http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... o0612.html

Napolitano urges unity on migrants
United front is pushed for Western governors

Staff and wire reports
Jun. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano on Sunday called for a joint effort by Western governors to address illegal-immigration issues.

"We want to make sure we coordinate between ourselves, particularly as the Guard comes down to the border," Napolitano said in Sedona during the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association.

She said plans were made to send letters to Congress expressing concern over the toll that undocumented immigrations have taken on taxpayers.

"Washington needs to step up to the plate and pass an immigration bill that works," Napolitano said.

After an afternoon a session called "Clean Energy, a Strong Economy and a Clean Environment," Napolitano, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire met privately to discuss their states' immigration issues.

Schwarzenegger urged Western states to work together to reduce greenhouse gases in the fight against global warming.

"We are long past the time when we can just talk about this problem," he said. "We must take action."

The governors decided to take action by adopting three resolutions regarding energy issues.

The first approved was a two-year report that recommends ways to achieve a cleaner and more diversified energy portfolio in 10 years, including calling upon Congress to pass federal tax credits for energy-efficiency investments.

The second calls for more investment in ethanol, biodiesel, electricity, natural gas and the transmission grid needed to support those fuels.

And the third resolution calls for Western states to take steps to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.