Thread: Troops on Border would cost $43 Million National Guard Says

Troops on border would cost $43M, National Guard says

Associated Press
Posted: 04/01/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT


WASHINGTON -- A National Guard official said Tuesday that the Guard would need additional money to send more soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Major Gen. Peter Aylward said the Guard is analyzing needs on the border, but any response would require more money. Aylward is the director of the Joint Staff of the National Guard Bureau. He testified before a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

Outside the hearing, Aylward said $43 million would be needed through the end of the year. He said that Congress had authorized a maximum of 4,000 soldiers for a counter-drug program that places soldiers throughout the country, but that lawmakers have provided money for only 2,500 soldiers.

Of those, 371 Guard members are doing counter-drug work on the border, said Mark Allen, National Guard spokesman.

Guard units in border states have said they can provide about 800 people who can fill those spots.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has asked the federal government to send 1,000 soldiers to the border to contain drug-related violence. These soldiers would augment the state's Operation Border Star, Perry's staff said Tuesday.

Perry's specific plan for the soldiers was detailed in a letter he sent in February to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Nonetheless, U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, alleged Monday that the Republican governor lacked a concrete plan when they talked about a need for more soldiers on the border. Reyes made the comment Monday during a U.S. Senate committee hearing in El Paso.

Perry's spokeswoman, Katherine Cesinger, said the governor has had his plan in place for months. It calls for additional soldiers to serve in concert with Operation Border Star, a program in which Texas law enforcement officers work in partnership with border agents.

"I have asked the administration for an immediate deployment of 1,000 additional National Guard troops to support civilian law enforcement and Border Patrol agents and remain hopeful that we will get the resources we need," said one of Perry's statements from early in the year. "The state of Texas will continue to fill in the gaps until the federal government provides adequate resources necessary to secure our border and protect our citizens from those seeking to do us harm."

Texas is spending $110 million to secure the Texas-Mexico border, and the governor has requested an additional $135 million from the Texas Legislature to continue these efforts and combat transnational gangs.

Cesinger said the request for assistance from the National Guard should not be construed as an effort by Perry to militarize the border. During the Senate hearing in El Paso, a good part of the testimony revolved around the contention that soldiers were not needed on the border.

"He is not suggesting that we militarize the border," Cesinger said of Perry's request. "He is asking for more boots on the ground for an increased patrol presence."

The U.S. Homeland Security Department has not responded to Perry's request.

Times reporter Ramon Bracamontes contributed to this story.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_12041374

Don't our military have to be somewhere? Why not the borders?

That would be infinitely cheaper than the 400 billion we annually spend on illegal alien health care, welfare, food stamps, education (including in-state tuition), birthright citizenship, unemployment insurance, social security, other benefits and incarceration costs with the total cost rising as 5,000 to 10,000 illegally cross the border every week. I would call that a bargain.

Originally Posted by retiredairforce

That would be infinitely cheaper than the 400 billion we annually spend on illegal alien health care, welfare, food stamps, education (including in-state tuition), birthright citizenship, unemployment insurance, social security, other benefits and incarceration costs with the total cost rising as 5,000 to 10,000 illegally cross the border every week. I would call that a bargain.

You beat me to it RAF and your exactly 100% correct! How much is it going to cost this country if we do not have the military on that border? Of course the corrupt geniuses in DC could care less about those costs since they gladly fork over our tax dollars to pay for illegals, in exchange for cheap labor and even cheaper votes!

NoBueno u also beat me to what I was going to say to retiredairforce when I saw the title of the article!A LOT CHEAPER!

Troops on border would cost $43M, National Guard says


Outside the hearing, Aylward said $43 million would be needed through the end of the year. He said that Congress had authorized a maximum of 4,000 soldiers for a counter-drug program that places soldiers throughout the country, but that lawmakers have provided money for only 2,500 soldiers.

Let's see, the American taxpayer is being forced to pay $12 billion a month to defend Iraq. That comes out to $108 billion through the end of the year. Seems pretty obvious to me that its better to spend $43 million protecting out own border that wasting $108 billion in Iraq.

43 million is a cheap cost of closing our borders.