[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H6118-H6119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BORDER SECURITY INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2012
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 6368) to require the Department of Justice, in
consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, to provide a
report to Congress on the Departments' ability to track, investigate
and quantify cross-border violence along the Southwest Border and
provide recommendations to Congress on how to accurately track,
investigate, and quantify cross-border violence, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6368
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Border Security Information
Improvement Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. STUDY.
(a) Report on Cross-Border Violence on the Southwest
Border.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General and the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall jointly submit to the
congressional committees set forth in subsection (b) a report
on cross-border violence on the Southwest Border of the
United States. Such study shall include--
(1) the definition of cross-border violence used by law
enforcement components within the Departments of Justice and
Homeland Security;
(2) the ability of the Departments of Justice and Homeland
Security and their law enforcement components to track,
investigate, quantify, and report on the level of cross-
border violence occurring along the Southwest Border of the
United States;
(3) the extent to which the Departments of Justice and
Homeland Security define and track cross-border violence and
steps being taken to address the effects of cross-border
violence along the Southwest Border of the United States;
(4) the information and data on cross-border violence
collected and made available through inter-agency taskforces
on the Southwest Border of the United States, including the
Southwest Border High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area,
Arizona's Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats, the El
Paso Intelligence Center, the Border Enforcement and Security
Task Force, and State and Local Fusion Centers; and
(5) the additional resources needed to track, investigate,
quantify and report on the level of cross-border violence
occurring along the United States-Mexico border.
(b) Congressional Committees.--The congressional committees
set forth in this subsection are--
(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6368, as
amended, currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my colleague and good friend,
Congressman Francisco Canseco, for his work on the issue of cross-
border violence and its impact on the United States.
Mr. Speaker, In recent years, drug trafficking-related violence has
increased in Mexico. According to Mexican officials, over 40,000 people
have been killed as the result of drug-related violence since 2006.
As the gentleman from Texas has pointed out, we should be very
concerned that there are insufficient methods to track this violence
and that it spills over into the United States.
When evaluating increased violence in Mexico and its effect on the
United States, a central concern is the potential for what has been
termed ``spillover violence''--an increase in drug trafficking-related
violence in the United States.
The violence being committed by Mexican drug cartels within Mexico's
own borders presents a national security challenge for Mexico. When
that violence spills over into the United States, it presents a
national security concern for America as well.
Cross-border violence is a challenge for both countries while
criminals kill not only each other but government officials, law
enforcement and military officers, innocent civilians and children.
Administration officials maintain that there has not yet been a
significant spillover of violence from Mexico into the United States.
But we should not wait for it to happen.
This bill requires the Department of Justice and the Department of
Homeland Security to provide a joint report to Congress on the
Departments' ability to track, investigate and measure cross-border
violence along the Southwest border.
In addition, it directs the Departments of Justice and Homeland
Security to make recommendations to Congress on how best to accurately
track, investigate and measure cross-border violence.
Cross-border violence is a complex problem which cannot be resolved
overnight. This legislation is an important first step in developing an
overall strategy to combat spillover violence.
I again thank Mr. Canseco for his work on this issue, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
I will now yield as much time as he might consume to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Canseco).
{time} 1820
Mr. CANSECO. I want to thank my friend and colleague and fellow San
Antonian--the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Smith--as well
as his diligent and hardworking staff, for their help on this very
important matter.
I come to the floor today, Madam Speaker, in support of my
legislation, H.R. 6368, the Border Security Information Improvement
Act.
As the Representative of a district with nearly 800 miles of U.S.-
Mexico border, I know firsthand how important the security of our
citizens along our shared border with Mexico is. As I visit with the
people of the 23rd District of Texas, I hear time and time again from
Americans living along the border that they do not feel safe or secure.
They talk of living in fear. They tell me that Washington is not paying
attention as drugs, weapons, and humans are smuggled through their
communities. Washington is not listening as they ask for help as
violence from Mexican drug cartels spills into their communities and
cities and towns.
Many of the statistics and information used to make claims about the
security of our southwest border are based on information from sources,
such as the Uniform Crime Report, that are not intended to measure
security along our border.
Administration officials have claimed that the border is safe and
secure. Yet, while attending a Homeland Security Committee hearing last
May, I learned that the Department of Homeland Security and the
Department of Justice do not have a working, uniform definition of
``spillover violence.'' Yet witnesses at the hearing--
[[Page H6119]]
high-ranking officials from Justice and Homeland Security--stated that
there is no cross-border violence.
