Senator Sylvia Allen joined Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu in Florence today to announce the creation of an Anti-Smuggling Posse (ASP) Armed members of the ASP will assist PCSO SWAT members in fighting drug smugglers.

Senator Jerry Lewis appeared on Fox 10 News Tuesday night to talk about the Commerce Department’s threat to end a tomato importation agreement with Mexico, potentially killing thousands of jobs in Arizona.

Senator Nancy Barto will join a panel discussing health care at the state and federal level. The event is Tuesday morning at Alexi’s Grill, at 3550 N. Central Ave., Suite 120. Registration begins at 7 a.m., and the panel discussion starts at 7:15 a.m. Morning Scoop is sponsored by the Arizona Capitol Times. There is no charge and a continental breakfast is included.

Senator Lewis proposes historic reforms to lobbyist – legislator disclosure laws

(State Capitol, Phoenix)—State Senator Jerry Lewis (R-Mesa) today unveiled a legislative reform package that will dramatically simplify the public’s ability to find out who is lobbying their elected representatives and on behalf of which interests—all with a simple click of the mouse.

“For too long, our legislative activities—including meals with lobbyists—have been hidden behind a confusing curtain of unclear rules and an antiquated public database—but no longer,” Senator Lewis declared. “This proposal aims to shine the light of transparency on the legislative process and ensure that the public has the information it needs to hold elected officials accountable.”

When enacted, Senator Lewis’s proposal will establish an online interactive database on the Secretary of State’s website and require that lobbyists and legislators use the site to independently disclose any meal, event ticket, or other event paid for by a lobbyist in the course of legislative advocacy, thus creating a checks-and-balance system that holds both parties in the transaction accountable for its disclosure. As currently envisioned, this innovative online tool will significantly enhance legislative transparency by:

 Providing up-to-date tracking of lobbyist expenditures  Requiring real-time reporting by lobbyists and legislators  Making both reporting and searching easy with a simple interactive tool  Allowing the public to search for disclosures by legislator, lobbyist or client  Simplifying the reporting process for legislators and lobbyists

Under Senator Lewis’s plan, lawmakers and lobbyists will use the website to report any expenditure that is required to be disclosed by state statute. Lawmakers will be required to disclose the event and the lobbyist with whom they met, while lobbyists will be required to disclose the legislator and the client they were representing.

“While lobbyists are currently required to disclose virtually any transaction they make on behalf of an elected official, current statute only requires those transactions to be disclosed every three months, after which they are displayed on a technologically obsolete database that provides very little practical information to the public,” Senator Lewis explained. “This proposal aims to fix these shortcomings and bring the state’s database into the 21st century.”

Senator Lewis’s plan has already received the backing of some of Arizona’s most respected community leaders and elected officials.

“Having previously identified needed areas of reform, I am encouraged by Senator Lewis’ proposal that we will undertake steps necessary to reform reporting requirements and mechanisms,” County Attorney Bill Montgomery said. “I look forward to working with Senator Lewis in the upcoming legislative session.”

Arizona State Senate President Steve Pierce (R-Prescott) announced that Senator Lewis’s proposal would have his support. “I fully support Senator Lewis’s plan, which I believe will enhance transparency and strengthen the public’s trust in their elected officials.”

State Senator John McComish (R-Ahwatukee) echoed Pierce’s remarks. “I am glad to see Senator Lewis take on this critical issue and will be proud to co-sponsor the legislation when it is formally introduced in January.”

“In Phoenix we’ve taken active steps to make sure the public has full confidence that decisions are made in the public interest, including improving transparency and forming an ethics task force,” says Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. “The more we can improve public confidence at all levels of government, including the state legislature, the better off we’ll be as a state.

Jack Brown, a former Senate Minority Leader and longtime lawmaker, endorsed the concept in Senator Lewis’s proposal. “Common sense is a rare thing at the State Capitol, but this proposal makes sense to me. I would gladly vote for it if I were still at the legislature.”

Senator Lewis, who began working on this issue immediately upon taking office last January, made it clear that he intends to sit down with members of the lobbying community and elected officials before the next session begins to ensure that his proposal is a consensus bill that enjoys broad support.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that this important piece of legislation is among the first to pass in the upcoming legislative session.”

