I believe approximately $12 million of the funds included in Senator BYRDS amendment for Air and Marine Interdiction. Operations. Maintenance. and Procurement which was adopted should be used by Customs and border protection to complete the remaining activities necessary to prepare. equip. and establish the Michigan NBAW site as Secretay Chertoff previously indicated he intends to do during fiscal year 2007. In an April 11. 2006 letter to me. Secretary Chertoff indicated that it was his departments plan to open the Michigan site during the 2007 fiscal year and the Byrd amendment will enable the department to stick to its schedule. Mr. President Secretary Chertoffs letter and enclosures. my letter to the Secretary. and a colloquy are printed in the RECORD at page Senator BAUCUS was also successful in his mission to press forward efforts to ensure that the northern Border is provided with proportionate resources as the southern border. His unmanned aerial vehicle pilot project will enabled the Customs and Border Patrol to perform a pilot project on the northern border between Canada and the United States. As the Senate knows. the northern border is nearly four times the length of the Southern border and it deserves an appropriate attention from the Department of Homeland Security. I am also pleased that this bill includes a provision offered by Senator BYRD that would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to issue interim regulations for chemical facilities that pose the greatest security risk.
Keywords matched
border protection Border Patrol