Speech #830189493

No effort was made in the committee to increase the amount of the appropriation. Now we are faced with an amendment offered on the floor of the Senate to do just that. The amendment of the Senator from New York specifically applies to the socalled border patrol. I point out to the Senate that the committee allowed the full budget estimate for the border patrol service. This is what the committee report states in regard to the border patrol service: The committee further directs that no reduction be applied to the border patrol. which polices both the Mexican and Canadian boundaries. The committee allowed the entire amount requested in the budget. and then. in case there should be any holding back on the part of the department. the committee wrote into the report the language which I have just read. Furthermore. I invite the attention of Senators to the fact that at the moment a very thorough analysis is in progress by the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization on the same subject. We have provided $6.518.800 for this service. yet the Senator from New York now proposes to double the amount of the appropriation for the border patrol. I do not believe that such action can be justified. Certainly no such request was presented to the committee. and no adequate argument has been made on the floor of the Senate to support such a proposal.