GOP Senators Revive Border Security Plan

WASHINGTON - With a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the dustbin, Senate Republicans sought Wednesday to win passage of its most popular piece, a $3 billion plan to beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The budget-busting GOP measure would be added - over White House opposition - to a pending bill to fund the budget for the Department of Homeland Security.

But Republican sponsors such as Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said securing U.S. borders is as important a priority as fighting terrorism and the war in Iraq.

The move comes in the wake of the collapse in the Senate of President Bush's immigration plan, a carefully negotiated compromise combining …