Congressional hearing on border fence set for Monday in Brownsville

If you go
What: Congressional field hearing addressing "Walls and Waivers: Expedited Construction of the Southern Border Wall and the Collateral Impacts on Communities and the Environment." Among the members of Congress expected to be in attendance are U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Janet Napolitano, D-Calif., and Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam.
When: 10 a.m. Monday
Where: Science, Engineering and Technology Building lecture hall (SET-B) on the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College campus, 80 Fort Brown St., Brownsville
More info: Contact Betty Perez at (956) 580-8915.

BROWNSVILLE - Members of Congress will be here Monday to talk about the planned security fence along the U.S. border with Mexico.

The hearing comes several weeks after U.S Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff waived more than 30 federal laws - most dealing with preservation of natural, cultural and historic resources - to expedite the fence's construction.

"The decision to invoke a waiver for fence construction will devastate the region and is an insult to those of us who live near the border," wrote Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, one of the representatives expected to attend the hearing. "This administration believes that it is above the laws that protect the environment, health and human safety of border communities."

The hearing will address Grijalva's proposed measure, House Resolution 2593, which would repeal the waiver authority granted to Chertoff under the REAL ID Act. The bill, dubbed the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act of 2007, has been under review since June by the House Committee on Homeland Security, as well as the Agriculture and Natural Resources committees.

Monday's event won't be just a soapbox for opponents of the fence. Expected participant Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., has long been one of the border barrier's biggest advocates and commended Chertoff's early April decision to expedite fence construction by waiving a number of environmental protection laws.

"The decision to remove these roadblocks is the absolute right decision," Hunter wrote in a news release.

In addition to the members of Congress, a number of witnesses - including U.S. Border Patrol agents, mayors, and UTB/TSC administrators - are slated to speak at the hearing. Cameron County residents who own land along the Rio Grande also are expected to be in attendance.

Following the hearing, state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, will host a bus tour of areas that would be directly affected by the border fence.

"We're aiming to inform whoever wants to know what is at stake," said Betty Perez, one of the event's organizers.

The tour will begin at UTB/TSC and continue to the Sabal Palm Audubon Center, the small community of El Calaboz and, finally, Hope Park in downtown Brownsville - all places that would be affected by the fence's construction.