President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act (TRANSCRIPT of Bush Remarks)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks. Please be seated. I'm pleased that you all are here to witness the signature of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform.

I want to thank the members of Congress for their work on this important piece of legislation. I welcome you here to the White House. I'm looking forward to signing this bill.

I appreciate the Vice President joining us today. I thank the Deputy Secretary, Michael Jackson, of the Department of Homeland Security. Rob Portman -- he happens to be the Director of OMB. I want to thank Ralph Basham, who is the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. David Aguilar is the Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol.

I appreciate the fact that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has joined us, as well as House Majority Leader John Boehner. I appreciate them coming in from their respective states as I sign this piece of legislation. I want to thank Congressman Peter King, who's the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives. I appreciate you being here, Peter.

Ours is a nation of immigrants. We're also a nation of law. Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and, therefore, illegal immigration has been on the rise. We have a responsibility to address these challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility seriously.

Earlier this year, I addressed the nation from the Oval Office. I laid out our strategy for immigration reform. Part of that strategy begins with securing the border. Since I took office we have more than doubled funding for border security -- from $4.6 billion in 2001 to $10.4 billion this year. We've increased the number of Border Patrol agents from about 9,000 to more than 12,000, and by the end of 2008, we will have doubled the number of Border Patrol agents during my presidency.

We've deployed thousands of National Guard members to assist the Border Patrol. We've upgraded technology at our borders. We've added infrastructure, including new fencing and vehicle barriers. We're adding thousands of new beds in our detention facilities so we can continue working to end catch and release at our southern border. During the course of my administration we have apprehended and sent home more 6 million people entering our country illegally. And I thank the Border Patrol for their hard work.

The Secure Fence Act builds on this progress. The bill authorizes the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our southern border. The bill authorizes more vehicle barriers, checkpoints and lighting to help prevent people from entering our country illegally. The bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to increase the use of advanced technology, like cameras and satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles to reinforce our infrastructure at the border. We're modernizing the southern border of the United States so we can assure the American people we're doing our job of securing the border. By making wise of use of physical barriers and deploying 21st century technology we're helping our Border Patrol agents do their job.

The Secure Fence Act is part of our efforts to reform our immigration system. We have more to do. Meaningful immigration reforms means that we must enforce our immigration laws in the United States. It is against the law to hire someone who is here illegally. We fully understand that most businesses want to obey that law, but they cannot verify the legal status of their employees because of widespread document fraud. So we're creating a better system for verifying documents and work eligibility, and in the meantime, holding people to account for breaking the law.

We must reduce pressure on our border by creating a temporary worker plan. Willing workers ought to be matched with willing employers to do jobs Americans are not doing for a temporary -- on a temporary basis.

We must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are already here. They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship; that is amnesty. I oppose amnesty. There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic pass to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation. And I look forward to working with Congress to find that middle ground.

The bill I'm about to sign is an important step in our nation's efforts to secure our border and reform our immigration system. I thank the members of Congress for joining me as I sign the Secure Fence Act of 2006.

The bill signed today receives what funding it has gotten via the 2007 Homeland Security Approiations Bill signed a fews ago.

September 25, 2006		Press Contacts: Jenny Manley (202) 224-6404
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Erin Rath (202) 224-3324
Conferees Approve FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON – Today the Senate and House of Representatives conferees approved the FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The bill includes $34.8 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Homeland Security. This is $2.7 billion more than the President’s fiscal year 2007 discretionary spending request.

Departmental Management and Operations – A total of $1,010,971,000 is recommended to continue the operations of the Office of the Secretary, Office of the Under Secretary for Management, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Analysis and Operations, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, and Office of Inspector General. The funding for Departmental Management and Operations in FY06 was $898,317,000, excluding emergency supplemental appropriations.

Security, Enforcement and Investigations:

US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT) – A total of $362,494,000 is recommended to continue the development of the US VISIT system. US VISIT received funding of $336,600,000 in the FY06 bill.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection – A total of $8,036,356,000 is recommended ($1,462,474,000 more than the President’s request) for securing the Nation’s borders, including:

$2,239,586,000 for border staffing between the ports of entry; including 1,500 new Border Patrol agents;
$139,312,000 for the Container Security Initiative;
$1,187,565,000 for fencing, infrastructure and technology;
$777,983,000 for air and marine operations, including $70,000,000 for P-3 service life extensions and mission hours, $64,000,000 for medium lift helicopters; $58,000,000 multi-role aircraft; $20,000,000 for unmanned aerial vehicles, and $20,000,000 for light helicopters;
$451,440,000 for automation modernization; and
$232,978,000 for facilities construction along the border.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement – A total of $3,958,281,000 ($29,709,000 more than the President’s request) is recommended for investigating and enforcing immigration and customs laws, including:

$1,441,289,000 for investigations and intelligence;
$1,984,345,000 for detention and removals;
$15,000,000 for automation modernization; and
$56,281,000 for infrastructure improvements at detention facilities.

