The Foreign Service Journal, March 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2015 51 USAID Launches Pilot Global Entry Program By the nature of our agen- cy’s mission, many USAID employees are frequent flyers and many have top-secret clearances. Institutional- izing a reliable system with a trusted traveler program that improves the efficiency of our mission therefore makes a lot of sense. Last year, AFSA’s annual survey of USAID members showed that inequitable benefits among foreign affairs agencies was a major concern. In response, USAID has investigated two different versions of expedited airport clearance: Global Entry and the Transportation Security Administration’s TSA Pre- Check. The latter is already available to State Depart- ment employees. Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protec- tion program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travel- ers on arrival in the United States. Participants in the Global Entry program are automatically eligible for TSA Pre-Check at no additional cost. Global Entry costs $100 for a five-year membership; TSA Pre-Check, $85. This, and the understanding that the State Department uses specific software to partici- pate in TSA Pre-Check, which USAID does not currently use, led to the decision to draft a three-month pilot of the Global Entry program as the preferred first step. The current challenge to launching the pilot is that the General Service Administra- tion Office of Government- wide Policy has consulted with the GSA Office of General Counsel about the use of Global Entry or any other airport security fast pass programs. The current determination is that there is no appropriation for the use of funds for these member- ship fees, which is statutorily prohibited by 5 U.S.C. §5946. As the arena of security evolves, AFSA continues to engage GSA on the legisla- tion and understands that GSA is preparing to come out with a statement to clarify the immediate way forward. Hopefully, this will be in favor of allowing agencies to pay the associated fees for the Global Entry program. If the news is favorable and the pilot is run, feedback from the three-month trial will be analyzed by USAID’s Travel and Transportation Division. The findings will be shared with AFSA and the Management Bureau to review the practical benefit of these programs to USAID travelers and develop appro- priate next steps. All feedback I’ve heard to date regarding Global Entry from outside users has been that it is well worth the money. Though intended for frequent international travel- ers, there is no minimum number of trips necessary to qualify for the program. Participants may enter the United States by using automated kiosks at select airports. There, they scan a machine-readable passport, place their fingertips on the scanner for fingerprint veri- fication, and make any cus- toms declaration. The kiosk issues the traveler a transac- tion receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit. Completing the paper customs declaration form before arrival will no longer be required. The TSA Pre-Check program allows qualified travelers access to an expedited TSA security line, where they don’t have to remove their shoes, belts, coats and laptops. More information on the Global Entry program can be found at: www.global entry.gov. AFSA applauds USAID’s commitment to sup- porting our Foreign Service members. n AFSA MEETS NEW DEPUTY SECRETARY On Jan. 23, AFSA officials and professional staff met with Antony Blinken, who was recently sworn in as Deputy Secretary of State. In the hour-long meeting they discussed the need to achieve full Overseas Comparability Pay for all members of the Foreign Service serving overseas as well as other issues. Both AFSA and Deputy Secretary Blinken expressed a strong desire to work closely on a full range of issues. Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA USAID VP. Contact: swayne@usaid.gov or (202) 712-1631 USAID VP VOICE | BY SHARON WAYNE AFSA NEWS U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/JAMESC.PAN