The bill he introduced in the House last week would use the funds to develop new technology and put it to work.

LUKE TURF

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe hopes to put $4 billion into studying the technology needed to secure the nation's borders and putting the gadgets to work.
"I think we have to realize what we've been doing hasn't been working very well," the Arizona Republican told an audience of about 320 during his State of the District speech yesterday at the Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park. "This legislation addresses security gaps in our border infrastructure."

Kolbe introduced the bill in the House last week and Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, both Republicans, introduced it in the Senate yesterday.

Kolbe is hopeful the bill will pass this year, while his more controversial guest-worker bill isn't likely to pass in a presidential election year.

The security bill proposes studying how technology, equipment and personnel can address security gaps.

The study would be conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, which would submit findings and an appropriation request to Congress. The bill would authorize spending up to $4 billion on border security technology, Kolbe said.

Increasing unmanned aerial vehicle patrols, the use of video cameras, sensors and motion detection devices are among the proposals that would be evaluated if the bill passes.

The legislation also would address the communication gap between federal agencies merged under Homeland Security and between local and state authorities, as well as information sharing, Kolbe said.

Monitoring border-area hospitals for patients showing symptoms of illnesses associated with bioterrorism also would be part of the initiative, he said.

Kolbe, seeking his 11th term in the House of Representatives, told the audience that his southern Arizona district is improving in many ways.

The local economy is on the upswing, he said, noting that Tucson experienced 1.8 percent job growth in the past year and that the University of Arizona's Science and Technology Park and the Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization project will drive economic growth.

"There's no doubt that all the figures are pointing up," he said.

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the local Arizona Air National Guard base and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista are all in good position to survive the next round of base closures, he said.

While the No Child Left Behind initiative needs to be reviewed, it has spurred progress in Tucson schools, Kolbe said.

"Tucson Unified School District has seen its underperforming schools drop from 21 to 12 from 2002 to 2003," he said.

Citizen Staff Writer C.T. Revere contributed to this article.