Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
Department Of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
House-Senate Conference
September 25, 2006

As pleased as I am about many aspects of the bill before us, it is my firm belief that the Homeland Security Conference Report should be kept clean of all extraneous immigration legislation.  As a proponent of the Senate’s immigration bill and a firm believer in the need for comprehensive reform, I cannot support the piecemeal addition of enforcement-only measures taken from the House immigration bill to this conference report.  This is not the way to legislate and I truly believe that were we to adopt any such amendments our chances of passing a comprehensive immigration and border security package would be seriously diminished.

Those who supported the Senate-passed bill are all aware that we need to step up border enforcement and security; there is little debate about that.  But we need to do it in the context of comprehensive reform, where we address both security and a realistic solution to the millions of undocumented workers in this country, many of whom contribute in a significant way to our economy.  We all can agree that we need to reform our immigration system, but we differ on how best to accomplish this.

The Senate passed a comprehensive reform package that goes a long way toward finding a realistic solution to all aspects of our immigration situation.  I see no reason to undermine the Senate’s enormous effort by adopting enforcement-only provisions outside of the normal legislative process.  This issue is far too important to fall prey to election year politics and I hope my fellow conferees refrain from supporting such efforts today.

That being said, I would like to express how pleased I am that the Leahy-Stevens amendment concerning the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative has been included in this bill.  I thank Senator Gregg, Senator Byrd and Congressman Rogers for working so closely with Senator Stevens and me to craft compromise language that will help ensure that the transition to the significant new requirements called for by the Initiative is a smooth one.

We have heard from numerous interests in the business community and tourism industry expressing the fear that a hasty or imperfect implementation of this program will cause substantial delays in cross border commerce and travel.  This has been our fear as well—that hasty implementation will result in avoidable problems for all those who will be affected by this Initiative.  Those of us who represent States along the U.S.-Canada border know first-hand how important Canada is to us as a trading partner and neighbor.  It is in our best interest to keep these relations as positive and productive as possible. 

In my home State of Vermont, people travel back and forth across the border on a regular basis—it is a well-established way of life for many in Vermont and Quebec.  It is critical that if we increase the identification requirements for Americans who enter the United States from Canada, we do so as seamlessly as possible.  Our amendment requires a modest implementation delay to June 1, 2009, and also requires that certain technological goals are met in the design of the PASS Card to ensure that the strictest standards are in place to protect personal information.

Our language also requires the Departments of Homeland Security and State to certify prior to implementation that a cost for the PASS Card has been agreed upon, that all border authorities are familiar with the technology, and that it has been shared with the Canadian and Mexican authorities.  These are just a few of the steps we have taken in this amendment to ensure that the transition to an increased security environment is done without creating unnecessary obstacles.

Thank you again to all those who's hard work went into reaching an agreement on this amendment.  With it, we greatly increase our chances for the successful implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

# # # # #