[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 9, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ASSIGNING MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERVICES TO BORDER PATROL DUTIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bonner). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. GOODE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my gratitude to U.S. 
Border Control and the thousands of Americans from coast to coast who 
have taken the time and the trouble to send e-mails, letters, postcards 
and petitions to Congress urging their Representatives and Senators to 
support my legislation to authorize the Secretary of Defense to assign 
members of our Armed Forces to assist the Department of Homeland 
Security in the performance of border protection duties.
  Clearly, the need for such assistance has never been greater. Every 
year our border crisis worsens. First it was drugs, then disease, then 
it was illegal aliens crossing by the hundreds, and now by the 
millions. And now terrorists could be crossing our borders, determined 
to rain death and destruction upon us.
  If there were ever a time for the United States to put troops on the 
border, this is it. We are fighting enemies who have already brought 
the battle to our shores and are threatening to do it again. It makes 
no sense to have thousands of troops guarding borders throughout the 
world while our own borders are wide open and undefended in a time of 
war.
  According to U.S. Border Control, every recent survey conducted shows 
the vast majority of Americans support allowing troops on the border. 
Constituents are beginning to question how we can claim to be serious 
about combating issues like drug smuggling, people smuggling and 
terrorism when it was unable to take such a simple and non-intrusive 
step as putting troops on the border. Last year the House adopted the 
amendment that would authorize the troops on our borders. 
Unfortunately, it did not survive conference. I hope this year we will 
be able to see it survive the entire legislative process.
  I urge my colleagues to join in giving the executive branch the 
authority it needs to assign members of our Armed Forces to assist 
Homeland Security in securing our borders from these threats to our 
Nation.

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