Fight over border fence environmental waivers could reach Supreme Court
Fourteen House Democrats, including Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and seven other committee chairmen then said they would file friend-of-the-court briefs asking the Supreme Court to take up the lawsuit on whether the department had overstepped constitutional limits.
“This blanket waiver of laws like the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act is a clear and disturbing abuse of the secretary’s discretion,” said U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee. “Congress’ efforts to seek justification for this waiver from DHS have been stonewalled, which leads me to believe none exists.”
U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, disagrees, saying continued illegal immigration and violence is a greater “risk to good conservation policies.”
“For far too long, the border fencing project has been hijacked by bureaucratic red-tape policies that fail to make our border any safer or cleaner,” he said. “… I fully support Secretary Chertoff’s decision to prioritize the security of our nation over procedural preferences and the rule of law over regulatory roadblocks.”
Dallas Morning News
4/15/8
Magnolia Tribune
