The Border Security Bill That's a Start
by Elisabeth Meinecke

08/13/2010

The emergency border security bill that passed Congress Thursday has earned a nod from conservatives in the GOP.

The substance of the bill – which increases funding and manpower on the border by $600 million -- was non-controversial enough that it passed the House by a voice vote and the Senate (twice) by unanimous consent.

The noticeable drama over the bill, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer and passed just before the Senate left for August recess, was between the two branches of Congress, not the two parties. The Senate bill includes revenue measures, and under the Constitution, such bills must originate in the House. The House passed the bill during its special session Tuesday and sent it back to the Senate, which engineered a special session of its own Thursday to pass the bill again.

The battle for border security funding has been going back and forth between the two chambers since July. The House included border funding in a larger bill in early July which the Senate took out. Then the House passed the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Border Security Act. The Senate responded with its own bill, which has now passed both chambers.

Initial reactions to the bill are promising for conservatives. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee caucus, said he’s pleased the bill is paid for and thinks the revenue measure regarding visas in the bill is fair – the bill generates revenue by raising fees for visas of foreign workers, although U.S. technology companies are excluded.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who co-sponsored a letter with Poe in April asking President Obama to send more National Guard troops to the border, was also pleased with the bill. While not conservative, Giffords has fought hard for more funds going to border security and represents the county where Arizona ranchers Robert Krentz was killed earlier this year.

Both Giffords and Poe highlighted the $10 million the bill gives to judiciary, which will help handle cases dealing with border violence and immigration enforcement.

“That is the bottleneck,â€