Department of Justice Approriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 through 2009
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH 2009 -- (House of Representatives - September 28, 2005)
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AMENDMENT NO. 2 OFFERED BY MR. CUELLAR
Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
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Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and also the ranking member. I believe this amendment is acceptable both to the chairman and the ranking member.
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Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Judiciary Chairman SENSENBRENNER and Ranking Member CONYERS for putting together a good bill that will benefit the justice system in the United States.
Mr. Chairman, my amendment--number 40--to this bill will authorize appropriations for the newly structured Border Violence Task Force in Laredo, Texas.
My amendment will authorize appropriations of $10 million per year for the duration of the bill to provide for equipment, personnel, administrative, and technological costs. This authorization is necessary to provide the Border Violence Task Force the resources it needs to combat border violence.
My amendment will allow the Attorney General to designate the lead on the Border Violence Task Force that is currently being lead by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
This task force is an inter-agency law enforcement effort on the Federal, State, and local level to combat escalating violence on the United States-Mexico border. As the largest land port of entry in the United States, Laredo is a critical component of our Nation's economy. I have been working with officials from both sides of the border to help establish a collaborative solution to the violence, and the Border Violence Task Force is the result of that effort.
Our shared border with Mexico is one of our Nation's greatest cultural and economic assets. Unfortunately, in the past year, the growth and security of the border region has been threatened by a wave of violence. This violence has affected communities on both sides of the border, and has resulted in the highly publicized kidnapping of over 35 American citizens. If we are to restore peace and prosperity to our border communities, we need to act now.
Last May, I organized a Border Violence Task Force in Laredo, TX, to deal with border violence. The group included experts from the FBI; the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; Customs and Border Protection; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Marshal; the U.S. Attorney, the DEA, the State Department, U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, the Department of Public Safety-Narcotics, the Department of Public Safety-Intelligence, the local Webb County Sheriff, and the Laredo Chief of Police.
This Task Force has met a few times and the Special Agents-in-Charge in the region have agreed to work in a joint effort to develop a plan of action to address the escalating violence along the Mexico-United States border in Laredo, TX.
The task force will develop initiatives and strategies dealing specifically with the problems in the border region. The group will work in partnership and cooperation with each other maximizing their strengths and expertise.
This authorization represents a critical step forward for law enforcement in the border region, and the increased security and growth it will bring to the border will benefit communities throughout the Nation. I urge you to support the law enforcement officers on the United States-Mexico border who are working to keep our border communities safe.
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AMENDMENT NO. 3 OFFERED BY MR. CUELLAR
Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
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Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
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Mr. Chairman, my amendment to H.R. 3402--number 39--will authorize the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Gang Intelligence Center. This effort builds upon a $10 million appropriation given in fiscal year 2005 for the establishment of such a center, and will permanently ensure the presence and operation of this critical information network.
A version of this amendment was unanimously approved in H.R. 1279, the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005.
My amendment adds $10 million in authorization for the National Gang Intelligence Center for each fiscal year of the bill, which mirrors the $10 million appropriation given for fiscal year 2005.
In order to fully encompass the scope of gang intelligence collection and capabilities, my amendment not only includes collection and dissemination involving law enforcement from Federal, State, and local agencies, but also corrections agencies and penal institutions at the Federal, State and local levels.
The addition of these components will allow for intelligence gathering from entities involved in post-prosecution activities such as community-based corrections and incarceration.
My Congressional District, the 28th of Texas, is both rural and urban, and has the added concerns of the violence and drug trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border. Along the border there is violence in Nuevo Laredo in Mexico that spills over into Laredo, in my district. For the pervasive gang problem, we definitely need a system of intelligence collection and sharing.
Increasingly, gangs operate on an interstate and even international level. Our law enforcement agencies are often handicapped in their gang enforcement efforts by a lack of clear communication and ready information. What is needed is a central clearinghouse, to coordinate the efforts of various law enforcement and corrections agencies to combat violent gang activity. An information-oriented approach to gang violence has been highly effective in my home State of Texas, and I am confident that it will be effective on a national level as well.
I urge passage of my amendment that will help our Nation's law enforcement professionals keep the tools they need to keep our communities safe.
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Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, is this the amendment that authorizes the FBI National Gang Intelligence Center?
Mr. CUELLAR. That is correct.
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