Speech #1040247537

This bill also Includes critical funding for a $56 million initiative to stop drug trafficking along the Southwest border. Much of that will help restart efforts in San Diego to stop the drug smuggling that has escaped the administrations Operation Gatekeeper program. In addition to working for real solutions to our Nations drug problem. this bill puts real teeth in our effort to protect our borders and stop illegal immigration. All told. this bill provides more than $2.8 billion for enforcement of our Immigration laws. We fund the Immigration and Nationalization Service (INS) at $2.2 billion. or S30 million more than the Presidents request. We put 1.100 new order patrol agents across our borders (400 more than the Presidents request) and pay for 2.700 more prison cells (2000 more than the Presidents request) to ensure that illegal aliens are deported from this country. rather than released onto our streets. I would like to thank Chairman ROGERS again for his leadership in drafting an outstanding bill that lives up to federal responsibilities to enforce our borders and stop illegal Immigration. I specifically appreciate his help In including $500 million to reimburse states like California for the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens. While helping to address the alien detention problem in southern California. Mr. ROGERS has been a great help in my including a provision in the report accompanying this bill that would stop a misguided Justice Department effort to take over part of a military base in my distrIct. This provision would direct the Attorney General to find alternatives to an arrangement that had allowed the Justice Department to detain Illegal aliens in the military brig at NAS Miramar. This arrangement. for the two weeks that it was in effect last March. resulted in a rot and a fire that shut that vital national security base down and severely disrupted the Pentagons ability to defend our country. Mr. Chairman. this is a good bill that will help restart our effort to stop violent crime. stop illegal immigration. and stop the drug problems that plague our schools. I commend Chairman ROGERS for his effort and call on Members to support passage of the bill.