February 23, 2015 2:06 PM

Vagueness of Texas Senate border security plan comes under fire

There is a potential budget rider that may help Texas set its own definition of a secure border. “It might help for us to have one,” Sen. Watson said.

Democrats and one Republican pressed GOP leaders on Monday about the vagueness of how the Texas Senate’s huge proposed increase in border security funding would be spent. Finance Committee Chair Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, repeatedly answered their questions by saying she wants to ensure there are adequate resources for the border while also giving lawmakers a chance to decide on the specifics.

At one point during the Finance Committee’s meeting, Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, allowed his frustration to boil over. Eltife angrily said he didn’t care how popular border security is with voters, the point that seems to be missing is there are no real metrics to determine success.

“Christmas polls well in my house,” Eltife said, but “every dollar needs to be accounted for.” When he made that statement, Eltife had just listened to testimony indicating that the state has no way – across agencies – to assess whether border security efforts are successful.

“My goal in filing the base bill was to increase funding significantly," Sen. Nelson said. "And to cover certain areas but to leave it up to the committee's discretion how we want to do that.”

By Scott Braddock