On the House Floor
This week, the House passed H.R. 482, the American River Pump Station Project Transfer Act, without opposition. This bill, which I introduced, will transfer ownership of the water pump station now under construction in the American River Canyon from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Placer County Water Agency. Also approved by a vote of 426 to 2 was H.R. 365, the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act. This bill addresses the environmental contamination and health risks associated with meth labs.
Border Agents Update
On October 19, 2006, United States Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were convicted and sentenced to 11 and 12 years in federal prison respectively for wounding a Mexican drug smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across the U.S. border last year. The two agents were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office and the smuggler was granted immunity to testify against the agents. Both agents surrendered to federal authorities last month. Understanding that incarcerating law enforcement officers would place them in a particularly dangerous situation, I joined 37 of my colleagues in urging the attorney general to allow them to remain out of prison during the appeal of their sentences. Unfortunately, our concerns were recently justified when Agent Ramos suffered a physical assault last Saturday evening in the Federal Correctional Complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Besides the threats against the agents’ safety, I have many concerns about the lack of fairness in the legal proceedings against the two men, including the prosecution’s efforts to offer immunity to a repeat Mexican drug smuggler, a sealed indictment of the smuggler’s drug offenses, and insufficient proof of whether or not the smuggler was armed. That is why I signed a letter this week to President Bush encouraging him take swift action in reviewing the case to consider pardoning the agents. I am also co-sponsoring legislation, H.R. 563, that will vacate the convictions and sentences of two public safety officials who are now suffering the loss of their freedom, professional ruin, separation from their families, and even physical harm for doing the tough job we asked them to do.
A Fitting Tribute
As America marked the birthday of Former President Ronald Reagan this week, the date did not pass by unnoticed in other parts of the globe. Aaccording to the Polish news agency PAP, opponents of the former communist regime wrote an open letter to the mayor of the southwestern city of Katowice urging him to replace a Soviet-era monument in the city’s Freedom Square with a statue of Reagan. Considering Reagan a “symbol of liberty”, the former anti-communist activists also said that they wanted the site to be rededicated “Ronald Reagan Freedom Square.” There are already separate plans to erect a statue in memory of Reagan in the center of Warsaw, the Polish capital city. It is fitting that freedom-loving people around the world take the opportunity to appreciate the accomplishment of that great American leader.
Continuing Economic Strength
Data recently released by the Commerce Department indicates that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of 3.5 percent in the final quarter of 2006, which exceeded the forecasted rate of 3.0 percent. This promising economic growth occurred despite a nation-wide housing slump. In other good news, the Treasury Department reported the smallest three-month budget deficit since the beginning of 2002. Tax collections are running 8.2 percent higher than a year ago due to the continued surge in revenues spawned by the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. Meanwhile, government spending is up by just 0.7 percent from a year ago. Consumer confidence in February has climbed to its highest point in 2 ½ years, meaning that people are feeling even better about job prospects, the current economic climate, and investment opportunities.
Quote of the Week
“I want to take those profits and I want to put them in an alternative energy fund.” – Senator Hillary Clinton commenting at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee on her plans to confiscate oil company profits, February 2, 2007.
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