[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14021]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           REPUBLICANS NOT SERIOUS ABOUT SECURING OUR BORDERS

  (Mr. STUPAK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, for 5 years now Washington Republicans have 
refused to fund border security programs. But it is not only our effort 
at our borders, Republicans refuse to go after employers who break the 
law. Under their leadership, work site enforcement was cut back by 95 
percent. As a result, the government prosecuted four employers in 2003 
as opposed to 182 in 1999.
  Securing our borders doesn't happen magically. It takes funding and 
it takes agents at the border, two things seriously lacking right now. 
Under pressure to act earlier this year, President Bush vowed to have 
2,500 National Guard troops on our border by June 30, but all he could 
muster was 248. The administration claims the rest of the Guardsmen are 
now going through training. So much for keeping promises.
  Now the House Republicans are seriously jeopardizing any real 
attempts to sign a border security bill into law this year. House 
Republicans simply refuse to negotiate a final bill, choosing instead 
to hold hearings on a bill they already passed.
  The time for talking is over. It is time for House Republicans to 
join us to secure our borders.

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