Legislative Update

As the health care debate moved forward in the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle remain concerned with the possibility of a government-imposed health care system.  According to reports, the House will likely move to consider a health care reform proposal – incorporating all three House Committee markups – immediately after the August recess period.  In light of these reports, I hope to continue hearing from you and learning more about your thoughts on the proposal expected to be considered by the House in the near future.

On another topic, I wanted to update you on my ongoing efforts to better secure our nation’s land border with Mexico.  As many of you already know, I strongly believe that we must strengthen security along our Southwest border through an effective combination of resources, including technology, manpower and, of course, infrastructure.  While there are currently no plans to build additional infrastructure beyond what is already in place or under contract, it is important that the Department of Homeland Security receives and retains the tools it needs to do its job.

Under the existing 700-mile fence mandate, created under the Secure Fence Act, all fencing locations on the Southwest border were required to be identified by December 2008.  The authority to determine new infrastructure locations has since expired and, even if it is determined that additional fencing is needed at anytime in the future, the Secretary of Homeland Security’s legal authority to build these resources is extremely limited.

Therefore, my legislation, H.R. 3289, the Unlawful Border Entry Prevention Act, provides the Secretary of Homeland Security with full discretionary authority to build additional security fencing along 350 miles of the Southwest border.  In fact, this legislation does not specify infrastructure location or design.  That is for the Secretary of Homeland Security to decide.  It simply provides the Secretary with the legal authority to build infrastructure in the event it is needed. 

The bill also requires that once apprehensions in a particular sector of the Southwest border increase by 40 percent at any point from the previous fiscal year, the Secretary is required to submit a report to Congress within 30 days with plan to secure that area of the border.  Given the ongoing threat of violence border-wide, it is my intention to offer this legislation in the form of an amendment to upcoming legislation.  I’m also pleased to have the support of a bipartisan group of my colleagues, including Representatives Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Heath Shuler (D-NC), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Bart Gordon (D-TN).

The importance of additional enforcement measures was tragically underscored when Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was killed in the line of duty near Campo, California, late last week.  He was killed by gunfire while protecting an area of the border that is notorious for drug and human smuggling.   

In honor of Agent Rosas, I offered a resolution, H.Res.681, to pay tribute to his service and sacrifice, and express the condolences of the House to his family and fellow Border Patrol officers.  This resolution – which was supported by the entire San Diego delegation -- passed the House by unanimous consent on Wednesday, July 29, 2009.  For more information on this resolution, please click here.

Keep Your Eyes on California

Most of you are well aware of California’s ongoing budget challenges and the temporary deal recently reached by State lawmakers.  While this deal certainly comes as good news, there is no escaping the fact that California is facing an uncertain fiscal future. 

At the federal level, our nation is spending an unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars.  While spending has been a serious issue for the last decade, perhaps even longer, I believe that we continue to spend far more than we can afford.  As a matter of economic and national security, we need to make every effort to control costs. 

America might very well be heading down the same path as California.  In fact, what is happening in California may forecast our nation’s fiscal future if we don’t act to prevent the same effects resulting from the same fiscal irresponsibility. 

I highlighted this perspective in a recent commentary featured on HumanEvents.com, which I encourage you to read.  You can access this commentary by clicking here.