COLLINS URGES DHS NOMINEE TO ALLOW MAINE RESIDENTS TO CROSS BORDERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) today urged the nominee for the number two slot at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that people who live on both sides of the border and who depend on each other for essential services are not prevented from crossing as needed. DHS Deputy Secretary nominee Admiral James Loy pledged to work with Senator Collins to develop a solution, possibly one based on the use of new technologies. "For many Maine residents who live in remote border communities, traveling back and forth between Maine and Canada is a way of life. Family members live across the border from one another, and businesses in one country depend on suppliers and customers from another in order to survive," said Senator Collins during Admiral Loy's nomination hearing.

Maine shares more than 600 miles of border with two Canadian provinces, Quebec and New Brunswick. Last year, the Department eliminated the Form 1 and Port Pass programs, which allowed U.S. residents to use unmanned border crossings 24 hours a day. Senator Collins pointed out that residents and land owners on the border with Canada, especially in remote areas such as T15 R15, located across the border from St. Pamphile, Quebec, have grown to depend on these two programs for access to medical and religious services, family events, and social activities-even to run their daily errands. Now, the movement of these residents is restricted to business hours, when a border guard is on duty.

"In the evenings and during most of the weekend, these residents are effectively ‘locked in,'" Senator Collins said. "This is greatly restricts the movement of law-abiding Americans to go to church, shop, or otherwise visit Canada."

"There are better ways we can address the unique problems of communities like these, while still protecting the U.S. from terrorists. I believe that technology is the answer," said Senator Collins. "DHS is now using technology to speed processing at some of our nation's busiest border crossings. Many of the technologies for personal identification already exist and are being used by the Department of Defense and other branches of government and private industry."