Republicans seek hearing on withdrawal of border troops

Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee complained Wednesday that the number and readiness of Border Patrol agents will be "nowhere near the level needed to take control of the border" when National Guard troops withdraw next month at the end of their two-year assignment.

The Republicans sent a letter to House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson asking for a hearing to examine what effect withdrawing the remaining National Guard troops along with the border will have on the Border Patrol.

The Bush administration plans to withdraw the troops by July 15 at the conclusion of a two-year mission called Operation Jump Start.

"We have serious concerns about the effects of withdrawing the National Guard troops from the southwest border before the Border Patrol has hired and trained enough agents to fill their critical posts," wrote nine GOP lawmakers, including Homeland Security ranking member Peter King, R-N.Y., and Homeland Security Border Subcommittee ranking member Mark Souder, R-Ind.

"The individual readiness and overall strength in numbers of Border Patrol agents is nowhere near the level needed to take control of the border," they said. "We cannot afford a lull in the intensity of our border security presence."

In April, governors of California, Arizona and New Mexico asked House and Senate leaders to provide continued funding for Operation Jump Start.

Thompson responded by observing that the Republicans "seem a bit confused."

"Instead of congratulating the National Guard for completing its mission as planned, they are trying to keep the Guard in limbo along the border," the chairman said. "Operation Jump Start was never to be a border security strategy; it was a short-term stopgap to allow the Border Patrol to build its capacity.

"It's no way to congratulate Guardsmen on a job well done by keeping them away from their families and extending their mission on the border like the president has done to other Guardsmen in Iraq."

Although Guard troops are leaving, the Border Patrol is on track to meet its personnel and fence construction goals for the year, said a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, which is part of the Homeland Security Department and includes the Border Patrol.

"The support from the National Guard was designed as a short-term infusion of resources so that CBP could ramp up its recruiting and hiring efforts and its construction efforts and certainly technology deployments," the spokesman said.

He said the agency will have about 18,000 agents by the end of the year. The ratio of Border Patrol agents to Guard troops is not "a one-for-one exchange" because agents have law enforcement experience and do more along the border, the Customs and Border Protection spokesman said.

"We have seen an infusion of Border Patrol agents and we will continue to see that through the end of this calendar year as we work through our goal of 18,000 agents," he said.

The spokesman added the agency plans to complete 670 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers along the border. "We have an organized, programmatic effort in place to complete the construction of fencing according to our goals," he said.

Republicans offered a different assessment of where the Border Patrol will stand once the Guard troops leave.

"Despite the scheduled drawdown, the Border Patrol continues to face challenges in hiring new agents," they wrote. "Additionally, the newly hired agents may not be able to match several of the specialized skill sets provided by the Guard, such as construction of patrol roads and vehicle maintenance."

President Bush used a televised address in May 2006 to announce the deployment of 6,000 Guard troops mainly for border surveillance missions and construction. He said troops would be withdrawn after the first year "as new Border Patrol agents and new technologies come online."

The administration actually withdrew half the troops at the border over the summer to begin the second phase of the operation, with plans to keep a residual force there until July 15.

Last summer's discovery the administration had not requested money for phase two prompted lawmakers from both parties to add the necessary funds to FY08 spending bills. The administration has not requested funding to continue the program beyond its termination next month.

"As the Committee on Homeland Security, we absolutely should be making recommendations on potentially crucial border security programs as the appropriations process goes forward," a Republican committee aide said. "We cannot continue to cede our authority to the appropriators. It's bad enough we don't have an authorization bill this year, are we expected to give up our oversight function as well?"