Speech #1090174879

The failure to at least have made a good faith effort in that regard I think is very unfortunate. Mr. President. with regard to the specifics of this Secure Fence Actand the Secure Fence Act is a piece of the Housepassed immigration bill from about a year agoI do believe there are locations along our border where fencing makes sense and additional fencing is required. However. we need to be smart about our security. Walls may make good sound bites in political ads. but the reality is that individuals charged with securing our borders have consistently stated that walls and fences are only part of the solution and that there are better and more costeffective ways to provide for greater border security. Ralph Basham. who is the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. stated earlier this year in response to a question about the proposal to build 700 miles of doublelayered fencing: It doesnt make sense. its not practical. He went on to say that what we need is an appropriate mix of technology and infrastructure and additional personnel. Let me take a moment to also read some remarks delivered by Secretary Chertoff. the Secretary of Homeland Security. These were delivered on March 20 of this year in a speech he gave at the Heritage Foundation. In describing the Secure Border Initiative. also known as SBInet. Secretary Chertoff stated: We are going to build ourselves what I call a virtual fence. not a fence of barbed wire and bricks and mortar. which I will tell you simply doesnt work. because people can go over that kind of fence but rather a smart fence. a fence that makes use of physical tools but also tools about information sharing and information management that let us identify people coming across the border and let us plan the interception and apprehension in a way that serves our purposes and maximizes our resources thereby giving our border patrol the best leverage they can have in order to make sure that they are apprehending the most people. This week. the Department of Homeland Security selected Boeing as its contractor for this Secure Border Initiative. Under Boeings proposal. it will build a network of approximately 1.800 towers along the southern border.