[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23384-23385]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                             BORDER POINTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday evening after returning from a 
day and a half visit with the Canadian parliamentarians and government 
leaders in Ottawa, I spoke briefly about the importance of our mutual 
trade and our mutual concerns about terrorism.
  It is important when we are discussing antiterrorism efforts on our 
north and south borders that we not forget the importance of trade. The 
trade crossing just the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and 
Detroit, Michigan, equals all U.S.-Japan trade.
  That said, Americans as well as Canadians and Mexicans are concerned 
about the movement of terrorists and other illegal activity along our 
borders. It is not just about terrorists and possible terrorists. Most 
Americans have been aware of the narcotics problems along the U.S.-
Mexican border over the last decade. Andean cocaine and heroin move 
into the U.S. through Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The northern border 
does not have the fences and patrols that we have along the south 
border.
  Now, as drug patterns change in the United States, Canada has become 
a major narcotics conduit to the United States, as well: Ecstacy, 
coming mostly from the Netherlands, across into the U.S. from Canada; 
ephedrine and chemical precursors for methamphetamines, meth, for 
Ecstacy and other synthetic drugs are moving through Canada. These are 
in fact our fastest growing drug problems.
  Furthermore, potent marijuana from British Columbia, called B.C. Bud, 
and from Quebec, called Quebec Gold, have potencies similar to cocaine. 
In fact, Quebec Gold sells for about the same price as cocaine in New 
York City. But it is important for Americans to understand two basic 
points: one, it is our consumption that has resulted in our hemispheric 
neighbors turning into transit and drug-producing nations; and, B, in 
the case of Canada, the drug-trafficking, like the movement of 
terrorists, goes both ways.
  This does not change the need for border control. The borders are 
often our best chance to catch drug traffickers and terrorists before 
they lose themselves within our free nations; thus, we have to work on 
border control.
  So how can we keep our trade, tourism, and shared work forces moving 
with relative ease, and also protect our nations? It is not a matter of 
Canada, Mexico, or the U.S. dictating to the other nations about what 
must be done, but this is a fact: the United States is toughening its 
laws. If our neighbors do not, as well, trade will suffer.
  Changes must include numerous things, including more shared 
intelligence information among trained professional personnel. The 
personnel has to be trained so we do not have compromises when we share 
information, like happened with the Mexican drug czar who was living in 
an apartment that was owned by the cartel.
  The ability to collect intelligence information. We have to have laws 
that are flexible enough to allow us to gather the intelligence, or we 
cannot allow the movement across the borders as free as it has been in 
the past.
  The ability to arrest, detain, and prosecute violators, and to keep 
track of high risks. This is what we are doing in our terrorism bill; 
and this is what we need from our neighbors, if we are not going to 
have tighter controls on the border.
  The ability to extradite criminals to the U.S. This has been a 
sticking point for many years with numerous countries, for example, in 
Colombia where the drug-corrupted President would not allow 
extradition, and it became a place for them to hide out. It became a 
process where we in fact cut off trade and assistance to Colombia. It 
is now a problem with al Qaeda members from Spain, which does not want 
to send them to us because of our death penalty.
  Extradition of those who murder Americans is essential for justice, 
but also for defense and for protection and deterrence. Terrorists and 
drug lords would rather face soft justice than U.S. justice.
  In Holland, narcotics traffickers find cover. If someone in Holland 
attempts to escape or escapes from prison, there is no penalty. It is 
assumed that that is a natural thing, to want to escape from prison. Is 
it any wonder that people try to hide in Holland, with those kinds of 
laws? No wonder drug lords and terrorists try to hide out in other 
nations that do not work with our extradition.
  We need also passenger manifest lists, as our Customs Director, Mr. 
Bonner, has insisted; and we need them now. We cannot have open 
airports if we do not know who the passengers are coming in, and it is 
something that needs to be done immediately, to the degree that we can 
all, including the U.S. And we, the U.S., after all, missed the 
September 11 terrorists, and they were here, not at the other places. 
So this is not just about pointing fingers while we live in a glass 
house. We know we need to make the changes, but so do our neighbors.
  We in the U.S. are building a different house. It is not dramatic, 
but it

[[Page 23385]]

is going to have major adjustments. If our neighbors do so also, and 
Canada clearly is working rapidly to do so as we speak, because they 
are moving their antiterrorism and immigration packages in the next 2 
weeks, we can make this.
  The laws will be different but similar, with our neighbors devoting 
resources to their own airports and borders not adjacent to the U.S. 
For example, the southern border with Mexico and Central America, if we 
are sure about that border, then we do not have to be as careful on our 
border; or if the airports coming into Vancouver and Halifax have 
protections similar to ours, then we do not need to be as tight on the 
north border.
  Furthermore, we need to work towards joint efforts with Canada and 
Mexico on our joint borders. For example with Canada, we can look for 
cooperation on truck sites. We can look for shared border crossings 
where we do not need as much. I believe we can accomplish this with 
both countries by working together.

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