John Rice Carter: “Chairman Rogers, thank you for the time and thank you, more importantly, for the leadership that you and Ranking Member…”

“Chairman Rogers, thank you for the time and thank you, more importantly, for the leadership that you and Ranking Member Lowey have shown in completing this process and giving us a fiscal year 2014 appropriation bill. I rise in support of that bill. Madam Speaker, the Homeland Security division of this bill is built on three themes: funding essential security and enforcement; increasing legitimate travel and trade; and demanding fiscal discipline and accountability. The Homeland Security division includes a nearly 10 percent increase to the CBP officer workforce and nearly 5 percent increase to ICE's investigations and funding to support ICE's statutorily mandated 34,000 detention beds; more than 13 percent increase to privatization of airport screening; nearly 14 percent increase to cybersecurity; a total of $404 million for the National Bio and Agro-Defense facility in Kansas; and significant increases to the Border Patrol assets, Coast Guard operations and acquisitions, Secret Service operations and investigations, FEMA's first responder grants and bombing prevention efforts. In addition, this bill does more to address the wait times, trade and resource shortfalls at our ports of entry, including a landmark provision for a public-private partnership authority and a mandate for CBP to work with industry on performance metrics and improved operational plans at our Nation's busiest airports.…”