PRESS RELEASE:

Maxwell, IA. With the upcoming DHS Appropriations bill, Congress is set to repeat a border fence funding hoax that makes the specific provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 obsolete.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s staff has confirmed that the Senator is preparing to re-submit an amendment to the DHS Appropriations bill identical to the text of an amendment originally passed as part of the DOD Appropriations bill (SA 3176). “This amendment releases DHS from any requirement to build any amount of border fencing in any location,” says Grassfire.org President Steve Elliott. “Basically, DHS can choose to build no fence at all and the Secure Fence Act’s mandate of 854 miles of double-layer fencing becomes a meaningless political hoax.”

Excerpt from SA 3176: “Nothing in this paragraph shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to install fencing, physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors in a particular location along an international border of the United States, if the Secretary determines that the use or placement of such resources is not the most appropriate means to achieve and maintain operational control.”

Elliott says similar tactics were employed one year ago during the passage of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. “The timeline of events on the day that the Secure Fence Act passed makes it clear that Congress never intended to actually build a double-layer border fence,” says Elliott. Grassfire.org has filed a Special Report on the Border Fence Funding Hoax, complete with timelines that can be accessed here.

Grassfire.org is today launching a grassroots campaign calling for the final DHS Appropriations Bill to stipulate: a) that any border security funding be specifically tied to the Secure Fence Act’s double-layer fencing mandate, and b) that DHS not be given discretionary power over the construction of the border fence and instead be required by law to fulfill the specific provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006.

For more information about Grassfire.org, or to schedule an interview with Grassfire President Steve Elliott, contact Ron De Jong at 757-487-7900 or email Ron De Jong

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