Date: 2006-09-21
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. really. we are talking a lot. but if we had acted in the last 12 years. we would be in a lot better situation. It has been mentioned that violent gang members should not be admitted to the United States and that somehow we need to change the law in order to accomplish that. I would note. however. that under section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. gang members are already inadmissible to the United States. and if we had adequate personnel. theywould have been turned away at the border. And thinking about what we could have done. we could have voted the resources over the years to do that. I will just mention a few votes that every Republican on the floor voted against. In 2001. rollcall vote No. 454 in November of 2001. Democrats suggested that we add $223 million for border security to help meet the promises of the PATRIOT Act on border staffing and what the 9/11 Commission recommended. What happened? On a partyline vote. that additional resources to keep gang members out was defeated. In 2003. rollcall vote No. 301 in June of 2003. Republicans voted against consideration of an amendment that would have added $300 million for border security. including making a further down payment on the promise of the Congress iii the 2001 PATRIOT Act to triple the number of border agents and in-. spectors albng the northern border. and all the Republicans on the floor here today voted against that. Vote No. 305 in 2003 was additional appropriations that Democrats were recommending. $300 million. again to enhance border security and keep gang members and others out of the United States. And again Republicans all voted against it. the Democrats.voted for it. Rollcall vote No. 243 in 2004. again Republicans voted against consider-. ation of an amendment .that would have added $759 million for border security. In 2005. rollcall vote No. 160. Democrats tried . again. and Republicans voted against a motion to report back to conference with instructions to add $284 million for additional border security measures. That $284 million would have included funding for an additional 550 Border Patrol agents. 200 additional immigration agents. and additional border aerial vehicles. In 2005. rollcall vote 174. once again Republicans voted against consideration of amendments that would have added $400 million to border security. And later in 2005. rollcall vote No. 187. Republicans voted against a Democratic substitute that would have added 800 additional immigration agents and 8.000 additional detention beds. helping to meet the promise of the 9/11 Commission. In 2005. rollcall vote 188. again Republicans voted against a motion to recommit the Homeland Security Authorization bill with instructions so that we could add 800 additional immigration agents and 8.000 additional detention beds. And. of course. rollcall vote 56 in 2006. Republicans defeated an amendment to H.R. 4939. the supplemental approps that would have added $600 million for border security measures in the bill. including $400 million for installation. 1.500 radiation portal monitors and air patrols and the like. Again. rollcall vote 210 this year. Republicans voted against consideration of an amendment that would have added $2.1 billion for border security. helping us to meet our commitments by adding additional Border Patrol agents. immigration agents. and detention beds. .Now. in the face of all of this negativism. we have here in the last 6 days of this Congress fluff. Fluff. I dont think the American people are going to buy it.