Senate Republicans vowed Tuesday to overrule the Clinton administration's decision not to add 1,000 new Border Patrol agents next year, while accusing the White House of raiding immigration enforcement accounts to fund other priorities, the Associated Press reported.
"Every indication is that we will put them back in [the budget]," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who has been a sharp critic of the administration's decision not to seek the 1,000 agents, as ordered by Congress.
Congressional Republicans have been up in arms at the administration's decision not to seek 1,000 Border Patrol agents next year as directed under the 1996 immigration law.
On Tuesday, at a hearing of the Senate Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Subcommittee, they questioned Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner repeatedly about the decision.
In the past, Meissner and Attorney General Reno have said their concerns over explosive growth in the Border Patrol led to the decision not to seek new agents next year.
On Tuesday, Meissner acknowledged that INS and the Justice Department had requested money for the 1,000 agents in their FY2000 budget submissions, only to be overruled within the White House.
"The administration did make the decision in this budget round to take a breather for a year," she said.
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