Transportation Security Administration – A total of $6,374,392,000 (excluding $2,420,000,000 of aviation security offsetting collections) is recommended for securing aviation transportation, including:

$2,618,800,000 for passenger and baggage screener workforce;
$173,366,000 for checkpoint support;
$141,400,000 for the procurement of explosive detection and trace systems, of which no less than $47,000,000 is for the procurement and deployment of next generation explosive detection systems, including in-line systems;
$138,000,000 for installation of explosive detection and trace systems;
$55,000,000 for air cargo security;
$13,200,000 for the safety and security of the nation’s railways;
$99,700,000 for transportation threat assessment and credentialing (an additional $76,101,000 is provided through fee funded programs);
$714,294,000 for the Federal Air Marshals;
The Committee does not include a Presidential legislative proposal to generate an estimated $1,230,000,000 (CBO) in passenger aviation security offsetting collections.

United States Coast Guard – A total of $8,394,951,000, excluding rescissions, is provided, including:

$5,477,657,000 for operating expenses;
$122,448,000 for Reserve training;
$1,408,939,000 for acquisition, construction, and improvements, excluding rescissions, to fund new assets and maintain old assets and facilities. This amount includes $1,144,566,000, excluding rescissions, for the Deepwater recapitalization project;
$16,000,000 for alteration of bridges. The President did not request funding for this account;
$17,000,000 for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation;
$1,063,323,000, as requested in the budget, for retired pay;
$278,704,000 for the Health Care Fund (permanent indefinite appropriations).

United States Secret Service – A total of $1,276,658,000 is recommended for the operations of the United States Secret Service. This funding includes $6,000,000 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and $2,366,000 for the Service’s forensic support costs associated with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Preparedness and Recovery:

Under Secretary for Preparedness – A total of $30,572,000 is recommended for the Under Secretary for Preparedness and $46,849,000 for the U.S. Fire Administration.

Office of Grants and Training – A total of $3,393,000,000 is recommended for first responder grants and assistance, including:

$900,000,000 for state and local assistance grants and law enforcement terrorism prevention grants;
$770,000,000 for Urban Area Security Initiative grants;
$210,000,000 for port security grants;
$175,000,000 for rail and transit security grants;
$50,000,000 for buffer zone protection plan grants;
$50,000,000 for the commercial equipment direct assistance program (technology transfer);
$145,000,000 for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium;
$30,000,000 for demonstration training grants;
$662,000,000 for firefighter assistance grants, of which $115,000,000 is for SAFER Act grants; and
$200,000,000 for emergency management performance grants.

Infrastructure Protection and Information Security – A total of $542,633,000 to identify and assess threats, map threat information against current vulnerabilities, and take preventative action, including:

$101,100,000 for critical infrastructure outreach and partnerships for data sharing with infrastructure owners and operators;
$69,000,000 to identify critical infrastructure and their vulnerabilities, to assess risks identified , and to reduce vulnerabilities;
$32,043,000 for developing and implementing protective programs for critical infrastructures;
$8,218,000 to rapidly identify and characterize a potential bioterrorist attack; and
$87,000,000 for cyber security activities.

Federal Emergency Management Agency – A total of $2,510,904,000 is recommended for emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) activities, including:

$244,000,000 for Readiness, Mitigation, Response and Recovery to fund all operating expenses for FEMA programs including $25 million for the 28 strategically located Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams;
$282,000,000 for administrative and regional operations, including an additional $30,000,000 for FEMA to hire up to 250 permanent disaster relief employees;
$100,00,000 for the National Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund;
$33,885,000 for the National Disaster Medical System; and
$1,500,000,000 for Disaster Relief.

Research and Development, Training, Assessment, and Services:

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services – A total of $181,990,000 is recommended for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, for the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) and Employment Eligibility Verification (EEV) programs. When combined with fee collections a total of $1,985,990,000 is available for the processing of immigration benefit applications.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center – A total of $275,279,000 ($22,000,000 above the President’s budget request) is recommended for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Science & Technology – A total of $973,289,000 to support basic and applied research, development of prototypes, and procurement of systems to mitigate the effects of weapons of mass destruction including:

$350,200,000 for biological countermeasures;
$60,000,000 to counter chemical warfare agents toxic industrial chemicals;
$85,582,000 for high explosives countermeasures;
$19,451,000 for emergent and prototypical technology;
$50,000,000 for university programs;
$40,000,000 for the counter-MANPADS program;
$20,000,000 for cyber threat characterization, detection, and origination; and
$27,000,000 for interoperability communications.

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office – A total of $480,000,000 is recommended for domestic nuclear detection, research and development, operations and systems acquisition including:

$40,000,000 for radiation portal monitor research and development;
$272,500,000,000 for transformation research and development; and
$143,000,000 for the acquisition of radiation portal monitors.

