Fiscal Year 2011 Department Of Homeland Security Budget
Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, in a moment in history where our Nation is facing the constant threat of terrorism, we should be passing a budget that addresses those urgent needs. The administration's Department of Homeland Security budget does not.
In the midst of the Mexican cartel drug war raging on our border, the administration cuts 181 Border Patrol agents. At a time when our Coast Guardsmen are risking their lives in everyday places like Iraq and Haiti, this budget slashes active duty Coast Guard personnel by 1,100 people. And yet, we see budget increases to fund DHS bureaucrats in Washington, not security boots on the ground. And perhaps the most troubling, this budget devotes $200 million to try Guantanamo Bay terrorists on U.S. soil.
These exorbitant expenditures on misguided priorities are taking away from the critical needs of other DHS programs. What we need is a budget that addresses our current security needs, not a budget that brings terrorists to our soil and endangers Americans.