Thread: Appropriators deal blow to border fence

Appropriators deal blow to border fence
By Walter Alarkon - 10/07/09 05:33 PM ET

Appropriators dropped a requirement in the 2010 Homeland Security spending bill to rush the construction of a fence at the Mexican border, disappointing conservatives who pushed the project as a way to slow illegal immigration.

The conference report for the $42.8 billion appropriations bill left out language in the Senate's version that required the installation of 700 miles of the border fence by the end of next year. The fence requirement was inserted in July as an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). It was adopted with the support of most GOP senators and 21 Democrats.



But the conference report went with the House's position, which didn't include any requirements on the fence's construction.

Rep. Jerry Lewis (Calif.), the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, and other GOP members of the panel assented to dropping the DeMint amendment partly because the conference report increased money for Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol, a GOP aide said. The conference report calls for $10.1 billion for Customs and Border Protection, which is a 3 percent boost over funding for the agency in the 2009 Homeland Security spending bill.

Fence supporters faced several obstacles to funding the project.

The Obama administration had opposed a rapid expansion of the fence, requesting far less money for the project than President George W. Bush had asked for. The White House called for $779 million for the fence in 2010, less than the $1.9 billion spent by the Bush adminstration in 2008 and the $926 million appropriated to the fence in 2009. The Homeland Security conference report calls for $800 million for the fence.

Initial plans called for the fence to cover 670 miles of the nearly 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border. But a General Accountability Office (GAO) report in February found that less than three dozen miles of it had been built.

The project was dealt another blow last month when the GAO found that it would cost $6.5 billion over 20 years. The report also said that it couldn't assess its effectiveness at stopping illegal immigration until its technological features were installed. Boeing, the firm building the fence, plans to install sensors to help Border Patrol agents deter people trying to cross it.

DeMint blamed Democrats for "gutting the best tool" for securing the U.S. border.

"Virtual fencing won't solve the problem and we need a real fence to deter the real problems of illegal immigration, terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking," he said. "A strong bipartisan Senate majority voted to finish the fence by the end of 2010 and its very disappointing that Democrat leaders are thwarting the will of the American people behind closed doors."

The Homeland Security conference report weakens another provision pushed by immigration hard-liners. The Senate had called for a permanent extension of the E-Verify program, an electronic system used by employees to check whether workers are in the country legally, but the conference report would extend it by three years, the same proposal in the House bill. The conference report does require federal contractors to use the system to check employees' statuses, which is what the Senate had proposed.

Appropriators did include in the legislation $800 million for the border fence program and a 3-year extension of a visa program for international medical graduates working in rural parts of the country.

Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), the sponsor of the House version of the spending bill, said the measures were "short-term solutions until comprehensive immigration reform can be considered by Congress."

President Obama in August called on lawmakers to produce a draft immigration reform bill by the end of the year. But lawmakers, dealing with major bills on healthcare, financial regulation and climate change, will be hard pressed to find time for another contentious legislative item.


http://thehill.com/homenews/house/62109 ... 1#comments

Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), the sponsor of the House version of the spending bill, said the measures were "short-term solutions until comprehensive immigration reform can be considered by Congress."

Can we deport this guy and the rest of the Congress?

Good one, Vortex.

I bet some one there said: "Will of The People be damned!"

Quote:
"Appropriators did include in the legislation $800 million for the border fence program and a 3-year extension of a visa program for international medical graduates working in rural parts of the country.

"Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), the sponsor of the House version of the spending bill, said the measures were "short-term solutions until COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM can be considered by Congress.'"

In reverse order, Rep. David Price was the chief Congressional organizer and "force behind" the sudden shift in ICE's empasis from popular effective programs such as workplace enforcement and 287(g). Without prior notice, he called a press conference earlier this year to announce that the new emphasis at ICE would be on "detaining and deporting violent criminal aliens", and that funding which previously had been allocated for the 1st two programs would be shifted to fund the latter. An outcry of protest resulted in part, but not all, of its funding being restored to the 287(g) program. Whenever Pres. Obama speaks before microphones in front of the White House now, Rep. Price seems to appear immediately behind him in the background group.

Why are "international medical graduates" being granted visas to work in rural areas of our country? If these graduates are from India or Mexico, for example, each of those countries has extensive "rural areas" of their own which I'm sure are in great need of doctors.

Immigration Debate: Border Fence Provision Cut From Bill

Oct . 9, 2009



WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, says a provision to build more fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border was cut out of a federal spending bill.

The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday the provision, which would have added 300 miles to current border fencing, is no longer part of a $42.8 billion spending bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

House members from Texas, Arizona and California labeled additional fencing as an ineffective way to boost border security, leading to the provision's removal.

"We need to invest and secure our border and our land ports without being tied down to an amendment that is out of touch with border needs," Cuellar said.

The U.S. Senate had approved the provision submitted by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., in July with a 54-44 vote.

The Chronicle said the provision was removed by Senate and House negotiators this week in light of political opposition in the House.

An unidentified Department of Homeland Security spokesman said more than 630 miles of fence and barriers have been completed along the border to date.


http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/20 ... on_cut.htm

Feds reject more border fencing
(October 9th, 2009 @ 11:14am)
Comments:5

McALLEN, Texas -- The Department of Homeland Security has stripped a provision requiring 300 more miles of tall fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border from its appropriation bill, saying the funds needed to build the barrier would be better spent on alternative security measures.

If the amendment by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint had remained in the bill, tall fencing to stop illegal immigrants and smugglers on foot would have been installed along 700 miles of border- a plan that many officials and residents along the Southwest border have opposed.

DeMint's provision, which was dropped this week, said 300 miles of low-rise vehicle barriers and virtual fencing planned for the area could not count toward the 700 miles of barrier the U.S. government had promised to build. Virtual fencing includes technologies such as cameras and sensors.

``The DeMint amendment represented an unproductive and inefficient border security strategy,'' U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said in a prepared statement Thursday. ``We need to invest and secure our border and our land ports without being tied down to an amendment that is out of touch with border needs.''

Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, said DeMint's proposal would have cost $6.5 million, money Cuellar said was better spent on other border security measures.

At the end of June approximately 633 miles of pedestrian and vehicle barriers had been completed along the 2,100-mile border. Many of the gaps in the fencing are in Texas where landowners continue to fight the government.

A federal judge was scheduled Friday to hear updates on several cases that are expected to go to trial next year to determine how much compensation the government would have to pay landowners for using their property.

The provision by DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, was not included in the House version of the $42.8 billion spending bill and was expected to be stripped during conference when the two bills were melded.

Seven border state congressmen asked the House leadership in July to strip the amendment from the final bill.

The General Accounting Office reported last month that maintaining the border fence would cost $6.5 billion during the next 20 years. That would be on top of the $2.4 billion spent to build it.


http://ktar.com/index.php?nid=6&sid=1218580

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4579--0-0.html

Initial plans called for the fence to cover 670 miles of the nearly 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border. But a General Accountability Office (GAO) report in February found that less than three dozen miles of it had been built

OUTRAGEOUS!!!!