Today, the House of Representatives will vote on the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations bill that contains a provision allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to transfer an unlimited amount of funds to the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the form of environmental mitigation payments demanded in return for allowing the U.S. Border Patrol to simply do its job to secure the… Read more »

VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT #2 to SUPPLEMENTAL Amendment #2 Allows Interior Dept. to Divert Money Away from Border Patrol to Buy Up Private Land Democrats attach “extortion” provision to Troop Funding Bill Dear Colleague, Amendment #2 of the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations bill contains a provision allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to transfer funds to the Department of… Read more »

After multiple reports in recent months of violence, drug running and murders on federal lands near our Southern Border, it seems the Obama Administration has a distorted view of the reality facing Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officers and everyday citizens. Interior Department spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said in a statement this week that Secretary Salazar is trying to "meet… Read more »

Drug Cartel Activity Threatens Texas Water Supplies, Lawmaker Says June 21, 2010 FOXNews.com Joshua Rhett Miller Drug cartel activity along the Mexican border presents serious security threats to the area's water supply system, particularly on federally-owned lands in southern Texas, a U.S. lawmaker says. Members of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held a… Read more »

Border Patrol Charged Millions for Habitat Damage, Republicans Say Enough 'Extortion' June 21, 2010 FOXNews.com Judson Berger Republican lawmakers are calling on the Interior Department to stop charging what they describe as "extortion" money from the Border Patrol -- millions of under-the-radar dollars meant to cover environmental damage stemming from their everyday duties along the… Read more »

Border Patrol Navigating Reams of Regulation to Secure Federal Land June 18, 2010 FOXNews.com Border Patrol agents must navigate a patchwork of environmental regulations dating back decades in order to police for drug cartels, smugglers and illegal immigrants -- often on foot-and-horseback in some of the most vulnerable areas of the southwest border. Border Patrol agents must… Read more »

Today the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on H.R. 4719, a bill to establish a Southwest Border Region Water Task Force to assess the water supply needs of the region. As part of the hearing, the Subcommittee heard that drug cartel activity along the U.S./Mexican border presents major threats to water infrastructure, including the federally owned… Read more »

Federal Regs on Environment May Be Hindering Border Security, Lawmakers Say FOXNews.com June 16, 2010 Federal environmental regulations that prevent border agents from expanded patrols of national wildlife parks appear to have had a hand in the government's decision to declare an 80-mile stretch of Arizona-Mexico border a virtual no-man's land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has… Read more »

U.S. Closes Park Land Along Mexico Border to Americans FOX News June 15, 2010 Click here to watch Note:  To help address violence on federal lands along the border, House Republicans, led by National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Rob Bishop (UT-01), have introduced legislation (H.R. 5016) to ensure that the Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture do not… Read more »

Following a recent string of violence on federal lands along our Southern Border, Natural Resources Committee Republicans today received documents confirming that yet another brutal murder took place on federal lands. Pima County Sheriff’s Department documents verify that the murder of Mario Rivera-Rivera, whose body was discovered last November, occurred 25 yards from the US-Mexico… Read more »