Gordon Supports Border Technology Legislation
October 29, 2007, WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon is co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation to improve the nation’s border security through the use of technology.
“Technology can’t replace manpower, but it can help the Border Patrol do its job more effectively,” said Gordon. “There are thousands of miles of border but a limited number of border agents to patrol it.”
The bill, H.R. 3916, would boost the development of technologies to expand on current border patrol efforts to curb illegal border crossings and prevent drug smuggling. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles, tunnel detection and anti-counterfeit technology could aid the Border Patrol’s efforts to secure American borders.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol agents made more than 825,000 apprehensions and seized 341 pounds of methamphetamine from January to August alone.
“We have 12 million people in the United States illegally, and we know methamphetamine is coming into Tennessee’s communities after it is smuggled across the border. We need to be smarter in our approach to border security,” said Gordon. “Adding more Border Patrol agents will help, but we also need to provide the tools they need to patrol remote, rugged areas of the border.”
Last year, the House Science Committee held a hearing on the need for technology on the borders. The committee, which Gordon now chairs, has jurisdiction over the Science & Technology Directorate of Homeland Security, where developing security technologies come to fruition.