“Along with my friends and neighbors who live near the border, I express my profound sadness at the loss of one of our courageous Border Patrol agents and extend my deepest condolences to the families of the agent killed and the other agent wounded.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI were quick to respond and they are searching for the suspects in this disgusting act of violence on the people who protect us.

This morning’s shooting reinforces what many of us in Arizona have known for years—that our southern border is not secure, that armed drug and human smugglers remain a grave threat, and that the federal government’s response to the situation has been totally inadequate.

The safety of our citizens must be a fulltime priority, not just something we focus upon after a tragedy. Our men and women in uniform face these dangers every day, and we owe it to them to address this issue once and for all. The federal government continues to drag its feet, so Arizona must step forward and do all it can.”

“Arizona’s hearts are heavy today on the news of the death of Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever. Cochise County could not have had a better fighter for its residents. He always had the best interests in mind for the community.

To many people, Larry Dever WAS Cochise County. He was born in St. David, grew up there and joined the Sheriff’s Department back in 1976. In 1996, voters made him their Sheriff.

Larry was always ready to come up to Phoenix to let state leaders know what was happening in his county. No one better articulated concerns about illegal immigration and drug smuggling and how they impacted residents. My fellow ranchers who live near the border knew they could count on Sheriff Dever. His voice will be missed.

My condolences go out today to his wife Nancy, their six boys and 11 grandchildren “

You’ve probably heard lawmakers exclaiming that their priorities are “jobs, jobs and jobs”. No matter what the issue of the day happens to be, leaders on both sides of the aisle will say the focus must be on jobs and the economy. But I don’t blame some of the more cynical parts of the electorate to question whether those words ever turn into action. What are Arizona leaders doing to create jobs and bring back this economy? I would point to an announcement on August 14 as evidence Republicans are making the right decisions in public policy and re-establishing Arizona as a leader in the national recovery.

That day the Intel Corporation announced it will start building a $300 million research and development facility in Chandler. The company says that facility will create several hundred well-paying jobs. This is on top of the massive construction project well-underway on the Chandler Intel campus. The Fab 42 manufacturing facility will be completed next year, and the company says it will hire one thousand people for that plant.

Clearly these are exciting numbers to see as we climb out of the economic downturn. A private company is pouring billions of dollars into an expansion of its already-large operations in our state. These decisions weren’t made in a vacuum. We can point to specific decisions made by Republicans in the Senate and House, along with the Governor, that led to these positive economic developments.

Last year, the Governor called a special session to enact the Arizona Competiveness Package. Within this sweeping tax reform and business incentive plan were many items that a company such as Intel would look at when considering an expansion in Arizona.

We lowered the state’s tax rate for commercial property from 20% to 18%, a tremendous reduction for a $300 million facility. The corporate income tax is being phased down from almost 7% to 4.9% by 2016, becoming the fifth-lowest rate in the country. We raised the sales factor from 80% to 100%, meaning a company such as Intel that sells products around the world will have a much bigger reason to stay and expand in our state.

The Arizona Competiveness Package also included a Quality Jobs Program, providing a tax credit of $3,000 per new employee. We improved upon this in our last legislative session, lifting a 400 employee cap on the credit, so that a company such as Intel will benefit from the credit for the 500+ new employees it hires.

I don’t pretend to claim that legislation passed into law was the only reason for Intel’s expansion in Chandler. What I do know is the Majority in the Legislature laid the groundwork for companies large and small to flourish. It’s crystal clear that Arizona is now a business-friendly state, and we all benefit from an outstanding company investing, expanding and hiring here. My hope is that this announcement is just the start.

Sen. Steve Yarbrough Chairman, Senate Finance Committee

On Thursday Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Patricia Trebesch issued a temporary restraining order banning the sale of dangerous synthetic drugs such as “bath salts” in Yavapai County. I applaud this ruling. Bath salts are a public safety crisis and my county has been hit hard. Emergency rooms in Yavapai County are reporting on average twenty ER visits each week by people suffering reactions to synthetic drugs. They ingested drugs bought at stores in Prescott, Sedona, Cottonwood and throughout the Verde Valley.

