Obey REVIEWS SECURITY ON NORTHERN BORDER

     “Our southern border is in the news a lot more often, but, because it’s so lightly patrolled, the northern border is actually a greater security risk for the country,” Obey said, noting that several terrorists have been arrested after entering the U.S. from Canada, including the al-Qaeda members who planned to bomb LAX airport on the Millennium and a Palestinian who planned a suicide bombing in New York. “We’ve been working to ensure that the Border Patrol has the resources it needs to better control all of our borders, and I’m happy to have this chance to see up-close how that’s going in the north.”

     Over the last two years, the House Appropriations Committee, under Obey’s leadership, has added enough funding for over 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents for both the Mexican and Canadian borders. The Committee has also provided additional resources for new infrastructure and technology to better secure U.S. borders, including the fence being built on the southern border and new aviation units, communication systems and remote sensors for the north.

     Obey got a first hand look at the southern border with border control officials earlier this year.