The Administration

General Hayden deserves a medal for what he has done to make America safer, particularly with regard to his service at the National Security Agency and the terrorist surveillance program which is designed to detect and deter terrorist attacks. The problem is I think he's been criticized by some who would literally try to undermine that important program, and I couldn't believe the kinds of questions he was being asked to disclose classified information so our enemies could know more about what we're doing and avoid detection. And obviously the deterrence is an important part of that.

It's not useful, it's not fair to the American people, and it's not legal.

The Bush administration’s claim that it will cut the deficit in half by 2009 is the wrong goal. It misleads the American public by suggesting the nation’s budget outlook is improving. The fact is the President’s fiscal policies are making the long-term budget outlook worse, not better.

While the administration claims the deficit is coming down, it leaves out large costs from its outyear projections, such as realistic ongoing war costs, the cost of AMT reform beyond this year, and the long-term costs of making the President’s tax cuts permanent, especially the recently passed, back-loaded expansion of Roth IRAs. When these costs are added in, the deficit explodes.

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If nothing else, the President's speech was good political theater. I am more than a little concerned that this was a quickly orchestrated plan thrown together solely to provide political cover. It had better not be a repetition of the Administration's post-conflict Iraq plan. Both situations are much too dangerous and serious to be planned with such little foresight.

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Last night, President Bush addressed the nation to discuss the important issue of border security and illegal immigration. The President's comprehensive approach to reforming our immigration system meets America's border and interior security needs while providing a rational, non-amnesty temporary worker program. I have seen the imminent problems on our border and it is obvious that the current situation is not sustainable. Our immigration system is broken and it is desperately in need of an overhaul. The National Guard will provide a supportive, temporary, non-law enforcement role in securing the border and then it will be up to us in Congress to develop a long-term solution.

I am hopeful that this deployment will soften opposition from 'enforcement only' advocates in Congress and encourage them to work toward a comprehensive solution. As the Senate resumes debate on immigration legislation, I encourage them to include a non-amnesty temporary worker program that is citizenship neutral. Meaningful immigration reform must consist of much more than just added boots on the ground, taller fences and improved technology. It will require changing how people can enter the country legally. President Bush has stood firm in his belief that we must enforce the rule of law in this country and do so in a manner that is compassionate and respectful of human dignity. A solution can be reached, but we must set aside our prejudices, biases and fears in order to do so.

Illegal immigration threatens our national security and strains our healthcare facilities, schools and social services. President Bush made one step forward and one step backward during tonight's address. I am encouraged by his plan to increase our security by positioning National Guard troops on the border. This will provide essential - but temporary - security along our porous and vulnerable borders. The better alternative is to enact a comprehensive border security program to our immigration policies by constructing fences, bolstering our border patrols and escalating our surveillance capabilities.

I strongly disagree with the President's call for a guest worker program. A guest worker program is nothing more than amnesty wearing make-up - it's easier to look at, but just as ugly underneath. The simple truth is that if you break the law to come to this country, you will not respect it once you're here.  

 

For any immigration reform to work, our borders must first be secured. For years, I have worked to beef up the resources at the border, and over the last decade, Congress has tripled the number of agents enforcing border and immigration laws. This has helped, but illegal immigration persists. Bringing the resources of the National Guard to bear will free up the Border Patrol and help them be more effective.

While Congress works on more permanent solutions, including comprehensive immigration reform, I am pleased that the President is taking this bold step, which many of us have been urging, and I will be working with other senators to provide the support this initiative requires.

President Bush is absolutely right that immigration reform must be three-pronged: increased enforcement, a temporary worker program, and a humane, realistic approach for dealing with the illegal immigrant population currently in the U.S.

Obviously, simply addressing the enforcement side of the issue might be more politically expedient, but you have to salute President Bush for recognizing that we can’t solve the problem without a temporary worker program and insisting that Congress include one as we debate an immigration reform bill.

Last night, the President has proposed a plan to increase the security of our nation's borders. The American people expect and deserve border security that works and a strong policy to resolve the current illegal immigration problem. Unfortunately, the President's plan shifts responsibility for this important requirement from the civilian agencies of the Department of Homeland Security to the already overstretched National Guard.

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Yesterday's speech by President Bush is about politics, not policy. The Republican Party is divided over how to address our nation's broken immigration system, and President Bush is suggesting a policy that would further divert National Guard troops without adequately funding or staffing our Border Patrol. Militarizing our border is President Bush's election season window dressing.

President Bush has underfunded the Border Patrol and overstretched the National Guard by deploying more than 20,000 Guard troops in Iraq. There is an immediate need for additional National Guard troops to be deployed in the United States - to the Gulf Coast communities destroyed by last year's hurricanes and to states like Illinois which have been hit by a violent series of tornados."

I support a comprehensive immigration policy that includes border protection, not another punishment only approach using our over-extended National Guard in what the President admits will only be a short-term fix.