget request and answered senators’ questions about staffing, seized narcotics and several modernization projects.

The most important takeaway: CQA asked the committee to fund a base FY2026 budget of $22,331,749 (a mix of general and special funds) and submitted supplemental requests of about $2,857,891 for items including a grant match, baggage X‑ray replacements, additional canines and completion of an automation phase. Director Ike Pareto said the agency remains understaffed and requires equipment and facilities funding to meet core border, public‑health and trade‑facilitation duties.

Why it matters: CQA enforces local and federal laws at Guam’s ports of entry, processes passengers and cargo, and operates biosecurity and drug‑detection units. Senators pressed the agency on how budget choices affect public safety (notably drug interdiction), staffing shortfalls, and whether congressional or federal grant dollars identified for projects have actually reached the agency.

Budget totals and supplemental requests: Pareto told the committee the FY2026 base request combines $14,680,116 from the general fund with $7,651,633 from the Customs Inspection Services special fund for a total request of $22,331,749. He identified supplemental items outside that base request totaling about $2,857,891, including: - $170,025: local match for the Port Security Grant (to secure federal grant funding); - $200,000: additional baggage X‑ray machines at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport; - $150,000: maintenance and veterinary care for additional canines; - $251,253: increased rent caused by a tariff increase at the airport authority; - $1,300,000: completion of Phase 3 of CQA’s automation/modernization project (previous ARP funding was reallocated after a delayed contract); - $150,000: radio equipment to integrate CQA with the island’s SmartNet public safety radio network; - $636,612: funding for 10 additional customs trainee positions (to supplement 10 FTEs already in the…