On the recordJuly 13, 2017
My amendment is similar to an amendment of mine that passed the House 243-180 in the FY2017 NDAA. This amendment mirrors language that I have introduced called the SEND Act. While the Department of Homeland Security--not the Department of Defense--is tasked with maintaining the safety of our southern border, it has long received help and assistance from the DOD and our military. One of the ways the DOD helps the border patrol is through the transfer of equipment it deems ``excess'' to its needs. Under current law, the transfer of this ``excess'' equipment already gives preference to counterdrug, counterterrorism, and border security activities. My amendment simply takes that preference a step further, giving border security preference for a few specific pieces of equipment which are particularly useful for border security applications: unmanned surveillance vehicles including Aerostat blimps, night-vision goggles, and Humvees. The border patrol is the first and last line of defense against those criminal gangs. In my home state of Texas, and in other border states like New Mexico and Arizona, the war against the cartels is an ongoing affair. Cartels are involved in labor and sex slavery. Just last week in Southern Texas, border patrol agents raided a home to find 37 illegal immigrants, including three children. These men, women and children were being held by cartel drug runners for ransom. I've been to the border countless times, Mr. Chair.…
