Analysis reveals high Border Patrol overtime

A recent analysis by The Associated Press revealed the United States Border Patrol has disbursed approximately $1.4 billion in compensation for overtime employee attendance since 2006.

The cost of overtime more than doubled over a six-year period, rising from about $155.8 million in 2006 to more than $331 million last year. Approximately 9,000 agents were added to the agency's ranks over the same time frame, but the number of people arrested for attempting to illegally cross the border hit a 40-year low.

According to the news source, agents can earn as much as 25 percent extra pay per hour for the first two hours of overtime under the agency's complex time and attendance policies.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano noted that her department is always searching for ways to reduce its budget. She cited efforts that ranged from canceling subscriptions to unnecessary periodicals to cutting procurement expenses.

Although the inverse correlation between overtime hours and arrests may raise questions, the American Thinker blog urged readers not to overlook "the deterrence factor our country purchases with those overtime hours."