Bob Filner: “I rise in opposition to the Traficant amendment. Mr. Chairman, I rise to oppose the Amendment by the gentleman from…”

“I rise in opposition to the Traficant amendment. Mr. Chairman, I rise to oppose the Amendment by the gentleman from Ohio. I do want to commend my colleague from Ohio for his dedication and tenacity in fighting drugs. Every member of this body, I am sure, shares his commitment to ending this scourge on our society. But, while we share the same goals, we do have a difference in opinion on how to eradicate drug smuggling and drug abuse. The District I represent sits on the Mexican border. One of the crossings in my District is the busiest border crossing in the entire world! So, I have personal experience with the border and all the opportunities and challenges associated with border crossings. There is no question that we must gain better control of our borders. There have been Herculean efforts by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Customs Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and many other government agencies, including state and local agencies. All these agencies are to be commended for their efforts and dedication to controlling our borders and ending the illegal crossing of narcotics and narcotics smugglers. And, though much remains to be done, I have serious and grave reservations about this proposal to literally arm the border. Yes, we need to better control the border, but placing armed military personnel on our borders, who are trained to fight and win wars by killing people, is not the answer.”