Feb. 9, 2005: Bush budget scraps 9,790 border patrol agents.

[reprehensor]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/02/09/MNGOKB837T1.DTL

Bush budget scraps 9,790 border patrol agents
President uses law's escape clause to drop funding for new homeland security force

Washington -- The law signed by President Bush less than two months ago to add thousands of border patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border has crashed into the reality of Bush's austere federal budget proposal, officials said Tuesday.

Officially approved by Bush on Dec. 17 after extensive bickering in Congress, the National Intelligence Reform Act included the requirement to add 10,000 border patrol agents in the five years beginning with 2006. Roughly 80 percent of the agents were to patrol the southern U.S. border from Texas to California, along which thousands of people cross into the United States illegally every year.

But Bush's proposed 2006 budget, revealed Monday, funds only 210 new border agents.

The shrunken increase reflects the lack of money for an army of border guards and the capacity to train them, officials said...

more@link

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from:
http://legitgov.com/

[Avalux]

1. WTF? What kind of game are they playing?

National Guard are supposedly going to be on the border to help temporarily until border patrol can get its shit together. Something stinks. x(

[havocmom]

3. It's an election year- lots of show not much substance

;)

[NNN0LHI]

16. Bush's answer to everything. Troops for Afghanistan. Troops for Iraq

Troops for lost elections?

Don

[nickyt]

21. Troops for bird flu! n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

19. The National Guard are already trained and therefore cheaper

It's the MBA thinking of the worst kind. The government needs a bigger return on investment from all those lazy weekend warriors. :sarcasm:

[BrotherBuzz]

20. Oh, come on. The National Guard are fungible.

RUMSFELD: Oh, come on. People are fungible. You can have them here or there. The fact of the matter is we've made a judgment, and we've announced the judgment.

[Virginia Dare]

2. Imagine that...

it's almost like they don't really want enforcement at the border, isn't it?

:think:

[Spazito]

4. Very interesting given the current discussions ongoing and the

speechifying about to occur later this evening. Thanks for posting this reminder of the real facts!

[BrklynLiberal]

5. He creates a situation, and then bemoans it.

The Dems should be yelling very loud about this!!

[reprehensor]

23. "I don't think anybody could have foreseen Border security as a problem."

"I think think anybody could have imagined the levees being breached."

"I don't think anybody could have foreseen the Iraqi insurgency."

"I don't think anybody could have foreseen terrorists using planes as missiles..."

And the beat goes on...

[BrklynLiberal]

24. Exactly! How much of that same crap can these idiots believe???

:grr:

[stepnw1f]

6. Spread This FAR and Wide

Now you know why he's sending our National Gaurd down there.

[spanone]

7. Bush* now politicizing our borders. Hey, whatever it takes.

these criminals in DC only interest is re-election.

[bvar22]

12. Not just politicizing,

but militarizing.

[Mugsy]

8. I forgot about this.

Wish I could say I was surprised.

[democrat_patriot]

9. Send this to Lou?

I would assume Harry Reid etc have this info?

[Ksec]

18. Oh, they know

Now if theyll use it effectively is the real question..

[Sydnie]

10. Isn't that interesting???

That's it .. all reporters just turn in your press cards and report to the nearest detention center. Your services are no longer appreciated by the king because you tell all his little secrets!

This news will cancel any bounce he gets from his little call to arms speech tonight for sure!

[LaPera]

11. Shit, the conservatives won't hear that in his speech tonight. Encouraging

people to come over the border to fill Bush's friends corporations, with low paying jobs and busting unions...The conservatives like the second part about busting unions...but they don't want them living in their neighborhoods...Bring in the army!!!

[The Wielding Truth]

13. Amazing!!! Wednesday, February 9, 2005!

How ridiculous! This a another mess.

[Ksec]

14. scream it from the mountaintops

This whole immigration debacle was caused by the Repubs, starting with Reagan underfunding the border security.

This is why the Repuks cant blame Dems for the mess theyve made. They know its their fault from top to bottom.

[SpiralHawk]

15. What a Wanker Bush is

eom

[slestak]

17. k&r

Though some way, some how, some one will find a way to blame Clinton.

[lies and propaganda]

22. and now he wants our Guard there

so something Katrina like could happen here in Az and were fucked because our guard is YET AGAIN doing shit they shouldnt.

They arent police! This is a HAND JOB for the 29% that are heartless and dumb for King George.

what a horrible joke taht never seems to end or have a punchline.

[treestar]

25. More Border Agents is the only legal way to deal with entries at

the border more effectively.

If they can't afford that, why can they afford the National Guard? Why not just hire more border agents and do it by the law?

[mom cat]

26. I wish the same reductions would happen in the pentagon due to a tight

budget.

[flyarm]

27. we have to scream this from the roof tops..* is using our

NATIONAL GUARD for political reasons..while he has raped our border patrol ..and our treasury! and out national security!

this must be send nation wide and spread it all through our nation..

i am going to make hundreds of copies and hand this out!!

fly

[reprehensor]

31. Now I know what a victim of systematic abuse feels like.

You keep thinking... they just can't go any lower.

And then they kick your cat, and insult your buddy in the Guard, just for cheap election points.

I'm becoming numb... but in an Ali v. Foreman kind of way...

[riderinthestorm]

28. And now he wants National Guard troops?

This reeks.

[riderinthestorm]

29. I'll kick this one more time then let it drop

But doesn't anyone else find it suspicious that Bush will not fund almost 10,000 border guards who would be specifically trained to handle immigrants, illegal or otherwise, and replace them with National Guard which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from troops being stationed elsewhere in our country to monitor/enforce laws???

[Inland]

30. I could have predicted this.

Bush would rather fire the civvies and replace them with "emergency" nat guard that he can keep from quitting and keep from telling us how their new internal deployment is a fubar.

He wants to militarize a basic civilian concept like border control and be the commander in chief of the US March.

[LaPera]

32. Interesting SFGate.com find.

[Disturbed]

33. Rethugs are so clever.

They create a problem. Keep the problem going until it is real bad. They claim that they are the great problem solvers by pretending to solve the problem. When they cannot solve the problem they blame it on Dems.