Yavapai County Attorney Shelia Polk is doing an outstanding job in

combating this scourge. So is Senator Linda Gray, who I have been working with to fight this menace that is tearing apart families and putting the public at risk. This past session we swiftly passed a bill that was signed by the Governor to outlaw the synthetic drugs we have been aware of, and we are looking for ways to continue to address this concern in the next legislative session. Judge Trebesch’s order is now another step in getting these life-threatening drugs off the shelves.”

Alarmed by the potential impact of new environmental regulations on the local economy, State Senator Sylvia Allen (R-Snowflake) will testify before a public hearing conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding a federal plan that has the potential to close one or more units at the Cholla Generating Station near Joseph City.

The Tuesday, August 14 hearing will solicit public feedback on the EPA’s decision to reject Arizona’s plan to address regional haze (a visibility, not health issue) in favor of a federal plan that would require Arizona utilities to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to install new and expensive technology on existing power plants, including Cholla. If implemented, the plan could force the utility to close one or more units at the generating station.

“I am appalled that the EPA is considering new regulations that could do significant harm to Navajo County’s economy at virtually the same time that we’re struggling to deal with the closure of the Catalyst Paper Mill near Snowflake,” Allen said. “I look forward to defending my constituents against the Obama Administration’s extreme environmental agenda.”

WHAT: EPA public hearings on new regional haze regulations.

WHO: State Senator Sylvia Allen.

WHEN: Tuesday, August 14, 6 pm.

WHERE: Northland Pioneer College (Tiponi Conference Room).

The Arizona Association of County School Superintendents has named Senate President Steve Pierce, R-Prescott, as the 2012 Legislator of the Year.

Pierce was honored at a ceremony July 25 in Flagstaff as part of the association’s annual legislative retreat.

To read the rest of the story, click here: http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2012/08/06/casa_grande_dispatch/news/doc501ff6acce14e462121015.txt

Senator John McComish, Chairman of the Arizona Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, is investigating the impact that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will have on Arizona. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the individual insurance mandate contained in the law, but ruled that the federal government could not act punitively towards states to force them to expand their Medicaid populations.

This week Senator McComish held his most recent meeting of stakeholders to discuss health care issues in general. Topics have ranged from insurance coverage, medical liability costs to access to healthcare. However, at the heart of the discussion was whether or not the Affordable Care Act would stay in place or leave states to design programs and solutions at the local level. “Now we know what hand we are dealt. I am just beginning to understand where we are headed. I am hoping in the coming months we will have good data to make a sound decision moving forward. I hope to partner with the stakeholders and collaborate with the Executive on next steps.”

“There are many unanswered questions left by the recent court ruling. Specifically, what will expansion of Medicaid cost the state? What is the state and federal contribution to the system and will it be a sustainable program in the years to follow? Can we afford it?”

Another key issue is whether the state will implement the health insurance exchange created by the health care law. What options are best for Arizona is a central focus to McComish’s investigation. “I am getting input from folks in the health care arena as to what are the advantages and disadvantages to this new commercial market created by Obamacare. It’s quite an extensive and expansive infrastructure that will govern the delivery of health care for everyone.”

Senate President Steve Pierce joined a coalition of policymakers, business and community leaders protesting new regulations being considered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that have the potential to cost Arizona residents hundreds of millions of dollars in higher electricity costs.

The Senate President’s comments came at a July 31 public hearing conducted by the EPA to solicit feedback on the agency’s decision to reject Arizona’s federally-mandated plan to reduce regional haze (a visibility, not health issue) in favor of a new regulations requiring Arizona utilities to install exorbitantly expensive technology at three power plants that provide electricity to millions of Arizona residents.

If implemented, the regulations would require Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP), and the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade their facilities with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, which makes no perceptible improvement in visibility compared to measures already required under Arizona’s plan.

While the EPA has publicly claimed that its plan is designed to improve visibility, many Arizona leaders believe that the driving force behind the regulations is an EPA effort to force utilities to abandon the use of coal as a clean, inexpensive, and reliable source of energy in favor of other “green” sources of energy that have proven to be less reliable and much more expensive.

The end result of such a move, Pierce argued, would be higher electricity costs and, consequently, higher prices for goods and services.

