Senate Approves Funds For Troops on The Border
Reuters
About 3,000 National Guard troops are currently deployed in the border security program, which was slated to end on July 1, 2008. That figure is down from 6,000 in May.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, author of the amendment, said the additional funding would allow the National Guard mission to continue throughout next year.
"The number of illegal aliens attempting to cross the border has decreased by about 25 percent since National Guard troops were deployed. This program is a proven success and it would be unthinkable to back away so soon from this critical part of our border enforcement strategy," Sessions, an Alabama Republican, said in a statement.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed its own version of the bill and the two chambers will have to resolve their differences before adopting a final version.