Homeland Security
HOMELAND SECURITY -- (House of Representatives - June 27, 2005)
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Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) for organizing this discussion tonight. It is vital we take the time to talk about these important issues, and I appreciate the gentleman's efforts to highlight some of our accomplishments this evening.
Mr. Speaker, this Congress has done many good things to help secure our homeland, some of which we are discussing tonight, but in other areas, we still have a ways to go.
Take, for example, the issue of border surveillance. About 2 weeks ago, the subcommittee I chair held a hearing to discuss the camera system that monitors our Nation's northern and southern borders. Known as the Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System, or ISIS, these cameras are a critical link for helping secure our border.
Unfortunately, this system is not working as planned. What began as a program to monitor the border crossing of illegal immigrants, drug trafficker, and even terrorists has morphed into what one of our witnesses called ``a major project gone awry.''
According to a 2004 GSA audit, the problems go even further. For example, the initial $2 million contract was awarded without full competition. Just 1 year later that same contract ballooned to over $200 million, again without full competition, and the problems do not end there.
The GSA audit also reported significant issues relating to the surveillance system itself: 60-foot poles that were paid for but never installed; sensitive equipment that failed to meet electrical codes; an operations center where contractors and government employees did little or no work for over a year; and not surprisingly, numerous cost overruns. To top it off, in September 2004, the GSA abruptly ended the maintenance contract. This left approximately 70 border sites without monitoring equipment.
Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve better. What we have here, plain and simple, is a case of gross mismanagement of a multimillion-dollar contract. This agreement has violated Federal contracting rules, and it has wasted taxpayers' dollars. Worst of all, it has seriously weakened our Nation's border security.
Before DHS spends another $2.5 billion on a replacement system known as the America's Shield Initiative, we need to first fix the system we have got. With Federal dollars scarce and budgets tight, it is vital that the American people know what they are getting.
Thanks to the work of this Congress and many of my colleagues here tonight, we are improving the safety of America's homeland, but we still have a ways to go. As we move forward, I hope we can continue to address these issues at DHS.
I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support.
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