[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 82 (Thursday, May 27, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4474-S4484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAKING EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume conversation H.R. 4899, which the clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 4899) making emergency supplemental
appropriations for emergency disaster relief and summer jobs
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other
purposes.
Pending:
Reid amendment No. 4174, to provide collective bargaining
rights for public safety officers employed by States or their
political subdivisions.
Sessions/McCaskill amendment No. 4173, to establish 3-year
discretionary spending caps.
Wyden/Grassley amendment No. 4183, to establish as a
standing order of the Senate that a Senator publicly disclose
a notice of intent to objecting to any measure or matter.
Feingold amendment No. 4204, to require a plan for safe,
orderly, and expeditious redeployment of the United States
Armed Forces from Afghanistan.
McCain amendment No. 4214, to provide for the National
Guard support to secure the southern land border of the
United States.
Cornyn modified amendment No. 4202, to make appropriations
to improve border security, with an offset from unobligated
appropriations under division A of Public Law 111-5.
[[Page S4475]]
Lautenberg modified amendment No. 4175, to provide that
parties responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oilspill in the
Gulf of Mexico shall reimburse the general fund of the
Treasury for costs incurred in responding to that oil spill.
Cardin amendment No. 4191, to prohibit the use of funds for
leasing activities in certain areas of the Outer Continental
Shelf.
Kyl/McCain modified amendment No. 4228 (to amendment No.
4202), to appropriate $200,000,000 to increase resources for
the Department of Justice and the Judiciary to address
illegal crossings of the Southwest border, with an offset.
Coburn/McCain amendment No. 4232, to pay for the costs of
supplemental spending by reducing Congress's own budget and
disposing of unneeded Federal property and uncommitted
Federal funds.
Coburn/McCain modified amendment No. 4231, to pay for the
costs of supplemental spending by reducing waste,
inefficiency, and unnecessary spending within the Federal
Government.
Landrieu/Cochran amendment No. 4179, to allow the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration to create
or save jobs by providing interest relief on certain
outstanding disaster loans relating to damage caused by the
2005 gulf coast hurricanes or the 2008 gulf coast hurricanes.
Landrieu amendment No. 4180, to defer payments of principal
and interest on disaster loans relating to the Deepwater
Horizon oilspill.
Landrieu modified amendment No. 4184, to require the
Secretary of the Army to maximize the placement of dredged
material available from maintenance dredging of existing
navigation channels to mitigate the impacts of the Deepwater
Horizon oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico at full Federal
expense.
Landrieu amendment No. 4213, to provide authority to the
Secretary of the Interior to immediately fund projects under
the Coastal Impact Assistance Program on an emergency basis.
Landrieu amendment No. 4182, to require the Secretary of
the Army to use certain funds for the construction of
authorized restoration projects in the Louisiana coastal area
ecosystem restoration program.
Landrieu amendment No. 4234, to establish a program, and to
make available funds, to provide technical assistance grants
for use by organizations in assisting individuals and
businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon oilspill in the
Gulf of Mexico.
Ensign/Reid amendment No. 4229, to prohibit the transfer of
C-130 aircraft from the National Guard to a unit of the Air
Force in another State.
Ensign/Reid modified amendment No. 4230, to establish
limitations on the transfer of C-130H aircraft from the
National Guard to a unit of the Air Force in another State.
Isakson/Chambliss amendment No. 4221, to include the 2009
flooding in the Atlanta area as a disaster for which certain
disaster relief is available.
Collins amendment No. 4253, to prohibit the imposition of
fines and liability under certain final rules of the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Menendez amendment No. 4289 (to amendment No. 4174), to
require oil polluters to pay the full cost of oilspills.
Amendments Nos. 4214, 4288, and 4202
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there
will be 20 minutes of debate relating to the border security amendment.
The Senator from Arizona is recognized.
Mr. KYL. Madam President, I am going to take a couple minutes to
describe the second-degree amendment I have. I appreciate the fact that
there was an offer on the other side to simply accept my amendment. I
appreciate that, but because it is attached to a first-degree
amendment, I am not sure about the prospects for that. I thought it
important that all of us have an opportunity to be recorded.
This amendment is simple. It provides $200 million for extending the
Operation Streamline Program to another border sector, in addition to
the Yuma sector and the Del Rio, TX, sector, where it is already in
operation--extend it to the Tucson sector. This could substantially
reduce illegal immigration, because about half of all of illegal
immigration goes through the Tucson sector.
Operation Streamline is simple. It involves the Department of Justice
accepting those who cross the border illegally into the court system
and putting them in jail for about 2 weeks, and sometimes 30 days if
there is an incident of repeated crossing or attempted crossing. What
we have found is that there is a great deterrent effect. If people who
are apprehended know they are going to jail for a couple weeks, they
tend not to cross in that area anymore.
In fact, in the Yuma sector where this has been in effect now for
several years, illegal immigration has been cut by 94 percent, from
118,500 apprehensions 5 years ago to about 5,000 this year. It is
simply a fact that when people know they are going to go to jail or the
prospects are very high they are going to go to jail, whether they are
criminals crossing the border--that is about 17 percent of the people--
or the remainder who simply want to come here to work, they realize
going to jail is going to obstruct their plans. They cannot make money
and send it back to Mexico, El Salvador, or wherever their family might
be if they are trying to cross for work purposes. What we found in the
Yuma sector is they simply do not cross it anymore. They have now moved
farther to the east in the Tucson sector.
This amendment of mine simply provides $200 million, fully offset, of
emergency funding to implement Operation Streamline--a combination
Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security program--to
ensure this deterrent can be in place in the Tucson sector just as it
is in Del Rio, TX, and Yuma, AZ.
I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. As I said, the money
is offset. This is definitely an emergency. It will substantially help
us to secure the border without the necessity of building permanent
structures such as fencing or anything of that sort. It is a good
amendment. I urge my colleagues to support it.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I also wish to speak to the amendments
that have been offered by Senator McCain, Senator Kyl, myself, and
Senator Hutchison with regard to border security.
One thing we cannot lose sight of is that the failure of the Federal
Government to deal seriously with border security leaves all of the
border States basically on their own. We have heard a number of people
who criticized the State of Arizona for dealing with this issue the
best they can. But what are they supposed to do if the Federal
Government does not step up and deal with its responsibility, which is
a Federal responsibility?
We talked about the violence, particularly relating to the cartels,
with 23,000 Mexicans killed since 2006 in these drug wars. Right across
from El Paso, 1,000 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez, which is
literally across the river, like Virginia is from Washington, DC. We
have seen the spillover effect in American citizens being killed and
living in fear on this side of the border.
