Secure Border Communications Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Secure Border Communications Act.

Every day our CBP agents and officers serve on the front lines in the fight to secure our homeland. They face threats from armed drug cartels, dangerous gangs like MS-13, human traffickers, and potential terrorists.

These brave individuals take pride in serving with vigilance, integrity, and professionalism in order to keep us safe.

To be successful, however, they must be equipped with the tools they need to do their jobs well. Too often, the communications devices and radios used by CBP officers and other agents are outdated and unreliable.

For instance, Border Patrol agents patrolling on the ground may not have direct radio contact with CBP air assets or other law enforcement officers working the area. This hinders interagency communications and jeopardizes their mission and safety.

At a subcommittee hearing earlier this year, a Border Patrol agent stated that she had been issued a radio that often failed. At times, she would need to communicate with a fellow agent but was forced to use her personal cell phone.

We cannot allow these kinds of technical failures to endanger the lives of our agents and weaken our national security. We must do better.

Fortunately, we can begin to fix this problem today. This legislation will ensure that CBP agents and officers are equipped with interoperable and secure radios or two-way communication devices.

In addition, this bill highlights the importance of reliable encrypted communications that will prevent powerful cartels from intercepting sensitive information, such as our CBP agents' and officers' locations.

Passing this bill is a simple step that we can take to help our CBP agents do their jobs and protect our homeland.

I would like to thank Congressman Mast for all his hard work on this issue. Congressman Mast is no stranger to service and sacrifice, serving overseas in our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he has the scars to prove it. We thank him for his service. It is a great honor to have him sponsor a bill from our committee.

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Mr. Speaker, this ensures that not only are communication devices operable but that they are interoperable between agents down on the border risking their lives day in and day out.

I can't thank them enough. I have been down to the border so many times, and I see the harsh conditions that they operate under. I just want to send a message of gratitude from the United States Congress and our Committee on Homeland Security, and thank them for the work that they do tirelessly. Honestly, I think we don't thank them enough for what they do.

The encryption issue is vitally important because the drug cartels are getting so sophisticated that they can pick up communications of our law enforcement. This bill will go a long way to help protect those communications and make sure that they can do their job in a more safe and efficient manner in protecting the American public.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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