Major Issues

Targeting Terrorism

Thank you Chairman Dorgan, Senator Nighthorse Campbell, for inviting me to join you here today.

Welcome, Commissioner Bonner and Commissioner Ziglar. It is good to have you before us today.

We have known for years that the Northern Border has been neglected when it comes to resources and staffing.

My home state of Vermont has seen huge increases in Customs and INS activity since the signing of NAFTA. The number of people coming through our borders has risen steeply over the years. But our staff and our resources have not.

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from Customs employees at the two major Vermont border crossings at Derby Line and Highgate Springs concerned about the number of people that have been assigned to our state.

There seems to be quite a discrepancy between what the people in the field say they need to do their job and what the people in Washington think they should get.

The awful attacks make these differing views all the more apparent and, honestly, troubling. I know that other Northern-border states face a similar situation.

Along the 4,000 miles of the Northern Border, there are only 1,773 Customs agents. In contrast, there are more than 8,000 agents along the 2,000 mile-long Southern Border. Similar discrepancies occur within the INS.

It seems that the entire upper tier of the country has lost out to the Southwestern border and the often stalemated war on drugs. The events of September 11th and the information we have learned since show why it is crucial that we even things out.

Under the leadership of this Committee, $25 million dollars will be added to increase customs agents in the north. This money is desperately needed, and I thank the Committee for having the foresight to include this measure in their bill. But more needs to be done.

I recently drafted an Anti-Terrorism bill in which I propose that federal government:

• Triple the number of Border Patrol agents, INS Inspectors, and Customs Service personnel in each Northern Border State;

• Direct $50 million for INS and $50 million for Customs to improve technology and acquire additional equipment for use at the Northern Border;

• Waive the cap on the number of full time employees that can be assigned to the INS as applied to the Northern Border;

• Allow the Attorney General to authorize additional overtime pay for INS officers (over existing $30,000 annual cap) to ensure that experienced personnel are available to protect the borders; and,

• Give INS access to criminal history record information contained in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center databases.

I hope I can work with the Committee and with U.S. Customs and INS to implement these much needed reforms. Again, thank you for coming here today. I have some questions which I will submit for the record.