[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 74 (Thursday, May 20, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3438-H3439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE BORDER PATROL RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACT OF 1999

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I rise with my 
colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Silvestre Reyes), to stand up 
for the men and women who guard our Nation's borders and risk their 
lives every day.
  Today, with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), I will introduce 
the Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention Act of 1999. The 
legislation will

[[Page H3439]]

provide incentives and support for recruiting and retaining Border 
Patrol agents. This legislation would increase the compensation of 
Border Patrol agents, and allow the Border Patrol agency to recruit its 
own agents without relying on personnel officers of the Department of 
Justice or the INS.
  The United States is in dire need of more Border Patrol agents to 
enforce policies against illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Under 
current law, the INS is authorized to add a total of 5,000 additional 
border agents at a rate of 1,000 per fiscal year from 1997 to 2001.
  We have not met our goals. The INS has only recruited between 200 and 
400 new agents because salaries and the recruitment skills have not 
been up to par.
  My legislation will increase the salaries and work harder at 
retention, and salute those men and women who serve us very ably at the 
border. It is time now to give more respect to our border agents.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to the floor of the House today to stand up for 
a group of men and women who guard our nation's borders and risk their 
very lives everyday. The group of men and women whom I am referring to 
are the United States Border Patrol. Today, along with my colleague 
from Texas, Mr. Reyes, I introduce the ``Border Patrol Recruitment and 
Retention Act of 1999.''
  This legislation will provide incentives and support for recruiting 
and retaining Border Patrol agents. This legislation would increase the 
compensation for Border Patrol agents and allow the Border Patrol 
agency to recruit its own agents without relying on personnel offices 
of the Department of Justice or INS.
  The United States is in dire need of more Border Patrol agents to 
enforce policies against illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Under 
current law, the INS is authorized to add a total of five thousand 
additional border patrol agents, at a rate of five thousand additional 
border patrol agents, at a rate of one thousand per fiscal year from 
1997 to 2001. However, INS did not request any additional agents in its 
FY 2000 budget due in large part to the lucrative job market and the 
low unemployment rate.
  According to Commissioner Meissner of the INS, only 200 to 400 new 
agents will be hired this year. Arizona had been slated to receive 
approximately 400 of the full complement but will not likely receive 
between 100-150, and my home state of Texas, which would have received 
approximately 500 new agents this year, could see that number cut by 
more than half.
  The ``Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention Enhancement Act'' would 
move Border Patrol agents with one year's agency experience from the 
federal government's GS-9 pay level (approximately $34,000 annually) to 
GS-11 (approximately $41,000 annually) next year. We need better 
recruitment and better retention. We cannot play with the nation's 
borders, and right now in the Immigration and Claims subcommittee in 
which I am a Ranking Member, we listen to testimony hearing after 
hearing about how the Border Patrol agents need more money, and the INS 
needs to be given the resources to be able to do it. This legislation 
is the step in that direction.
  Madam Speaker, we are a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. 
The ``Border Patrol Recruitment and Retention Act of 1999,'' will give 
us the ability to control our borders and uphold the law. I urge my 
colleagues to join me and Mr. Reyes, who is our resident expert on 
Border Patrol matters due to his service as a Border Patrol Sector 
Chief to support this much needed measure.

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