WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had this to say after voting in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act Tuesday. Included in the defense package is a bill authored by Johnson, S. 1864, to measure security at U.S. borders. The bill will help U.S. authorities understand where resources should be directed to increase security across all U.S. borders.
“A secure border is not only a prerequisite to a functioning legal immigration system, but it is also essential to maintaining national security and protecting public health and safety. After holding 18 border security hearings during this Congress, the information the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has gathered yields an inescapable conclusion: America’s borders are not secure.
“That is why I am pleased that the Department of Homeland Security Border Security Metrics Act of 2015 was incorporated into the defense package. This border security bill is a crucial first step in measuring security at our borders and understanding where additional resources will be needed to begin to secure our borders. I urge a quick conference between the House and Senate and for the president to expeditiously sign this bill into law so that we can begin analyzing regular and accessible data from DHS to help secure our border.”
- Bill information can be found here.
- Read Chairman Johnson’s report, “The State of America’s Border Security,” here.
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