Owens Announces Border Security Funding for Northern New York
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Congressman Owens News Release
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Owens announced Operation Stonegarden(OPSG) funds for Northern New York to strengthen security along the Canadian border. In April, Congressman Owens pressed the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee for access to security funding for New York’s northern border.
“It is integral to our national security that we maintain this level of funding for our border counties,” Owens said. “Northern and Central New York face a series of challenges that are unique to our specific land ports and border crossings, and we must give our patrol agents the tools they need to secure our borders. As we maintain the safety of these areas, we will be able to continue the movement of legal goods and services through our border and grow our local economy in the North Country.”
County governments in New York’s 23rd Congressional District that will receive these funds are Clinton County ($423,959), Franklin County ($331,918), Jefferson County ($283,777), Oswego County ($191,741), and St. Lawrence County ($411,735). The St. Regis Mohawk Police Department is also set to receive $267,917.
OPSG aims to enhance cooperation and coordination among Federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in a joint mission to secure the United States borders along routes of ingress from international borders to include travel corridors in states bordering Mexico and Canada, as well as states and territories with international water borders.
The original fiscal year 2011 budget proposal requested funding under the Operation Stonegarden Grant Program for counties only along the nation’s southwest border. Owens was joined by a bipartisan group of New York Members of Congress — Michael Arcuri (D-NY), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Christopher Lee (R-NY), and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) — in urging the committee to open eligibility for funding under the program for all twelve Northern New York border counties.
“The original proposal to restrict funding to our country’s southwest border would have left our northern boundary open to drug, weapons and human trafficking, and it must be changed to include our area,” added Owens. “I am very pleased to see this funding come through for our border communities.”
In March, Congressman Owens introduced a package of legislation to strengthen the border. H.R. 4747, the Cross Border Reservation Drug Trafficking Sentence Enhancement Act is a companion bill to that of Senator Charles Schumer’s effort in the Senate, and would increase the sentence of anyone found guilty of using Indian tribal lands to smuggle drugs. H.R. 4748, the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act is aimed at enhancing coordination between the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Homeland Security.
Posted: July 15th, 2010 under Congressional News.