We cannot forget there is also an important war on terror issue here
as well, something we have not talked about very much but something I
was reminded of yesterday when the Department of Homeland Security
issued an alert to police and sheriff's deputies in Houston asking them
to keep their eyes open for a Somali man believed to be in Mexico
preparing to make a crossing into Texas. The Department of Homeland
Security in this announcement believes this man has a tie to an
organization affiliated with al-Qaida. I say to my colleagues, maybe
this individual is not coming to Houston to stay in Houston. Maybe he
is coming to the State of one of my colleagues or their town where they
live. It demonstrates again why this porous border represents a
national security problem for the entire country.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record at the
conclusion of my remarks a list of other-than-Mexican illegal
immigrants.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I have in my hand a list of the
countries from which individuals who have been detained at the border
have originated. In 2009, 2 people from Afghanistan were apprehended on
the southern border; 10 from Iran, a state sponsor of international
terrorism, as we know; 10 have come from Iraq; 19 from Pakistan; 12
from Somalia; and 3 from Yemen. Out of a total of 45,000 other-than-
Mexican citizen immigrants apprehended at the border, these are just
some examples of why our porous border represents a national security
threat in the global war on terror.
There is also another reminder in the news recently where two F-16s
had been dispatched to intercept an ultralight aircraft flying across
the border into Arizona. Some 200 ultralight aircraft have been
detected in 2009 alone. These ultralight aircraft do not require
[[Page S4476]]
a license to fly. They typically fly so low to avoid any radar
detection. It is estimated by the Department of Homeland Security that
some 600 of them have flown into the United States, primarily
transporting huge loads of illegal drugs, of course, being sold on
America's streets to our children, among others.
From these two facts--the fact that we have other than Mexican
citizens who simply want to come to work using the porous border, both
Mexico's porous southern border and our southern porous border, and to
come into the United States for unknown purposes, perhaps to do us
harm--it is obvious our current border security measures are inadequate
to deal with this new phenomenon of ultralight aircraft transporting
drugs into the United States and perhaps transporting back to Mexico
the bulk cash that is generated from these drug sales, further funding
illegal drug activity and the cartels that are causing so much mayhem
on our southern border.
The problem we have with our broken immigration system is that it is
simply not perceived as credible by the American people. Until we deal
with this broken border, we are not going to be able to deal with other
aspects of our broken immigration system, and I would support an effort
to do that. But it seems to be that our colleagues on the other side
too often seem to view border security as leverage or a bargaining chip
they are not willing to give up unless they get something else for it.
But it is, in fact, the Federal Government's responsibility to deal
with this situation, as the President himself has acknowledged in his
recent announcement to send 1,200 additional National Guard to the
border. I will tell you that it is a welcome gesture, but it is no more
than that--a gesture. These 1,200 National Guard on a 2,000-mile
border--you can imagine how many gaps in the effort of border security
will still be left. That is why I support the McCain amendment and the
Kyl amendment to provide additional National Guard on a temporary
basis.
Our National Guard is already severely stressed because of the
conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, our all-volunteer military forces.
What we need to do is provide a permanent solution, not a temporary
solution, and that means more Border Patrol, more ATF, DEA----
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. CORNYN. All the boots on the ground that we need to make our
border security efforts credible.
I yield the floor.
Exhibit 1
SOUTHWEST BORDER OTM APPREHENSIONS BY CITIZENSHIP--FY2009 AND FY2010TD
THROUGH APRIL 30
[Data includes Deportable Aliens Only/Data Source: EID (unofficial) as
of 5/24/10]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citizenship FY2009 FY2010TD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFGHANISTAN.......................................... 2 ........
ALBANIA.............................................. 20 8
ALGERIA.............................................. 4 1
ANTIGUA-BARBUDA...................................... 1 ........
ARGENTINA............................................ 45 24
ARMENIA.............................................. 6 3
ARUBA................................................ 1 ........
AUSTRALIA............................................ 2 ........
AUSTRIA.............................................. ....... 1
AZERBAIJAN........................................... 1 ........
BAHAMAS.............................................. 1 ........
BANGLADESH........................................... 41 38
BARBADOS............................................. 2 ........
BELARUS.............................................. 1 ........
BELIZE............................................... 59 26
BOLIVIA.............................................. 26 33
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA................................... 1 ........
BRAZIL............................................... 575 356
BULGARIA............................................. 5 2
BURKINA FASO......................................... 1 1
BURMA................................................ 1 3
CAMBODIA............................................. 4 4
CAMEROON............................................. 9 8
CANADA............................................... 10 16
CHILE................................................ 35 12
CHINA, PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF........................... 1,358 729
COLOMBIA............................................. 235 176
CONGO................................................ 3 1
COSTA RICA........................................... 144 88
CUBA................................................. 105 48
CZECH REPUBLIC....................................... 3 4
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC................................... 487 631
ECUADOR.............................................. 1,169 785
EGYPT................................................ 1 2
EL SALVADOR.......................................... 11,178 6,746
EQUATORIAL GUINEA.................................... 1 ........
ERITREA.............................................. 171 85
ESTONIA.............................................. 1 ........
ETHIOPIA............................................. 80 28
FRANCE............................................... 1 4
GAMBIA............................................... 3 ........
GEORGIA.............................................. 22 3
GERMANY.............................................. 9 3
GHANA................................................ 14 5
GREECE............................................... 1 ........
GUADELOUPE........................................... 1 ........
GUATEMALA............................................ 14,118 7,474
GUINEA............................................... 1 ........
GUYANA............................................... ....... 1
HAITI................................................ 78 49
HONDURAS............................................. 13,348 6,322
HONG KONG............................................ 1 ........
HUNGARY.............................................. 5 2
INDIA................................................ 99 324
INDONESIA............................................ 10 3
IRAN................................................. 10 7
IRAQ................................................. 10 3
IRELAND.............................................. 3 ........
ISRAEL............................................... 15 13
ITALY................................................ 7 3
IVORY COAST.......................................... ....... 1
JAMAICA.............................................. 42 36
JAPAN................................................ 5 2
JORDAN............................................... 6 1
KAZAKHSTAN........................................... 1 ........
KENYA................................................ 9 2
KOREA................................................ 9 ........
KOSOVO............................................... 8 4
KUWAIT............................................... 2 1
KYRGYZSTAN........................................... 2 1
LAOS................................................. 7 3
LATVIA............................................... 2 ........
LEBANON.............................................. 6 4
LIBERIA.............................................. 2 ........
LITHUANIA............................................ 1 1
MACEDONIA............................................ 10 ........
MALAWI............................................... ....... 1
MALAYSIA............................................. ....... 1
MALI................................................. ....... 1
MARSHALL ISLANDS..................................... 2 ........
MOLDOVA.............................................. 4 4
MONGOLIA............................................. 4 3
MOROCCO.............................................. 1 1
NEPAL................................................ 48 69
NETHERLANDS.......................................... 1 3
NEW ZEALAND.......................................... 2 3
NICARAGUA............................................ 842 392
NIGER................................................ ....... 1
NIGERIA.............................................. 14 8
NORWAY............................................... 1 ........
PAKISTAN............................................. 19 9
PANAMA............................................... 21 10
PARAGUAY............................................. 11 4
PERU................................................. 242 121
PHILIPPINES.......................................... 32 22
POLAND............................................... 11 4
PORTUGAL............................................. 1 ........
PUERTO RICO.......................................... 2 ........
QATAR................................................ ....... 1
ROMANIA.............................................. 64 227
RUSSIA............................................... 14 6
RWANDA............................................... 1 ........
SAMOA................................................ 1 ........
