The Bush administration may not have started it, but it set the pace. Nothing has changed.
“Border security” may sound like controlling migration along our southern border. But if you look a little closer, “border security” turns out to mean more of the same-old (a porous border, serving businesses looking for cheaper, off-the-books labor) at huge profit to industries building the gizmos that make border areas look secure.
Nothing has changed during the current sessions of Congress. Campaign contributors win the day.
The border security plan the Senate approved last week includes unusual language mandating the purchase of specific models of helicopters and radar equipment for deployment along the U.S.-Mexican border, providing a potential windfall worth tens of millions of dollars to top defense contractors.
The legislation would require the U.S. Border Patrol to acquire, among other items, six Northrop Grumman airborne radar systems that cost $9.3 million each, 15 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters that average more than $17 million apiece, and eight light enforcement helicopters made by American Eurocopter that sell for about $3 million each.
The legislation also calls for 17 UH-1N helicopters made by Bell Helicopter, an older model that the company no longer manufactures.
Watchdog groups and critics said that these and other detailed requirements would create a troubling end-run around the competitive bidding process and that they are reminiscent of old-fashioned earmarks — spending items that lawmakers insert into legislation to benefit specific projects or recipients ...WaPo
Those of us who live in the general vicinity of the border have seen this before. Nothing has changed. $45 billion this time. If memory serves, Bush’s border wall (a failure) was expected to cost $20 billion. Something like that. Money going into the pockets of legislators and lobbyists doesn’t pass through any “sequester” nets, I guess.
Here are the Republicans to keep an eye on this time around:
Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who co-sponsored the plan, said the provisions were aimed at assuaging the concerns of Republicans who are wary about creating a path to citizenship without tougher border measures.
“I was just trying to work with our caucus to get as many of our guys to participate,” Hoeven said. …WaPo
And one with a conscience… at least in public…
That approach did not win over holdouts such as Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who said: “Taxpayer funds should enhance border security, not provide border stimulus for contractors. Unfortunately, the Senate bill does exactly that.” …WaPo
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The Hill also has this:
As written, the bill would ramp up Customs and Border Protection’s “Integrated Fixed Towers (IFT) Program,” designed to let agents better detect illegal border crossings via towers equipped with radar and infrared cameras.
The plan calls for 87 such towers in California, Arizona and Texas. Defense heavyweights including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are seen as being among the top contenders for the contract.
In a statement, Lockheed pointed to its 25-year record of fielding successful border security technology, including the P-3 aircraft and its “Gyrocam” camera system. The firm said it is ready to move forward with the fixed tower program.
Apart from the amendment, the legislation contains $22 billion in discretionary spending, which would pay for a combination of border measures and other programs. They include an expanded electronic worker verification system, an overhaul of existing visa programs and more money for immigration courts.
The legislation would place a greater emphasis on the use of “biometric,” or photo-matching technology. Companies like Accenture, which already provides similar services under federal contract and lobbied on the bill, would be well positioned for added business.
Accenture, along with other firms, including Microsoft and IBM, declined to comment on the legislation. … The Hill
Accenture, by the way, used to be Anderson Consulting (Arthur Anderson). It was convicted of dirty dealings during the Enron explosion. All in all, it’s familiar territory with most of the same friends-of-Bush-Cheney poisonous smog hanging in the air.