Homeland Security

The President is right on the mark that we can’t avoid the challenge of fixing our broken immigration system and that real reform must include a provide a path to citizenship for those who are already here. The American people have made their voices heard loud and clear in support of comprehensive immigration reform; the Senate has resoundingly passed a bipartisan bill that will secure our borders and break the cycle of illegality; and now it is time for Congress to work together in good faith to finish the job. In terms of our national security and our humanity, this is the most important bill the Congress will vote on this year.

The US program for helping eliminate and secure shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles around the world is the State Department’s Small Arms/Light Weapons Destruction Initiative. It is currently funded at $8.75 million for FY 2006, and the Bush Administration has requested about the same amount for 2007. I was honored to join Chairman Royce in requesting that the appropriators provide full funding for this program, but I know we can do much more.

Therefore, HR 5333 would authorize $15 million in 2007 and $20 million in 2008 for these efforts under a Global Program for the Elimination of MANPADS (man-portable shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles) and Conventional Weapons. Given the severity and urgency of this problem, I would hope that we will spend even more than these modest amounts to destroy or secure these weapons in future years.

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The amnesty plan the Senate passed will ultimately stall and with it delay any measures to secure our borders.The political reality is that there are great differences of opinion on how to handle illegal immigration, but there is general consensus on securing the border. That's why I've said we should secure the border first, and then we can debate how to deal with immigration reform.

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While I support immigration through a legal framework, I could not support rewarding those who come here illegally. Unfortunately, this bill encourages more illegal immigration, overburdens our social services and is unfair to those who are patiently and respectfully trying to enter America legally.

The Dubai ports deal demonstrated to the nation that the current system to vet foreign acquisitions of businesses in the U.S. does not do enough to automatically safeguard our national security. The fact that commercial operations at some of our busiest ports were acquired by a foreign government without Congress knowing and without the administration raising any red flags was astonishing.

This legislation, HR 5337 which was introduced by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), would strengthen the security safeguards in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review process, including implementation of a mandatory 45-day review for all deals that include a foreign government. It is also important to note that this bipartisan bill balances the need to ensure that the CFIUS process properly considers national security concerns against the need to encourage beneficial foreign investment. It is based in large part on recommendations of the GAO issued before the Dubai Ports World debacle and has broad support.  

 

The domestic nuclear industry is one of wealthiest industries in the country and it has no business asking Congress for handouts paid out at the tax payers expense - that is exactly what this bill will do. Congress is essentially saying it doesn't want to let more immigrants into the country but wants to open the door for foreigners to send us their dangerous nuclear waste.

No one disputes the fact that we need stronger border security. As a sovereign nation, we have a right and a responsibility to control our own borders. However, our borders cannot be truly secure if we continue shifting the responsibility for border protection from the Department of Homeland Security, where it belongs under current law, to the National Guard.

Not all units sent to the border region will be performing tasks that fall within the given tasks they have been trained to perform. I am greatly concerned about the impact this plan will have on the operational readiness of those units and the additional strain it will place on our already overused National Guard.

The National Dam Safety and Security Program is important to advancing dam safety in the United States and preventing loss of life and property damage from dam failures. Proper regulation, inspection and safety training is critical to maintaining our nation's dams. This legislation will provide much needed assistance to our underfunded state dam safety programs.

This amendment to the immigration bill the Senate is considering is crucial if we want to ensure that foreign workers aren’t taking the jobs of American workers. A cap is in place to be certain Congress has the authority to increase or decrease the number of H-1B visas given out each year as needed. A cap is a cap, and an automatic 20 percent increase takes Congress out of the decision making to protect American workers.

Word on the street is that the Senate could wrap-up debate as early as this week on their version of immigration reform. Unfortunately for the American people, what the Senate is considering is far from true immigration reform; rather it is a rehash of a failed policy from twenty years ago.

Much like the amnesty bill that became law in 1986, the current Senate proposal will allow illegal immigrants to pursue a "path to citizenship" as long as they comply with certain requirements like paying a fine and back taxes. The Senate approach couples that with tougher border security measures and new sanctions for employers who hire illegal immigrants.

If you looked up a summary of the 1986 act, it would read eerily similar. The end result of that policy was over two million illegal immigrants were granted amnesty for entering the country illegally. As for the reform end, well, you tell me if we ever got that secure border we were promised in 1986.

So, here we are today, debating that same failed policy. The borders are as porous as ever and employers who break the law are not subjected to the harsh sanctions we were promised in 1986. If the policy of granting amnesty in exchange for stronger immigration laws and increased enforcement actually worked, we would not be re-living this debate today.