Border Fence Fund Bill Passes in Senate Committee

AP GETS IT WRONG- BORDER FENCE FUND BILL PASSED IN SENATE COMMITTEE

They reported, "Border Fence Funding Bill falters in Mississippi"

Press Release

Feb. 1, 2011 Jackson, MS SB 2255 Border Fence Fund Bill passed through the Senate Judiciary A committee at about 4:45pm central time. This bill will fund the border fence by imposing a fee on money sent to foreign countries (remittances) from people unlawfully present in this country and in cooperation with other States. If only half the States participate, they could raise $1.2 billion annually for the border fence with an average remittance fee of 5%.
The vote was 5- 5, the tie was broken by the committee Chair and author, Senator Joey Fillingane.

The next step is for the bill to go to the Finance committee, Chaired by Senator Dean Kirby.
That committee is about evenly split politically. The deadline for getting this bill passed through the Finance committee and the Senate floor is Feb. 23rd.

By late last night it was still not clear if the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary A committee was going to bring the bill to a vote but members from several Tea Party groups in Mississippi showed up to support the bill. The committee meetings are open to the public. Opponents and supporters alike are allowed to speak at the meetings. One of the tea partiers spoke about the bill in the morning session. She emphasized the need for States to send aid to our border States to build their border fences. This is no different then sending aid to neighboring States who have suffered man-made or natural disasters, she said. She stated that Americans are looking to the States to protect them now because the Federal government has failed to make good on their promise to secure the border for over 25 years..

Senator Chris McDaniel worked diligently throughout the day to make sure amendments would address any concerns that committee members may have.

Several amendments were made:
the tax return option for citizens to get a full refund of the remittance fee was changed to use e-verify for each transaction eliminating the need to do a tax return. Those who do not clear the e-verify check will be charged the fee.
Churches, missionaries, non-profit organizations and ligitimate MS corporations are exempt.
a contingency was made for MS to withdraw the money out of the fund in case a border fence is not built.

A representative from Western Union spoke in the afternoon session, he insisted the fee was a tax to all Mississippians. He stated it would effect jobs. He claimed that the military would also be unjustly punished for sending money overseas. The Western Union representative did not reveal to the committee how many transactions take place in MS.

According to the Inter-American Development bank, $99 million dollars annually leave Mississippi. Mississippi spends $106 million dollars annually on
K-12, emergency medical care and incarceration of illegal aliens.

The Tea Party in Mississippi would like to give a special thanks to Senator Fillingane, Senator Chris McDaniel, Senator Michael Watson, Senator Walter Michel, Senator Terry Burton, and Senator Lee Yancey.

mspatriots.com

http://209.157.64.200/focus/news/2667720/posts?page=3

(link added by Mod/RB)