Henry Cuellar

The solution, however, goes well beyond securing our borders.

How many folks can you let go from headquarters and send them back to the border, where they can provide security at the border?

Can you put that in writing and again share it to all the committee?

If you are in a small rural area, I think the folks in a small rural area would appreciate a better place.

I believe the ones in Texas--one of them was in Freer. I don't represent that area, but I just passed it just about 2 days ago on Sunday, so I am very familiar with that station.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.

Yes, I have got to close, but can you just get us and work with Mr. Stana as to--they are unobligated $639 million.

According to a recent GAO report, CBP had, I believe it was $639.4 million... as a result of excess collections from the temporary fee increase...

Will you specifically let us know if you can move any of your Border Patrol agents who are at headquarters, without affecting the mission there, down to the border?

I am surprised that you don't know how many people you have hired under that, how many have been interviewed, background investigations, how many have been sent to the BPP Academy.

No, no, no. Under the supplemental bill that we passed last August in 2010, you were supposed to hire 1,000, because there was an emergency.

In August 2010 we passed H.R. 6080, the 2010 emergency border security supplemental appropriation, which provided $600 million to strengthen border security.

I think you hit it right, that we are talking about 7 months. We are already--it is not a full year, is it?

If it is not safe and secure, it will impact the commerce and that impacts jobs, so there are lots of ramifications for not continuing with the President's program.

That pretty much stops the progress that you are referring to. Isn't that correct?

When you look at all the accounts, I believe it is about $500 million impact cut to the CBP budget.

I wrote my dissertation on performance-based budgets in a comparative study of 50 States. I added about 99 percent of all the performance-based budgeting in Texas right before President Bush was the Governor there. I know this legislation…

This is a bipartisan bill that updates the 1993 legislation. The original cosponsors include myself, several other Members, including Congressman Platts and Congressman McCaul. And in the Senate, Senate supporters that we have are…

First of all I want to say I am returning back to Congress. I want to just put that on the record. So I do look forward to working with Mr. Holt and Mr. Issa and other Members. Again, as this might be the last oversight bill that we have…

This Senate amendment is an amendment that just adds accountability to the grant dollars, and I think it is important, just as the gentleman from Georgia. And I certainly want to thank my friend from Georgia, because we understand, just as…

I want to thank Chairman Price for taking the leadership in making sure that we provide the funding for the border. I certainly want to thank the authorizing chairman, Mr. Bennie Thompson, and all the Members here that have worked so hard…

My amendment is a commonsense amendment that ensures no taxpayers dollars will be used to purchase first-class tickets for employees of agencies funded by this bill except in special circumstances as allowed under law. This is, again…

Just to conclude, we added some specific language that says, ``Agencies shall fund the reporting requirements of this Act out of the existing budgets and authorized to make any necessary reprogramming of funds.'' So this addresses the…

H.R. 2142 creates a results-oriented government; a government that works with the people in a commonsense concept that emphasizes a couple of things: One, increases government accountability while Federal agencies must identify…

Well, look, let me put it this way. Back in 2005, when I was a freshman, I -- I was the first Democrat to support CAFTA.