SAUDI ARABIA......................................... 1 1
SENEGAL.............................................. 1 ........
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO................................ 5 4
SIERRA LEONE......................................... 1 1
SINGAPORE............................................ 1 ........
SLOVAKIA............................................. 1 2
SLOVENIA............................................. ....... 1
SOMALIA.............................................. 12 2
SOUTH AFRICA......................................... 6 4
SOUTH KOREA.......................................... 28 20
SPAIN................................................ 8 2
SRI LANKA............................................ 44 68
ST. LUCIA............................................ ....... 2
ST. VINCENT-GRENADINES............................... 1 ........
SUDAN................................................ 6 1
SWEDEN............................................... 1 1
SYRIA................................................ ....... 2
TAIWAN............................................... 4 1
TANZANIA............................................. 1 ........
THAILAND............................................. 9 5
TOGO................................................. 1 ........
TONGA................................................ 2 1
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO.................................. 5 3
TUNISIA.............................................. ....... 1
TURKEY............................................... 10 11
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS............................. 1 ........
UKRAINE.............................................. 4 4
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES................................. 1 1
UNITED KINGDOM....................................... 18 12
UNKNOWN.............................................. 9 13
URUGUAY.............................................. 24 12
UZBEKISTAN........................................... 6 3
VENEZUELA............................................ 32 20
VIETNAM.............................................. 20 5
YEMEN................................................ 3 ........
YUGOSLAVIA........................................... 15 3
ZIMBABWE............................................. 3 2
SBO Total OTM Apprehensions...................... 45,279 25,230
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, how much time do I have to discuss my
amendment?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Five minutes.
Mr. McCAIN. I thank my colleague from Texas and other Senators from
border States who are deeply concerned about the issue of broken
borders and the drug cartels and human smuggling that has put the lives
and security of our American citizens in some danger.
A fact: The kidnapping capital of the world is Mexico City. The city
that ranks second in kidnapping to Mexico City is Phoenix, AZ, which is
a long way from the border. It happens to be a place where drop houses
exist where people are held for ransom, where unspeakable cruelties are
inflicted upon those who are being smuggled, where they have become a
distribution center for drugs coming up through the so-called central
corridor. We are badly in need of assistance.
Yesterday, May 26, 2010, 12:20 p.m.:
Sierra Vista, Ariz.--Acting on a tip, Sierra Vista police
went to a drop house and recovered close to 2,000 pounds of
marijuana Tuesday.
Police spokesman Sgt. Lawrence Boutte said officers found a
total of 83 bails weighing 2,054 pounds.
The marijuana has an estimated street value of $821,000.
Police arrested a 21-year-old Mexican citizen. Officers
said the man was expected to be charged with possession of
marijuana for sale. It's not known if the man was in the U.S.
illegally.
Boutte said drug smugglers use stash houses to store drugs
coming from Mexico before transporting them elsewhere.
``Elsewhere'' means different parts of the country.
By the way, there is an argument that this amendment may be
unconstitutional. I remind my colleagues, the
[[Page S4477]]
Constitution--article I, section 8, clause 15--preserves to the
Congress the power to call ``forth the Militia to execute the Laws of
the Union,'' including the immigration laws. This is an independent
constitutional power that does not rest on any power exercised by the
President as the Chief Executive in article II.
A recent example of Congress's power to task the executive branch in
this area, even outside calling forth the militia, is the Secure Fence
Act of 2006 in which the Congress tasked the Secretary of Homeland
Security to secure the border. Even though Congress was not relying on
its article I, section 8, clause 15 power, the Secure Fence Act of 2006
was and is constitutional.
The President announced he was sending 1,200 National Guard to the
southwest border. This is one-fifth of what is needed. If the Congress
will not heed the call of the Governors of Arizona and Texas, who have
asked the President to send troops to the border, the Congress should
do so now.
During Operation Jump Start, the National Guard was deployed to the
southwest border and provided logistical support, conducted
surveillance, and built and repaired critical infrastructure. Until DHS
has the technology and infrastructure in place to fully secure the
border, at least 6,000 National Guard must be deployed to assist the
Border Patrol in stopping the illegal immigration, drug smugglers, and
human traffickers flowing across the border.
The borders are broken. There has been improvement. We have shown in
San Diego, in Texas, even in the Yuma sector of Arizona that we can
secure our border, but we need manpower, surveillance, and fences. We
can do it. We have an obligation to our citizens to secure our border
and allow them to lead lives where they do not live in fear of home
invasions, of property being destroyed, where well-armed, well-equipped
drug smugglers, as well as human smugglers, operate with--if not with
impunity, certainly with great latitude.
There will be the statement made that the border is more secure. I am
sure the Senator from New York will say that. The fact is the border is
not secure. It is more secure; it is not secure. The citizens in the
southern part of my State do not have a secure environment in which to
live and raise their children.
Every enforcement agent on the border with whom I have talked says we
need additional National Guard and we need it now. I am sure that in
New York City and other major cities in America there is a secure
environment, frankly, thanks to Mayor Giuliani. This is not the case in
parts of my State, including Phoenix, AZ, having the dubious
distinction of being No. 2 as far as the kidnapping capital of the
world is concerned.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has
expired.
Mr. McCAIN. I appreciate the involvement of Senators from other parts
of the United States of America. I invite them to come to the border
and talk with my citizens. I invite them to talk with the Border Patrol
agents who are overwhelmed in their task in trying to stop the flow of
goods and human beings across our border. I hope they will weigh in on
behalf of the human rights of the people who are being terribly abused,
kept in drop houses, held for ransom, and subjected to unspeakable
atrocities. It is another human rights argument for getting our border
secure. We can get it more secure by sending these National Guard
troops to the border, as former Governor and now Secretary of Homeland
Security called for in 2006.
I urge a ``yea'' vote on this amendment.
I yield the floor.
(At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to
be printed in the Record.)
Mr. BYRD. Madam President, there are those in the Congress who
like to just talk about the need to secure our borders. I have actually
done something about securing the borders. In 2005, I authored an
amendment with broad, bipartisan support, which initiated a
comprehensive effort to secure our borders. Since I became chairman of
the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee in 2007, I
have continued that effort. As a result, there are more Border Patrol
agents, more technology, more border infrastructure, more detention
capacity, and more investigative capacity dedicated to securing our
borders than ever before.
This investment has produced results. The numbers of aliens being
deported, especially aliens convicted of crimes, has grown
significantly. The era of catch and release has ended. The recession
and increased enforcement has resulted in a significant reduction in
the number of illegal aliens coming into this country. Violence on the
United States side of the border is down.
There is more to be accomplished, particularly as drug violence in
Mexico grows, but as a result of investments made over the last 5
years, the Department of Homeland Security has received significant
assets to address this problem.
Deportations have greatly increased from 211,098 in 2003 to between
230,000 and 390,000 annually for the past 3 years. Homeland Security is
on track to remove 400,000 aliens this year, including 150,000
convicted criminal aliens.
The Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has more ``boots on the
ground'' at the border than ever before. Today, the Border Patrol is
better staffed than at any time in its 85-year history, having nearly
doubled the number of agents from approximately 10,000 in 2004 to more
than 20,000 today.
