Speech #CREC-2017-07-26-pt1-PgH6313-6_t40

The agency said its contractor collected two soil samples from the levee but did so away from the butterfly center. Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, nor other agencies have outlined plans for the proposed border wall on the center property. Still, Trevino Wright and her supporters worry about what the center called on Facebook the ``government secret activity on our property.'' There also is angst over the possibility of border wall construction in another refuge along the Rio Grande--the San Ana Wildlife Refuge. It is considered the ``crown jewel'' of wildlife refuges and one of the nation's top birding spots. The Texas Observer first reported that crews were taking core samples, setting off a reaction among birders who flock to the spot that boasts 400 species of birds. The American Birding Association put out a plea to its members to write and call their members of Congress asking that they stop construction of the wall. Carlos Diaz, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, told NBC News he did not have information on what plans or hopes there are for putting fencing or a wall on the butterfly center's property or the Santa Ana Refuge. In a previously issued news release following a meeting with Rio Grande Valley mayors last week, Customs and Border Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers said in a news release they are conducting research activities in areas slated for construction of new or replacement border wall, with $20 million in reprogrammed funds approved by Congress. Also money provided for fiscal 2017 is being used to replace pedestrian barriers in San Diego and El Centro, California; replace vehicle barriers and pedestrian barriers in El Paso, Texas and install 35 new gates at gaps in border fencing built already in the Rio Grande Valley, according to Army Corps of Engineers information provided by Diaz. In a hearing Monday held by the U.S. House Rules Committee, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., pointed out that American taxpayers are footing the tab for the border wall work, not Mexico as Trump had promised. That's a point that should be debated and could be if the border wall funding was given it's own vote, he said. ``This is a rigged process,'' McGovern said. With Congress closing in on a summer recess, the House is trying to push through a batch of four spending bills the GOP has said are critical for security. But the GOP plan to include $1.6 million for 74 miles of President Donald Trump's border ``wall'' means those who oppose the border wall funding have to vote against the military spending. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who chairs the Rules Committee, said Monday he made the amendment providing the border wall money ``self-executing,'' setting up the dilemma for opponents of the wall funding. ``You are dadgum right I put it in there,'' Sessions said. ``We are going to comply with allowing the president to have things he wants also,'' he said. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., called the move ``sneaky'' and said House Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP House members were doing Trump's ``dirty work.'' ``They want to make sure Trump can build his wall, but they also want desperately to avoid a clean up or down vote on the issue,'' Gallego told reporters in a call Monday. Ashlee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said in an email that House and Senate Republicans' agenda includes a commitment to increased border security ``and we are following through on that promise.''