[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S3544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STRENGTHENING OUR FRONTLINES

 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, earlier this week, Senator Graham 
of Forida and I introduced a bill to revitalize and modernize our 
efforts to defend U.S. borders from drug traffickers. This bill, the 
``Comprehensive Border Protection Act'', S. 689, is part of a bi-
partisan effort by Congress to provide the resources for this critical 
effort. Its goal is to stop dangerous drugs and other contraband from 
reaching our streets. Last year, we took an important step in this 
direction with increased funding for our counter-drug efforts in the 
Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act. As needed as that funding was, 
we left something undone.
  One of the critical frontline agencies in our counter-drug efforts in 
the U.S. Customs Service. Despite the fact that trade has increased 
exponentially in the last several years, we have not provided the 
resources to expand the ability of Customs to manage this increased 
volume. Every year, more than the total population of the United States 
crosses our borders. In practice, that means more than 400 million 
people annually coming into our airports, across our land borders, and 
into our seaports. Nearly 15 million containers enter our ports. Some 
125 million privately owned vehicles come into the country. That is 
every year. To deal with this volume, Customs has fewer than 20,000 
employees and equipment that is outdated.
  Most of this traffic is legal. But criminal gangs, terrorists, and 
drug traffickers willfully and cynically seek to hide their illegal 
acts in this flow. They use every means that vast resources and 
ruthless intent puts into their hands to commit their crimes. And they 
have increasingly sophisticated means to conceal their illegal 
activities. Short of sealing our borders to all trade and financial 
transactions, we must depend upon agencies like Customs to secure our 
borders We must, however, do this while facilitating the flow of people 
and legitimate trade. It is a daunting task.
  Recognizing that our borders were under intense pressure from illegal 
alien smuggling, the Congress increased the resources to the 
Immigration Service. We almost doubled that agency's capacity. The 
challenge facing Customs is far greater. Yet, we have not provided the 
resources, the technological improvements, or the support that is 
needed to get the job done.
  We have not given our men and women who do this job the support that 
the task requires. And it is a demanding and dangerous job. It's not 
glamorous to spend hours a day at a major U.S. port of entry watching 
tens of thousands of vehicles and people cross the border. It's a 
lonely and risky livelihood to patrol long stretches of our border. The 
long hours spent in undercover investigations and in analyzing reams of 
information go largely unnoticed. But being out of sight should not put 
their efforts or why they are undertaken out of mind.
  That is what the legislation that we are offering today aims to do--
to remind us of what we must be doing and to give the tools and support 
needed to do the job to those we ask to do it. I have for the passed 
several years urged the Administration to provide Congress with a 
comprehensive plan. We know that drug thugs have no respect for 
national sovereignty, for the rule of law, or for international 
borders. These criminal gangs are ruthless and shrewd. And they are 
flexible. We have to be flexible also.
  I have repeatedly noted that we need to develop a capacity to guard 
our borders with flexibility and forethought. Too often we simply 
react. We respond to a threat in one area only to find the traffickers 
have switched tactics. We need a comprehensive approach and a 
sustainable plan. Such a plan, however, has not been forthcoming. For 
too long, we have been merely reactive to the initiative of 
traffickers, moving resources around to meet their latest tactic. We 
need to be anticipating their efforts and we need to be comprehensive. 
That is why this legislation addresses both our northern and southern 
borders, our ports and airports and our coastlines. We need the 
intelligence and investigative resources to focus our efforts. And we 
need that consistency of purpose and sustained effort that 
characterizes resolve. We cannot affort to be less committed in our 
purpose than drug traffickers are in theirs. We must not be any less 
comprehensive.
  While this bill is not the whole solution to our quest for a coherent 
and comprehensive approach, it is an important step. I urge my 
colleagues in the Senate and the House to join us in making this effort 
a reality.

                          ____________________