[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7046]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        BLOCK THE BORDER FEE TAX

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Homeland Security Committee 
adopted my amendment to block a study of new fees for passengers and 
pedestrians crossing our borders. A similar amendment was successfully 
included in the Senate legislation last week.
  The consensus for blocking this tax is welcome, but not surprising. 
Cross-border travel is central to the economic viability of border 
communities, including my own in western New York.
  Last year, 3 million Canadians visited our region, spending nearly $1 
billion. Canadians rely on seamless travel at one of my district's five 
border crossings to travel from the Buffalo Niagara International 
Airport, area businesses, and to attend sporting and cultural events.
  Mr. Speaker, with the bipartisan support, bicameral support for this 
issue, I suggest that language blocking the border fees should be 
included in the upcoming immigration reform legislation. This is a 
senseless tax. It's counterproductive, and we should take every action 
to prevent it.

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