In 2006, DHS opened the first Border Enforcement Security Task Force,
BEST, in Laredo, TX. BESTs are law enforcement task forces that combine
Federal, State, local, and international personnel to tackle border
crime. The BEST model has proven extremely effective not only at
interdicting illegal activity but also at building criminal cases that
lead to high-value prosecutions. There currently are 17 BESTs,
including 3 in Arizona, 1 in Mexico City, and the President's fiscal
year 2011 budget requests funds to open 3 more. Over the past year, DHS
doubled the number of agents working on the BESTs in the southwest
border region.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, Office of Investigations
criminal arrests have increased from 14,077 in fiscal year 2002 to
32,512 in fiscal year 2009. Customs and Border Protection Office of
Field Operations criminal arrests--those apprehended at the ports of
entry--have increased from 15,820 in fiscal year 2002 to 38,964 in
fiscal year 2009.
This year, DHS will finish constructing nearly all of the 652 miles
of border fencing along the southwest border the Border Patrol has
determined is required. As of March 2010, all 298.5 miles of vehicle
fencing have been completed, and only 5.7 miles of pedestrian fencing
remain to be constructed. This comes on top of $260 million the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided for border security
technology and improved tactical communications equipment.
According to the Border Patrol, the number of miles of the southwest
border under effective control by the Border Patrol has increased from
241 miles in October 2005 to 742 in October 2009.
DHS Secretary Napolitano announced last month that DHS is redeploying
$50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for SBInet to
other tested, commercially available security technology along the
southwest Border, including mobile surveillance, thermal imaging
devices, ultralight detection, backscatter units, mobile radios,
cameras and laptops for pursuit vehicles, and remote video surveillance
system enhancements.
The level of detention beds for illegal aliens funded by Congress has
steadily increased over the past 5 years from only 18,500 beds in
fiscal year 2005 to 33,400 beds today. Since fiscal year 2009, Congress
has mandated that ICE maintain 33,400 detention beds. And the average
length of stay has dropped from 40.4 days in fiscal year 2004 to 31.2
days in fiscal year 2009.
The number of illegal aliens detained has increased from 256,842 in
fiscal year 2006 to 383,524 in fiscal year 2009. The total number of
illegal aliens removed has nearly doubled since fiscal year 2003 from
211,098 to 405,662 in fiscal year 2009.
The number of fugitive operations teams has been increased to 104
this fiscal year from 51 in fiscal year 2007. On April 30, 2010, ICE
announced it had apprehended 596 criminal aliens in a targeted
operation in the southeastern
[[Page S4478]]
United States. On April 15, 2010, ICE arrested 47 individuals charged
with operating shuttle bus services in southern Arizona which brought
aliens who had recently entered the country illegally from border towns
to Phoenix for further transport to the interior of the United States.
Since March 2009, Customs and Border Protection--CBP--and ICE have
seized $85.7 million in illicit cash along the southwest border, an
increase of 14 percent over the same period during the previous year.
This includes more than $29.7 million in illicit cash seized heading
southbound into Mexico--a 39-percent increase over the same period
during the previous year.
During the same period, CPB and ICE together seized 1,425 illegal
firearms, which represents a 29 percent rise over the same period in
the previous year. At the same time, CBP and ICE seized 1.65 million
kilograms of drugs along the southwest border, an overall increase of
15 percent.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that in Arizona, the
number of illegal immigrants in that State declined to 460,000 last
year from a high of 550,000 and continues to drop.
Contrary to popular perception, suggestions of spillover violence
from Mexico have been exaggerated. While violence and drug trafficking
organization-related murders are up in Juarez, Mexico, El Paso, TX--
directly across the border--was ranked the second safest major city in
the United States by CQ Press in November 2009. The assistant police
chief of Nogales, AZ, recently stated, ``We have not, thank God,
witnessed any spillover violence from Mexico. You can look at the crime
stats. I think Nogales, Arizona, is one of the safest places to live in
all of America.'' FBI Uniform Crime Reports and statistics provided by
police agencies show that the crime rates in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma,
and other Arizona border towns have remained essentially flat for the
past decade. A May 2, 2010, article from www.azcentral.com actually was
headlined ``Violence is not up on Arizona border despite Mexican drug
war.'' The Border Patrol has reported that the March 2010 murder of
Arizona rancher Robert Krentz is the only American murdered by a
suspected illegal immigrant in at least a decade within the agency's
Tucson sector, the busiest smuggling route among the Border Patrol's
nine coverage regions along the U.S.-Mexican border.
There is still more to be accomplished. I am pleased that this week
the President announced his intention to deploy up to 1,200 National
Guardsmen on the southwest border. However, I oppose the amendments to
add over $2 billion for border security, given that the amendments are
offset with significant cuts in stimulus funding that will continue to
create jobs in America. I will continue my efforts to further secure
our borders.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, we need to improve our border
security, and I have worked to do just that by supporting efforts to
crack down on Mexican drug cartels and to increase the number of
Federal agents and Homeland Security personnel on the ground in the
Southwest border region. Unfortunately, the three amendments the Senate
considered today that were intended to enhance border security would
have redirected funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
It doesn't make sense to cut funding from a program CBO says boosted
employment by as many as 2.8 million jobs in the first quarter of 2010,
while raising GDP somewhere between 1.7 and 4.2 percent. We face
serious fiscal challenges, and we need to cut wasteful spending, but
the American people should not have to choose between saving jobs and
protecting our border.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I rise in opposition to the three
amendments that have been spoken about--the McCain amendment, the
Cornyn amendment, and the McCain-Kyl amendment. I will get into some
detail in a few minutes about the opposition, but it relates to three
points.
First, President Obama has a tough, smart, targeted $500 million
package that will greatly increase resources at the border, and we need
it. Crime has increased, as my friend from Arizona has said. We need
it. So, No. 1, there is a very good plan in place.
No. 2, this is a huge amount of money--$2.5 billion--that my
colleagues, who talk about fiscal moderation, are requesting, and much
of it will not go to securing the border. It is sort of throwing an
enormous amount of money at the problem that is not as carefully
thought out, not as targeted, and not as effective, quite frankly, as
President Obama's program.
No. 3, it takes the money out of the stimulus bill. Well, there is a
border problem in Texas and Arizona that affects all of us, and we want
to solve it. The President and we are working to do that. But we have a
jobs problem in this country, too, and this is the worst kind of
robbing Peter to pay Paul. The stimulus money will go to creating jobs.
If we ask the people in, say, Michigan or Ohio or Rhode Island or New
York what is the No. 1 issue? Jobs. This money is being taken away from
job creation and used, as I say, in a not effective, overmagnified way.
It is too much money to stop what is going on at the border.
So let me elaborate. First, as I mentioned, President Obama is
sending a package to the Congress next week. It includes 1,200 National
Guard, funding programs for DEA, ATF, FBI, and ICE that are proven to
work. The three amendments offered by the Senators from Texas and
Arizona are a grab bag of enormous spending. If all of the $2.5 billion
they are proposing just to go to the border would double the amount, it
wouldn't be well spent. The President's money is thoughtful and
targeted and has been in the works for a while. Let me give some
examples.
