Speech #1090117348

In fact. every day. it seems as if somebody comes to my office with a new idea as to how to create a monitoring system or some form of monitoring system through the use of unmanned vehicles. through the use of satellite technology. through the use of sensors. which would not cost that much. With the creative use of just adding physical capital assistance such as new cars. new helicopters. new planes for Customs. such as new capacity for the Coast Guard. we could. without a great deal of incremental increase compared to the expending which we do in other parts of this government. effectively monitor and manage certainly the southern border. As a result. we would know who was coming into this country across that southern border. which is where most of the illegal immigration occurs. Would we solve the northern border issues? Probably not. That is a little different puzzle. The northern border does not have the huge illegal immigration issue. but it does have an equally severe. maybe even more severe opportunity for terrorists. people who wish to do us harm. to cross. There are other approaches which need to be taken there. But as to the southern border. it is totally possible. reasonable. and should be done to manage that border effectively with the addition of some significant resources. but not dramatic increases. I suggested a year and a half ago that if we increased the capital resources available to the Border Patrol and the Customs Agencies by about $1.2 billion. we could essentially buy out almost all the major capital needs they need in order to manage the borderall the housing. all the airplanes. all the cars. all the unmanned vehicle monitors. all the technology for detection capability we would need. That is a lot of money by New Hampshire standards. but in the context of a $1.8 trillion budget. it is certainly a manageable sum. So far. that suggestion has been stiffarmed by the administration and basically limited as a result of politics here on the floor of the Senate.