CBP Taps into Modernization Fund to Upgrade Tracking, Processing Systems for Imported Goods

U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has received $15 million from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to update its systems relating to tracking and processing imported goods. The fund was created in 2018 through the Modernizing Government Technology Act and allows agencies to apply for funds that are to be repaid over three to five years.

The TMF board, housed within the General Services Administration (GSA), announced this week that CBP was awarded the funds for its Automated Commercial Environment Collections Modernization project.

The project, according to CBP, is used to track, control, and process all goods imported into the U.S.

In a statement Tuesday announcing the award, GSA Deputy Administrator Allison Brigati explained, “We are excited to support CBP with TMF funding as they begin work on this important project that will modernize legacy technology to bolster lawful international trade.”

The statement continued to explain that, currently, CBP is using a 30-year-old collection tool which runs on and uses 3.9 million lines of antiquated Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) code.

The release explained, “By the end of this project, CBP will have a cloud-based core collection system that will modernize both the underlying technology and the code base. CBP will also achieve operational efficiencies that will decrease its current software expenses and reduce other existing development and maintenance expenditures. CBP anticipates it will have a greater ability to serve its mission by modernizing the basic functionality of its collections system. This modernization will make CBP’s operations more efficient, resilient and secure, while safeguarding the nation’s global economic competitiveness through legitimate trade to benefit U.S. businesses and partnering government agencies.”

The release described this project as “paramount in enabling lawful international trade.”

In FY 2020, the TMF has allocated over $116 million to ten modernization projects across government, including $8 million for the Department of Agriculture to revamp the Agriculture Marketing Service’s Specialty Crops Program and $4 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as reported by Nextogv.