Omnibus Busts Border Fence

http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2686

By Amanda Carpenter

Congress is poised to give the President a $516 billion omnibus spending bill that would downgrade previous mandates for a double-layered border fence to be built along the southern border.

The Secure Fence Act of 2006 required “two layers of reinforced fencing” be constructed in five separate areas, but Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.) slipped a provision into a fiscal year 2008 spending bill that weakens the law.

Hutchison and fellow Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R.) believe Border and Customs Enforcement should have more freedom to build fencing where they see fit instead of having to follow exact requirements laid out in the Secure Fence Act, which calls for double-layered fencing in five specific areas, some of which run along the Texas/Mexico border.When discussing border fence progress, administration officials are careful to discuss fencing in terms of “pedestrian” and “vehicular” fencing, not double-layered fencing. So far, only 150 miles of “pedestrian fencing” and 115 miles of “vehicular barriers” have been installed along the southern border.

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2007/12/19/omnibus_busts_border_fence

2007-12-19