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Spending Bill Shrinks Border Fence
The Washington Times ^ | 12/18/07 | S.A. Miller and Stephen Dinan

Posted on 12/18/2007 6:28:53 AM PST by shortstop

Congress last night passed a giant new spending bill that undermines current plans for a U.S.-Mexico border fence, allowing the Homeland Security Department to build a single-tier barrier rather than the two-tier version that has worked in California.

The spending bill, written by Democrats and passed 253-154 with mostly their votes, surrenders to President Bush's budget demands, meeting his spending limit with a $515 billion bill to fund most of the federal government and setting up votes to pay for the Iraq war. But Democrats reached his goal in part by slashing his defense and foreign-aid priorities to pay for added domestic spending.

The concessions promise to end a months-long budget standoff before Congress adjourns for the year and takes a Christmas break scheduled to

"The fact that this was buried in a bloated, 3,500-page omnibus speaks volumes about the Democrats' unserious approach on border security and illegal immigration," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. "Gutting the Secure Fence Act will make our borders less secure, but it's consistent with the pattern of behavior we've seen all year from this majority."

The 2006 Secure Fence Act specifically called for "two layers of reinforced fencing" and listed five specific sections of border where it should be installed. The new spending bill removes the two-tier requirement and the list of locations.

House Democrats said they were just adopting the Senate version, which was backed by a bipartisan group of border-state senators and passed the Senate several times this year.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Republican who has led the charge to change the 2006 law, said she wants to give Homeland Security more flexibility and wants local officials and landowners to be consulted.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; congress; immigrantlist; immigration
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Here we go again.
1 posted on 12/18/2007 6:28:54 AM PST by shortstop
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To: shortstop

Try this link: http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071218/NATION/209889236/1001


2 posted on 12/18/2007 6:30:48 AM PST by shortstop (Press "1" for English.)
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To: shortstop

Great minds think alike. Apparently we were posting this at the same time, I got an error the first time but persisted. Do you know how to get the moderator to remove the redundant postings?


3 posted on 12/18/2007 6:32:17 AM PST by 3AngelaD (They screwed up their own countries so bad they had to leave, and now they're here screwing up ours)
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To: shortstop

President Bush must be thrilled! I doubt he will veto this bill.


4 posted on 12/18/2007 6:33:53 AM PST by napscoordinator
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To: shortstop
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Republican who has led the charge to change the 2006 law, said she wants ...

This should go on to say "wants to be Governor of Texas" and she knows she wants the Hispanic vote to make this come true. So, she is pandering big time to this community.

5 posted on 12/18/2007 6:35:17 AM PST by TexasRedeye (Eschew obfuscation)
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To: shortstop

beyond anger


6 posted on 12/18/2007 6:35:49 AM PST by Guenevere (Duncan Hunter...President '08)
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To: napscoordinator

Bush will gladly sign any bill that doesn’t fund the border fence. If he had his druthers, there would be no border fence at all. Can’t get rid of him as President soon enough, unless, of course, the Dems win. That’s about the only thing that’s worse. I take that back, the Huckster would be worse.


7 posted on 12/18/2007 6:38:10 AM PST by flaglady47 (Thinking out loud while grinding teeth in political frustration)
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To: shortstop

Yep. And regretfully, Bush will sign it.

He doesn’t ‘get it’...even after losing both Houses.


8 posted on 12/18/2007 6:39:32 AM PST by Badeye (No thanks, Huck, I'm not whitewashing the fence for you this election cycle)
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To: shortstop

It’s easy to blame the democrats, but it’s 2007. How many years did Bush have a Republican Congress that could have put up on a big border fence had he requested it?


9 posted on 12/18/2007 6:40:16 AM PST by af_vet_rr
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To: shortstop

Duncan Hunter for President - or Director of the Border Fence Project.


10 posted on 12/18/2007 6:41:58 AM PST by Fitzcarraldo
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To: flaglady47

Gosh your entire post I agree with!!!


11 posted on 12/18/2007 6:42:12 AM PST by napscoordinator
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To: Badeye
He doesn’t ‘get it’...even after losing both Houses.

He DOES get it...his presidential library in Dallas will be the hub for promoting a North American Union. He fully understands the majority of U.S. citizens don't want it but doesn't care.

Family has always been a bunch of globalist RINOs (look at the extensive ties to the ChiComs as an example).

