Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
September 8, 2005 -- Page: S9804

THE STATE CRIMINAL ALIEN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SCAAP)

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank my good friend and colleague from California, Senator Feinstein, for bringing this issue forward again. She has been dedicated to SCAAP funding.

I want to also mention Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona who has always stepped in when we had an appropriations bill to make sure our States got some reimbursement for their costs of incarcerating illegal aliens. Unfortunately, as Senator Feinstein has said, we have more and more illegal aliens coming into our country and, unfortunately, committing crimes.

This is a Federal responsibility. The counties along the border States should not have to fund what is a Federal responsibility. Incarcerating illegal aliens for criminal activities is absolutely a Federal responsibility. So I join my colleague, Senator Feinstein, in urging the chairman and ranking member of this subcommittee to accept the House position when we go to conference. Mr. President, $200 million does not cover a 10th of the cost to the border States in reimbursing them for the incarceration of criminal aliens. And $400 million goes a much longer way. I think it is a minimum.

All of us realize that illegal immigration must be stopped in our country. We must know who is in our country for security purposes, and we must be able to deport or incarcerate people who are here illegally and commit crimes in our country.

I hope the committee chairman and ranking member will work with us to increase the number from the Senate position of $200 million to the House position of $400 million, at a minimum. I thank the Senator from California for bringing this forward once again.