“What we’re really talking about is taking hundreds of millions of dollars from Arizona residents and employers to pay for new technology that makes no significant improvement in air quality,” Pierce declared. “That’s not just unfair, it’s outrageous. It reflects a staggering disregard for the state’s economy and a disturbing willingness to sacrifice economic growth in favor of a reckless environmental agenda. As Senate President, I call upon the EPA to abandon its plan and work with the state to find a logical and common sense solution.”

President Pierce’s comments were echoed by statements from Senator John Nelson (R-Phoenix), an engineer and chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, and Senator Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), whose district includes the Apache Generating Station, owned by AEPCO.

Nelson, a former council member and interim mayor of the City of Phoenix lambasted the EPA’s plan. “I have to tell you in all candor that in my nearly 3 decades of public service, I have never seen something as arbitrary, unfair, and illogical as this plan and its demand that Arizona utilities install SCR technology on their plants,” Nelson said.

Senator Griffin agreed. “Let’s be very clear—these regulations have nothing to do with public health and everything to do with the Obama Administration’s radical push to eliminate coal as a source of cheap electrical power.”

In addition to state lawmakers, prominent community and business leaders from throughout the state spoke out against the regulations, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the National Federation of Independent Business. Together with President Pierce, these leaders expressed alarm that the high cost of installing SCR technology may force Arizona utilities to:

• Dramatically increase utility rates, putting Arizona at a competitive disadvantage in its effort to attract new employers.

• Shutter one or more units at their generating facilities, leading to job losses and a reduction in property tax revenue for local schools and public safety.

• Purchase electricity on the open market at much higher cost to Arizona consumers

Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer applauded President Pierce’s testimony. “We appreciate the willingness of President Pierce, Senator Nelson, and Senator Griffin to stand with Arizona job creators against unreasonable, unwarranted, and unnecessary environmental regulations that threaten our economic recovery. Arizona needs strong leaders like President Pierce who have the courage to protect Arizona employers and working families from overzealous federal regulators.”

Pierce concluded by urging the EPA to work with the state on a solution that achieves the goal of reducing regional haze without sacrificing the state’s economy.

“Failure to do so would send a clear message that the Obama Administration is more concerned about eliminating coal than it is about creating jobs and improving our economy.”

“Catalyst Paper announced today it is closing its paper mill in Snowflake. The decision means more than 300 people are losing their jobs in September. Hundreds more in the community who do business with the mill will also be impacted by the closure.

I am heartbroken by this announcement. These are my friends and neighbors who are losing their work. The mill is the lifeblood of the Snowflake-Taylor area. It’s been operating for more than 50 years.

Catalyst says it has struggled to make a profit because the demand for the newsprint it produces is down ten percent, but there is more to this. The troubles go back to before Catalyst even bought the plant. Back in the ‘90s, the paper mill was a profitable plant that used pulp wood to make paper. Then, federal policies and radical environmentalists shut down the forests due to the Mexican Spotted Owl. The mill was forced to switch from pulp wood to recyclable paper in an attempt to keep the mill going, but recently there have been so many factors working against Catalyst. Fuel costs have been soaring, the dollar has lost its value, China is producing paper at much lower costs, and our country is facing a debt crisis. The closure of the mill is another reminder of just how sick our national economy is today.

I will not rest until we can find work for these great employees. I’m calling on the company to help these fine folks secure employment. I’ve talked with the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Governor’s Office and am encouraged that they will do all they can. It’s a sad day in Navajo County, but I have faith that the people of Snowflake will bounce back from this sad development.”

Determined to protect the rights of Arizona residents and strengthen the state’s economy, Senate President Steve Pierce (R-Prescott) and State Senator Gail Griffin (R-Hereford) joined the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, Arizona Cattle Growers Association, and Friends of the Arizona Strip in opposition to a radical proposal to prohibit ranching, mining, and forest thinning on nearly 2 million acres of land in northern Arizona.

Disingenuously titled “The Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument”, the proposal calls on President Obama to declare 1.7 million acres of public land north of the Grand Canyon as a national monument and outlaw any future use of the land by private industry. The plan was submitted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) earlier this year by some of the most extreme environmental groups in the country, including the Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity.

“This irresponsible proposal is just the latest in a series of moves by extreme environmentalists to ‘protect the environment’ at the expense of the economy and jobs,” President Pierce declared.

