Cheri Bustos: Government shutdown is making us less safe – Opinion – Rockford Register Star

As a member of Congress, I took an oath to protect our country against all enemies — both foreign and domestic. It’s a responsibility I take seriously. That’s why it’s so important to get the truth out there about the border security debate happening in Washington.

Right now, the federal government is being held hostage over $5.7 billion for a border wall. The same border wall the president promised Mexico would pay for more than 200 times on the campaign trail. In fact, President Trump said Mexico would deliver “a one-time payment of $5 billion to 10 billion” for the wall. But now, here we are weeks into a government shutdown because the president is asking taxpayers to foot the bill.

As a leader of the House Democrats, I’ve helped pass legislation to open our government, including billions of dollars in border security measures that actually work. We also need 21st century solutions to address the 21st century challenges we face, which is why we’ve proposed a four-point plan based off of recommendations from national security experts:

• We will fund new scanning technology at official ports of entry into the United States, because that’s where 90 percent of heroin, 87 percent of methamphetamine and 80 percent of fentanyl is smuggled into the country. That means wherever people or goods enter our country, we need technology that allows us to detect drugs, weapons and other contraband that threatens the safety of the American people.

• We will crack down on unauthorized border crossings with advanced technology — investing in cameras and radars that can spot moving people or objects in any weather or any time of day.

• We will fill the more than 3,000 vacancies for customs officers at all of our ports of entry to ensure travelers are being vetted and screened before entering the United States. This will also make sure we are properly inspecting commercial and passenger vehicles for illegal drugs and contraband.

• Finally, we will make smart investments in our border infrastructure — building up our ports of entry to end the long delays for visitors and commercial shipments that cost billions of dollars in economic activity each year.

These are four proven strategies to make our nation more secure. National security and immigration experts have recommended against a wall along the southern border — noting that it’s ineffective, expensive and won’t fully address the challenges we face.

I want to focus on solutions, not sound bites. This shutdown is making our communities less safe because, every day, our border patrol and TSA agents are working without pay. That’s just not right — and it hurts our national security.

The House has passed bill-after-bill to end this shutdown and reopen the government – along with funding for border security measures that will keep families safe. We have real work ahead of us to bring down the cost of health care, create good-paying jobs with investments in our infrastructure and clean up the corrupt mess in Washington. It’s time to bring this manufactured crisis to an end.

Cheri Bustos has served as the U.S. representative for Illinois’s 17th congressional district since 2013.