Sen. Gregg Applauds Progress in Border Security
Security
New Hampshire Union Leader
Kendra Gilbert
Boston University Washington News Service
9-19-06
WASHINGTON – Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. had strong words for Senate Democrats Tuesday in a floor speech about the progress Congress has made in protecting U.S. borders.
Gregg criticized Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for his comments earlier in the morning in which Durbin called the 109th a “do-nothing Congress,” according to Gregg.
“It is truly disingenuous when the assistant leader for the Democratic side comes to the floor and says we have done nothing as a Congress, when almost every major piece of legislation that has been brought to the floor of this Senate has been filibustered by the other side of the aisle,” Gregg said.
With the days ticking away before Congress adjourns in October, Gregg commended the passage of key legislation that, he said, has made U.S. borders more secure.
“We are moving in the right direction relative to the border,” Gregg said on the floor.
He praised the addition of 18,000 customs officers and the building of hundreds of miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We’ve been dramatically increasing the resources in this area,” Gregg said of the additional fortifications along the southwestern U.S. border over the past two years.
Gregg said he hopes the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill – which is likely to go to conference with the House within the next week or two, according to Gregg’s press secretary – will include such security reinforcements as 4,000 new border agents and nearly 10,000 new detention beds.
The new beds, Gregg said, will fix the current policy on detention of illegal immigrants caught along the border, which often ends with their release.
“It was really inappropriate, the policy which was being followed, which was that when you catch somebody coming across the border, you simply either took them back across the border if they were Mexican, or you released them and told them not to come back [until they] appear for a court date,” Gregg said.
Gregg said other advancements in border security made since 2005, the year Gregg took over as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, include $7.5 billion designated for the Coast Guard to upgrade its aircraft and helicopters.
Gregg also lauded the increased focus on nuclear detection and the expansion of the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence capabilities – including a $500-million analysis center.
Pleased as he may be with the progress made, Gregg said he was realistic about the time it will take to fully implement these policies.
“It takes time,” he said in a phone interview. “All these things take time to ramp up, and we are in the process of doing that.”
When asked whether the appropriations bill would be finished before the October break, Gregg responded simply, “yes.”
Despite what he said were efforts by the Democrats to “make it virtually impossible to pass legislation in the Senate in order that the Senate appear to be an ineffective body,” Gregg said his outlook is positive.
“We are headed towards a time in the not-so-distant future when we can say the borders are reasonably secure,” he said.
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