https://go.pub2srv.com/afu.php?id=1479657

Saturday, 27 August 2016

Texas DPS wants $1 billion to beef up border security

Posted by   on

Texas DPS wants $1 billion to beef up border security

<p>(Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)<br></br></p><p></p>

The Department of Public Safety is asking lawmakers for an additional $320 million to expand its law enforcement push at the Texas-Mexico border. That would be in addition to a base border security budget of $750 million over two years beginning in 2018. 
 Follow @tombenning tbenning@dallasnews.com
Austin Bureau
Published: 
Updated: 
AUSTIN — Texas' unprecedented investment in security along its border with Mexico could become a billion-dollar proposition if the state agency spearheading that effort gets its way.
The Department of Public Safety is asking lawmakers for an additional $320 million in the next two-year budget to expand its law enforcement push at the border. That would come on top of a base border security budget of $750 million over the biennium that begins in 2018.
The new funds would help cover the salaries for the full allotment of 250 troopers OK'd last year; the cost of hiring another 250 troopers at the border; and new technology and equipment.
It's no lock that lawmakers will OK the hefty sum next year, especially with worries about a tight budget cycle. The wish-list items were made as "exceptional items" in the appropriations requests that DPS — and all state agencies — send to the Legislative Budget Board.
And some Democrats, already skeptical of the effort, said they need better proof of the return on investment.
"If DPS wants $1 billion — after getting almost a billion last session — taxpayers need to know what they are paying for," said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas.
But border security remains a top issue for many Texas voters, looming large in races for both the White House and the state House. Republicans, who dominate the Legislature, often tout the strengthened presence along the Texas-Mexico line.
And DPS officials on Thursday told the Texas Public Safety Commission that some impetus came from the top, pointing to Gov. Greg Abbott's stated goal last year of hiring 500 new troopers.
"That means we have 250 and now we're talking about 500, is that correct?" asked Cynthia Leon, who chairs the governor-appointed public safety panel.
"That's correct," said Suzy Whittenton, DPS' chief financial officer. "That was one of the governor's initiatives — to get 500 troopers on the border."
A spokesman for Abbott, who's championed the "toughest border security plan of any state in the history of our nation," confirmed the support for a total of 500 new troopers at the border. The spokesman, John Wittman, declined to comment on DPS' appropriations request.
Abbott would be central to any balancing act of boosting border assets amid inauspicious economic indicators.
Texas' Republican leaders —Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus — this summer pushed state agencies for austerity. Likely fueled by the impact of low oil prices, they asked agencies for a 4 percent cut from proposed spending for the next two-year budget cycle.
Those trims would potentially affect DPS' overall ranks, as the agency estimated that they would have to lose some 100 commissioned peace officers. But notable is the fact that state leaders spared border security from the chopping block.
That exemption would leave intact the $800 million that lawmakers last year approved for border security. The package aimed to solidify the state's border surge, launched in 2014 in response to increased illegal crossings in the Rio Grande Valley.
The new money would seemingly address Abbott's desire last year for 500 new troopers at the border. In his State of the State address last year, the governor said Texas "will not sit idly by while the president ignores the law and fails to secure the border."
Other components of the boost would include 5,000 additional border cameras, the purchase of two helicopters and four planes, and the replacement of hundreds of high-mileage vehicles.
Selected portion of a source document hosted by DocumentCloud

Even with high-profile backing of the border push, DPS Director Steve McCraw will probably have to get some lawmakers past the sticker shock. Border security is primarily the federal government's responsibility, and the state spent only $120 million on it as recently as 2010-11.
DPS also will probably need to provide additional data to show the impact of the border operations.
Democrats, in particular, have bemoaned shifting definitions of success. And McCraw — pointing to some inherent challenges of border security — has admitted that it can be hard to produce a comprehensive set of metrics that make the case.
"It's very difficult for us to go back to the Legislature and to the governor and say, 'You've provided this amount of money — this is what we've done with your money. And this is the level of security that we've achieved,' " he said Thursday.
The agency, for example, has pointed to data from the Rio Grande Valley sector that shows the federal apprehensions of those in the country illegally has dropped from 35,091 in June 2014 to 18,423 in June 2016. Those figures, however, lack context.
DPS has responded by developing a new plan to measure effectiveness at the border — a proposal that's won praise from some vocal critics. And McCraw has always said the border push has made a difference in stopping illegal crossings and disrupting cartel activity.
"Clearly, it had an impact," he said. "Almost an immediate impact."





About sizzledfeed

sizzledfeed

Author Description here.. Nulla sagittis convallis. Curabitur consequat. Quisque metus enim, venenatis fermentum, mollis in, porta et, nibh. Duis vulputate elit in elit. Mauris dictum libero id justo.

Next
Prev Post
Previous
Next Post
No comments:
Write comments

Join Our Newsletter