H.R. 324 passes in House

Roy Beck says that our phone calls won the day as the border security passed 259 – 167.

The situation in a nutshell: H.R. 324 (the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area Act) was amended to ensure that nothing about the designation would affect the ability of the Border Patrol to carry out its enforcement duties. Without that language, there was a huge loophole that in likelihood would have been used to block efforts to stop the movement of illegal aliens across that expansive Arizona area.

The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area encompasses about 3,325 square miles. Within its boundaries are cactus-covered slopes, open grasslands, rugged canyons, forested mountain ranges and rare desert streams. It also is home to Spanish missions, fortresses, ghost towns and old mines. Traces of human habitation in the valley stretch back more than 12,000 years.

Republicans voted unanimously 174-0 in favor of the pro-enforcement change. Remember Ron Klein and Tom Rooney voted FOR the bill and Robert Wexler and Alcee Hastings AGAINST. I guess Wexler is only interested in Israeli issues. We already know that Hastings is left of left. When you have 167 Congressmen voting against this measure then it only proves that we have a very long way to go in this country to reclaim it and get it back on track.