Perry wants $24 million to fight 'transnational gangs'
Governor will also seek additional $110 million for border security
By PETTY FIKAC
Copyright 2008 Austin Bureau
Sept. 30, 2008, 3:43PM

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry wants Texas to increase its spending on border security by $24 million – to $134 million – to target "ruthless and powerful transnational gangs" that he said pose the greatest threat to state security.

"These increasingly sophisticated organizations are expanding their influence around the state" and are recruiting in schools as well as in prisons, he said this morning at a news conference where he accepted a report on border efforts from the Border Security Council.

Perry – who plans to recommend the funding increase to lawmakers who will consider the next two-year budget in the 2009 legislative session – continued his criticism of the federal government, which he said has failed on border security.

He said it’s "a little bit too early" to assess how the costs related to Hurricane Ike and the problems in the national economy will affect the state’s ability to fund today’s proposed initiative and others.

It remains to be seen whether the federal government will "fairly reimburse us for our costs on Hurricane Ike," he said. In addition, even though the state economy has fared better than the U.S. economy, Perry said, "We also know that this national economy is a drag."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hot ... 32390.html