Border Security

I believe that Southern Arizonans deserve the same safety and security as other Americans. Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District includes 83.5 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and people who live near it are particularly affected by criminal activities along the border. Ensuring a secure border is the responsibility of the federal government and all Americans have a right to be safe in their own homes and on their land. 

As your representative in Congress, I am committed to securing our borders through additional agents on the ground, improvements in communications and technology and adequate staffing at our ports of entry.

Committee on Homeland Security

As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, ranking member on the Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, and a member of the House Border Security Caucus, Congressman Barber is committed to bringing issues related to the border in Arizona to the attention of Congress and federal officials to ensure that they have the opportunity to see the realities faced by border residents every day and that Arizona gets the resources needed to secure the border with Mexico.

Border Security Results Act

As a Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, Congressman Barber sits in a unique position to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security is utilizing its resources efficiently and effectively. He has frequently maintained that the Department needs to develop specific metrics in order to measure the effectiveness of U.S. border security operations. That is why he cosponsored H.R. 1417, the Border Security Results Act. This is a bipartisan bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to develop a plan with specific measurements for measuring how good a job we are doing securing the border.

On May 20, 2013, the Committee on Homeland Security passed the bill with bipartisan support, including Congressman Barber’s amendment to require the Department to talk to local stakeholders, those who live and work near the border, when coming up with a border security plan. This amendment was reported out of committee unanimously. Congressman Barber looks forward to seeing this bill come to the full House floor for a vote.

In  January, Congressman Barber  released a comprehensive study by the General Accountability Office which evaluated the security strategy and resource needs of the Border Patrol. The Congressman’s office briefed residents of Southern Arizona on the report in meetings in Tucson and Douglas. For more information about the GAO report findings, click here.

Supporting our Border Patrol

Sequestration is the wrong approach to solving our nation’s fiscal problems. Congress needs to put our fiscal house in order, but this process must be conducted in a thoughtful manner. Congressman Barber has opposed sequestration from day one, particularly its impact on our Border Patrol agents. When sequestration threatened to impose furloughs on our border agents and to cut their overtime, Congressman Barber called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to restore funding and do whatever it takes to avoid cuts.

While the Department has since eliminated furloughs, border patrol agents still face overtime uncertainty. Congressman Barber is committed to working with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to resolve this issue and ensure the border remains secure.