“By prohibiting responsible development of the some of our state’s most valuable natural resources, the plan would further hamper Arizona’s economic recovery and hurt rural Arizona communities already devastated by the recession and federal environmental policies.”

Pierce pointed out that the proposed monument would preclude mining at a time when new technology minimizes mining to the point that it is almost unnoticeable. “We’re punishing those industries that are working the hardest to protect the environment.”

In her opposition to the proposed national monument, Griffin, who chairs the Senate Water, Land Use, and Rural Development Committee, pointed out that 87% of land in Arizona is already owned by the government. According to documents submitted to the BLM, the proposed National Monument would encompass a large portion of the Kaibab National Forest both north and south of the Grand Canyon and would include much of the Arizona strip between the existing Grand Canyon Parashant and Vermillion Cliffs national monuments.

“With only 13% of Arizona land in private hands, Arizona’s economy is at a significant disadvantage compared to other states. We need less federal regulation of our land, not more,” Griffin declared.

Pierce and Griffin are not the only Arizona leaders to express opposition to the proposed plan. On May 11, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission adopted a resolution opposing the proposed national monument, citing a number of concerns and concluding that “the new monument is being proposed to ‘preserve’ and in some cases lock away these lands rather than conserve them, which could impact public access, recreation, grazing, and the ability of the commission to manage wildlife.”

Game and Fish Commissioner Kurt R. Davis pointed out that, “It’s not as if these lands aren’t already being managed and conserved. This is really about changing the status of these lands and adding another layer of federal bureaucracy, which has far-ranging implications.”

In a statement on the group’s website, the Friends of the Arizona Strip also deplored the proposed monument, saying that the group “vigorously oppose[s] the creation of the Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument because it is not necessary and because it violates the express declaration by the United States statute that the land, owned by the people, must serve their interests best. That means all people, not just a select few that think that they know the best way to preserve the public’s assets.”

Concern with the plan is not limited to local and state leaders. Federal elected officials, including Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), have publicly expressed their opposition as well.

Senator Griffin urged all Arizona residents to contact their federal representatives and ask them to oppose the proposed monument.

“We’ve seen where the radical environmentalists’ agenda takes us,”Griffinsaid. “In their efforts to protect the forest, they burn it down. In their efforts to preserve the Spotted Owl, they destroy its habitat. In their efforts to clean the air, they threaten our economy.

“Arizona can’t afford their ‘protection’ any longer.”

“The U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that ObamaCare is constitutional. I wonder what Constitution the justices were using? No other issue has gotten more grassroots, citizen political involvement than ObamaCare. It gave birth to the Tea Party.

Since the secret backroom deal of this single-party legislation passed without anyone reading it, we have had time to become acquainted with the 2,000-page bill and are more afraid than ever of the consequences. It is very clear that for ObamaCare to work, we must have high taxes and heavy-handed enforcement.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently revised its earlier cost estimate, saying that ObamaCare will cost more than $2 trillion, double its original estimate. Where on earth do we get the money? From the people.

This country is already $16 trillion in debt, with this year’s budget $1.4 trillion out of balance. It will be a huge sacrifice at the expense of our children’s future.

The elderly will be penalized the most in delaying, rationing, and denying treatment. The doctors who serve them will find their payments slashed. What provider will want to take care of them if they can’t be paid a reasonable amount for services rendered?

President Obama’s sound bites today suggest that he apparently has not read the bill yet, judging by all the misinformation he spews. Your liberty and freedom in the area of healthcare is about to be taken from you. Good, sound, free-market principles and reforms that are needed to save our health care system have to be trashed and replaced with socialist European controls, not to mention that state sovereignty is out the door.

Today our Constitution hangs by a thread, and the only thing that will save us from one of the largest tax increases in history and the destruction of our liberty and freedom is “We the People.”

The Supreme Court is not the last word. We the People still have the power to change this. In November, we must elect Governor Romney and clean up Congress so that ObamaCare can be repealed.”

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court comes as both a tremendous disappointment and dangerous precedent for years to come. Forcing Americans to buy a private product or service of the government’s choosing, under threat of financial penalty, opens the door for unchecked federal power for future generations. There is simply no limiting principle after today’s decision, and federal mandates that a citizen purchase a certain kind of car or consume healthier foods are no longer as far fetched as they once seemed.

