Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2005)
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I am deeply disappointed with the level of funding in this apropriations bill for the State Criminal Alien Assistanace Program which helps States and localities jail criminal aliens. The bill is better than the President's budget fiscal year 2006 request of $0 for SCAAP, but that isn't too difficult.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the President's Budget request hasn't included a funding request for SCAAP since fiscal year 2003. Unfortunately, even the level provided in this bill is far below levels necessary to address the need of States and localities.
Senator FEINSTEIN and a bipartisan House group including Congressman KOLBE, the gentleman from Arizona, introduced bills that address the need for higher funding levels for SCAAP, including S. 188 and H.R. 557 calling for a SCAAP funding for fiscal year 2006 of $750 million.
The President's home State of Texas is one of SCAAP's big beneficiaries. From fiscal year 1997 to fiscal year 2004 the President's home State, Texas, has received over $351 million in order to incarcerate criminal aliens. But that doesn't even come close to the approximately $1.6 billion that California received in the same period or the $691 million that New York received.
The need for SCAAP funds to jail criminal aliens may well be why Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, Rick Perry of Texas, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Richard Codey of New Jersey, Kenny Guinn of Nevada, George Pataki of New York, Ruth Ann Miner of Delaware, Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, Charles Turnbull of the Virgin Islands, Christine Gregoire of Washington and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota wrote to Congress asking the appropriations committee to provide $750 million for SCAAP.
Their letter made clear that "SCAAP provides only partial, but important, reimbursement for the cost to incar cerate these individuals."
I agree with the Governors and with Senator FEINSTEIN and with some of our colleagues in the House that in fiscal year 2006 that the $750 million level is the correct one and that increases may well be necessary in future years.
Just looking at fiscal year 2004 SCAAP awards, at the level of funding contained in this appropriations bill, California alone will eat up at least a third of the monies available through SCAAP.
As the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee I believe that Congress must get its funding priorities right. We must focus on terrorists and criminal aliens. At a time when this Congress wants to outsource the enforcement of our civil immigration laws to the States, we need to set the right priorities. We need to fund SCAAP at higher levels.
Incarcerating criminal aliens is strongly in the homeland security interest. Making sure that our States have the money to help the Federal Government meet this commitment is in the homeland security interest.
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