Senator Lieberman Introduces Bill to Bolster U.S.-Mexican Border

Senator Lieberman proposes an increase in resources to support the border with Mexico. The amendment calls for an additional $550 million.

Responding to increasing alarm over Mexican drug cartel penetration across cities in the United States, Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman has proposed $550 million in additional resources for better securing the U.S.-Mexican border. Senator Lieberman is the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman, and he has partnered with Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins on the new bill. "The amendment calls for an additional $550 million for federal agents, investigators, and resources to stem the flow of drugs smuggled north into the U.S. and the flow of money and guns south into Mexico," according to Sen. Lieberman's press release. While the Obama Administration has conceded that the border needs better protection, there has not been a budgetary allotment in this regard. "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano said the Administration's plan was budget neutral," Lieberman state in his press release. "But the Mexican drug cartels are a clear and present danger to the U.S. and that fact compels us to provide our federal law enforcement agencies with additional funding. The Secretary also said that she had to 'play with the hand she was dealt.' This amendment would dramatically improve that hand, and I urge my fellow Senators to support it." The instability in Mexico has threatened to spill into the U.S. border states and has led Texas to seek protective aid from the federal government. There have also been reports of Hezbollah's cooperative interaction with Mexican drug cartels and the mutual usage of drug cartel routes into the U.S. If Sen. Lieberman's bill is adopted, affected border states would receive resources to help support their security efforts.