The so-called Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, will have devastating effects on Arizona once it is fully implemented. The Medicare tax increase takes effect in 2013, as well as taxes on medical devices and other products, which will have a detrimental effect on job creation.

The centralized bureaucracies and endless new regulations and mandates will accelerate Arizona’s already dangerous doctor shortage. As the Arizona Republic recently pointed out, our state needs 2,400 physicians just to come up to the national average. The Court’s limited reading of withholding Medicaid funds notwithstanding, the law would increase Medicaid enrollment in Arizona by 36% or more, while Arizona taxpayers will be forced to pay for 10% of these new enrollees by 2020, at a cost of over $850 million.

There is now only one remaining opportunity to overturn this terrible law – this November’s elections. Any remaining doubt that this coming election is the most important in generations should now be settled.”

“Stopping Obamacare is now up to the American people. The Court’s decision to uphold the mandate forcing Americans to purchase government-approved insurance based on its being a tax is disappointing to say the least, as it was sold to us expressly as NOT being a tax. In fact, this is the largest tax increase imposed on America in our nation’s history. A $500 billion tax increase And it’s only the beginning. It’s catastrophic to America’s health.

Now, the only way to save the country from ObamaCare’s budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a President and Congress who understand the answer to rising health care costs is not, and never will be, bigger government and more government control.

ObamaCare is hurting the economy and must be repealed. Even though it has been held constitutional, it is still bad law. Healthcare costs continue to increase exponentially – despite the web of new government rules and regulations. It makes it harder for small businesses to hire workers and expand. It limits Americans’ choice in healthcare and intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship and it creates trillions in new government spending we cannot afford, while slashing Medicare.

Only full repeal can end this damage and stop things from getting worse.

America needs real health care reform, and that means repealing ObamaCare.

We should enact commonsense, step-by-step reforms based on the free market and not dictated by the government. We must protect Americans’ access to the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at a lower cost. This is possible and Americans know it.”

“This mixed ruling by the Supreme Court demonstrates that now more than ever we need a permanent and complete immigration plan. Arizonans know that immigration was not the cause of all our problems and SB1070 was never intended to be the solution to all of our problems.

“I’m pleased, and not surprised, that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the core component of SB1070. The ruling honors state sovereignty and, by extension, the right of citizens to pass laws to protect themselves. Claims that SB1070 will cause racial profiling are fear-mongering at its worst. Properly implemented, SB1070 will strike the right balance between protecting citizens and the rights of suspects. I look forward to seeing experience prove the naysayers wrong.”

As a proud supporter of SB1070, I was glad to see the Court uphold the most important aspect of the law—allowing local law enforcement to question someone’s immigration status during a lawful stop. I was saddened to see the Court strike down several other provisions of the law that made certain immigration-related activities state crimes.

To me and other policymakers concerned with the federal government’s total failure to protect our border, the issue boils down to whether states have the ability to protect their citizens. On this issue, I agree wholeheartedly with Justice Scalia, whose opinion pointed out that Arizona is dealing with:

“A Federal Government that does not want to enforce the immigration laws as written, and leaves the States’ borders unprotected against immigrants whom those laws would exclude. So the issue is a stark one. Are the sovereign States at the mercy of the Federal Executive’s refusal to enforce the Nation’s immigration laws?” (p. 21)

The real winners of the federal government’s failure to protect our border are the violent billionaire cartels, the drug-and-human smugglers, and the “open border” advocates. Criminal drug and human smuggling networks reach throughout our state and nation with dirty money. These networks build criminal corruption and destroy the lives of our citizens and their families. There are even concerns about terrorism spilling over our southern border.

As Chairman of the Border Security, Federalism, and State Sovereignty Committee, I understand how critical and urgent it is for the federal government to secure the Tucson sector of the border as they have the Yuma sector. If I and many others know where the smuggling routes are located, then it only stands to reason that the federal government knows also. It’s time to get the resources on the border needed to stop these criminal invaders. We have the technical ability. We have the knowledge. We have the manpower. We just need the political will. Upholding provisions of SB1070 is a great start. I fully agree with Justice Scalia:

“… to say, as the Court does, that Arizona contradicts federal law by enforcing applications of the Immigration Act that the President declines to enforce boggles the mind.” (p. 21)