WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, tonight praised Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.  With the House of Representatives approval earlier this evening, the bill now goes to the President’s desk for his signature.

Senator Gregg stated, “This bill continues a significant commitment to protecting our borders and improving our overall national security.  We have dedicated billions of dollars to the greatest threats to our nation.  We have done so in a way that builds off of last year’s increases in the areas of border security, weapons of mass destruction and intelligence capability and continues robust funding in these areas.  The bill we are sending to the President dramatically increase the number of border agents and gives them the much needed infrastructure and technology to support their efforts in protecting our nation.”

The bill provides the Department of Homeland Security with $481 million for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, established to investigate, report and track nuclear and radiological threats in the United States.  The spending measure also continues a glide path to dramatically increasing the numbers of assets protecting U.S. borders, including:  $1.2 billion for border security fencing, infrastructure and technology, an additional 1,500 new Border Patrol agents, over 2,700 new detention beds, and 526 new Customs and Border Protection officers for ports of entry inspections.  The addition of these new beds and agents fulfills the President’s request for 2,500 Border Patrol agents and 6,700 new detention beds.

The Coast Guard receives robust resources to carry out their mandate of providing maritime and port security. Of the $8.4 billion provided for the Coast Guard, $3.9 billion is for maritime border security, $2 billion is for port security and $1.1 billion is for Deepwater assets. 

The bill includes a provision to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue interim risk-based security regulations on high risk chemical facilities.  This three-year authorization gives the Secretary and facilities nationwide flexibility to achieve the appropriate risk reduction.  It also provides the Secretary a means to inspect and sanction non-compliant facilities, including, in extreme instances, authority to shut down non-compliant facilities until they comply.  The bill also includes a provision extending the implementation deadline for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which was first signed into law as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

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