The amendment calls for $300 million for funding for any State or
local enforcement agency so long as it is within 100 miles of the U.S.-
Mexican border. Almost none of this money will be used for border
enforcement. Border enforcement is needed at the actual border.
Second, the Cornyn amendment also calls for $100 million for
construction of new land ports of entry. But the problem at our ports
of entry is not lack of funding from the taxpayers, it is that we need
an adequate fee system to make sure the users of those ports of entry
pay for things rather than taking the money away from job creation in
our States.
Third, the amendment Senator Kyl has offered as a second-degree
amendment would spend about $200 million on a program known as
Operation Streamline. In reality, this program requires taxpayers to
foot the bill at the cost of more than $120 per day, per inmate, to
house border crossers and give them three free meals a day, free health
care, medicines, and surgeries for all manner of illnesses, et cetera.
Couldn't we better spend this $200 million and pass a comprehensive
immigration reform program which is so much needed? By the way, it is
my view that while we have to tighten up the border, people are coming
for jobs. The only way we will stop the flow of illegal immigration
into this country is to tell those who hire them they no longer can.
The only way to do that is our Secure Social Security Card that Senator
Graham and I have put forward so that papers can't be forged and
illegal immigrants can't be hired. Comprehensive reform does that;
these measures don't.
We have heard talk about needing to bolster the border for years. It
clearly hasn't stopped the problem, as the Senator from Arizona admits.
We need a comprehensive approach that will include border security but
is not only border security. If my colleagues would join us in that
approach, we could have a tough, fair-minded proposal that would do the
job.
Let me make some other points against the amendments while I have
more time. The McCain amendment seeks $250 million for 6,000 National
Guard to be sent to the border. They can't use that number of National
Guard so quickly. The 1,200 that President Obama has requested is
right.
When President Bush sent 6,000 National Guard to the border in 2006,
there were 10,000 Border Patrol agents in the entire force. That means
a total of 16,000 after the Guard was deployed. Now, we already have
more than 20,000 Border Patrol agents--double the number of Border
Patrol agents. Those and the 1,200 National Guard will do the job. We
cannot just throw money at this problem and take it away from job
creation. We have to be focused and smart. The President does that.
[[Page S4479]]
I urge my colleagues to defeat this amendment and join us in
supporting a smart program that will do the job and, furthermore, join
us in supporting comprehensive immigration reform, which is the only
real way to stop the flow of illegal immigration across the border.
Madam President, I make a point of order that the pending amendment
violates section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. A motion to waive the applicable
provisions of the Budget Act and budget resolutions is considered made.
Mr. McCAIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
and the Senator from North Carolina (Mrs. Hagan) are necessarily
absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 51, nays 46, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 165 Leg.]
YEAS--51
Alexander
Barrasso
Baucus
Bayh
Bennet
Bennett
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Kyl
LeMieux
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Tester
Thune
Vitter
Webb
Wicker
NAYS--46
Akaka
Begich
Bingaman
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Franken
Gillibrand
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Specter
Stabenow
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Voinovich
Warner
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Byrd
Chambliss
Hagan
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The yeas are 51, the nays are 46.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to. Pursuant to the previous
order, the amendment is withdrawn.
Amendment No. 4228
There will now be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote
in relation to amendment No. 4228 offered by the Senator from Arizona,
Mr. Kyl. Who yields time?
Mr. KYL. Madam President, this amendment is fully offset. It is $200
million. It simply provides the funding for the Department of Justice
and the Department of Homeland Security to extend a program that has
worked very well in two sections of the border to a third section.
It is called Operation Streamline. It permits the Department of
Justice to try cases, put people in jail, rather than catch and release
where they are simply put on a bus and returned to the border.
Everybody wants to secure the border. This is a program that has had
a 94-percent success rate, a 94-percent reduction in apprehensions in
the Yuma border sector and almost that much in the Del Rio sector.
So if we can extend that to the sector where half of the illegal
immigration in the country comes across, I think we can substantially
reduce illegal immigration. Then, for everyone who wants to pursue
other legislation, I think there will be a better state of mind in
which to do that.
So I urge my colleagues to support this $200 million fully offset
amendment.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Who yields time in opposition?
The Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I rise against the second-degree
amendment by Senator Kyl. It would actually take $200 million that is
not going to secure the border any. It will incarcerate illegal
immigrants. It will pay for their food, their health care, their
recreation time, their reading material, for long periods of time.
If we want to secure the border, which we do, we have to be smart
about this. We cannot just keep doing the same thing again and again.
Furthermore, it takes the money out of the stimulus, which is jobs. So
we are doing something that is ineffective, we are doing something that
has not worked in the past, and now we are taking away jobs from the
other 48 States.
That does not make any sense. So I would urge that this amendment be
defeated. I would urge we start doing what is needed and what is smart
to stop the flow of illegal immigration. We all know what we have to
do, and that is a comprehensive proposal. This will not work and takes
money way from jobs in the other 48 States. I urge its defeat.
I raise a point of order on the pending amendment pursuant to section
403 of S. Con. Res. 13, the concurrent resolution on the budget for
fiscal year 2010.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The motion to waive the applicable
provisions of the Budget Act and the budget resolution is considered
made.
Mr. KYL. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second. There
appears to be a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the
motion. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
is necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 54, nays 44, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 166 Leg.]
YEAS--54
Alexander
Barrasso
Bayh
Begich
Bennett
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Klobuchar
Kyl
Landrieu
LeMieux
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Merkley
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Pryor
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Webb
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--44
Akaka
Baucus
Bennet
Bingaman
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Kohl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Menendez
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Specter
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Whitehouse
NOT VOTING--2
Byrd
Chambliss
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. On this vote, the yeas are 54, the
nays are 44. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not
having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to. Pursuant
to previous order, the amendment is withdrawn.
Amendment No. 4202, as Further Modified
There will be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in
relation to amendment No. 4202 offered by the Senator from Texas, Mr.
Cornyn.
The amendment, as further modified, is as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. BORDER SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS.
(a) Additional Amount for Counterdrug Enforcement.--For an
additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' of the Drug
Enforcement Administration, $30,440,000, of which--
(1) $15,640,000 shall be available for 180 intelligence
analysts and technical support personnel;
[[Page S4480]]
(2) $10,800,000 shall be available for equipment and
operational costs of Special Investigative Units to target
Mexican cartels; and
(3) $4,000,000 shall be available for equipment and
technology for investigators on the Southwest border.
(b) Firearms Trafficking Enforcement.--For an additional
amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, $72,000,000, of
which--
(1) $68,000,000 shall be available for 281 special agents,
investigators, and officers along the Southwest border; and
(2) $4,000,000 shall be available for equipment and
technology necessary to support border enforcement and
investigations.
(c) National Guard Counterdrug Activities.--For an
additional amount for ``Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug
Activities, Defense'' for high priority National Guard
Counterdrug Programs in Southwest border states, $44,700,000.
(d) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program.--For an
additional amount for Federal Drug Control Programs, ``High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program'' for Southwest
border states, $140,000,000.
