mr. speaker , i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time this morning . 
mr. speaker , each member of this house knows that when we go on vacation , one of the first things that we want to do is get a map so that we know where we are going and know the stops we are going to make and have a general idea of what is facing us on this vacation . 
mr. speaker , several members of the law enforcement caucus were discussing the issues of border security because we know we have been talking a lot about securing our borders . 
well , yesterday , my colleagues , the gentleman from michigan ( mr. stupak ) xz4003910 , the gentleman from texas ( mr. ortiz ) xz4003020 , and myself offered an amendment at the committee on rules that would have required the department of homeland security to develop and begin to carry out a comprehensive , long-term border strategy to secure this nation 's borders . 
the amendment would have expanded what is already in place , called the `` american shield initiative , '' to ensure that every inch of the borders is monitored at all times , either through technology or resources . 
unfortunately , the committee on rules voted against making this amendment in order on a straight party-line vote . 
so when we talk about common sense , i stand here this morning wondering what in the world are we thinking when we do not want to have an amendment like this that gives us a long-term strategy for knowing what this congress needs to do to reinforce and secure this nation 's border . 
we all know that since 9/11 , we have acknowledged that we need to increase the number of border patrol agents and immigration inspectors and , but congress literally has been picking figures seemingly out of thin air as we go through wanting to secure the border . 
instead , we should require a staffing assessment so we go through to determine what personnel resources we need to get the job done right . 
our amendment would have required such an assessment for personnel , for technology , and for infrastructure needs . 
balancing this nation 's border security has to go hand-in-hand with having a strategy . 
we do not have that kind of strategy . 
this amendment would have given us this strategy . 
regrettably , it was not made in order . 
mr. speaker , i often wonder if common sense and congress have anything in common . 
