Earlier this year. the Department of Transportation announced severe cutbacks in Coast Guard operations throughout the Nation. Those cuts included decommissioning of ships. the closing of search and rescue stations. the elimination of about 3.500 uniformed positions. and many other reductions totaling about $46 million in fiscal 1982. Make no mistake. those cuts would jeopardize life and property at sea and make it infinitely harder to enforce our Nations laws against drug smuggling. improper exploitation of our fisheries by foreign nations. and illegal immigration. When the cuts were announced. a groundswell of opposition from Members of Congress surfaced. I introduced a bill to provide $136 million in supplemental appropriations and soon had over 125 cosponsors for that bill.
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illegal immigration