(e) Land Ports of Entry.--For an additional amount to be
deposited in the Federal Buildings Fund, for construction,
infrastructure improvements and expansion at high-volume land
ports of entry located on the Southwest border, $100,000,000.
(f) Border Enforcement Personnel.--For an additional amount
for ``Salaries and Expenses'' of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, $334,000,000, of which--
(1) $100,000,000 shall be available for 500 U.S. Customs
and Border Protection officers at Southwest land ports of
entry for northbound and southbound inspections;
(2) $180,000,000 shall be available for equipment and
technology to support border enforcement, surveillance, and
investigations;
(3) $24,000,000 shall be available for 120 pilots, vessel
commanders, and support staff for Air and Marine Operations;
and
(4) $30,000,000 shall be available for additional unmanned
aircraft systems pilots and support staff.
(g) Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Helicopters.--For an
additional amount for ``Air and Marine Interdiction,
Operations, Maintenance, and Procurement'' of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, $169,400,000, of which--
(1) $120,000,000 shall be available for the procurement,
operations, and maintenance of at least 6 unmanned aircraft
systems; and
(2) $49,400,000 shall be available for helicopters.
(h) Immigration Enforcement Personnel.--For an additional
amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, $795,000,000, of which--
(1) $175,000,000 shall be available for 500 investigator
positions;
(2) $75,000,000 shall be available for 400 intelligence
analyst positions;
(3) $125,000,000 shall be available for 500 detention and
deportation positions;
(4) $151,000,000 shall be available for 3,300 detention
beds;
(5) $180,000,000 shall be available for equipment and
technology to support border enforcement; and
(6) $89,000,000 shall be available for expansion of
interior repatriation programs.
(i) State and Local Grants.--For an additional amount for
``State and Local Programs'' administered by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, $300,000,000, which shall be
used to establish a border grant program that provides
financial assistance--
(1) to State and local law enforcement agencies or entities
operating within 100 miles of the Southwest border; and
(2) for additional detectives, criminal investigators, law
enforcement personnel, equipment, salaries, and technology in
counties in the Southwest border region.
(j) Emergency Designation.--Each amount in this section is
designated as an emergency requirement and necessary to meet
emergency needs pursuant to sections 403(a) and 403(b) of S.
Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress), the concurrent resolution on
the budget for fiscal year 2010.
(k) Offsetting Rescission.--On the date of the enactment of
this Act, the unobligated balance of each amount appropriated
or made available under division A of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), other than
under titles III, VI, and X of such division, is hereby
rescinded pro rata such that the aggregate amount of such
rescissions equals $2,250,000,000.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas is
recognized.
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, yesterday the Department of Homeland
Security told local law enforcement to keep their eyes peeled for a
Somali man believed to be in Mexico for a period in order to make an
illegal crossing into Texas. DHS believes this man has ties to an
organization affiliated with al-Qaida. Maybe he will not come to
Houston. Maybe he will go to some other city in this great country of
ours. We simply don't know whether this individual or the 45,000 other-
than-Mexican citizens who have immigrated illegally across our border
represent a national security threat.
If we look at the countries they come from--Pakistan, Iran, a state
sponsor of terrorism, Somalia, Yemen--it could mean something very bad
will happen as a result of our dereliction of duty to secure the
border. It is unfair to criticize States for trying to protect
themselves when the Federal Government will not do the job instead as
it should.
I urge colleagues to support this fully paid-for amendment to help
beef up border security. The point of order that will be raised is
simply an effort to deny the fact that we are in a state of emergency
and we need to act now to secure the border.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has
expired.
The Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I rise to oppose this $2.2 billion
spending amendment. It puts money in just about every program, needed
or not. Then it takes that money out of the stimulus, the Recovery Act,
taking it away from jobs. We must secure the border, absolutely. The
President's plan is smart and focused. But for all of the voices on
both sides of the aisle who have talked about jobs and all of the
voices who have talked about fiscal moderation, to throw caution to the
wind, to put $2.2 billion into programs whether they are needed or not
makes no sense at all.
We must stop illegal immigration as it comes across the border. This
will not do it. My colleagues know it, and I know it. This is what is
called a symbolic amendment to show where one stands in many ways. It
is $2.2 billion. We can find amendments that will do the job, that cost
a lot less, and that will not take away the jobs we want to create and
preserve.
This amendment, in my judgment, is the least responsible of the three
to, again, take every program and say: More money, more money, more
money, without a plan on how to spend it. It makes no sense. I urge its
defeat.
Madam President, I raise a point of order against this amendment
pursuant to section 403 of S. Con. Res. 13, the concurrent resolution
on the budget for fiscal year 2010.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The motion to waive the applicable
provisions of the Budget Act and the budget resolution is considered
made.
Mr. MENENDEZ. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily
absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from New
Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) would vote ``no.''
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 54, nays 43, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 167 Leg.]
YEAS--54
Alexander
Barrasso
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
LeMieux
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Pryor
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Tester
Thune
Udall (CO)
Vitter
Voinovich
Webb
Wicker
NAYS--43
Akaka
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
[[Page S4481]]
Schumer
Specter
Stabenow
Udall (NM)
Warner
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Byrd
Chambliss
Shaheen
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. On this vote, the yeas are 54, the
nays are 43. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not
having voted in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
Pursuant to the previous order, the amendment is withdrawn.
Amendment No. 4204
There will now be 15 minutes of debate equally divided among the
Senator from Wisconsin, Mr. Feingold, the Senator from Oklahoma, Mr.
Coburn, and the Senator from Hawaii, Mr. Inouye.
Who yields time?
The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, my amendment is cosponsored by
Senators Boxer, Durbin, Merkley, Sherrod Brown, Sanders, Udall of New
Mexico, and Harkin, and would require the President to provide a
flexible, nonbinding timetable for the responsible drawdown of U.S.
troops from Afghanistan. It does not set a specific date for the
withdrawal of such troops. It does not require the President to
actually redeploy troops. It does not place any restrictions on
funding.
The President has already indicated his surge strategy in Afghanistan
is time limited and that he will begin redeploying troops in July 2011.
All we are asking in this amendment is that the President provide
further details on how long this redeployment is expected to take.
Our brave servicemembers and the American taxpayers deserve to know
what is being asked of them as they risk their lives and spend their
money to continue this war.
My amendment is not about whether we support the President or the
troops. All of us support the troops, and I hope we all wish the
President success in Afghanistan. Nor is it about whether we agree with
the President's strategy. I, for one, happen to have serious doubts
about the administration's approach. But in light of our deficit and
domestic needs and in light of rising casualty rates in Afghanistan and
in light of the growing al-Qaida threat around the world, an expensive,
troop-intensive, nation-building campaign doesn't add up for me. We
should be focusing on Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and other terrorist
safe havens.
Frankly, I am disappointed we are about to pass a bill providing tens
of billions of dollars to keep this war going with so little public
debate about whether this approach even makes any sense. But no matter
how we feel about the President or his approach in Afghanistan, I hope
we can agree on the need for an exit strategy as we approach the 9-year
anniversary of a war that is showing no signs of winding down. That is
all my amendment would require--a nonbinding plan to bring this war
eventually to a close.
