Dispute Over Border Security Spending Moves To The Senate

As the Continuing Resolution passed in the House moves to the Senate this week, the debate over cuts in border spending is beginning to heat up.

Julia Preston of the New York Times has the full story here, essentially Democrats are saying that they will not sign the budget passed this week because there are cuts in spending on border security:

Preparing for the fight next week in Congress over federal spending legislation, Democratic leaders in the Senate said they will not support a bill with $60 billion in budget cuts that passed the Republican-led House on Saturday because it reduces funding for border security.

Democrats are arguing that the cuts to border funding would undermine the Emergency Border Security funds that passed with complete bi-partisan support last year:

In a letter sent on Monday to House appropriations leaders, Senator Charles Schumer of New York and two other Democrats said the House bill would shrink the Border Patrol by 870 agents and cut $272 million in funds for surveillance systems to monitor the border with Mexico. They said those cuts would cancel gains from a bill adopted last August, with virtually unanimous bipartisan support, that increased border funding by $600 million, adding 1,000 new agents to the Border Patrol. “This magnitude of reduction is simply dangerous,” wrote Mr. Schumer, who is chairman of the Senate judiciary subcommittee on immigration. Also signing were Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Jon Tester of Montana.

The full letter can be read HERE, The other really important thing that Preston notes is that in the current Congress both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on the importance of Border Security.

Tough border security is a mantra for both Democrats and Republicans in Congress this year, with each party trying to outdo the other. Republicans have accused the Obama administration of slowing border enforcement, allowing illegal immigration and drug violence to run out of control.

GOP refusal to accept that the Government has poured unprecedented amounts of resources at the border is especially frustrating, given that they are currently trying to cut funds to secure the border. Lamar Smith, (R-TX) Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, gave the following as a reason for GOP cuts:

“Even with all the money in the world, the administration would not succeed in securing the border because they are not serious about it,”

To these ears, the statement above sounds a lot like politics with little in the way of policy to back it up.