Sigaba
03-26-2009, 14:30
Source is here (http://thehill.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80965&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=70).
Napolitano says thanks but no thanks, DHS has funds
By Jordy Yager
Posted: 03/25/09 07:06 PM [ET]
The head of the Department of Homeland Security turned down an offer for more money to fight crime along the U.S.’s southern border, saying she’ll pay for it with the funds she has.
At a meeting of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he requested an additional $380 million in funds for enhanced border protection.
But Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she thought that the agency’s existing funds would cover the costs of the administration’s increased presence in the border region.
“These actions so far are designed to be budget-neutral,” she said. “What I have done is identify other activities that are less urgent ... to be able to move these resources where I think they are needed most.”
President Obama’s administration announced Tuesday that it planned to send hundreds more federal agents to the Southwest to battle the increasing levels of guns, money and drugs trafficked across the border.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined Lieberman in suggesting that perhaps more resources were needed to fight the growing levels of violence and drug trafficking. He also expressed his concern that other areas of law enforcement would suffer as they lost personnel to the Southwest’s increased manpower.
Napolitano said the increase in forces along the border the administration announced Tuesday was not the “last word” on the matter, and that it would be open to revision following Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Mexico this week and President Obama’s trip in April.
“If we need to scale up, that will be something that we will bring to you,” she told Lieberman. “In light of the other demands on the budget and the economic exigencies of the situation, I viewed it as my responsibility to find a way to pay for this with the money that Congress has appropriated.”
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee supported Napolitano’s plan and refusal to ask for money, calling it a “prudent approach” in an economically trying time.
“I’m not certain that just plusing-up the budget is the way to go,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). “I think what [Napolitano] has offered is a reasonable approach to the situation. She’s saying, ‘Let me look at the budget, we’ll assign some people, and if we do that and it doesn’t work, then we’ll [ask for more money].’ ”
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized Napolitano for not requesting more money and said he would support sending military personnel to the border, a move the administration said it is not considering.
“It’s, quite frankly, not appropriate, in my opinion, to say that we’ve got budget problems when it comes to this,” said Graham. “I would encourage you not only to think about it but come back to us and say, ‘Help me fund it.’
“When it comes to the idea of how to use the military, if you think there’s a need for it, let’s get all in.”
Despite assurances that current funding would suffice, Napolitano may not have a say in the matter, according to Lieberman.
“So we may have a friendly disagreement,” said Lieberman of Napolitano’s refusal to ask the committee for more money. “I may try to get you more resources than you’re asking for.
“Sen. McCain and me have an inherent tendency to want to support surges,” added Lieberman, who along with McCain supported the troop increase in Iraq in 2007.
Meanwhile, Clinton arrived in Mexico on Wednesday and acknowledged the role the U.S. plays in Mexico’s drug wars.
“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,” she said, according to media reports. “Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.”
And Lieberman told Napolitano he thought she could use the money.
“I think you’re going to need more resources to get the job done,” said Lieberman, who in his 2010 budget requested $250 million to hire an additional 1,600 customs and border protection officers along with additional funds for border protection activities. “I mean, this is a kind of war.”
Obama’s plan would send to the region more than 300 Homeland Security personnel, 16 Drug Enforcement Administration personnel and 100 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives personnel.
The recently passed omnibus spending bill included $300 million to supply the Mexican government with helicopters, police training and other tools to wage war against the cartels, which were responsible for more than 6,000 murders in Mexico last year.
“The 6,000 homicides already noted in the northern states of Mexico is a huge number,” Napolitano said. “But the fact that over 550 of them were assassinations of law enforcement and public official personnel is itself chilling. And that indicates itself the seriousness with which this battle must be waged.”
Ms. Napolitano declined the additional funding after giving the statement available here (http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/testimony_1237993537881.shtm). In that statement, Ms. Napolitano discussed in detail her expertise and experience.
I have fought border crime for the past 16 years in my posts as Governor, Attorney General, and U.S. Attorney in the border state of Arizona. I have hiked, driven, flown in a helicopter, and even ridden horseback over our southwest border. While border crimes are not new to those of us who are from border states, they are troubling, which is why we are bolstering DHS's ability to go after border criminals.
