Speech #1090053151

This is a fencing issue here. We are saying we were going to give you a lot more funds. but we want to make sure the funds are spent effectively. Also in the area of people coming into this country legitimately who actually are going through our immigration entrance system. we have very significant issues of being able to track who they are and when they come in and when they leave. In order to address that. we are trying to set something up called USVISIT which is a major new technology initiative of extreme complexity. Therefore. I recognize it is not going to come on line maybe in a perfect way. What we are concerned about. speaking for the Senate and for the subcommittee. is that the USVISIT Program. which is going to purchase massive amounts of software and hardware capability to go into the immigration system. that that program not end up being like the programs we have had in other major Federal agencies which have initiated major complex IT initiatives. such as the Trilogy Program at the FBI. that we not end up being halfway down the road. hundreds of millions of dollars having been spent. and we realize we have a program that doesnt work. This bill attempts to make sure that the USVISIT Program is being brought on line in a way that we have benchmarks and we know the software is meeting the criteria and the regimes that are appropriate to that type of software and that the hardware can interface with it effectively. This bill makes a major initiative in the area of basically putting emphasis on the borders. both with the feetontheground issue. with the technology issue. and with the capital infrastructure issue in the area of border facilities and detention facilities.