Obama 2014 budget: study a land-border crossing fee

Today, the Obama administration released its Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal to Congress.

Apparently, Canadian opposition to an earlier sea-and-air border crossing fee (inserted into a legislation on a U.S.-Columbia trade deal) didn’t make much of an impact on their policy making.

Today’s budget includes a section calling for the administration to study a fee for crossing the land border as well.

From the budget’s section for the Department of Homeland Security:

SEC. 544. (a) The Commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection shall:

(1) conduct a study assessing the feasibility and cost relating to establishing and collecting a land border crossing fee for both land border pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the northern and southwest borders of the United States; the study should include:

(A) the feasibility of collecting from existing operators on the land border such as bridge commissions, toll operators, commercial passenger bus, and commercial passenger rail;

(B) requirements to collect at land ports of entry where existing capability is not present; and

(C) any legal and regulatory impediments to establishing and collecting a land border crossing fee; and

(2) complete the study within 9 months of enactment of this Act.