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Sep 24, 2010

Hey Jesse, Ben, David and Paul -- Where was your buddy John Boehner this week?

GOP leader skips border-security vote but claims border security is top priority

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHOENIX – Exactly a week ago, U.S. House Republican leader John Boehner was buzzing through Phoenix and Tucson, shaking the money tree for GOP congressional candidates Jesse Kelly, Ben Quayle, David Schweikert and Paul Gosar.

Boehner must really care about Arizona.

Yet on Thursday, he was one of a handful of lawmakers who didn't even bother to vote for a tough, bipartisan border-security bill introduced by Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Giffords’ bill, which she introduced with Republican Rep. Dean Heller of Nevada and which was cosponsored by Arizona Rep. Harry Mitchell, overwhelmingly passed the House on Thursday in a 412-to-3 vote. The bill, the Ultralight Smuggling Prevention Act, earned “yea” votes from 246 Democrats and 166 Republicans.

But Boehner was a no-show. Instead, he was busy publicizing the Republicans’ new “Pledge to America,” a document that just happens to claim that border security is a top priority for the GOP.

So let’s summarize: The politician who wants to be Speaker of the House and says border security is his top priority played hooky during a border-security vote sponsored by lawmakers from the state at the epicenter of the border crisis.

"Every single member of Congress from Arizona supported this legislation," said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. “It's a shame that Kelly, Quayle, Schweikert and Gosar didn't tell Congressman Boehner how important border security is to Arizona. Did they even talk about this issue during Boehner’s visit, or were they too busy collecting big checks?"

BACKGROUND:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: Since taking office in 2007, Rep. Giffords has fought to push through $600 million in border security funding for additional Border Patrol boots on the ground, new forward operating bases and new surveillance aircraft. She has worked to secure the border through measures such as adding thousands of Border Patrol officers, deploying National Guard troops to the Arizona sectors of the border, and breaking down the power of Mexican drug cartels by blocking the flow of money they receive and working to increase prison sentences for those who smuggle drugs across the border. She has also worked to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers in Arizona and throughout the U.S.

Rep. Harry Mitchell: Since being elected to Congress, Rep. Mitchell has been working to help secure our borders and improve federal enforcement. Mitchell urged both Presidents Bush and Obama for more National Guard troops and introduced legislation to require the immediate deployment of 3,000 additional National Guard troops to the border. Mitchell launched an investigation into the federal government’s efforts of combating the drop house epidemic we have here in the Valley. And he has also voted for SCAAP funding, as well as funding for a fence on the border.

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick: Rep. Kirkpatrick has been a leader on border security issues in her first term, and she has been successfully pushing Washington to stop ducking the tough choices and start fulfilling its responsibilities. In May, the Congresswoman introduced the Southern Border Security Act, which requires 3,500 new U.S. Border Patrol agents to be hired, trained and deployed at the U.S.-Mexican border by the end of next year. During the August District Work Period, the President signed a bill into law that Kirkpatrick had helped push through a weeks-long legislative back-and-forth to put 1,000 Border Patrol agents and additional security personnel and resources in action in the Southwest.

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