[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15451]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      LACK OF BORDER FENCE FUNDING

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, we are hearing illegal immigration is a 
big debate. There is a lot of passion on this issue.
  Last year, Congress took the right step in passing the Secure Fence 
Act. It was the right thing to do. It puts 800 miles of fencing in 
place, both physical and electronic borders, on our southern border.
  Now, authorizing it is one thing, but paying for it is another 
matter. That duty has fallen to the new liberal leadership here in the 
House. Even though they have increased Homeland Security spending by 
$2.4 billion, a lot of that is going to go into global warming.
  They have cut funding for the fence by $187 million, compared to last 
year's budget. You are going to hear a lot about this as we begin our 
appropriations process today.
  As we work on this Homeland Security bill, they will claim to have 
budgeted $1 billion for the fence, but they are withholding $700 
million of that while we go through bureaucratic red tape. We have got 
to be certain we don't hurt the environment, all the while 4,500 
illegal immigrants cross the southern border every day.
  It is disgraceful. Do not delay the fence. Fund it. Take action in 
the appropriate matter. The hold-on-to-your-wallet Congress is at it. 
Stand up for the fence.

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