Susan Collins: “the Collins amendment, No. 1137, would allow the use of law enforcement terrorism prevention funds to be used for…”

“the Collins amendment, No. 1137, would allow the use of law enforcement terrorism prevention funds to be used for overtime costs associated with providing law enforcement operations in support of Federal agencies for increased border security and border crossing enforcement. I am pleased to be joined in this amendment by Senator Dorgan. There has been considerable discussion in recent months on the need to improve border security. One way to do this is to increase the number of Border Patrol Agents. But it takes significant time to recruit and train new Federal law enforcement agents. A more immediate way to improve border security is to activate our existing State, local, and tribal law enforcement partners as a back-up force in support of Federal border agents. This is not a new idea. The Department of Homeland Security has authorized this use with different funds in the past. Beginning with the last Federal election period up until the Presidential inauguration last January, Operation Stonegarden permitted reimbursement for State and local law enforcement activities that assisted Federal officials in securing the border. My own State of Maine participated in that operation with a great degree of success. Arthur Cleaves, the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, told me that Maine realized the Nation's second highest level of agency participation in Operation Stonegarden with 22 State, county, local, and tribal agencies involved.…”