Funding for U.S. Customs automation in fiscal 2001 has hit a new snag. While the House version — with an additional $105 million for Automated Commercial Environment development and $123 million for the Automated Commercial System — easily passed, the Senate version contains not one dollar for ACE.
ACE is U.S. Customs’ new computer system for processing imports. It is designed to replace the currently used Automated Commercial System, a 17-year-old computer network that uses Cobol programming and has fairly regular brownouts.
If ACS crashes, importers will be left to the time-consuming process of filing paper entries, a disaster for many businesses relying on just-in-time deliveries.
Conferees will not meet until September, however, to get a final Customs appropriations bill for
iscal 2001 whipped into shape, according to Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government.
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