[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                QUESTIONING THE PRESIDENT'S BORDER PLAN

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, it seems the President has found a new use 
for the Guard, dealing with his Presidency.
  On Monday the President announced his intention to send 6,000 
National Guardsmen to secure the border. Never mind that his budget 
cuts the National Guard by 17,000, and that the Guard has been 
stretched to the breaking point by the war in Iraq.
  Never mind that the President's own budget this year fails to provide 
adequate funding for new border agents, and never mind that Michael 
Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, thought this was a bad idea 
just 6 months ago.
  In December 2005 Michael Chertoff told Bill O'Reilly, ``The National 
Guard is not trained for the border mission.''
  Now it is an election year, the President's poll numbers are down, so 
the President has decided to deploy the Guard, regardless of what his 
own budget and the Homeland Security Director has said.
  This is an election year, of course. Michael Chertoff is now changing 
his tune. ``What the President did last night was to put on the turbo 
chargers in dealing with and focusing on this illegal immigration 
effort that we have got, on a comprehensive basis.''
  Mr. Speaker, I have been in politics a long time. I have seen my 
share of political gestures. Having failed to do anything on 
immigration for 5\1/2\ years, the President has decided to act with 
just 5\1/2\ months to go before election day.
  It is time for a change. It is time for new priorities.

                          ____________________