[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1174-H1175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Arizona (Mrs. Kirkpatrick) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK of Arizona. Madam Speaker, for too many years the 
Mexican drug cartels have taken advantage of our unsecured borders, 
smuggling drugs and people into our country in exchange for the illegal 
weapons and cash they use to keep their supply routes open.
  For too many years, failed policies from the Federal Government 
allowed these violent gangs to grow and thrive. Politicians in 
Washington fought each other rather than dealing with the problem. As a 
result, crime is spilling over into Arizona and throughout the entire 
Southwest.
  While our State, local, and tribal law enforcement do a great job 
with the resources they have, they cannot do this job alone. Securing 
our borders is the responsibility of the Federal Government, and the 
Federal Government has to live up to that responsibility. This 
government has begun to give this danger the attention it deserves, but 
there is so much more that has to be done to make up for years of 
neglect.
  I am fighting for the folks in my district who have to live with the 
consequences of Washington's mistakes, and I am continuing to push for 
the support that our border agents need. I will not let up. As a part 
of my efforts, I am happy to announce that I will be touring the 
Arizona-Mexico border

[[Page H1175]]

later this week. I will be visiting with our border agents on duty, 
accompanying them on the job and hearing directly from them about how I 
can help to address the challenges they face. I am ready and eager for 
this opportunity to make sure that the voice of our law enforcement on 
the front lines is heard and not the voice of politicians playing games 
in Washington.

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