We have lost 1,000 servicemembers in this war. We have spent $300
billion. I hope my colleagues will agree that the American people
deserve an answer to the question: How much longer?
I reserve the remainder of my time, and I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to be yielded 3
minutes.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I oppose the Feingold amendment. Section
1019 of the Feingold amendment specifically requires the President, by
December 31, 2010, to submit a timetable for the completion of
redeployment of our troops out of Afghanistan.
The message our military presence in Afghanistan is not open-ended
was delivered by President Obama at West Point last December when he
set the date of July 2011 to begin a reduction of U.S. forces in
Afghanistan. It was an important message of reassurance to the American
people, and it was an important message for the Afghan leaders to hear:
that while we intend to help Afghanistan succeed in its battle with the
Taliban, our troop presence is not open-ended, and they must build up
their own army and their police force to take responsibility for their
own security.
If we adopt the Feingold amendment, we will be sending a very
different message to the government and to the people of Afghanistan.
It would reinforce the fear if we adopt this amendment--an already
deep-seated fear in Afghanistan--that the United States will abandon
the region. That is a message we can ill-afford to send regarding the
future stability of Afghanistan, and it is a particularly unwise
message to send while our forces are still deploying to Afghanistan and
while the Taliban is doing everything it can to convince the Afghan
people that U.S., NATO, and Afghan forces are unable to protect them
from the violence and the intimidation that is their hallmark.
The President's decision to set the beginning point to begin the
reduction of our forces in Afghanistan in July of 2011 was a wise
decision. It was supported by our senior civilian and military leaders.
They supported the decision, provided that the pace and the location of
the reductions would be determined by the conditions on the ground at
the time in Afghanistan.
The Feingold amendment is totally different. It requires the setting
of a timetable for completion of redeployment of our troops from
Afghanistan, and it requires that timetable to be set by this December.
It is an unwise move, and I hope we do not adopt it.
I yield the floor.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, how much time do I have remaining?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 2\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. FEINGOLD. I thank the Chair. I appreciate the comments of the
Senator from Michigan, but I feel very strongly that my amendment has
to be properly characterized. This is not a specific timetable. It
merely asks the President to give us a vision of a timetable of when he
intends for this to be over.
The Senator from Michigan tries to reassure us that the President has
announced a start date for us to get out of Afghanistan. Well, that
doesn't work because how do we think the people of that area of the
world will be reassured if we are going to only start to withdraw the
troops in 2011? You take one troop out, that starts it. That is not a
vision of when we intend to complete it.
The Senator suggests that somehow this sends the wrong message in the
region. Well, actually, the wrong message is that we intend to be there
forever. We don't intend to be there forever. But you know what. After
9 years, people start wondering--9 years; 9 years with no vision of
when we might depart. In fact, I think the absolute worst message in
the region is an open-ended commitment. The worst thing we can do is
not give some sense to the people of that region and to the American
people and to our troops that there is some end to this thing. All we
ask for in this amendment is some vision from the President about when
he thinks we might complete this task.
So when this amendment is properly characterized, it is actually a
way to help us make sure the Taliban and al-Qaida and others do not win
the hearts and minds of the Afghan people because they need to be
reassured that we intend to make sure their country comes back to them
and that it will not be occupied indefinitely.
I reserve the remainder of my time.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I yield myself 10 seconds to read the
amendment:
Not later than December 31, 2010, the President shall
submit to Congress a report, together with a timetable for
the completion of that redeployment.
Completion of that redeployment, obviously, from Afghanistan. That is
a ``shall;'' it is a report; it is a completion of the redeployment.
I yield the floor.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, how much time do I have remaining?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. No time.
Mr. FEINGOLD. I ask unanimous consent for 10 seconds to respond to
the Senator from Michigan.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 1 minute.
Mr. FEINGOLD. I thank the Chair. I thought I had a little more.
Madam President, the Senator is trying to read the amendment in a way
that is simply not accurate.
The amendment simply asks the President to provide his vision of a
[[Page S4482]]
timetable by which he would intend to withdraw the troops. It is
entirely nonbinding. Any suggestion that this is binding in any way on
the President or the U.S. Government is completely false and a
mischaracterization of the amendment. It is not binding. In fact, it
allows the President specifically to identify variables that would
cause him on his own to change the timetable. So how anyone can say
this is a binding timetable in any way, shape, or form is beyond me.
It is merely a request that the President give us his vision of when
he might withdraw from Afghanistan. It is the only fair way to
characterize this amendment.
Mr. REID. Madam President, President Obama has articulated a sound
strategy for surging our force in Afghanistan, a well-defined mission
to enable them to succeed, and a clear plan to begin to bring those
troops home starting next July. His plan honors the service of the 100
Nevadans in Afghanistan today and those of every American fighting
terrorists abroad to keep us safer at home.
I have always believed that our commitment in Afghanistan should not
be open-ended, which is why I continue to support the President's plan.
We have begun to reverse the Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan and
weakened al-Qaeda's operations, safe havens and leadership in the
region. Our troops will continue to defeat those terrorist networks and
others like it and we will continue to press the Afghan government to
end corruption and take responsibility for governing the country. But,
as the President's plan makes clear, these troops have a clear task in
place: to reverse the Taliban's momentum and to begin returning home
next July.
In light of the President's strategy and the recent progress, now is
not the time to change course.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Madam President, I yield myself 2 minutes from Senator
Levin's time or Senator Inouye's time.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is recognized.
Mr. REED. Madam President, this legislation clearly calls for a
report to be submitted by the President of the United States to
establish a timetable, and I think the suggestion that will not have
incredible consequences in the real world is somewhat naive.
If the President of the United States is forced to give Congress a
timetable stating dates, even if those dates have some variables
attached to them, that sets in motion a train of events that is
anything but a simple statement of vision. That statement of vision was
given by the President at West Point. In fact, he was criticized for
specifically indicating that there would be a point at which American
forces begin the withdrawal, but he did that. I think anyone
questioning the President's not only willingness to do this, but
understanding the need to redeploy our forces, should look at today's
headlines in the Washington Post where the Vice President has, once
again, reiterated that we are coming out of Iraq; that the timetables
the President talked about, the vision he talked about, all of those
things he is following through on, and he will do the same thing in
Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, the President's strategy is clear: to provide
military resources to reseize the momentum; to provide the opportunity
to build civilian capacity; and starting, as the Senator from Wisconsin
indicated, at a fixed date will begin a drawdown and will begin
changing our mission from combat operations to more counterterrorism
operations, more training of Afghani forces.
Frankly, what I think the President--and I will presume to speak at
this moment, at last in my view--sees in the future is a significant
drawdown of our military presence while we build up our civilian
presence. That civilian presence might include some trainers, police
trainers. It might include a lot of folks. Indeed, this vision is tied
directly to the concern we all have. There are active al-Qaida cells in
Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in Yemen, and one of the advantages of a
presence in Afghanistan is effectively cooperating with and encouraging
the Pakistanis.
I urge rejection of the amendment.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second? There
appears to be a sufficient second.
Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, all time is yielded back on this side.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the
amendment.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
is necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 18, nays 80, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 168 Leg.]
YEAS--18
Baucus
Boxer
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Gillibrand
Harkin
Leahy
Merkley
Murray
Sanders
Schumer
Specter
Tester
Udall (NM)
Wyden
NAYS--80
Akaka
Alexander
Barrasso
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Burris
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Dodd
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hagan
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
LeMieux
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Mikulski
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Thune
Udall (CO)
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
NOT VOTING--2
Byrd
Chambliss
The amendment (No. 4204) was rejected.
Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 4231
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there
will be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation
to amendment No. 4321, as modified, offered by the Senator from
Oklahoma.
The Senator from Hawaii.
Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, the Senator from Oklahoma feels we have
had enough debate, so we will not debate this further.
I move to table amendment No. 4231, as modified.
I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
is necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 45, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 169 Leg.]
YEAS--53
Akaka
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Boxer
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Specter
Stabenow
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
[[Page S4483]]
NAYS--45
Alexander
Barrasso
Bayh
Bennett
Bond
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Cochran
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Kohl
Kyl
LeMieux
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Tester
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Wicker
NOT VOTING--2
Byrd
Chambliss
The motion was agreed to.
Amendment No. 4232
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there
will be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation
to amendment No. 4232 offered by the Senator from Oklahoma.
The Senator from Hawaii.
Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I have been advised by the Senator from
Oklahoma that we have had enough debate. Therefore, I move to table
amendment No. 4232 and ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka) and
the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hagan). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 50, nays 47, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 170 Leg.]
YEAS--50
Baucus
Bennet
Bingaman
Boxer
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Specter
Stabenow
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Voinovich
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--47
Alexander
Barrasso
Bayh
Begich
Bennett
Bond
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Klobuchar
Kyl
LeMieux
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Tester
Thune
Vitter
Warner
Wicker
NOT VOTING--3
Akaka
Byrd
Chambliss
The motion was agreed to.
Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. COCHRAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote on the motion to
invoke cloture on the committee-reported substitute amendment.
If all time is yielded back, pursuant to rule XXII, the clerk will
report the motion to invoke cloture.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
hereby move to bring to a close debate on the committee-
reported substitute amendment to H.R. 4899, an act making
emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and
summer jobs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.
Harry Reid, Richard J. Durbin, John D. Rockefeller, IV,
Patty Murray, Debbie Stabenow, Benjamin L. Cardin,
Sherrod Brown, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Mark Begich,
Robert P. Casey, Jr., Jack Reed, Patrick J. Leahy, Carl
Levin, Amy Klobuchar, Kay R. Hagan, Roland W. Burris,
Charles E. Schumer.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call is waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the
committee-reported substitute amendment to H.R. 4899, the Supplemental
Appropriations Act of 2010, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call
the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd)
is necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: The Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 69, nays 29, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 171 Leg.]
YEAS--69
Akaka
Alexander
Baucus
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burris
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johanns
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--29
Barrasso
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Coburn
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Kyl
LeMieux
McCain
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Voinovich
Wicker
NOT VOTING--2
Byrd
Chambliss
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas are 69, the nays are 29. Three-fifths
of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative,
the motion is agreed to.
The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. BURRIS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Summer Jobs
Mr. BURRIS. I thank the Chair.
Madam President, this past Monday evening, as dusk fell on my
hometown of Chicago, a handful of young people took to the streets with
violent intentions.
By the time the sun came up on Tuesday, no fewer than seven people
had been shot, in a series of unrelated incidents.
This wave of violent crime continued into Tuesday afternoon, when
three more Chicagoans were shot and killed in broad daylight.
These incidents came right on the heels of another shocking murder.
Last week, a police officer and Iraq War veteran named Thomas Wortham
IV was shot to death only a few blocks from my home.
These events do not occur in a vacuum. They are part of a clear and
consistent pattern, a pandemic of gun violence that holds communities
in a vice grip. Every year, with the advent of the long, hot summer,
gang activity spikes. The line between good and bad neighborhoods
evaporates. In essence, our streets become a war zone. This is not a
passing concern; it is an emergency. This kind of violence should be
shocking. It should spark outrage and indignation. Yet too many of us
turn a blind eye. We are paralyzed by the destructive political process
and numb to the consequences of our failure to take action.
This problem can't simply be passed on to someone else. This violence
is happening in our cities and towns, where we live and where we work,
where we send our children to school. It is happening in our backyards.
So it
[[Page S4484]]
is up to us to raise the alarm. It is our responsibility to stem this
rising tide and take back our communities, our homes, our schools, and
our places of worship. We have seen that this is a pattern. We have
witnessed the terrible outcomes and measured the tragic human cost. Now
it is time to take action.
Certainly, we can make progress by increasing gun control and making
it more difficult for weapons to fall into the hands of criminals. This
effort must be a part of any comprehensive solution, and it is an issue
I have fought for throughout my career. But the reality is, a debate
about gun control will quickly turn into a pitched partisan battle. It
will consume time and political will, and in the end, we may not get
very far.
I believe we need to take a more practical, more immediate approach.
It is time to give our young people an alternative to destructive
behavior so they can spend their summers working to get ahead instead
of getting involved in criminal activities. Today, more than half of
Black men between the ages of 16 and 19 are unemployed. This number is
growing rapidly. In fact, the New York Times predicts that this summer
will be one of the bleakest on record. So if we would like to cut down
on violent crime, this is exactly where we need to start.
It is no accident that last year's landmark American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act included a major summer jobs component. It created
more than 300,000 summer jobs for youth across the country, including
some 17,000 in Illinois alone.
This year, we need to do even more. That is why I am proud to
cosponsor S. 2923, the Youth Jobs Act of 2010, introduced by the
distinguished Senator from Washington, Mrs. Murray. This legislation
would build on the success of the Recovery Act, setting aside $1.5
billion for youth employment opportunities through the Workforce
Investment Act. It would infuse money directly into the local economy
and give young people the chance to gain paid work experience, what
Senator Reid spoke about the other day, the gentleman who set up a work
opportunity and found out that the youth don't even have the work
experience or they don't even know how to work. We have to get them
some paid work experience. This will keep them off the streets in the
short term and give them better employment options down the road. It
would create half a million summer jobs from coast to coast and put a
serious dent in the youth unemployment rate. It will spur young people
to invest in their future and help foster a better community.
I urge my colleagues to pass this bill without delay. We can do this
right now. It will cut down on violent crime and have a real effect on
people's lives across America. There is no reason to wait another day
or another moment. That is why I am so frustrated by the obstructionism
that has afflicted this legislation for the past 6 months.
It is time to make a commitment to the next generation, give them the
opportunity to start down the right path because if we don't, then
every summer, when the school year ends and children seek new ways to
occupy their time, more and more of them will find fellowship with the
criminal element. This cycle of violence will continue.
I urge colleagues to pass the Youth Jobs Act before we adjourn for
the Memorial Day recess. Let's provide our young people with the
opportunity to turn away from violence. Let's give them a chance to
build a constructive future. Let's take back our communities. Let's do
it now. Let's do it today.
____________________