Committee chairman calls Tucson lawmakers testimony "compelling" and "effective"
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today urged the House Budget Committee to fully fund a federal program that reimburses state and local governments for the arrest and incarceration of individuals in the United States illegally.
The Tucson lawmaker said it is "outrageous" that, under the budget proposed earlier this month by President Bush, cash-strapped communities on the front lines of the illegal immigration crisis will not be compensated for doing the work of the federal government.
After citing the mounting financial burden imposed upon law enforcement agencies in her district, Giffords called on the committee to reject the president's cuts to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.
"I ask you to support SCAAP funding and to increase SCAAP funding because it really is the difference between life and death for people in my district and across the country," Giffords said.
SCAAP funds are used by state and local governments to pay for the arrest, incarceration and transportation of criminals who are in the country illegally. Although Congress authorized $950 million for the program, the president consistently has failed to include funding for it in his budgets.
In her testimony, Giffords noted that Cochise County last year received only $98,000 of the $234,501 bill it submitted to the federal government. In Pima County, she said the Sheriff's Office incarcerates 200 illegal immigrants a day at a cost of $4.7 million a year, yet only three percent of that total is reimbursed.
Giffords asked the committee to "prioritize America's safety when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who are coming into our country illegally."
Committee Chairman John Spratt called Giffords testimony "compelling" and "effective."
"The cuts that this administration has made in this budget are deep and hurtful," the South Carolina congressman said. "If you are going to do anything about immigration, it starts with securing the border and it starts with dealing with criminal elements and those who are coming here illegally. This is one federal program that specifically addresses that and it's not being cut, it's being eliminated - wiped out completely - which begs a lot of questions. Among them is, 'What is the administration's position on immigration'"