House takes up bill to waive enviro laws on border
June 19th 2012 · 5 Comments
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House is moving toward approval of a bill that would allow the U.S. Border Patrol to circumvent more than a dozen environmental laws on all federally managed lands within 100 miles of the borders with Mexico and Canada.
Supporters say the measure is needed to give border agents unfettered access to rugged lands now controlled by the Interior Department and Forest Service.
They say laws such as the Wilderness Act and Endangered Species Act prevent agents from driving vehicles on huge swaths of land — leaving it to wildlife, illegal immigrants and smugglers who can walk through the territory undisturbed.
Opponents, including hunters, conservationists and Latino advocacy groups, call the bill a heavy-handed fix that guts important environmental protections.
The measure faces dim prospects in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
A version of this column originally appeared in www.valleymorningstar.com.
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Tags: Advocacy Groups, bill, Border Agents, Border Patrol, Borders, Conservationists, Continue, Dim Prospects, dozen, Endangered Species, Environmental Laws, Environmental Protections, Forest Service, Guts, House Moving, Huge Swaths, Illegal Immigrants, Interior Department, Latino Advocacy, Opponents, reading, Republican-controlled, Rugged Lands, Senate, Smugglers, U.S. Border Patrol, Wilderness Act
By MATTHEW DALY
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Stop them from crossing…..Its bullshit.
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Besides that, that Bill must allow Border Guards to use WHATEVER MEANS to prevent them from crossing, even gunfire.
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Can you believe that a BILL is necessary at all??? Our BP agents are NOT ALLOWED to chase the SKUM BAGS that cross our borders into certain areas…….AREAS USED BY DRUG RUNNERS…….IT IS ALL BULL SHIT………I LIVE ON THE BORDER.
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and then they start fires to try to stop the border patrol
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN>? iT DOESN’T SOUND GOOD TO ME.
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