[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 68 (Thursday, May 8, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5951-S5952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. Crapo, Mrs. Murry, Ms. 
        Murkowski, Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 1024. A bill to authorize the Attorney General to carry out a 
program, known as the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative, to 
provide funds to northern States to reimburse county and municipal 
governments for costs associated with certain criminal activities, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, today my colleagues and I introduce the 
Northern Border Prosecution Reimbursement Initiative. This bill 
outlines an important initiative that would give our northern border 
States and counties financial assistance in prosecuting criminal and 
immigration-related cases that arise because of proximity to the 
border. I thank my fellow northern border Senators and cosponsors, 
Senators Crapo, Murry, Murkowski, Leahy, Clinton and Schumer for 
joining with me to introduce and work to pass this important 
legislation.
  This initiative is modeled on a successful program already in place 
for southern border States. The Southern Border Prosecution Initiative 
allows States and counties to apply for reimbursement of costs incurred 
in any federally initiated or declined-referred criminal case. The 
program is targeted at immigration-related cases, but is not limited 
only to cases involving immigration charges. Cases arising out of 
immigration issues but ranging from a misdemeanor property charge to a 
felony drug conviction are eligible for reimbursement under the 
southern border program. The program proposed in the legislation 
introduced today would be operated in the same way.
  Federal agencies--such as the Border Patrol and INS--have ongoing 
efforts to police the Nation's borders, resulting in hundreds of 
arrests each year. For many reasons, some of those cases are not 
pursued by Federal law enforcement authorities and instead are handed 
off to State or county officials for further prosecution. Instead of 
asking States to absorb those costs--likely at the expense of other 
important local law enforcement initiatives--the Northern Border 
Prosecution Reimbursement Initiative allows States and counties to 
receive compensation for pursuing these immigration-related cases.
  The Northern Border Prosecution Reimbursement Initiative would be 
administered by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice 
Assistance. States and counties would be able to apply for 
reimbursement during an annual application period, with no limit on the 
number of cases submitted. Under the act, funds distribution is not 
based on the size or population of a northern border State, but upon 
the number of eligible cases submitted by each jurisdiction. It is 
possible for reimbursement to equal 100 percent of costs, though money 
is distributed on a pro rata basis if applications exceed available 
revenues. Each of the 14 States along the northern border would be 
eligible for the reimbursement program: Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
  Last year, $40 million was provided to southern border States 
Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, offsetting the costs of 
prosecuting immigration-related cases. For 2002, $50 million was 
allocated to the program. My legislation simply authorizes $28 million 
for Fiscal Year 2004 be made available to northern border states for 
the same purpose.

  In the years leading up to Sept. 11, 2001, activity along the 
northern border had shifted primarily from a focus on immigration 
issues to those related to

[[Page S5952]]

trade and commerce. However, homeland security has grown into a 
paramount concern in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks, and our 
States and local governments are increasingly bearing an unfair 
financial burden in protecting and patrolling our national borders. 
There are hundreds of crossings along the 4,000 mile long northern 
border between the United States and Canada, and though improvements 
have been made to tighten security, the northern border has yet to 
receive the resources it needs to adequately enforce our Nation's 
immigration laws and border restrictions.
  The need for greater enforcement efforts along the northern border 
became glaringly evident in 1998 when Ahmed Ressam, a terrorist trained 
at one of Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan, was arrested 
shortly after crossing the Canadian border into Washington State. 
Explosives and other bomb-making materials were found in the trunk of 
Ressam's car. This frightening incident made clear the vulnerabilities 
we face along the porous northern border, vulnerabilities that became 
even more concerning after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
  In the last two years, the Senate has taken steps to improve northern 
border security. I have worked with Senators from the 14 States that 
comprise the northern border--including my colleagues who join me as 
cosponsors on this legislation today--and we have successfully devoted 
more resources to northern border security efforts. The 2001 Department 
of Defense Appropriation's bill included $55.8 million for 500 
additional Immigration and Naturalization Service inspectors along the 
northern border--a 105 percent increase in staffing levels. That 
legislation also provided $23.9 million to transfer 100 border patrol 
agents and hire 100 new agents. Working to protect our northern border 
has been a bipartisan effort, enjoying cooperation from senators across 
the aisle and across the country. Now it is time to take another step 
toward greater border and national security and approve the Northern 
Border Prosecution Reimbursement Initiative.
  The costs of homeland security are increasingly being borne by States 
and local governments, an issue that this legislation tackles head-on. 
Without giving States and counties the necessary resources to pay for 
cases initiated by Federal authorities, other important local law 
enforcement initiatives will undoubtedly be shortchanged. States and 
the Federal Government must work together if our borders are to be 
truly safe. The Northern Border Prosecution Reimbursement Initiative is 
a mechanism by which all of the resources of the criminal justice 
system--local, State, and Federal--can work in harmony.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Older 
Americans Tax Fairness Act of 2003. My bill would completely eliminate 
the unjust taxation of Social Security benefits once and for all. The 
underlying premise of my legislation is simple: Social Security 
benefits were never intended to be taxed. At its inception and 
continuing on for the next fifty years, Social Security benefits were 
exempt from taxation. Budgetary shortfalls in 1984 and 1993, however, 
led to the taxation of these benefits.
  Because of the rising cost of living, many of our seniors are forced 
to work past age 65. To these Americans, every penny counts in 
determining whether they are able to pay for food, heating, and 
healthcare. However, by taxing Social Security benefits, we make it 
increasingly impossible for millions of older Americans to make ends 
meet. In effect, then, taxation of Social Security benefits forces many 
Americans to endure stressful situations in what should be the golden 
years of their lives.
  Taxation of Social Security benefits is also wrong because it changes 
the rules in the middle of the game. When seniors contributed to Social 
Security through the payment of payroll taxes, they did so with the 
understanding that they would one day receive those benefits tax-free. 
Unfortunately, because of runaway spending, many in the government have 
viewed Social Security taxation as a way to make up the shortfall 
between Federal spending and revenue. Such a decision was wrong then 
and it is even more wrong now as seniors face rising living costs.
  In addition to being fundamentally unfair, I believe that taxing 
Social Security benefits once seniors pass certain income thresholds 
discourages them from working. I firmly believe that senior citizens 
add a wealth of knowledge and experience to the workplace. As such, we 
must make sure that our American workforce is not deprived of these 
valuable assets. Our laws should encourage older Americans with a 
desire to work to continue contributing to our society. Unfortunately, 
our laws do just the opposite.
  Every year my office receives hundreds of letters and calls from 
older Americans throughout the country and Alabama describing the 
hardship that Social Security taxation has placed on their lives. The 
solution to this situation is simple--repeal the unfair taxation of 
these benefits. I therefore urge my colleagues to listen to their 
constituents and join me in support of my bill.
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