Letter to Honorable Jack Lew Director Office of Management and Budget

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer demanded that the Office of Management and Budget clear the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy, which was due on July 5, 2011, that now awaits the Office's review. The Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act (NBCSA), passed on January 4th, required the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) to set forth a northern border strategy for preventing the illegal trafficking of drugs across the international border between the United States and Canada, within 180 days of passage. On July 5, 2011, Schumer asked the Director of ONDCP, R. Gil Kerlikowske, to quickly release the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy within 7 days of receiving his letter, or provide a written explanation as to the cause of the delay, and an adjusted timetable for releasing the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy. In response, the ONDCP indicated that the strategy has been completed, but cannot be released until it has cleared the OMB review process. Schumer pointed out that each day without a coordinated counternarcotics strategy leaves our Northern Border exposed to illegal cross border activity.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for a crime-stopping strategy that protects our northern border from illegal drug trafficking to be over two months overdue," said Schumer. "This completed Northern Border Strategy has hit yet another road block at the Office of Management and Budget, and it must be reviewed, released, and implemented immediately to protect New York's northern border towns and communities. Law enforcement, local leaders, and residents should not have to wait one more day to know that the federal government is working in a coordinated and effective manner to patch dangerous gaps in our border security and protect our communities from illegal drug activity."

Schumer today wrote to Director Jack Lew of the Office of Management and Budget, pressing for the release of the long overdue Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy, which has met even further delays in being reviewed, released, and implemented to protect New York's northern border. On July 5, 2011, the day that a published northern border strategy was due by law, Schumer wrote to the Office of National Drug Control Policy Director R. Gil Kerlikowske, urging that he release the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy within 7 days of receiving his letter, or provide a written explanation as to the cause of the delay, and an adjusted timetable for the releasing the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy. Currently, more than two months after that due date, no strategy has been issued, and there does not appear to be a clear date when the completed strategy will be released from OMB.

In December 2010, the Senate passed the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 which aimed to help law enforcement officials along the northern border stem the flow of illegal drugs coming into their communities. The bill required federal law enforcement to develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan to blunt the illegal drug trade in a Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy. In the letter, Schumer expressed frustration with the Office of Management and Budget, where the two month overdue northern border strategy now awaits review, as it leaves gaps open for illegal drugs, such as ecstasy and cocaine, to pass through the expansive border.

On November 18, 2010, the Government Accountability Office released a report entitled Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Better Ensure a Coordinated Federal Response to Illegal Activity on Federal Lands. This report, requested by Senator John Tester (D-MT), indicated that a wide swath of the northern border needs additional attention to prevent illegal cross border activity. The Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 was passed shortly after, in response to these results.

The northern border of the United States is hard to monitor due to its length and geography and is often exploited by a diverse array of traffickers. Consequently, it is extremely important that the limited resources at the northern border are employed in the most coordinated and efficient manner possible. Increasingly, international traffickers use Indian reservations as a staging ground for narcotic operations throughout the country. Drug trafficking has become an increasing problem in Northern New York as international drug smugglers seek every available route to bring their products into the United States. For example, America's northern border is now the lead gateway for ecstasy to enter the U.S. Since 2005, seizures of ecstasy coming across the northern border has been eight times greater than seizures in our country's southwest border. Schumer cites this data in his fight for a Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy, which he states must be developed within 7 days of receiving his letter.

Schumer's push to secure a prompt presentation of the northern border anti-trafficking strategy, first from ONDCP in July 2011, and currently OMB, is just the latest in a series of initiatives to secure the northern border. In February, Schumer joined colleagues from other states along the northern border in a letter to Secretary Napolitano, asking that DHS begin utilizing military-grade radar technology along the border in order to detect low-flying planes that are commonly used to smuggle drugs. Schumer cited a report detailing the 24,000 drug-related arrests of adults in 2010 as well as an increase in the number of drugs being seized at border checkpoints as clear evidence that more must be done to combat this alarming problem. Last month, Napolitano said she intended to improve our ability to catch low-flying aircraft by integrating military radar feeds used by Canada with our Air and Marine Operations Command Center. At a May hearing on border security chaired by Schumer, Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Alan Bersin stated that the radar feed should be operational by November 2011, greatly enhancing our ability to detect and stop low-flying planes that might be loaded down with drugs.

Schumer also helped create a Massena-based border security enforcement team in neighboring St. Lawrence County. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operates a series of Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST). The teams will consist of personnel from ICE, CBP, tribal police, local, state, and Canadian law enforcement working in concert to improve overall border security. Given the success of the BEST team in the Buffalo/Niagara region, Schumer pushed for and successfully secured DHS' commitment to establish a BEST team to be based in Massena, NY. At a hearing on Northern Border issues, Schumer asked ICE Director Morton to establish the team as quickly as possible, given the growing drug abuse problem in Upstate New York. In response to Schumer's request, the Director stated that ICE plans to have implemented the team by October of 2011.

A copy of Senator Schumer's letter to Director Jack Lew, of the Office of Management and Budget appears below:

September 22, 2011

Honorable Jack Lew

Director
Office of Management and Budget

725 17th St., NW

Washington, DC 20503

Dear Mr. Lew:

As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, I am responsible for directing the Senate's oversight of the immigration enforcement functions of the federal government with regard to our borders. I write in this capacity to express my deep frustration with the delay in releasing the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy as required by law.

On January 4, 2011, the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 (NBCSA) was enacted, which required ONDCP to set forth the strategy of the Federal Government for preventing the illegal trafficking of drugs across the international border between the United States and Canada. The Act required the strategy to be published "not later than 180 days after the date of enactment,"--which would have been Tuesday, July 5, 2011. As of today, no strategy has yet been issued, and there does not appear to be a clear date as to when a strategy can be expected to be released.

On July 13, 2011, I wrote a letter to R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), asking that ONDCP release the strategy, as required by law, as expeditiously as possible. ONDCP has indicated that the strategy has been completed, but cannot be released until it has cleared the OMB review process. The delay in developing and releasing this strategy is troubling, because it means that our agencies are not yet working together in their most optimal coordinated capacity to stop smugglers from bringing drugs into our communities.

I therefore respectfully ask that you do everything in your power to expedite the release of the strategy, and that you provide me with a timetable for the release of the strategy as soon as possible.

I thank you for your attention to this important matter, and hope we can work together to assist you in your mission of protecting America.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator

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