Senate adds $3B for border control
Where’s the celebration? The U.S. Senate added an amendment by Lindsay Graham to the Homeland Security Bill yesterday that provides $3B for 23,000 border agents, 1000 miles of fencing and many other provisions to secure the border first.
Ohio’s George Voinovich was the ONLY Nay vote on the amendment providing further evidence that it is time for him to retire.
Apparently the resolution (HR2638) will include considerable pork with the President saying he will veto it. Three fiscal conservatives and one Ohio looney voted against final passage — Coburn, DeMint, Inhofe and Voinovich.
Get Michelle Malkin’s take on the legislation here
It looks like good legislation, but I question whether enough money is provided to accomplish what is included. 1000 miles of fence will cost at least $10B based on past examples of $10M per mile.
Is this the solution?
July 27th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Pork: The other voter getter.
Nothing like pork to get votes from Congressmen. Well, actually there is the “I’ll vote for your garbage if you vote for mine.”
Even on good legislation, “pork” has to be included to get some votes simply because “that’s what is expected.”
There are lots of problems related to securing the border and the money will be welcome but, how much of the “3 billion” is for pork, administration, replacing the guards who leave each year, expanding the recruitment needed, etc.
For example, they don’t have enough training facilities and so funding more guards, if the facilities aren’t improved for training them, means we can’t get enough even with more funding. Also, they are overloaded on the recruitment end since only about 1 in 30 applicants are approved.
Hopefully, that is what the 3 billion will go for.
Then, what if the two border agents put in prison for doing their job aren’t released and the guards re-assured the same won’t happen to them if they do their job? Will we add numbers but not improve the situation because they will be afraid they will be arrested for doing their job?
There is a good chance that this is just more “show” and not much “go.” But, the news is welcome if it does what we hope it will do.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
quote: from article
To reimburse local governments who choose to cooperation with ICE in enforcing the immigration laws (INA 287g).
===========================
Somebody tell the Federal Courts that local governments ARE supposed to help control immigration laws.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I wonder how many bureaucratic hoops local governments have to jump through in order to be “in cooperation” with ICE. Sounds like they’re getting paid to jump into the slow lane of immigration reform.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
re: “1000 miles of fence will cost at least $10B based on past examples of $10M per mile.”
Do they even have competitive bids anymore in Washington D.C.?
I suppose bidding out a fence project would be way too simple for these folks. They have to include guard towers, drones and probably a herd of mechanical donkeys too.