43 just added a Texas accent to fool enough people to get elected President. I have no doubt that if he had been governor of Massachusetts instead of Texas, 43 would have had a track record at least as liberal as RINO Romney.



12 posted on 12/18/2007 6:43:56 AM PST by peyton randolph (tag line taking a siesta)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: shortstop

I am completely absolutely certain Hunter is steaming mad.


14 posted on 12/18/2007 7:03:17 AM PST by wastedyears (Duncan Hunter is like a cheeseburger and fries. Simple presentation with no frills.)
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To: peyton randolph

“43 just added a Texas accent to fool enough people to get elected President. I have no doubt that if he had been governor of Massachusetts instead of Texas, 43 would have had a track record at least as liberal as RINO Romney.”

All the “Texas” Bushes are nothing but New England, country club Republicans strutting around in ill-fitting cowboy suits. Jorge is a zealot on this issue, and would sign a bill gutting the fence even if it eliminated many other of his budget requests.

I wonder if these maneuvers will get much play on talk radio . Kevin James out of LA (KRLA) did discuss it last night, but nothing on Laura Ingraham so far this morning.


15 posted on 12/18/2007 7:38:04 AM PST by Will88
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To: shortstop

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

The illegal immigration problem is NOT going to be addressed by our federal government. Most people in the fed want OPEN BORDERS.

In the end, this problem will be solved in the streets of towns and cities all across America, and it will involve shooting. I guarantee it.


16 posted on 12/18/2007 8:00:03 AM PST by navyguy (Some days you are the pigeon, some days you are the statue.)
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To: shortstop

“Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Republican who has led the charge to change the 2006 law, said she wants to give Homeland Security more flexibility and wants local officials and landowners to be consulted.”

This is where Hutchinson is playing politics in her plan to run for governor. There was a lot of whining from border towns and individuals who own land on the border, so Hutchinson is pandering to those interests. They’re treating this like it’s the Mexico/Texas border rather than the Mexico/US border. And we sure don’t seem to have enough politicians in Washington at present who will tell them anything different.

Typical, two-faced, lying political maneuvering. The Hutchinson amendment was passed on a voice vote according to a previous post last night.

“In its report on the “Fence Funding Hoax,” Grassfire has chronicled how the plan to gut the Secure Fence Act was actually hatched the day the bill passed the Senate in 2006. (View that report.) “I find it odd that such an important amendment which releases DHS from specific requirements of an existing law would be passed by a simple voice vote in the Senate and then buried in the massive omnibus bill,” says Elliott. “The American people reasonably expect that a double-layer fence will be built but Congress has always had other plans. This amendment should be stripped from the final omnibus bill.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941047/posts


17 posted on 12/18/2007 8:01:52 AM PST by Will88
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To: shortstop

Must read thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941047/posts
Omnibus Bill Includes Border Fence-Gutting Amendment (This is outrageous!!!)


18 posted on 12/18/2007 8:01:59 AM PST by Calpernia (Hunters Rangers - Raising the Bar of Integrity http://www.barofintegrity.us)
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To: shortstop

Why build a protective fence when you can buy the votes of leeches with entitlement programs?


19 posted on 12/18/2007 11:17:21 AM PST by N. Theknow (Kennedys: Can't drive, can't fly, can't ski, can't skipper a boat; but they know what's best for us)
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To: Will88

Well yes, don’t we have to consider the landowners? If they didn’t, some people would be screaming that the Pres. is a tyrant who’s trying to take away their land without their permission, and/or trying to tell them what to do with it!

There is that element to contend with, you know! Then there is an element called “The Democrat-led Congress” to contend with. Meaning, if I read right recently, this element WILL NOT provide the money for this fence. That’s right! It is the Dem-led congress that’s holding up a lot of it. But go ahead, blame the President and the Repubs. in congress if it makes you feel better!

Oh, and another thing, Congressman Tancredo was on FOX awhile ago. He said that there was a chance to get those border agents out, but guess what? The Dems. took a provision out that would’ve helped that effort! Yes, the DEM-led congress! He also said that if they could’ve gotten it to go through, get to the President’s desk, it would’ve been signed (by Pres. Bush), and those agents would’ve been out by now.

Now this is what I understood from what Tancredo was talking about. There was some bill that he helped sponsor that would’ve helped those border agents. But the Dems HELD IT UP!

Have a nice day with that cheerful bit of info.!


20 posted on 12/18/2007 2:49:15 PM PST by dsutah
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