Hunter Introduces Border Security Legislation

With border violence at record levels and Mexico’s drug cartels growing in size and influence, Congressman Hunter introduced H.R. 2083, the Border Sovereignty and Protection Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation specifically focuses on strengthening the enforcement of existing immigration laws and enhancing security along the entire southwest border region.

Despite the increased security presence along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years, communities and law enforcement on both sides of the border are under constant threat. At the same time, social service and other taxpayer funded programs nationwide are incapable of sustaining those who are not citizens of this country. Until we secure our borders and begin to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, these problems will only continue.

This cannot be accomplished with infrastructure, technology or manpower alone. It will require a combination of these resources, as well as better coordination between our federal agencies and a commitment to enforcement.

The Border Sovereignty and Protection Act focuses on each of these elements. It enhances security along the U.S.-Mexico border through the construction of much needed infrastructure and authorizes more special agents to investigate and make arrests for cross-border criminal drug activity. The legislation also targets weapons smugglers by creating a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence for firearms smuggling, denies federal funding for sanctuary cities, expedites the deportation process for undocumented and criminal aliens and requires that businesses verify the citizenship status of employees.

Over the course of the legislative session, Congressman Hunter will continue working to promote the national importance of securing our borders and aggressively enforcing current immigration laws. You can follow these efforts more closely by signing up for regular updates on this issue by clicking here.

Budgeting Toward Fiscal Responsibility

The House of Representatives voted last week on a “motion to go conference” with the Senate on the $3.5 trillion Democratic Budget resolution. Given that the proposed budget raises taxes by more than $574 billion over five years and increase deficit spending by $3.9 trillion over the same period, Congressman Hunter joined his House Republican colleagues in offering a clear alternative that better reflects taxpayer interests.

The measure supported by Congressman Hunter would have prohibited any tax increases on working families and small businesses, leveled the excessive growth of entitlement programs and protected the ability of Americans to keep their own health plan and choice of doctor. Conversely, the budget resolution that passed the House last week includes specific instructions that allow Congressional committees to advance legislation, which will most likely include bills to implement “cap and trade” provisions on energy production, expand government-run health care programs at taxpayer expense and abolish private student loans.

While the Republican budget proposal was defeated by a vote of 196-227, Congressman Hunter remains committed to keeping taxes low for families and businesses, eliminating wasteful spending and reforming entitlement programs to ensure they continue functioning far into the future. Email updates on these issues are also available by registering here.