Speech #1090157868

I thank Senator GREGG and Senator MURRAY for their gracious help in fashioning this amendment. It does not add any additional funding to this bill. It does. however. redirect $44 million from travel and transportation. printing and reproduction to hire 236 additional Border Patrol agents to protect our countrys 5.525mile northern border which covers 13 States. including my State of Minnesota. When Congress passed the 9/11 act in 2004. there were reportedly 994 Border Patrol agents working on our northern border. Since then that number has declined to 950 border guards. and only 250 of them are working at any one time. I recognize the very serious needs on our southern border and fully support the need for additional Federal border guards there. The fact that President Bush is calling yet again upon our National Guard to reinforce those southern border patrols evidences the shortsightedness of the administration and a majority in Congress opposed to Democratic caucus efforts in the Senate 10 times during the past 4 years to increase funding for Border Patrol and other homeland security efforts. Once again. the administration says one thing but does another. Now it has evidently actually reduced the number of northern Border Patrol agents since 2004. despite the 9/11 Commission in its report noting: Despite examples of terrorists entering from Canada. awareness of terrorist activity in Canada and its more lenient immigration laws. and an inspector generals report recommending that the Border Patrol develop a northern border strategy. the only positive step was that the number of Border Patrol agents was not cut any further. despite the fact that the only terrorist caught entering the United States. millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam. tried to come in from Canada. We also know that criminal gangs are trafficking Asian sex workers in Canada into the United States. The result is that Minnesotas northern border counties such as Kittson and Lake of the Woods are struggling by themselves to protect their communities from drug traffickers and other illegal invaders. They say they cant rely on Federal Border Patrol agents because there arent any there. These five or sixperson local police and county sheriff operations in northern Minnesota are nearly entirely on their own. My amendment will increase the number of northern Border Patrol agents across this country by 24 percent while taking nothing from our southern Border Patrol reinforcement. I urge its adoption. I yield the floor.