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[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 6 (Monday, January 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S312-S313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
        Durbin, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Kyl):
  S. 205. A bill to authorize additional resources to identify and 
eliminate illicit sources of firearms smuggled into Mexico for use by 
violent drug trafficking organizations, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Southwest 
Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009. This important legislation, 
which is cosponsored by Senators Hutchison, Durbin, and Feinstein, is 
aimed at addressing drug-related violence in Mexico by reducing the 
number of weapons that are illegally smuggled into the country.
  The ongoing violence in Mexico is having a devastating impact on the 
country. In 2008, more than 5,300 people were killed in Mexico--this is 
double the number in the previous year. During this last year, there 
were over 1,600 deaths just in Ciudad Juarez. Drug traffickers are 
warring with each other, assassinations of police and government 
officials are commonplace, lawyers and journalists have been killed, 
and many innocent civilians have been caught up in the crossfire.
  Border communities within the United States are also being directly 
impacted. Many of the people living in this region have strong family 
ties to Mexico and the violence makes it difficult to visit loved ones. 
U.S. border hospitals have had to provide medical care to the wounded 
under armed guard. And in New Mexico, we had to briefly shut down the 
Columbus Port of Entry due to gun battles in the Mexican border town of 
Palomas and provide police escorts to school buses passing through the 
area. At one point this last year, the entire police force in Palomas 
resigned due to threats by drug traffickers and the Chief of Police 
fled to the United States to seek asylum.
  Besides the horrific human toll this violence is having on 
communities throughout Mexico, it also impacts the overall economy of 
the border region. Everyday thousands of people travel back and forth 
between the United States and Mexico for business and pleasure. This 
flow of people and goods is an essential aspect of maintaining healthy 
economic activity on both sides of the border. However, the current 
security situation is hampering bilateral trade, new business ventures, 
and tourism. In these tough economic times, the violence exacerbates an 
already bad economic environment.
  The United States has taken some important steps to help Mexico fight 
drug traffickers, such as increasing bilateral cooperation and 
providing substantial financial assistance as part of the Merida 
initiative. However, there is much more that we can be doing to help 
quell this violence. One key area where more can and should be done is 
with regard to stopping the flow of weapons being smuggled into Mexico 
from the United States.
  According to the ATF, about 90 percent of the weapons confiscated in 
Mexico come from sources within the United States because firearms are 
much more readily accessible in the United States than in Mexico. These 
weapons are the so-called ``tools of the trade'' for narco-traffickers. 
They are the means by which cartels maintain control over drug 
corridors and the instrument they use to execute their scheme of 
violence and intimidation.
  In the four U.S. border States there are about 6,600 licensed gun 
dealers. The vast majority of these dealers act in accordance with the 
law, but drug gangs exploit the availability of weapons in the region 
to supply cartels on the Mexican side of the border with illegal high-
powered weapons.
  The ATF has a very successful initiative in place to combat 
southbound illicit weapons trafficking, know as Project Gunrunner, but 
they need more resources to adequately tackle the problem.
  The Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act would provide these much 
needed resources. Specially, this legislation would authorize $30 
million over 2 years to expand Project Gunrunner teams in the border 
region and $19 million to assign agents to U.S. consulates in Mexico to 
assist Mexican law enforcement with smuggling investigations.
  I would also like to make it clear that nothing in this bill limits 
the sale of firearms or places any additional restrictions on licensed 
dealers. This effort is only focused on enhancing the investigative 
capabilities of the ATF with regard to arms trafficking in order to 
weed out the bad actors and to ensure that weapons aren't being 
illegally smuggled across the border.
  The United States has traditionally focused on enhancing efforts to 
prevent illegal narcotics from being smuggled into the county. While we 
obviously need to dedicate resources toward this end, we also should be 
taking a comprehensive approach that recognizes that the northbound 
flow of narcotics is dependent on the southbound flow of weapons and 
currency. Denying traffickers the proceeds of drug sales and the 
ability to heavily arm their cartels is essential in reducing the drug 
flow into the United States.
  It is insufficient to simply rely on Mexican authorities to stop the 
flow of guns going into their country. Drug trafficking is a 
transnational threat and the solution must involve sustained 
cooperation between the United States and Mexico. We must do more on 
our side of the border to disrupt weapons smuggling if we are going to 
be successful in combating drug cartels.
  Instability and violence in Mexico is taking a toll on communities on 
both sides of the border. I strongly believe that this is an issue that 
deserves more attention, and I hope my colleagues will support this 
bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 205

       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 ``Southwest Border Violence 
     Reduction Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. PROJECT GUNRUNNER.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall dedicate and 
     expand the resources provided for the Project Gunrunner 
     initiative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
     Explosives to identify, investigate, and prosecute 
     individuals involved in the trafficking of firearms across 
     the international border between the United States and 
     Mexico.
       (b) Activities.--In carrying out this section, the Attorney 
     General shall--
       (1) assign additional agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, 
     Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the area of the United 
     States adjacent to the international border between the 
     United States and Mexico to support the expansion of Project 
     Gunrunner teams;
       (2) establish not fewer than 1 Project Gunrunner team in 
     each State along the international border between the United 
     States and Mexico; and
       (3) coordinate with the heads of other relevant Federal law 
     enforcement agencies and State and local law enforcement 
     agencies to address firearms trafficking in a comprehensive 
     manner.
       (c) Additional Staff.--The Attorney General may hire Bureau 
     of Alcohol, Tobacco,

[[Page S313]]

     Firearms, and Explosives agents for, and otherwise expend 
     additional resources needed to adequately support, Project 
     Gunrunner.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 
     and 2011 to carry out this section.

     SEC. 3. ENHANCED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General, in cooperation with 
     the Secretary of State, shall--
       (1) assign agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
     Firearms, and Explosives to the United States mission in 
     Mexico, to work with Mexican law enforcement agencies in 
     conducting investigations relating to firearms trafficking 
     and other criminal enterprises;
       (2) provide the equipment and technological resources 
     necessary to support investigations and to trace firearms 
     recovered in Mexico; and
       (3) support the training of Mexican law enforcement 
     officers in serial number restoration techniques, canine 
     explosive detection, and antitrafficking tactics.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $9,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 
     and 2011 to carry out this section.
                                 ______
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