Bingaman slams border fence waivers

| The Associated Press

4/2/2008 -

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman wants the Bush administration to explain why it needed to waive laws to build a fence along 470 miles in four southern border states, including New Mexico.

Bingaman, D-N.M., said he supports strengthening security along the border with Mexico, but questioned why the administration needed to waive such laws as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Noise Control Act.

Bingaman asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to justify blanket waivers.

The administration will use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations in building the fence along the southwest U.S. border by the end of 2008, federal officials said Tuesday.

Invoking legal waivers, authorized by Congress, will cut through bureaucratic red tape and sidestep environmental laws that impede the Homeland Security Department from building 267 miles of fence in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to officials.

The move is the largest use of waivers since the administration started building the fence and will cover a total of 470 miles along the Southwest border, the department said. Previously, the agency used its waiver authority for two portions of fence in Arizona and one in San Diego.

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said he supports the waiver. "I trust that Secretary Chertoff carefully weighed the situation, including the fact that many of these areas have already undergone some environmental reviews, and that the impact of this work will continue to be monitored," he said.

Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., also supported the waiver, saying the nation will only make a significant impact on human and drug trafficking when it has control over its borders. The additional fence, he said, "will ensure a stronger, more defendable border."

Bingaman said he favors barriers along the border where Border Patrol agents think it will help and noted he helped secure millions of dollars for vehicle barriers in New Mexico.

"But I have not yet heard any justification for why the Bush administration cannot abide by current laws in the construction of this fence," he said.

Domenici said he welcomes any action to better protect the border and residents in light of recent murders and drug-related violence near New Mexico's border. "It won't end every problem, but it should help clear the way for more miles of fencing, vehicle barriers and other security measures on the New Mexico border," he said.