Posted on 05/24/2007 11:38:30 AM PDT by Shermy
President uses law's escape clause to drop funding for new homeland security force.
From 2005:
Washington -- The law signed by President Bush less than two months ago to add thousands of border patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border has crashed into the reality of Bush's austere federal budget proposal, officials said Tuesday.
Officially approved by Bush on Dec. 17 after extensive bickering in Congress, the National Intelligence Reform Act included the requirement to add 10,000 border patrol agents in the five years beginning with 2006. Roughly 80 percent of the agents were to patrol the southern U.S. border from Texas to California, along which thousands of people cross into the United States illegally every year.
But Bush's proposed 2006 budget, revealed Monday, funds only 210 new border agents.
The shrunken increase reflects the lack of money for an army of border guards and the capacity to train them, officials said.
Retired Adm. James Loy, acting head of the Department of Homeland Security until nominee Michael Chertoff takes over, said funding only 210 new agents was a "recognition that we need to balance those things as we go on down the road with other priorities."
The White House referred questions about the border agents to the Homeland Security Department.
The law signed by Bush had a caveat that went virtually unreported at the time. A summary, published by the Senate Government Affairs Committee, required the government to increase the number of border patrol agents by at least 2,000 per year, "subject to available appropriations."
Democrats were unhappy that the proposed budget used the escape clause so soon after the president approved the huge boost in border agents.
"We know we must do more to shore up security along our borders," said Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, top Democrat on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. "The president's budget does not even attempt to meet this challenge."
Some Republicans also were displeased.
"This is an area of homeland security that needs to be ramped up in order to increase surveillance and patrols of our nation's vast and often remote borders," said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
A Jan. 24 letter signed by leading Republican lawmakers implored the president to fully fund the new law "in order to secure our borders against infiltration by terrorists."
The lead signer was Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a leader of GOP efforts to toughen immigration laws and anti-terrorism statutes.
Saving
This is the same crapolla we got from Clinton (and to be fair, other Presidents as well).
The congress passes the laws (but provides no funds for those it doesn’t like), and the executive branch carries out and enforces only those that it see fit to do so.
Personally, I think the case could be made that the congress and the president are violating their oaths of office in doing this. So much of the federal government and what it does, or doesn’t do, is in direct conflict with the US Constitution that you could close your eyes, pick someone and 90% of the time that person would be legally impeachable.
Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Thanks for the link. I sent a suggestion in to WND as a news item and discussion. If there’s any freepers out there just finishing up law school, there’s money to be made on working this issue.
BRILLIANT
It was e-mailed to me today.
Bush, Graham , Martinez and Chertoff probably wonder how much further they can go before the American people do something about it. Why are the Republicans on Capitol Hill allowing this to go on? Who is putting the screws to them? The globalist Council on Foreign Relations? They are heavily embedded in government. Are they the silent reason why our country is being radically dismantled by invaders? Let’s hear some answers to these questions from the presidential hopefuls.
I’ve heard we have 2 miles of wall done. I’m not sure of the accuracy of that report.
“
Washington — The law signed by President Bush less than two months ago to add thousands of border patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border has crashed into the reality of Bush’s austere federal budget proposal, officials said Tuesday. “
AUSTERE!?!?!?
Bush’s budget i about $2.8 TRILLION.
The Democrats added TENS OF BILLIONS IN PORK to their Iraq funding bill, and think Bush’s budget is not enough. They want $2.9 TRILLION.
A budget of $2,900,000,000,000 and they cant find the
money to pay for enough border guards on the border.
It’s an absurdity and the liberal media is just playing charades with us. Austere my foot.
Well next week the story will be
“We dont need the wall since everybody who wants to be here just got instantly ‘legalized’.”
Yeppers...
Bush lied again.
Schnitt on WFLA is calling right now. Unfortunately it’s after 5pm so they aren’t answering! He got right through after having to listen to the Spanish.
Nice! Let’s get this number out to all the talk show hosts. I just emailed Hugh Hewitt, but I really don’t know if he’ll report on this.
Unbelievable!
Bush is trying to convince us how tough this bill is, yet it cuts the fencing from 854 miles to only 370 miles before granting amnesty and now he's canceled 9,790 Border Patrol Agents.
I guess the next "tough" provision will be a light rail system that bypasses immigration and customs from Mexico City direct to every state capitol in the nation.
/S
Bump for later
I just did a Google search to find that one. It's something that happens nearly every day in the U.S.A. Plenty of fodder for an enterprising lawyer.
bookmarked
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