Speech #1090138996

The Guard served admirably in response to Hurricane Katrina when the Federal Government failed to prepare or respond in a timely or sufficient manner. The Vermont Guard and others have been contributing to our national security since the immediate aftermath of 9/11. After 5 years of failing to utilize the authority and funding Congress has provided to strengthen the Border Patrol and our border security. the administration is. once again. turning to the National Guard. It was instructive that last week President Bush and congressional Republicans staged a billsigning for legislation that continues billions of dollars of tax cuts for the wealthy. Instead of a budget with robust and complete funding for our Border Patrol and border security. the President has focused on providing tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. Congress has had to step in time and again to create new border agent positions and direct that they be filled. Instead of urging his party to take early and decisive action to pass comprehensive immigration reform. as he signaled he would in February 2001. the President began his second term campaigning to undercut the protections of our Social Security system. and the American people signaled their opposition to those undermining steps. While the President talks about the importance of our first responders. he has proposed 67 percent cuts in the grant program that supplies bulletproof vests to police officers. Five years of the BushCheney administrations inaction and misplaced priorities have done nothing to improve our immigration situation. The Senate just passed an emergency supplemental appropriations bill that allocated nearly $2 billion from military accounts to border security. The Democratic leader had proposed that the funds not be taken from the troops. But last week the President sent a request for diverting a like amount of funding. intended for capital improvements for border security. into operations and deployment of the National Guard. The Republican chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security came to the Senate Floor last week to give an extraordinary speech in this regard. Border security alone is not enough to solve our immigration problems. We must pass a billand enact a lawthat will not only strengthen the security along our borders. but that will also encourage millions of people to come out of the shadows. When this is accomplished we will be more secure because we will know who is living and working in the United States. We must encourage the undocumented to come forward. undergo background checks. and pay taxes to earn a place on the path to citizenship. In addition. last week the Senate adopted a billiondollar amendment to build fencing along the southern border without saying how it would be funded. We also adopted amendments by Senators BINGAMAN.