Friday, 28 May 2010 Panel approves 6,000 troops for border over Obama protest
John McCain, a former Navy boxer, must appreciate a political knockout when he scores one. He's not quite there yet but he demonstrated some fancy footwork Thursday that could stun the White House on the subject of border security.
McCain (R-Ariz.) feinted with an attempt to fund 6,000 National Guard troops on the US southern border with an amendment to the 2010 supplemental appropriations bill (HR 4899) Thursday morning.
The amendment failed but McCain already had readied a second punch in the form of an amendment to the Fiscal 2011 National Defense Authorization Act (HR 5136)--an amendment approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"I am pleased that the Senate Armed Services Committee today approved my bipartisan amendment to immediately send 6,000 National Guard troops to our southwest border," McCain said in a
statement Thursday.
"Deploying the National Guard is essential to securing our US-Mexico border," he added.
"Families living in Arizona should not suffer from the daily threats caused by illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and human smuggling. It is the federal government's obligation to protect all Americans by securing the borders, and deploying 6,000 National Guard is a critical first step."
Indeed it's literally the first step of a 10-point action plan developed by McCain and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) to augment border security.
The plan specifically calls for 3,000 National Guard troops in Arizona until the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can hire and train 3,000 Border Patrol agents to augment border security.The White House disapproved of the amendment and pointedly wrote Tuesday to Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chair of the Armed Services Committee, to warn him that Congress could not order the President to deploy troops.
McCain's amendment to do so passed the committee anyway. It likely will survive a vote in the full Senate but it may encounter opposition in conference committee when reconciled with the House version of the bill, currently being debated in that chamber.
President Barack Obama Tuesday approved sending 1,200 troops to the US southern border and requested $500 million to fund them, but McCain said that was not enough.
Sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the US southern border effectively would duplicate Operation Jump Start, which President George Bush ordered in 2006-2008. In that operation, National Guardsmen supported US Border Patrol until the service could grow from roughly 12,000 to 18,000 agents
1 comment:
I commend McCain on his fight, I do worry about Obama and his lack of foreign relation experience. This article put a smile on my face, but it was followed by an article that I read Obama does not want to use the troops to ward off illegals, rather curb the drugs and guns. I am not sure why Obama is appeasing the Mexican government rather then the people of this Nation and particularly my home State of Arizona, but I am convinced more every day that we need to keep our strong men like McCain in office so that there is foreign relation experience in Congress to fight this idiot president. McCain is no doubt not perfect, but when it comes to protecting this Nation, he has NEVER failed us!!!!
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