mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of this rule , which will simply allow us to consider general debate , and in 7 minutes we are going to be up in the committee on rules considering a number of those issues that the gentleman from florida just raised , deciding what it is that we will debate here on the house floor tomorrow .  so the process is still ongoing and members are involved in that , and it is one that we look forward to considering before too long .  i want to congratulate the gentleman from dallas , texas ( mr. sessions )  for his very strong commitment to all homeland security issues , a top priority .  and i will say , mr. speaker , that border security is a critically important aspect of the number one priority that we have at the federal level .  the five most important words in the middle of the preamble of the u.s. constitution are `` provide for the common defense , '' and securing our borders is a priority , and it should be of any sovereign nation .  the gentleman from wisconsin ( mr. sensenbrenner )  and i had the privilege of serving as conferees last fall as we sought to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission .  unfortunately , our friends in the other body decided not to include provisions that would provide guidelines to ensure that the likes of mohammed atta who flew a plane into the world trade center just days before he was to appear in court because of a traffic violation that he had had with a driver 's license , that was something that we felt strongly should have been incorporated to rectify that in the 9/11 commission recommendations .  unfortunately , our colleagues in the other body chose to ignore that .  the gentleman from california ( mr. ose ) worked hard to ensure that we would be able to complete the 3 1/2 -mile gap through what is known as smugglers gulch , an area that is today devastated environmentally because people cross the border illegally .  unfortunately , our colleagues in the other body refused to accept that .  both of those things were issues that were of concern to the 9/11 commission ; and if we look at the 9/11 commission report , they make it very clear that we need to address these kinds of issues as they relate to border security .  so what we decided , of course , at the end , as we prepare to implement that , was that we would , as soon as the 109th congress convened , proceed with passage of this very important aspect of our border security and , by virtue of that , our national security .  that is why i think this measure should enjoy strong bipartisan support .  this is an issue that democrats and republicans alike can come together on to ensure that we do , we do , secure our borders .  so i think that we have a wonderful opportunity here to deal with border security .  the issue of immigration reform is another question .  i am supporting this effort on border security in part because i am convinced that we will be able to , down the road and i hope soon , address the immigration reform question .  i happen to believe that it is important for us to identify the people who are here in this country illegally .  and , yes , i am opposed to granting blanket amnesty , as is president bush , but i do believe that moving in the direction of some sort of worker program is something that we must look at and must address .  but we are taking a proper step in finally doing what we wanted to have incorporated in the 9/11 commission package that we passed out of here , and i congratulate all my colleagues who have been involved in this .  