Thread: Senate OKs $550M to fight drugs, guns along border

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Senate OKs $550M to fight drugs, guns along border

The Senate has approved a $550 million package aimed at curbing the flow of drugs, guns and money between the United States and Mexico, Agence France-Presse reports.

The unanimous-consent vote comes a week after the Obama administration unveiled its plan to bolster border security because of the increasing violence along the border.

The legislation includes:

• $260 million to hire, train, equip and deploy 1,600 officers and 400 canine teams to toughen inspections.

• $130 million for 350 full-time Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators to work on firearm trafficking and money laundering investigations.

• $50 million to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to hire an additional 150 investigators and 50 inspectors to investigate firearms trafficking.

• $20 million to improve field communications between border patrol and immigration authorities.

• $20 million to modernize technology to identify potential criminals at ports of entry.

The Arizona Republic looks at Mexico's strict gun laws and whether U.S. regulations might be tightened as a result of the violence linked to weapons smuggled into Mexico.

At a Senate confirmation hearing today, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said that if confirmed as the new drug czar he would help develop and implement a strategy to stem the border violence. Overall, he vowed to take a balanced, science-based approach as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Posted at 05:25 PM/ET, April 01, 2009
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Did I miss the part where they were spending more on stopping the flow of illegal aliens?