§ 971 — C–tpat Program Management

(a) The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall establish sufficient internal quality controls and record management to support the management systems of C–TPAT. In managing the program, the Secretary shall ensure that the program includes: (1) A 5-year plan to identify outcome-based goals and performance measures of the program. (2) An annual plan for each fiscal year designed to match available resources to the projected workload. (3) A standardized work program to be used by agency personnel to carry out the certifications, validations, and revalidations of participants. The Secretary shall keep records and monitor staff hours associated with the completion of each such review. (b) The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall maintain a record management system to document determinations on the reviews of each C–TPAT participant, including certifications, validations, and revalidations. (c) In consultation with the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall develop and implement procedures to ensure the protection of confidential data collected, stored, or shared with government agencies or as part of the application, certification, validation, and revalidation processes. (d) The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall— (1) develop a staffing plan to recruit and train staff (including a formalized training program) to meet the objectives identified in the strategic plan of the C–TPAT program; and (2) provide cross-training in postincident trade resumption for personnel who administer the C–TPAT program. (e) In connection with the President’s annual budget submission for the Department, the Secretary shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress made by the Commissioner to certify, validate, and revalidate C–TPAT participants. Such report shall be due on the same date that the President’s budget is submitted to the Congress.