Mr. Chairman. this amendment states in its entirety that nothing in this act shall impede any effort by the Department of Homeland Security to secure the borders and enforce the immigration laws of the United States. Let me be clear. the recent decision by DHS Secretary Chertoff to waive more than 30 bedrock environmental laws. including the Safe Drinking Water Act and the National Park Service Organic Act. in order to build a wall along our southern border was. in my opinion. an abuse of discretion granted to him by the previous Congress. I have introduced separate standalone legislation. H.R. 2593. the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act to. among other things. repeal this waiver authority because. in my view. there are better ways to secure our borders than requiring them to waive laws which protect the water we drink and the air we breathe.
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immigration