Clearly, we have nothing to worry about with her firm hand at the wheel.:rolleyes:
Napolitano says thanks but no thanks, DHS has funds
By Jordy Yager
Posted: 03/25/09 07:06 PM [ET]
The head of the Department of Homeland Security turned down an offer for more money to fight crime along the U.S.’s southern border, saying she’ll pay for it with the funds she has.
At a meeting of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he requested an additional $380 million in funds for enhanced border protection.
But Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she thought that the agency’s existing funds would cover the costs of the administration’s increased presence in the border region.
“These actions so far are designed to be budget-neutral,” she said. “What I have done is identify other activities that are less urgent ... to be able to move these resources where I think they are needed most.”
President Obama’s administration announced Tuesday that it planned to send hundreds more federal agents to the Southwest to battle the increasing levels of guns, money and drugs trafficked across the border.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined Lieberman in suggesting that perhaps more resources were needed to fight the growing levels of violence and drug trafficking. He also expressed his concern that other areas of law enforcement would suffer as they lost personnel to the Southwest’s increased manpower.
Napolitano said the increase in forces along the border the administration announced Tuesday was not the “last word” on the matter, and that it would be open to revision following Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Mexico this week and President Obama’s trip in April.
“If we need to scale up, that will be something that we will bring to you,” she told Lieberman. “In light of the other demands on the budget and the economic exigencies of the situation, I viewed it as my responsibility to find a way to pay for this with the money that Congress has appropriated.”
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee supported Napolitano’s plan and refusal to ask for money, calling it a “prudent approach” in an economically trying time.
“I’m not certain that just plusing-up the budget is the way to go,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). “I think what [Napolitano] has offered is a reasonable approach to the situation. She’s saying, ‘Let me look at the budget, we’ll assign some people, and if we do that and it doesn’t work, then we’ll [ask for more money].’ ”
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized Napolitano for not requesting more money and said he would support sending military personnel to the border, a move the administration said it is not considering.
“It’s, quite frankly, not appropriate, in my opinion, to say that we’ve got budget problems when it comes to this,” said Graham. “I would encourage you not only to think about it but come back to us and say, ‘Help me fund it.’
“When it comes to the idea of how to use the military, if you think there’s a need for it, let’s get all in.”
Despite assurances that current funding would suffice, Napolitano may not have a say in the matter, according to Lieberman.
“So we may have a friendly disagreement,” said Lieberman of Napolitano’s refusal to ask the committee for more money. “I may try to get you more resources than you’re asking for.
“Sen. McCain and me have an inherent tendency to want to support surges,” added Lieberman, who along with McCain supported the troop increase in Iraq in 2007.
Meanwhile, Clinton arrived in Mexico on Wednesday and acknowledged the role the U.S. plays in Mexico’s drug wars.
“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,” she said, according to media reports. “Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.”
And Lieberman told Napolitano he thought she could use the money.
“I think you’re going to need more resources to get the job done,” said Lieberman, who in his 2010 budget requested $250 million to hire an additional 1,600 customs and border protection officers along with additional funds for border protection activities. “I mean, this is a kind of war.”
Obama’s plan would send to the region more than 300 Homeland Security personnel, 16 Drug Enforcement Administration personnel and 100 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives personnel.
The recently passed omnibus spending bill included $300 million to supply the Mexican government with helicopters, police training and other tools to wage war against the cartels, which were responsible for more than 6,000 murders in Mexico last year.
“The 6,000 homicides already noted in the northern states of Mexico is a huge number,” Napolitano said. “But the fact that over 550 of them were assassinations of law enforcement and public official personnel is itself chilling. And that indicates itself the seriousness with which this battle must be waged.”
Ms. Napolitano declined the additional funding after giving the statement available here (http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/testimony_1237993537881.shtm). In that statement, Ms. Napolitano discussed in detail her expertise and experience.
I have fought border crime for the past 16 years in my posts as Governor, Attorney General, and U.S. Attorney in the border state of Arizona. I have hiked, driven, flown in a helicopter, and even ridden horseback over our southwest border. While border crimes are not new to those of us who are from border states, they are troubling, which is why we are bolstering DHS's ability to go after border criminals.
Clearly, we have nothing to worry about with her firm hand at the wheel.:rolleyes: