Judd Gregg: “The numbers in this bill are numbers which are a fait accompli. They are numbers which we already know we will reach…”

“The numbers in this bill are numbers which are a fait accompli. They are numbers which we already know we will reach within the next 18 months, if we stay on the appropriations path which was set up by myself and Senator Byrd 2 years ago, but they are not the numbers on which there was consensus needed in order to bring operational control to the borders. They are not those numbers. They are good numbers. They are a-step-in-the-right-direction numbers. That is why we funded them and put in place a path to continue to fund them. But there was absolute consensus--and don't let anybody come to this floor and say something else--that the numbers for gaining control over the border are different than these numbers. If they weren't, then we wouldn't have let the contract on creating the virtual fence, because the numbers in this bill do not come anywhere near the completion of the virtual fence. The numbers in this bill do not come anywhere near what is needed to have the detention beds necessary to completely end catch and release, nor do they reach the numbers necessary to have the number of people on the border necessary to control the border. The Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Bonner, made it very clear in testimony 3 or 4 years ago that they needed 20,000 agents on the ground on the border.”