House Committee on Homeland Security tour ports of LA, Long Beach

SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security toured the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Monday to discuss port security and the impact on trade.

The committee members said they were committed to making sure the ports have the funding and technology they need to be secure.

"We decided long ago that boots on the ground does not really give us the security we need, but it's technology," Democratic Representative Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi said.

Thompson was joined by Democratic representatives Filemon Vela of Texas and Nanette Diaz Barragan of South Los Angeles on the tour.

The representatives said they were impressed with the operations from a security and business standpoint. The members got a look at the inspection process and met with the men and women from the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The tour came as President Donald Trump's budget for 2018 seeks to cut $1.3 billion from the U.S. Coast Guard. More than 60 Democrat and Republicans signed a letter urging Trump to not make those cuts.

"When we hear things about funding being cut in one place to go to another place like a border wall, you then put security at risk at the ports and that's something I am committed to making sure we don't do," Barragan said.