This week, action on the House floor was stalled after Democrat leaders refused to allow a vote on legislation that would reauthorize the Protect America Act. After the Senate passed bipartisan legislation that would give our nation’s law enforcement and intelligence officials the ability to conduct terrorist surveillance, leaders of the House Majority chose not to act despite repeated requests from members of both parties and a promise from President Bush that he would postpone his trip to Africa in order to ensure a bill could be signed into law. Instead, a vote was scheduled on a resolution seeking to hold senior Bush Administration officials in contempt of Congress. My Republican colleagues and I protested this politically-motivated vote and the failure to extend our nation’s terrorist surveillance laws by walking out of the House chamber.

Self-Deportation

On January 1st, a new law went into effect in Arizona placing harsh sanctions on businesses that fail to use a federal database to ensure its employees are lawfully in the country. Additionally, the state is providing resources to actually enforce the law. While the law is still being challenged in the courts, its effects are already being felt. Businesses are moving into compliance, and as a result, a key incentive for illegal immigrants to stay in Arizona has been removed. Only two months since the law has passed, Mexican officials are reporting a higher number of illegal immigrants that are “self-deporting” back to Mexico, as they are unable to find employers willing to take a risk on illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, since Arizona is one of only a few states that have taken this measure, illegal immigrants have just as much incentive to move to neighboring states as they do to return to their home country. However, the federal government and Congress should take note that enforcement of the law and proper resources can eliminate the incentives for illegal immigrants and start to ebb the tide of illegal immigration that continues to afflict our nation.

The Ultimate Stimulus Package

Federal budget deficits are expected to increase in the next fiscal year, which is a matter of great concern to many Americans. While some may think the best way to increase federal revenues is to raise taxes on hard-working families, there are far better alternatives. A recent study by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provided information on the federal revenues that would be generated by opening a small portion of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for domestic energy exploration. According to CRS, developing ANWR’s 10.4 billion barrels of oil would generate $94.8 billion in federal income tax revenues and $42.8 billion in royalties. That’s roughly $138 billion in revenues to the federal government from energy production on just 2000 acres of the 1.5 million-acre Coastal Plain in the 19.6 million-acre refuge. To put that in perspective, the revenues from ANWR could: fund the Department of Interior for 13 years (at the proposed budget level); fund the Environmental Protection Agency for 17 years; fund DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program for 110 years; fund the Army Corps of Engineers – Civil Works Department for 15.7 years; or fund the National Institute of Health and its cancer research programs for 4.7 years. We can continue to lock up vast domestic energy supplies, spend $1.233 billion per day on imported oil, and stand by idly as our economy suffers, or we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, decrease the burden on federal taxpayers, and put Americans to work producing American oil to fuel the world’s greatest nation. The choice is clear.

Quote of the Week

“The ‘people’s House’ should reflect the priorities of the American people, not the fantasies of left-wing bloggers.” – White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, commenting on House Democrats’ decision to allow the Protect America Act to expire and instead vote on contempt citations against the Bush Administration. February 13, 2008.