Presideut. I rise the evening to offer an amendment that reflects my strong conegrns on the state of affairs along the Southwest borderan issue that means many things to many people. but to the men and women who have the great and daunting task of patrolling this border region. this issue is of extreme importance. For the millions of Americans who reside along or near the Southwest border. the men and women of our Border Patrol represent the first line of defense to stop those who illegally cross into our country to traffic narcotics or engage in criminal activities. Recently. the Senate passed the Treasury. Postal appropriations bill. which provides $10 million for 100 new Border Patrol agents for the Southwest border. I was proud to support that legislation largely because it contained this additional funding. But frankly. Mr. President. to quote an expert on border enforcement. this addition is "merely gravy." Last March. the General Accounting Office [GAO) conducted a study on Southwest border enforcement. and concluded that the Border Patrols nonborder control activities have made staff resources at the border insufficient to carry out their mission. The GAO noted the McAllen sector in Texas. where seven agentssevenwere patrolling 66 miles of border. For 3 hours. these seven agents had other nonborder duties.
Keywords matched
Border Patrol border enforcement