Congressman Ryan Applauds Passage of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill by House

Press Release

Congressman Ryan Applauds Passage of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill by House

Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-17), a member of House Committee on Appropriations, applauded the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 2638, the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill today. The bill, which Congressman Ryan voted for includes provisions that will increase border patrol agents to 17,819 and make it easier to travel to destinations in the Western Hemisphere.

"The War in Iraq has made America more vulnerable to attack." said Congressman Ryan. "That is why I am especially proud of the increase in funds for border protection and even more money to hire 3,000 additional Border Patrol Agents. We need to secure our borders, airports and seaports and this is a big step in that direction."

In addition to increases in border protection, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill requires that Immigration and Customs Enforcement obtain information, on a monthly basis, from correctional facilities throughout the U.S. to identify aliens who are subject the deportation. Upon serving their sentence the identified aliens will be deported immediately.

The bill also included a one-year prohibition on funds used to implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which has created a backlog in passport requests, making it much harder for Americans to travel abroad.

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