WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- House Homeland Security Committee
Chairman Christopher Cox (R-CA) delivered the following remarks during today's
news conference on the REAL ID Act:
"Today, we're going to be considering legislation that is going to make
America safer and more secure and I'm confident that we will pass it in the
U.S. House of Representatives. This is indeed unfinished business from the
implementation of the 9-11 Commission recommendations.
"The time on the floor today will be divided between representatives of
the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee on Government Reform and the
Committee on Homeland Security. But make no mistake about it, the leadership
of the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee is the reason that we're here
today. Because he fought to improve these provisions in the 9-11 Commission
Implementation Act. And as you know, we are here today because of his
successful negotiation to gain that ultimate result.
"I hope that never again, we fail to see that border security is an
elemental part of homeland security.
"Since 9/11, America has waged a successful War on Terror. We have
dedicated unprecedented resources to securing our homeland but there is more
to do.
"The 9/11 Commission said: 'There is evidence that terrorists used human
smugglers to sneak across borders,' and the report goes on to say, 'it is
elemental to border security to know who is coming into the country,' today
the report points out there are more than 9 million people in the United
States illegally.
"The REAL ID Act does more than set a reasonable standard for ensuring the
integrity of government-issued identification. It helps prevent terrorists
from traveling across America's borders by closing the 3-mile hole in the
border fence near San Diego.
"Border agents have reported an increased number of individuals from
countries of national security interest -- countries known to harbor
terrorists -- who have been smuggled recently across our borders.
"In 2004, border patrol agents arrested over 650 suspected terrorists from
countries of national security interest trying to cross the southern border,
and they expect the number will rise this year.
"We will face this reality and this growing reality year after year unless
we take the steps outlined in this legislation to deal with those border
security gaps.
"We should complete this border security fence so that border agents can
refocus their efforts in other problem areas, and save money while doing so.
Not only does this make sense for our national security, but it makes sense
for the nation's taxpayers.
"It would cost $32 million to complete this border security fence. Compare
this to the approximately $6 billion that Congress appropriated in FY04 for
customs and border protection, in FY05 we allocated $6.5 billion dollars, and
the President has proposed in his budget just this week, $6.7 billion for
Customs and Border Patrol. It will only cost $32 million to complete this
three mile fence.
"Only in Washington will bureaucrats decide to spend millions of taxpayer
dollars on a fence that has a big hole in it. It's high time that we finish
this job. The border security fence will close border security gaps and save
taxpayer's money, allow border agents to focus on other areas of national
security interests and most importantly, it will, like the rest of this
legislation, make America safer and more secure."
|