New Legislation

Chemical plant security: The conference includes a provision to authorize the Secretary to issue interim risk-based security regulations on high risk chemical facilities.This three year authorization gives the Secretary and facilities flexibility to achieve the appropriate risk reduction, but also provides the Secretary a means to inspect and sanction non-compliant facilities, including the authority to shut down non-compliant facilities until they comply. The provision protects sensitive information, but allows it to be shared it with appropriate authorities.

Tunnel Statute: The conference includes a provision making it unlawful to construct a tunnel under the international land border of the United States.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: The conference includes a provision extending the deadline for implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Reauthorization: The conference includes Title IV which promotes the Administrator of FEMA to be the principal advisor to the President for Emergency Management (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security, promotes the Administrator of FEMA to the level of Deputy Secretary, and restores the nexus between emergency preparedness and response.

The conferees include an additional $1.8 billion in emergency appropriations for border and maritime security, including funding for: Border Patrol Agents; detention beds; fencing, infrastructure, and technology; facilities upgrade; funds for the re-capitalization of the Customs and Border Protection air fleet; and funds for the re-capitalization of Coast Guard ships and aircraft, including the acceleration of the Deepwater program.

Drug Importation: The conference includes a compromise provision to authorize the importation of FDA-approved prescription drugs from Canada. This provision ensures individuals import safe and effective medicine by requiring prescription drugs be brought into the U.S. by the individual.

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Curious. What would you of said about a President that doubled Federal Spending, Ran up record Federal Spending Deficits, Signed 2 tax HIKES and a real Illegals Amnesty and ran away from a Muslim Terrorists threat. -

That was President Ronald Reagan.

Based ON your standards applied to GW Bush "Reagan Man" Ronald Reagan was NOT a Conservative! You shame the memory of the greatest President this country has ever had every time you post your rabid emotional hate for President Bush.

Try ONE time to remember Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment. "Thou shall speak no ill of other Republicans".

Maybe instead of clinging to your emotion based ignorance, you MIGHT consider the 70% of the Conservatives glass that is full. On Judges ALONE the Bush and the GOP have done FAR more good for Conservatives future then all the rabid hate speech from the political fringers EVER will.

HERE is a list of what Bush and the GOP have got done. This does not include the Detainee bill, the Border Fence bill nor the up coming NSA bill.

Abortion & Traditional Values

1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade.
2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy.
> 3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act.
4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services.
5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals.
6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004.
7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act — and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman.
8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents.
9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools.
10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms).
11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline.
12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs.

Budget, Taxes & Economy

1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history.
2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax.
3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks.
4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority.
5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty.
6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people.
7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts.
8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America.
9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals.
10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains.
11. Signed trade promotion authority.
12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches.
13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States.
14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes.
15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home.
16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled.
17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child.
18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000.
19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans. 20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year.

Character & Conduct as President

1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency. \
2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse.
3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days:

* Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing."

* On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation:

Education & Employment Training

1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act.
2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education.
3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.)
4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight.
5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance.
6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards.
7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems.
8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to to become teachers.

Environment & Energy

1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.
2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc.
3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives.
4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops.
5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger.
6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger.
7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California.
8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species.

Defense & Foreign Policy

1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom.
2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured.
3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Qaida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaida leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaida leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror.
4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed.
5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network.
6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century.
7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses.
8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency.
9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU.
10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year.
11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia.
12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ.
13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command.
14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs.
15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry.
16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006.
17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy.
18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments.
19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year.
20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports. 21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed.
21. Pushed thru Congress the 1st Military Death benefit raise in decades. Rasied the grant for survivors of military personal killed in the line of duty from a pitful $10,000 to over $100,000. Globalization & Internationalism

1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant).
2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court.
3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty).
* 4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer.
5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country."

Government Reform

1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises.
2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs.
3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.
* 4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers.
5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals.

Health

1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free.
2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health.
3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes: * A 10-year privatization option. * Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine. * More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "…when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors.
* New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford.

Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration

1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security.
2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004.
3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield).
4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders.
5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity.
6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals.
7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones.
8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested.
9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies.
10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability. 11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization.
12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens.
13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications.
14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack.

Judiciary & Tort Reform

1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits.
2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA.
3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary.
4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims.

Politics

1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency.

2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes.

3.Has prosecuted 527 corrupt Union bosses in an effort to reform the rampant corruption in the Labor Unions.

Second Amendment

1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right.
2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit.
3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers. 4. *See Globalization & Internationalism.

Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism

1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else — to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself."
2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world.
3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative — located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families.
4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring — even when Federal funds are involved.
5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible.
6. Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them.
7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states.
8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa.
9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles:

* Equal Justice
* Freedom of Speech
* Limited Government Power
* Private Property Rights
* Religious Tolerance
* Respect for Women
* Rule of Law

List authored by Freeper Southack

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