Senator Bennett on Border Security Funds

Also secures $3 million for cyber safety software

June 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, supported the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, which included $800 million in funding for border security and $3 million for cyber security.

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"I am pleased the Appropriations Committee senses the urgency in securing our nation's borders and providing our patrol agents with the tools they need to make sure our country and citizens remain safe," said Bennett. "Utahns can rest assured that we are doing everything we can in Congress to provide the highest security to every American."

The $800 million will go toward tools to help secure U.S. borders, including pedestrian fencing, vehicle barriers, tactical infrastructure, ground sensors, cameras and additional border patrol agents.

Since 2007 there has been over $4 billion appropriated for border security. In the last four years nearly 10,000 border patrol agents have been hired increasing the miles of secured Southwest border from 350 to nearly 700 miles.

Also included in the bill is $3 million requested by Bennett to fund the Space Dynamics Lab at Utah State University for their Distributed Environment for Critical Infrastructure Decision-making Exercises project (DECIDE).

"Just as we need to secure our country's borders from terrorist attacks, we also need to secure our cyber networks," said Bennett. "As our private and public sectors grow more dependent on the Internet, we become more vulnerable to cyber terrorism. I am grateful Utah State and others can provide tools to help prevent our country from potential cyber attacks."

DECIDE is a cyber war-gaming model that allows large businesses in industries such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, transportation and energy, to develop coordinated responses to a wide variety of disruptions based on their different business models.

The $3 million will help DECIDE to continue their focus on the financial sector to include banking, equities and insurance. It will involve simulating the flow of transactions in financial equities markets, and should reveal ways to respond if there is a disruption.

Source: Senator Bob Bennett