This is completely unacceptable. If the Federal Government cannot
even define what endangers border citizens, we cannot ensure their
safety. H.R. 6368 is simple. It is straightforward. It is a bill that
will address this very problem.
It directs the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland
Security to submit a report to Congress on their ability to define, to
track, to investigate, and to quantify cross-border, or spillover,
violence.
The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security will furthermore
report what information and statistics are available and that are at
their disposal in order to understand the amount of violence spilling
into the United States. The ability to correctly monitor the level of
spillover violence occurring across our Nation's borders will allow us
to assess the success of our border security policies and to ensure
that we have the correct policies in place in order to stop violence,
stop drugs and contraband from spilling into the United States.
Lastly, the Departments will recommend to Congress what additional
resources are necessary in order to track, quantify, and report on
cross-border violence so that Congress can do its part and ensure that
our Federal law enforcement agencies have the tools and the data that
they need to do their jobs. Congress must be a willing and able partner
in the fight against the ruthless Mexican cartels and the violence that
they bring into our American communities.
Madam Speaker, the American people deserve to know the capability of
their government to address cross-border violence. This bill does not
seek to prove that one party is right or that one party is wrong. It
simply seeks to find out the ability of the Departments of Justice and
Homeland Security to define, to track, and to understand the amount of
violence spilling into the United States from Mexico. In order to
achieve a secure border, we must be able to correctly gauge the amount
of violence that is spilling into the United States, and I believe that
this bill is an important first step in that direction.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
H.R. 6368 requires the Department of Justice and the Department of
Homeland Security, no later than 180 days after the enactment of this
law, to jointly provide a report to Congress on those Departments'
abilities to track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence
along our country's southwest border and to provide recommendations to
Congress on how to accurately track, investigate, and quantify cross-
border violence.
This seems like a good idea, and I note that the bill provides that
we will receive budget recommendations along with the report, as some
have suggested, so that we can reduce the size of government with
unspecified cuts, but then we are often surprised to see what those
cuts are. Tracking, investigating, and responding appropriately to
cross-border violence will require personnel and equipment, which
obviously will require increases, not cuts, in the budget.
I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Canseco) for his work
on the bill. I look forward to the report, and I recommend the bill's
passage.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Washington, DC, September 12, 2012.
Hon. Lamar Smith,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Smith: I am writing in regards to the
jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Homeland Security
over provisions in H.R. 6368, which requires the Department
of Justice, in consultation with the Department of Homeland
Security, to provide a report to Congress on the ability to
track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence along
the Southwest Border and provide recommendations to Congress.
I understand the importance of advancing this legislation
to the House floor in an expeditious manner. Therefore, the
Committee on Homeland Security will discharge H.R. 6368 from
further consideration. This action is conditional on our
mutual understanding and agreement that doing so will in no
way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on
Homeland Security over the subject matter included in this or
similar legislation. I request that you urge the Speaker to
appoint members of this Committee to any conference committee
for consideration of any provisions that fall within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security in the
House-Senate conference on this or similar legislation.
I also request that this response and your letter be
included in the Committee on the Judiciary report to H.R.
6368 and in the Congressional Record during consideration of
this measure on the House floor. Thank you for your
consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Peter T. King,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC, September 13, 2012.
Hon. Peter King,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman King, Thank you for your letter dated
September 12, 2012, regarding H.R. 6368, the ``Border
Security Information Improvement Act of 2012,'' which was
referred to the Judiciary Committee on September 10.
I am most appreciative of your decision to forego
consideration of H.R. 6368 so that it may move expeditiously
to the House floor. I acknowledge that although you are
waiving formal consideration of the bill, the Committee on
Homeland Security is in no way waiving its jurisdiction over
the subject matter contained in the bill. In addition, if a
conference is necessary on this legislation, I will support
any request that your committee be represented therein.
Finally, I shall be pleased to include your letter and this
letter in the Congressional Record during floor consideration
of H.R. 6368.
Sincerely,
Lamar Smith,
Chairman.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Schmidt). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6368, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to require the
Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to
provide a joint report to Congress on the Departments' ability to
track, investigate and quantify cross-border violence along the
Southwest Border and provide recommendations to Congress on how to
accurately track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________