[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 628

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 2, 1999

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation I 
introduced on February 8, 1999, which would authorize the deployment of 
U.S. troops to assist law enforcement in patrolling U.S. borders. I 
urge all Members to cosponsor this important piece of legislation.
  Our current program to stop drugs from coming into America is a joke. 
Eighty percent of the cocaine and heroin smuggled into America is 
transited across the U.S.-Mexico border. We are losing the war on 
drugs. If hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers can be sent all over 
the world to protect other countries, certainly a few thousand can be 
redeployed here in the U.S. to help protect America from the scourge of 
drugs.
  My bill, H.R. 628, authorizes the Department of Defense to assign 
U.S. troops to assist federal law enforcement in monitoring and 
patrolling U.S. borders, and inspecting cargo, vehicles and aircraft at 
points of entry into the U.S. Under the bill such assistance could be 
provided only at the express request of the U.S. Attorney General or 
Secretary of the Treasury. The bill also mandates special law 
enforcement training for troops deployed to border areas, requires all 
U.S. troops patrolling the border to be accompanied by federal law 
enforcement agents, bars soldiers from making arrests, and requires the 
federal government to notify state and local government officials of 
any deployment of U.S. troops. Last year the House overwhelmingly 
approved a similar provision that I sponsored as an amendment to the FY 
1999 DoD bill. The amendment, however, was dropped during a House-
Senate conference.
  Make no mistake about it, the Border Patrol, INS and Customs Service 
desperately need the help our military could provide. For example, only 
three out of every 100 trucks coming into the U.S. from Mexico are 
inspected. In addition, recent news reports reveal that the INS is 
considering releasing thousands of dangerous illegal aliens currently 
being held in detention centers because of funding and manpower 
shortages. And finally, in just the last year, federal agents in one 
border sector alone seized 132 tons of marijuana and more than 3 tons 
of cocaine worth a total of $408 million.
  I recently cosigned a letter with a number of my colleagues imploring 
the President to fill a backlog of vacant Border Patrol positions. But 
clearly this is not enough. By the time those positions are filled with 
qualified candidates, who knows how many more illegal drugs will hit 
our streets and reach our children?
  Mr. Speaker, it's time to put a stranglehold on our borders once and 
for all. I urge all members to cosponsor H.R. 628.

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