Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman is working to secure additional funding for the New Mexico National Guard’s efforts to help secure the border region.

In letters to the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Bingaman and a bipartisan group of senators requested $255 million to fully fund the National Guard Counterdrug Program. The Program funds anti-drug efforts in the various states.

Over the past few years, Bingaman has secured more than $8 million under this program specifically for the New Mexico National Guard’s counterdrug initiative, which is aimed at fighting drug trafficking and assisting Border Patrol with surveillance activities, dismantling vehicles suspected of carrying narcotics, and assisting with the construction of vehicle barrier along the border. Bingaman will be seeking an additional set-aside for the New Mexico National Guard again this year.

“Well resourced professional narco-criminals operate along our country’s borders. Interstate and international drug smuggling is a national problem. Despite the clear need, this is the only homeland security mission done by the National Guard that has shrunk since September 11, 2001,” the letter states.

In their letter, the senators urge Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member John McCain (R-AZ) to authorize $255 million for the National Guard Counterdrug Program in the FY 2009 Defense Authorization Bill. In a separate letter to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Ranking Member Ted Stevens (R-AK), the senators request that the FY 2009 defense spending bill also contain $255 million for the program. Authorization is necessary before the funding can be set aside in a spending bill. This level of funding would allow the National Guard to increase personnel dedicated to this mission from 1,900 to 2,700.

Bingaman said he is supporting the National Guard Counterdrug Program because of its effectiveness in New Mexico, and that recent outbreaks in violence across the border in Mexico have demonstrated the need to deploy more resources on both sides of the border to address drug trafficking.

“Over the past few weeks there has been an alarming spike in drug-related violence in Palomas and Juarez. Clearly the Mexican government needs to do be doing more to address that violence. But the United States can also play a role by funding successful National Guard counterdrug initiatives like the one in New Mexico,” Bingaman said.

Just last year, Guard personnel helped seize 621,062 pounds of cocaine; 856,384 pounds of marijuana; 5,703 pounds of methamphetamines, 21,603 weapons. They also helped in securing 79,875 arrests.