Posted on 09/29/2006 7:40:28 PM PDT by The Spirit Of Allegiance
Edited on 09/29/2006 7:52:46 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
The House version of the bill approving and funding the building of a U.S./Mexico border wall has overwhelmingly passed the Senate, according to KFI News.
Link to station provided.
UPDATE: Senate backs fence along Mexico border
Reuters
By Donna Smith and Richard Cowan
The U.S. Senate on Friday overwhelmingly agreed to authorize construction of a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico, sending to President George W. Bush before the November 7 elections a bill that Republicans hope will showcase their efforts to stop illegal immigration.
The Republican-written bill authorizing construction of about 700 miles of fence was one of the last bills to clear Congress as lawmakers prepared to leave Washington to campaign for the congressional elections. On a vote of 80-19 the Senate approved the bill already passed by the House of Representatives and it now goes to Bush for his signature.
Bush had sought broad immigration legislation that would create a guest-worker program to help provide a steady workforce for jobs Americans are either unable or unwilling to do. But he was unable to marshal support for it in the face of opposition from a solid group of House Republicans who pushed for tougher enforcement and border measures instead.
A separate bill approved by the House on Friday provided an initial $1.2 billion in funding for the fence and other border-security measures for the fiscal year that begins Oct 1. The money is part of a $34.8 billion bill for domestic security programs for the fiscal year that begins October 1.
The broad spending bill also criminalizes the construction of tunnels that could be secret passageways from Mexico or Canada for drug smugglers, illegal aliens or terrorists.
The Senate was expected to pass the funding bill quickly and send it on to Bush along with the fence authorization.
Opponents of the fence said it would be expensive and was not an effective deterrent to illegal immigration.
"This is a political gimmick," said Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado. "It is not in the long-term interest of of the United States of America and the Western Hemisphere."
The government of Mexico on Thursday issued a statement expressing "its profound concern" with the fence. The statement, translated from Spanish, said such measures "are contrary to the spirit of cooperation that should prevail to guarantee security in the common border."
IMMIGRATION OVERHAUL
Backers of the fence said it was an important tool to clamp down against illegal immigration. An estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants were arrested in the last fiscal year trying to cross into the United States along the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Sections of the fence would be built in each state.
"Fortifying our borders is the first prong of comprehensive immigration reform and it's an integral piece of national security," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican.
Lawmakers and analysts say Congress could tackle comprehensive immigration legislation in a post-election sessions, but they acknowledge difficulties.
"It will be tough but doable," said Rep. Adam Putnam (news, bio, voting record), a Florida Republican.
"There is a lot of pent up pressure and interest in doing something in the lame duck session," said Craig Regelbrugge of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
Democrats accused the Republican majority of playing politics with the fence bill after raising immigration as an election-year issue but having little to show in the way of legislation.
"This is about November. This is about incumbent protection, not about border protection," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Earlier this year the Senate passed broad immigration legislation that combined border security and employer sanctions with a plan to create a guest-worker program and provide a path to citizenship for many of the 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.
The Senate and House were unable to compromise and instead resorted to passing a series narrow border security measures.
"The Republicans and conservatives achieved more legislative victories this week than in the whole last two years."
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Nothing like having your base walk away to get you motivated. I never thought this would go through the senate without having some type of program put in to deal with those that are already here.
Ahh, another moron who thinks if you aren't 100% conservative on all issues, you're a "bleeding heart lib". Hello, Sean Hannity.
Me too, I wonder if they did a "swap" for political reasons. Maybe Lieberman thought a nay vote would help him against Lement and Hill thought a yea vote would help her if she runs in 08.
"This is a political gimmick," said Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado.......Yeah, Right..The Dem's have not done one thing to help control the southern borders of the U.S.
Damn forum rules!
Isn't that what you meant to say?
"First they told us to back Harriet Meyers, because the only way to win is through compromise. Then they told us to back Bush on amnesty, because the only way to win is through compromise."
No more Compromises
Ever
"We already did that. We call the Mexican land "Texas"."
Actually Tejas took her own land and established herself as a nation to herself.
She opted eventually to join us.
So you are one of those steal my land to promote your agenda types as well...
But most of the fence will be in the states created from the Mexican Cession. And that was what I was talking about. Although Texas claimed the Rio Grande as the border, the Republic of Texas didn't have much controll in the region between the Rio Grande and the Nueces rivers. Of course neither did the Mexican govenment.
I've followed your writings, I knew what you were saying. My heart goes out to you, because I know what's coming almost as well as you do.
Hang in there.
Where are the rules for this posted?
When you talk about someone in your daily life do you call them and get them in on a three way conversation all the time?
Ring the bell. I have a sneaking suspicion this is being done for show (just in time for the fall elections).
I'll stick my neck out and make a prediction: if Republicans hold Congress, there is a better than 50% chance that no activity on securing the border will occur, and 50% that there will be Katy-bar-the-door activity to not only do nothing to secure the border, but open the floodgates further.
I also noticed that some of the usual suspects who were berating the anti-illegal folks are on this thread with conveniently short memories.
You know the rules. When speaking of another poster, make sure you ping that poster.
In the neighborhood I grew up in, there was a house all the kids would avoid because it almost literally had the 'crazy lady shouting from the attic window'. Definitely had that spooky feel every Halloween.
Fair enough. In the context I was using it, it should have probably been "Texian" as those Anglos of the Republic of Texas Texians. I am not really part of that group though, as my family was late coming to Texas.
I would class myself currently as a Texican, though, not by blood, but just by relations in the current central Texas culture. "Texan" I think is a weaker still term, that can be adopted rather than lived. (A clifornian or a yankee that's been here for 10 years or more might be allowed to be called a Texan, even though they bitch about the heat or smoking bars.
In my definition:
"Texians" are all dead.
"Texicans" live in the stix and would be just as happy and healthy if all the big cities in Texas imploded and we went back to Waterloo as the capitol.
"Texans" can be determined by having some kind of Texas airport knickknack in their possession.
It was reported to have happened yesterday evening near Larado. Maybe it was a hoax. I can't find the thread now. Everything in AZ ok? Anyone injured?
This is what he said: "We will construct high-tech fences in urban corridors, and build new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas."
He sure was adamant about it wasn't he?
I think he's goind to lose sleep if he has to sign this bill because of the fence. It's got to be killing him to know that the border will actually be treated as a border.
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