Madam Speaker. today I rise with my colleague. the gentleman from Texas . to stand up for the men and women who guard our Nations borders and risk their lives every day. Today. with the gentleman from Texas . I will introduce the Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention Act of 1999. The legislation will provide incentives and support for recruiting and retaining Border Patrol agents. This legislation would increase the compensation of Border Patrol agents. and allow the Border Patrol agency to recruit its own agents without relying on personnel officers of the Department of Justice or the INS. The United States is in dire need of more Border Patrol agents to enforce policies against illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Under current law. the INS is authorized to add a total of 5.000 additional border agents at a rate of 1.000 per fiscal year from 1997 to 2001. We have not met our goals.
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illegal immigration Border Patrol