Border Security Information Improvement Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6368) to require the Department of Justice, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, to provide a report to Congress on the Departments' ability to track, investigate and quantify cross-border violence along the Southwest Border and provide recommendations to Congress on how to accurately track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6368, as amended, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my colleague and good friend, Congressman Francisco Canseco, for his work on the issue of cross- border violence and its impact on the United States.

Mr. Speaker, In recent years, drug trafficking-related violence has increased in Mexico. According to Mexican officials, over 40,000 people have been killed as the result of drug-related violence since 2006.

As the gentleman from Texas has pointed out, we should be very concerned that there are insufficient methods to track this violence and that it spills over into the United States.

When evaluating increased violence in Mexico and its effect on the United States, a central concern is the potential for what has been termed ``spillover violence''--an increase in drug trafficking-related violence in the United States.

The violence being committed by Mexican drug cartels within Mexico's own borders presents a national security challenge for Mexico. When that violence spills over into the United States, it presents a national security concern for America as well.

Cross-border violence is a challenge for both countries while criminals kill not only each other but government officials, law enforcement and military officers, innocent civilians and children.

Administration officials maintain that there has not yet been a significant spillover of violence from Mexico into the United States. But we should not wait for it to happen.

This bill requires the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to provide a joint report to Congress on the Departments' ability to track, investigate and measure cross-border violence along the Southwest border.

In addition, it directs the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to make recommendations to Congress on how best to accurately track, investigate and measure cross-border violence.

Cross-border violence is a complex problem which cannot be resolved overnight. This legislation is an important first step in developing an overall strategy to combat spillover violence.

I again thank Mr. Canseco for his work on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I will now yield as much time as he might consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Canseco).

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC, September 12, 2012.

Hon. Lamar Smith,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Smith: I am writing in regards to the

jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Homeland Security

over provisions in H.R. 6368, which requires the Department

of Justice, in consultation with the Department of Homeland

Security, to provide a report to Congress on the ability to

track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence along

the Southwest Border and provide recommendations to Congress.

I understand the importance of advancing this legislation

to the House floor in an expeditious manner. Therefore, the

Committee on Homeland Security will discharge H.R. 6368 from

further consideration. This action is conditional on our

mutual understanding and agreement that doing so will in no

way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Homeland Security over the subject matter included in this or

similar legislation. I request that you urge the Speaker to

appoint members of this Committee to any conference committee

for consideration of any provisions that fall within the

jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security in the

House-Senate conference on this or similar legislation.

I also request that this response and your letter be

included in the Committee on the Judiciary report to H.R.

6368 and in the Congressional Record during consideration of

this measure on the House floor. Thank you for your

consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

Peter T. King,

Chairman.

I want to thank my friend and colleague and fellow San Antonian--the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Smith--as well as his diligent and hardworking staff, for their help on this very important matter.

I come to the floor today, Madam Speaker, in support of my legislation, H.R. 6368, the Border Security Information Improvement Act.

As the Representative of a district with nearly 800 miles of U.S.- Mexico border, I know firsthand how important the security of our citizens along our shared border with Mexico is. As I visit with the people of the 23rd District of Texas, I hear time and time again from Americans living along the border that they do not feel safe or secure. They talk of living in fear. They tell me that Washington is not paying attention as drugs, weapons, and humans are smuggled through their communities. Washington is not listening as they ask for help as violence from Mexican drug cartels spills into their communities and cities and towns.

Many of the statistics and information used to make claims about the security of our southwest border are based on information from sources, such as the Uniform Crime Report, that are not intended to measure security along our border.

Administration officials have claimed that the border is safe and secure. Yet, while attending a Homeland Security Committee hearing last May, I learned that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice do not have a working, uniform definition of ``spillover violence.'' Yet witnesses at the hearing--

high-ranking officials from Justice and Homeland Security--stated that there is no cross-border violence.

This is completely unacceptable. If the Federal Government cannot even define what endangers border citizens, we cannot ensure their safety. H.R. 6368 is simple. It is straightforward. It is a bill that will address this very problem.

It directs the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress on their ability to define, to track, to investigate, and to quantify cross-border, or spillover, violence.

The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security will furthermore report what information and statistics are available and that are at their disposal in order to understand the amount of violence spilling into the United States. The ability to correctly monitor the level of spillover violence occurring across our Nation's borders will allow us to assess the success of our border security policies and to ensure that we have the correct policies in place in order to stop violence, stop drugs and contraband from spilling into the United States.

Lastly, the Departments will recommend to Congress what additional resources are necessary in order to track, quantify, and report on cross-border violence so that Congress can do its part and ensure that our Federal law enforcement agencies have the tools and the data that they need to do their jobs. Congress must be a willing and able partner in the fight against the ruthless Mexican cartels and the violence that they bring into our American communities.

Madam Speaker, the American people deserve to know the capability of their government to address cross-border violence. This bill does not seek to prove that one party is right or that one party is wrong. It simply seeks to find out the ability of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to define, to track, and to understand the amount of violence spilling into the United States from Mexico. In order to achieve a secure border, we must be able to correctly gauge the amount of violence that is spilling into the United States, and I believe that this bill is an important first step in that direction.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 6368 requires the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, no later than 180 days after the enactment of this law, to jointly provide a report to Congress on those Departments' abilities to track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence along our country's southwest border and to provide recommendations to Congress on how to accurately track, investigate, and quantify cross- border violence.

This seems like a good idea, and I note that the bill provides that we will receive budget recommendations along with the report, as some have suggested, so that we can reduce the size of government with unspecified cuts, but then we are often surprised to see what those cuts are. Tracking, investigating, and responding appropriately to cross-border violence will require personnel and equipment, which obviously will require increases, not cuts, in the budget.

I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Canseco) for his work on the bill. I look forward to the report, and I recommend the bill's passage.

I yield back the balance of my time.