This week, the House passed H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery by a vote of 351 to 67.

Also passing 373 to 34 was H.R. 5522, the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07).

Improving Local Infrastructure

H.R. 5576, which funds the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies for FY07 also passed this week 406 to 22. In the bill, I secured over $4 million for projects within the Fourth Congressional District and another $500,000 for the greater region. Included was $1 million for the Highway 65 Lincoln Bypass, $500,000 for reconfiguring the Sierra College Boulevard Interchange along I-80 in Rocklin, $500,000 for the Walerga Road Bridge improvements west of Roseville; $350,000 for an arrival/departure building at the Lincoln Regional Airport, and $350,000 for a park and ride facility in Placerville. These projects are key to our ever expanding region. In order to maintain safe roadways it is important to relieve congestion wherever possible. Funds for these projects will ensure that our area’s transportation infrastructure continues to adapt to our growing needs.

The measure also funds $400,000 for the construction of Veterans Memorial Park in Oroville and $400,000 for Rubicon Trail improvements in El Dorado County. These cultural amenities appropriately honor those who have defended our country and preserve the opportunity for people to access the High Sierra by vehicle, respectively.

Illegal Immigrant Roundup

During the last three weeks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have captured nearly 2,100 illegal immigrants across the country in raids targeting child molesters, violent gang members and past deportees who re-entered the country. The crackdown, named “Operation Return to Sender,” began on May 26. Among the aliens apprehended by the operation are more than 140 illegal immigrants with convictions for sexual offenses against children; 367 known gang members, including street soldiers in the deadly gang MS-13; and about 640 people who had already been deported once. More than 720 arrests occurred in California alone. Furthermore, more than 800 of those arrested already have been deported.

The good work was accomplished by a network of 35 fugitive apprehension teams. ICE’s 2006 budget increased the number of fugitive task forces to 52, and the president is pressing for 70 by next year. The success achieved thus far is encouraging. By focusing on those known illegal aliens who possess a criminal record, ICE is making our communities safer while at the same time reducing the problems posed generally by illegal immigration. I will continue to support budgeting for this effective program. Clearly, there is much more we must do to truly resolve this problem.

Gun Ban Shot Down

On Monday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren shot down Proposition H, a ban on handgun possession passed by voters in San Francisco. The ballot measure also prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of guns and ammunition within San Francisco. The judge rightly ruled that local governments have no authority under California law to restrict gun ownership and distribution, but rather that regulation of firearms is a state responsibility. Judge Warren said California law authorizes police agencies to issue handgun permits, and therefore, local government efforts to ban handgun possession by law-abiding adults are clearly off-target. This is another in a growing chain of misfires by those who aim to strip Americans of their rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.

In God We Trust – Still

In another stroke of good news, U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr. rejected a lawsuit by Elk Grove atheist Michael Newdow, who argued that the use of “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins violated his First Amendment rights. The judge reaffirmed what common sense suggests, that the wording on a nickel does not compel anyone to embrace monotheism. But what it does do is reflect the prevailing feeling of Americans since the beginning of our nation.