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Courtesy Ashley Patterson,

DeMint amendment dropped from Homeland Security Bill

Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) today announced that a costly border fence amendment authored by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has been dropped from the FY2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. Congressman Cuellar and other border lawmakers urged House leadership to block the proposal which called for 700 miles of pedestrian border fencing. 

 “When the Government Accountability Office tells you this would cost Americans $6.5 billion, I say those dollars are better invested into supporting the manpower and resources at Customs and Border Patrol and local law enforcement,” said Congressman Cuellar. “The DeMint amendment represented an unproductive and inefficient border security strategy. We need to invest and secure our border and our land ports without being tied down to an amendment that is out of touch with border needs.”

 DeMint’s amendment would have required at least 300 miles of new pedestrian barrier fencing to be completed along the border by December 31, 2010. Last year, the Government Accountability Office estimated that each mile of border fencing would cost $7 million to construct.

 In July and again in October, Congressman Cuellar spearheaded a letter with the support of other border lawmakers from Texas , Arizona and California . Lawmakers referred to DeMint’s amendment as “wasteful spending” which would come at “enormous taxpayer expense.”

 “Today, I join other border congressmen in commending House leadership for striking this amendment; they’ve decided to increase the funding for CBP and ICE, investing over $15 billion into securing our border through manpower and technology at the federal, state and local levels,” said Cuellar. “This is the kind of flexibility we need at a time when we’re adapting to the evolving threats along the border. We have to secure our border with a sensible, effective strategy.”

 Border lawmakers who have been working to remove this provision since July include Representatives Henry Cuellar, Silvestre Reyes, Ruben Hinojosa, Solomon Ortiz, Bob Filner, Raul Grijalva, Gabrielle Giffords and Susan Davis.

 “I want to thank all my border colleagues for their efforts, in particular Congressman Ciro Rodriguez, in removing the DeMint amendment from the final homeland security bill,” said Cuellar. “As a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Committee, Rodriguez provided a crucial voice for the border and carried our concerns to the conference.”