Speech #1040162884

Speaker. I believe that as we look at that kind of fiscal responsibility. it is very. very important to face the fact that an appropriations bill is actually reducing the level of spending and. at the same time. meeting very important priorities. One of the most important. from my perspective. is the fact that the Federal Government heretofore has not stood up and acknowledged its responsibility for a very Important problem. that being Illegal immigration. This bill alone deals with two of the three very important prongs that we have been using in legislation over the past several months to address the problem of illegal immigration. and by that I am talking about reimbursement to the States for the incarceration of those who have entered this country illegally. And. also. it is very important for us to realize that toughening up our border patrol is key. There is $300 million in this bill that will go directly. directly toward hiring an additional 1.000 border patrol officers so that we will be able to again have the Federal Government acknowledging its responsibility. The other very important part of that issue is not in this bill. but It is part of our Republican agenda here. and we are. frankly. doing it in a bipartisan way. and that is eliminating the mandates that have been imposed on the States to deal with issues like that. So I want to congratulate the gentleman from Kentucky for the superb job that he has done on this very difficult bill. for meeting those priorities. and. at the same time. reducing the level of expenditures.